Title: March 16 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem and replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as King. * 455 - Roman Emperor Valentinian III is assassinated by two Hunnic retainers while training with the bow on the Campus Martinus in Rome. * 1190 – Crusaders start to massacre the Jews of York. * 1244 - Over 200 Cathars are burned after the fall of Montségur. * 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines. * 1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset." * 1660 – The Long Parliament disbands. * 1782 - American Revolutionary War: Spanish troops capture the British island of Roatan. * 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29. * 1802 – The United States Military Academy West Point is established. * 1815 – Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaimed himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands. * 1818 - Second Battle of Cancha Rayada: Spanish forces defeat Chileans under Jose de San Martin. * 1850 – Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter is first published. * 1861 – Edward Clark becomes Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. * 1864 - American Civil War: During the Red River Campaign, Union troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana. * 1865 - American Civil War: The Battle of Avenasborough begins, with Confederate forces suffering heavy losses. * 1867 – First publication of an article by Joseph Lister outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery, in The Lancet. * 1872 – The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Oval in Kennington, London. * 1898 - The Italian Football Federation is founded. * 1900 – Sir Arthur Evans purchases the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete. === 1901 1950 === * 1906 – A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Chiayi, Taiwan, killing around 1,300 people. * 1912 - Lawrence Oates, a member of Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated South Pole expedition, because of illness leaves the tent to die, a day before his 32nd birthday. His last words were "I am just going outside and may be some time". * 1916 - The 7th and 10th Cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the US-Mexico border in a bid to capture Pancho Villa. * 1916 - Antonio Jose de Almeida becomes Prime Minister of Portugal. * 1924 - In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, the Free State of Fiume is annexed as part of Italy. * 1925 – A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Yunnan, China, killing around 5,000 people. * 1926 – Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts. * 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty. * 1936 - Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, flooding Pittsburgh. * 1939 - At Prague Castle, Adolf Hitler declares Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. * 1939 - Marriage of Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt and Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran. * 1940 - World War II: A German bombing raid is carried out on Scapa Flow, Orkney. * 1942 - The first V-2 rocket is test-launched - it explodes after lift-off. * 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist. * 1945 – World War II: Würzburg, Germany is 90% destroyed, with 5,000 dead, in only 20 minutes by British bombers. === 1951 2000 === * 1956 – St. Urho's Day is first celebrated. * 1958 - The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird. * 1962 – A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 people missing. * 1966 - Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight, with Neil Armstrong and David Scott on board. * 1968 – Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers—men, women, and children—are killed by American troops. * 1968 - General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, an Oldsmobile Toronado. * 1969 – A Venezuelan Airlines DC-9 crashes shortly after takeoff in Maracaibo, Venezuela killing 155 * 1972 – The first building of the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex is demolished. * 1976 - Harold Wilson resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom five days after his 60th birthday, citing personal reasons. James Callaghan replaces him. * 1977 - Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War. * 1978 – Aldo Moro is kidnapped by left-wing urban guerrillas in Italy and is later killed by his captors. * 1978 – The Amoco Cadiz oil tanker runs aground off Brittany, leading to an oil spill. * 1983 – Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last radio tower in Germany built of wood. * 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later dies in captivity. * 1985 – Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He would be released on December 4, 1991. * 1988 – Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. * 1988 – Halabja poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents, killing thousands of people. * 1989 - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found near the Pyramid of Cheops. * 1993 – A blizzard on the east coast of the United States kills 184 (see Great Blizzard of 1993). * 1994 – Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. * 1995 - Mississippi formally ratifies the 13th Amendment, becoming the last US State to approve a ban on slavery. * 1996 - Mike Tyson defeats Frank Bruno in Las Vegas to win the