March 20
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March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in Leap years). There are 286 days remaining. March 20 is the last day of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, and the last day of the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere.
Events
- 44 BC - Julius Caesar's funeral.
- 1602 - The Dutch East India Company is established.
- 1739 - Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
- 1760 - The "Great Fire" of Boston destroys 349 buildings.
- 1815 - Napoleon enters Paris after escaping from Elba with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.
- 1848 - Revolutions of 1848 in the German states: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
- 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published.
- 1856 - Costa Rican troops rout Walker's soldiers.
- 1861 - An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, a city on western Argentina.
- 1883 - Signature of Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
- 1899 - At Sing Sing prison, Martha M. Place becomes the first woman executed in an electric chair.
- 1904 - Aleister Crowley invokes Horus in Egypt and declares the start of the New Aeon known as the Aeon Of The Crowned And Conquering Child.
- 1913 - Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) (KMT), is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
- 1914 - In New Haven, Connecticut, the first international figure skating championship takes place.
- 1916 - Albert Einstein publishes his theory of relativity.
- 1922 - The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
- 1933 - Giuseppe Zangara is executed in Florida's electric chair for fatally shooting Anton Cermak in an assassination attempt against Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
- 1942 - In Zgierz, Poland, 100 Poles are taken from a labor camp and shot by the Germans.
- 1942 - General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".
- 1948 - With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
- 1952 - The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
- 1956 - Tunisia gains independence from France.
- 1964 - The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
- 1965 - In Naples, Italy, France Gall wins the tenth Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg singing "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" (Wax doll, talking doll).
- 1966 - The football World Cup is stolen from an exhibition at Central Hall, Westminster, London
- 1969 - In Gibraltar, John Lennon and Yoko Ono get married.
- 1974 - A failed kidnap attempt is made on Her Royal Highness Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips in The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace, London.
- 1985 - Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod dog sled race.
- 1986 - Jacques Chirac becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1987 - The Food and Drug Administration approves anti-AIDS drug AZT.
- 1990 - Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
- 1993 - A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in Warrington, northwest England, killing two children.
- 1995 - Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway killing 12 and wounding 1300 persons.
- 2000 - Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after a gun battle that leaves a Georgia sheriff's deputy dead.
- 2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries begin military operations in Iraq.
- 2004 - Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, thus becoming the first leader in the party's history.
- 2005 - A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years. One person is killed, hundreds are injured and evacuated.
- 2006 - Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia.
- 2006 - Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The growing rebel movement seeks to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Deby.
Births
- 43 BC - Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
- 1477 - Jerome Emser, German theologian (d. 1527)
- 1502 - Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
- 1725 - Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1789)
- 1735 - Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1784)
- 1737 - Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, King of Thailand (d. 1809)
- 1741 - Jean Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (d. 1828)
- 1770 - Friedrich Hölderlin, German writer (d. 1843)
- 1799 - Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (d. 1839)
- 1811 - Napoleon II of France, (d. 1832)
- 1823 - Ned Buntline, American publisher, writer, and publicist (d. 1886)
- 1828 - Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1906)
- 1831 - Solomon L. Spink, U.S. Congressman from Illinois (d. 1881)
- 1834 - Charles W. Eliot, American president of Harvard University (d. 1926)
- 1836 - Sir Edward Poynter, British painter (d. 1919)
- 1840 - Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
- 1856 - Sir John Lavery, Irish artist (d. 1941)
- 1856 - Frederick Winslow Taylor, American inventor (d. 1915)
- 1870 - Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
- 1873 (O.S.) - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer (d. 1943)
- 1874 - Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (d. 1945)
- 1890 - Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor (d. 1957)
- 1890 - Lauritz Melchior, Danish tenor (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Fredric Wertham, German-born psychologist (d. 1981)
- 1897 - Ruby Muhammad, American matriarch of Black Islam
- 1903 - Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1904 - B. F. Skinner, American psychologist (d. 1990)
- 1906 - Abraham Beame, American politician (d. 2001)
- 1906 - Ozzie Nelson, American actor (d. 1975)
- 1908 - Sir Michael Redgrave, English actor (d. 1985)
- 1911 - Alfonso García Robles, Mexican diplomat, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
