Events Pre-1600 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China. 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. 1044 – The people of Constantinople riot against emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, whose preference of his mistress Maria Skleraina over empress Zoe Porphyrogenita is seen as an insult. 1226 – Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa. 1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.
1601–1900 1701 – Safavid troops retreat from Basra, ending a three-year occupation. 1765 – After a campaign by the writer Voltaire, judges in Paris posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually died by suicide. 1776 – Scottish philosopher Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations, ushering in the classical period of political economy. 1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. 1811 – Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí. 1815 – Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine. 1841 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally. 1842 – Giuseppe Verdi's third opera, Nabucco, receives its première performance in Milan; its success establishes Verdi as one of Italy's foremost opera composers. 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush. 1847 – Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz. 1862 – American Civil War: and (rebuilt from the engines and lower hull of the USS Merrimack) fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships. 1883 – Demonstration of 9 March 1883: Parisian anarchists, unemployed and carpenters narrowly miss the Presidential palace during a violent protest; first use of the black flag as a symbol of anarchism by Louise Michel.
1901–present 1908 – Inter Milan is founded on Football Club Internazionale, following a schism from A.C. Milan. 1916 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico. 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies. 1942 – World War II: Dutch East Indies unconditionally surrenders to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese complete their Dutch East Indies campaign. 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia. 1945 – World War II: A coup d'état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power. 1945 – World War II: Allied forces carry out firebombing over Tokyo, destroying most of the capital and killing over 100,000 civilians. 1946 – Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more. 1954 – McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly. 1956 – Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy. 1957 – The 8.6 Andreanof Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, causing over $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami. 1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. 1960 – Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis. 1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight. 1967 – Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio, following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people. 1974 – The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars. 1976 – Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the deadliest cable car accident in history. 1977 – The Hanafi Siege: In a 39-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C., buildings. 1978 – President Soeharto inaugurates Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java. 1987 – Chrysler announces its acquisition of American Motors Corporation. 1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day. 2000 – Nupedia, a multi-language online encyclopedia, is launched. 2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights. 2012 – A truce between the Salvadoran government and gangs in the country goes into effect when 30 gang leaders are transferred to lower security prisons. 2015 – Two Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil helicopters collide in mid-air over Villa Castelli, Argentina, killing all 10 people on board both aircraft, including French athletes Florence Arthaud, Camille Muffat and Alexis Vastine, as well as producers and guests for the French TV show Dropped. 2020 – Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy, announces in a televised address and signs the decree imposing the first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in the world. 2023 – A shooting in the Alsterdorf quarter of Hamburg, Germany, kills eight people and injures another eight.
Births
Pre-1600 1454 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer, namesake of the Americas (died 1512) 1534 – Joseph of Anchieta, Spanish Jesuit saint and missionary (died 1597) 1564 – David Fabricius, German theologian, cartographer and astronomer (died 1617) 1568 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint, namesake of Gonzaga University (died 1591)
1601–1900 1611 – Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot, French-Canadian missionary (died 1693) 1662 – Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (died 1738) 1697 – Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (died 1760) 1737 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (died 1781) 1749 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (died 1791) 1753 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (died 1800) 1758 – Franz Joseph Gall, German neuroanatomist and physiologist (died 1828) 1763 – William Cobbett, English journalist and author (died 1835) 1806 – Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (died 1872) 1814 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (died 1861) 1815 – David Davis, American jurist and politician (died 1886) 1820 – Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (died 1893) 1824 – Amasa Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (died 1893) 1847 – Martin Pierre Marsick, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (died 1924) 1850 – Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (died 1925) 1856 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (died 1928) 1863 – Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (died 1950) 1887 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician, influential eugenicist within the Nazi party (died 1976) 1890 – Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (died 1915) 1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1986) 1891 – José P. Laurel, Filipino lawyer, politician and President of the Philippines (died 1959) 1892 – Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (died 1971) 1892 – Vita Sackville-West, English author, poet, and gardener (died 1962)
1901–present 1902 – Will Geer, American actor (died 1978) 1904 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (died 2002) 1910 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (died 1981) 1911 – Clara Rockmore, American classical violin prodigy and theremin player (died 1998) 1915 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (died 2001) 1918 – George Lincoln Rockwell, American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (died 1967) 1918 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (died 2006) 1920 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (died 2015) 1921 – Carl Betz, American actor (died 1978) 1922 – Ian Turbott, New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator (died 2016) 1923 – James L. Buckley, American lawyer, judge, and politician (died 2023) 1923 – André Courrèges, French fashion designer (died 2016) 1923 – Walter Kohn, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2016) 1926 – Joe Franklin, American radio and television host (died 2015) 1927 – Jackie Jensen, American baseball player (died 1982) 1928 – Gerald Bull, Canadian-American engineer and academic (died 1990) 1928 – Keely Smith, American singer and actress (died 2017) 1929 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (died 2002) 1929 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (died 2013) 1930 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (died 2015) 1931 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (died 2014) 1932 – Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (died 2014) 1932 – Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican astrologer and actor (died 2019) 1933 – Lloyd Price, American R&B singer-songwriter (died 2021) 1933 – David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (died 2018) 1933 – Artt Frank, American jazz drummer and biographer (died 2024) 1934 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and cosmonaut, first human in space (died 1968) 1934 – Joyce Van Patten, American actress 1935 – Andrew Viterbi, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Qualcomm Inc. 1936 – Mickey Gilley, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2022) 1936 – Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (died 2015) 1937 – Bernard Landry, Canadian lawyer, politician and Premier of Quebec (died 2018) 1937 – Harry Neale, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster 1937 – Brian Redman, English race car driver 1939 – Malcolm Bricklin, American businessman, founded Bricklin and Yugo 1940 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican actor (died 1994) 1941 – Jim Colbert, American golfer (died 2026) 1941 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (died 1976) 1941 – Trish Van Devere, American actress 1941 – Malcolm Smith, Canadian-American motorcycle racer (died 2024) 1942 – John Cale, Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer 1942 – Ion Caramitru, Romanian actor and artistic director (died 2021) 1942 – Mark Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer 1943 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (died 2008) 1943 – Charles Gibson, American journalist 1944 – Lee Irvine, South African cricketer 1945 – Robert Calvert, English singer-songwriter and playwright (died 1988) 1945 – Dennis Rader, American serial killer 1945 – Robin Trower, English guitarist and vocalist 1946 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (died 2014) 1946 – Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout (died 2024) 1946 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (died 1990) 1947 – Keri Hulme, New Zealand author and poet (died 2021) 1948 – Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs 1948 – Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor 1948 – Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer 1949 – Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician 1949 – Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer (died 2025)