Boxing World Heavyweight title. * 1997 – Stuart Appleby wins the Honda Golf Classic. === From 2001 === * 2002 – Closing ceremonies of the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. * 2003 – Largest coordinated worldwide vigil, as part of the global protests against Iraq war. * 2005 - Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control. * 2006 – Release date of the computer role-playing game Final Fantasy XII in Japan. * 2010 – The Kasubi Tombs in Uganda, which formed a World Heritage Site, are destroyed by fire. * 2014 - Closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Southern Russia. * 2014 - A referendum held in Crimea results in a majority wanting to join Russia rather than stay part of Ukraine. == Births == === Up to 1800 === * 1399 - Xuande Emperor of China (d. 1435) * 1465 - Kunigunde of Austria (d. 1520) * 1473 - Henry IV the Pious, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541) * 1581 - Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch poet, historian and dramatist (d. 1647) * 1663 - Jean-Baptiste Matho, French composer (d. 1743) * 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (d. 1757) * 1750 – Caroline Herschel, German-English astronomer (d. 1848) * 1751 – James Madison, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836) * 1771 - Antoine-Jean Gros, French painter (d. 1835) * 1773 - Juan Ramon Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician (d. 1836) * 1774 – Matthew Flinders, English explorer (d. 1814) * 1789 – Georg Simon Ohm, German physicist (d. 1854) * 1789 - Francis Chesney, English general and explorer (d. 1872) * 1799 – Anna Atkins, British botanist and illustrator (d. 1871) * 1800 – Emperor Ninko of Japan (d. 1846) === 1801 1900 === * 1805 - Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philosopher and writer (d. 1861) * 1821 - Eduard Heine, German mathematician (d. 1851) * 1822 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (d. 1899) * 1827 - Ferdinand Meldahl, Danish architect (d. 1908) * 1834 - James Hector, Scottish geologist (d. 1907) * 1836 - Andrew Smith Hallidie, English- American engineer and inventor (d. 1900) * 1839 – Sully Prudhomme, French writer (d. 1907) * 1839 - John Butler Yeats, Irish artist (d. 1922) * 1840 - Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (d. 1931) * 1845 - Umegatani Totaro I, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1928) * 1846 - Jurgis Bielinis, Lithuanian book smuggler (d. 1918) * 1846 - Gosta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (d. 1927) * 1848 - Axel Heiberg, Norwegian diplomat and financier (d. 1932) * 1851 - Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (d. 1931) * 1856 - Napoleon Eugene, Prince Imperial, son of Napoleon III of France (d. 1879) * 1859 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1907) * 1865 - Aspazija, Latvian poet and playwright (d. 1943) * 1871 - Frantz Reichel, French athlete and rugby player (d. 1932) * 1877 - Leo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian movie pioneer (d. 1972) * 1877 – Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran (d. 1944) * 1878 – Clemens August Graf von Galen, German bishop and Resistance activist (d. 1946) * 1883 - Ethel Anderson, Australian poet (d. 1958) * 1884 - Alexander Belyayev, Russian writer (d. 1942) * 1885 - Giacomo Benvenuti, Italian composer and musicologist (d. 1943) * 1887 - Emilio Lunghi, Italian middle- distance runner (d. 1925) * 1889 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951) * 1890 - Solomon Mikhoels, Soviet actor (d. 1948) * 1892 - Nikolai Kondratiev, Russian economist (d. 1938) * 1892 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (d. 1938) * 1897 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970) === 1901 1925 === * 1902 - Leon Roppolo, American jazz clarinettist (d. 1943) * 1905 - Elisabeth Hickenschildt, German actress, producer and author (d. 1977) * 1906 – Francisco Ayala, Spanish writer (d. 2009) * 1908 - Rene Daumal, French writer and poet (d. 1944) * 1908 - Robert Rossen, American screenwriter, movie director and producer (d. 1966) * 1911 – Pierre Harmel, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2009) * 1911 – Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal (d. 1979) * 1912 – Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993) * 1915 - Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and short story writer (d. 1986) * 1915 – Kunihiko Kodaira, Japanese mathematician (d. 1997) * 1916 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs (d. 2010) * 1918 – Frederick Reines, American physicist (d. 1998) * 1918 - Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004) * 1920 – Tonino Guerra, Italian poet, writer and screenwriter (d. 2012) * 1920 - John Addison, British composer (d. 1998) * 1920 - Sid Fleischman, American writer (d. 2010) * 1920 – Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's press secretary (d. 2002) * 1921 - Werner Uebelmann, Swiss entrepreneur (d. 2014) * 1923 – Sergiu Cunescu, Romanian politician (d. 2005) * 1925 – Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist (d. 2004) * 1925 - Cornell Borchers, German actress (d. 2014) === 1926 1950 === * 1926 – Jerry Lewis, American comedian (d. 2017) * 1926 - Charles Goodell, United States Senator for New York (d. 1987) * 1927 - Vladimir Komarov, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut (d. 1967) * 1927 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American