- 1915 - Rudolf Kirchschläger, President of Austria (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (d. 1997)
- 1917 - Dame Vera Lynn, English actress and singer
- 1918 - Jack Barry, American television host (d. 1984)
- 1918 - Marian McPartland, British jazz musician
- 1920 - Pamela Harriman, British-American diplomat (d. 1997)
- 1921 - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer (d. 1973)
- 1922 - Ray Goulding, American comedian (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Carl Reiner, American director
- 1925 - John Ehrlichman, American political figure (d. 1999)
- 1928 - Fred Rogers, American television host (d. 2003)
- 1931 - Hal Linden, American actor
- 1933 - Alexander Gorodnitsky, Russian geologist and poet
- 1933 - George Altman, Baseball player
- 1934 - Willie Brown, American politician
- 1935 - Ted Bessell, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1936 - Vaughn Meader, American comedian (d. 2004)
- 1937 - Jerry Reed, American musician
- 1939 - Brian Mulroney, eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada
- 1941 - Pat Corrales, baseball player
- 1945 - Henry Bartholomay, American fighter pilot
- 1945 - Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
- 1948 - John de Lancie, American actor
- 1948 - Bobby Orr, Canadian hockey player
- 1949 - Marcia Ball, American singer
- 1950 - William Hurt, American actor
- 1950 - Carl Palmer, British drummer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
- 1951 - Jimmie Vaughan, American blues guitarist
- 1957 - Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
- 1957 - Spike Lee, American film director
- 1958 - Holly Hunter, American actress
- 1958 - Phil Anderson, Australian cyclist
- 1959 - Steve Borden, American professional wrestler
- 1959 - Steve McFadden, British actor
- 1961 - Slim Jim Phantom, American musician (Stray Cats)
- 1962 - Stephen Sommers, American film director
- 1963 - Paul Annacone, American tennis player
- 1963 - Kathy Ireland, American model
- 1964 - Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer
- 1969 - Mannie Fresh, American producer
- 1971 - Toure, American Writer
- 1971 - Manny Alexander, Baseball player
- 1972 - Alexander Kapranos, British musician (Franz Ferdinand (band))
- 1974 - Paula Garces, Colombian actress
- 1974 - Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish writer
- 1976 - Chester Bennington, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1979 - Bianca Lawson, American actress
- 1980 - Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
- 1982 - Nick Wheeler, American guitarist (The All-American Rejects)
- 1982 - Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricket captain
- 1984 - Marcus Vick, American football player
- 1984 - Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
- 1984 - Christy Carlson Romano, American actress
- 1984 - Winta, Norwegian musician
- 1985 - Chris Beattie, British actor
- 1985 - Alexander Kazarin, Russian Guitarist (Fragile Nova band)
- 1987 - Rollo Weeks, British actor
Deaths
- 1191 - Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
- 1239 - Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (c. 1179)
- 1413 - King Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
- 1568 - Duke Albert of Prussia (b. 1490)
- 1586 - Richard Maitland, Scottish statesman and historian (b. 1496)
- 1619 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
- 1673 - Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior (b. 1603)
- 1727 O.S. - Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist (b. 1642)
- 1730 - Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
- 1732 - Johann Ernst Hanxleden, German philologist (b. 1681)
- 1746 - Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (b. 1656)
- 1793 - William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (b. 1705)
- 1835 - Louis-Leopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
- 1855 - Joseph Aspdin, English mason and inventor (b. 1788)
- 1865 - Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
- 1874 - Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (b. 1810)
- 1878 - Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
- 1890 - Alexander F. Mozhaiski, aviation pioneer (b. 1825)
- 1897 - Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (b. 1821)
- 1899 - Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist (b. 1822)
- 1918 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (b. 1828)
- 1925 - George Nathaniel Curzon, British statesman (b. 1859)
- 1929 - Ferdinand Foch, French commander of allied forces in World War I (b. 1851)
- 1931 - Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1934 - Queen Emma of the Netherlands (b. 1858)
- 1940 - Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
- 1974 - Chet Huntley, American television journalist (b. 1911)
- 1990 - Lev Yashin, Soviet footballer (b. 1929)
- 1993 - Polykarp Kusch, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 1994 - Lewis Grizzard, American journalist, comedian, and actor (b. 1946)
- 1995 - Big John Studd, Professional wrestler (b. 1948)
- 1997 - Tony Zale, American boxer (b. 1913)
- 2000 - Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1961)
- 2001 - Luis Alvarado, Baseball player (b. 1949)
- 2003 - Sailor Art Thomas, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
- 2004 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
- 2005 - Armand Lohikoski, Finnish director (b. 1912)
Holidays and observances
- The vernal equinox usually occurs on this day.
- The second day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva.
- New Year of Iranian Calendar: Norouz occurs on the vernal equinox.
- International Astrology Day
- Meat Out Day
- Canberra Day
Liturgical feasts
- Feast of St. Cuthbert, patron saint of Northumbria (died 704)
- Saint Herbert (died 687)
- Saint Wulfram (d.704)
- Saint Alexandra
External links
March 19 – March 21 – February 20 – April 20 -- listing of all days