politician (d. 2003) * 1927 - Joseph W. Tkach, American pastor (d. 1995) * 1928 - Christa Ludwig, German mezzo-soprano * 1928 – Karlheinz Böhm, Austrian actor (d. 2014) * 1928 - Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2010) * 1929 - Betty Johnson, American singer * 1929 - Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist (d. 2015) * 1929 - Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress * 1930 - Tommy Flanagan, American jazz pianist (d. 2001) * 1931 – Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director (d. 2009) * 1931 - Anthony Kenny, English philosopher * 1932 - Kurt Diemberger, Austrian mountaineer * 1932 – Walter Cunningham, American astronaut * 1933 - Jos Chabert, Belgian politician (d. 2014) * 1934 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor General of Canada (d. 2002) * 1934 - Ray Walker, American singer * 1935 - Teresa Berganza, Spanish opera singer * 1936 – Raymond Vahan Damadian, Armenian- American practitioner of MRI * 1936 - Elisabeth Volkmann, German actress (d. 2006) * 1937 - Attilio Nicora, Italian cardinal (d. 2017) * 1939 – Carlos Bilardo, Argentine footballer * 1940 – Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian movie director (d. 2018) * 1941 – Robert Guéï, military leader of Ivory Coast (d. 2002) * 1942 - Roger Crozier, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1996) * 1944 - John Kipkurgat, Kenyan middle-distance runner * 1944 - Andrew S. Tanenbaum, American computer scientist * 1946 - Michael Basman, English chess player * 1948 – Richard Desjardins, Canadian singer, songwriter and movie director * 1948 - Margaret Weis, American writer * 1949 - Erik Estrada, American actor * 1949 - Victor Garber, Canadian actor * 1950 – Joe Bugner, Hungarian-born boxer === 1951 1975 === * 1952 - Philippe Kahn, French technology innovator and entrepreneur * 1952 - Irwin Keyes, American actor and comedian (d. 2015) * 1953 – Richard Stallman, American free software activist * 1953 - Oscar Ramirez, Peruvian revolutionary leader * 1954 - Nancy Wilson, American guitarist (Heart) * 1954 – Jimmy Nail, British actor and singer * 1955 - Bruno Barreto, Brazilian movie director * 1955 - Svetlana Alexeeva, Russian ice dancer and coach * 1956 - Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss politician * 1956 - Ozzie Newsome, American football player and coach * 1956 - Clifton Powell, American actor and comedian * 1958 - Phillip Wilcher, Australian pianist * 1959 – Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway and current Secretary-General of NATO * 1959 - Flavor Flav, American rapper * 1960 – Jenny Eclair, British comedienne * 1960 - Duane Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player * 1960 - John Hemming, British politician * 1961 - Todd McFarlane, Canadian artist, cartoonist and entrepreneur * 1961 - Michiru Oshima, Japanese composer * 1963 - Jimmy DeGrasso, American musician * 1964 - Patty Griffin, American singer * 1965 - Mark Carney, Canadian economist, Governor of the Bank of England * 1965 - Belén Rueda, Spanish actress * 1967 – Lauren Graham, American actress * 1967 - John Darnielle, American musician and novelist * 1969 – Markus Lanz, German-Italian television presenter and entertainer * 1970 – Joakim Berg, Swedish composer * 1970 – Pall Oskar, Icelandic singer and musician * 1975 - Sienna Guillory, English actress === From 1976 === * 1976 - Paul Schneider, American actor and director * 1977 - Steve Jones, Welsh television presenter * 1978 - Brooke Burns, American actress and model * 1979 – Leena Peisa, Finnish musician (Lordi) * 1979 - Andrei Stepanov, Estonian footballer * 1979 – Edison Mendez, Ecuadorean footballer * 1980 - Todd Heap, American football player * 1980 - Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player * 1981 – Yoav Ziv, Israeli footballer * 1984 – Wilfried Sanou, Burkina Faso footballer * 1984 - Brandon Prust, Canadian ice hockey player * 1986 - Daisuke Takahashi, Japanese figure skater * 1986 – Ken Doane, American wrestler * 1986 - Neil Gray, Scottish politician * 1986 – Bernard Parker, South African footballer * 1987 - Tiiu Kuik, Estonian model * 1988 - Jessica Gregg, Canadian short-track speed skater * 1988 - Patrick Herrmann, German footballer * 1989 – Theo Walcott, English footballer * 1989 – Blake Griffin, American basketball player * 1990 – James Bulger, English toddler whose killing led to a high- profile murder case (d. 1993) * 1991 – Wolfgang Van Halen, American musician * 1992 - Brett Davern, American actor * 1993 - George Ford, English rugby union player * 1995 - Shy Carlos, Filipino-Swiss actress and singer * 1999 - Bailie Key, American gymnast == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 37 – Tiberius, Roman Emperor (b. 42 BC) * 455 – Valentinian III, West Roman Emperor (b. 419) * 455 - Heraclius, Roman servant * 1021 - Heribert of Cologne, Archbishop of Cologne and Chancellor of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor * 1037 - Robert I, Archbishop of Rouen * 1072 - Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop * 1457 – Laszlo Hunyadi, Hungarian statesman and warrior (b. 1433) * 1485 – Anne Neville, Queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456) * 1679 - John Leverett, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616) * 1736 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (b. 1710) * 1737 - Benjamin Wadsworth, President of Harvard University (b. 1670) * 1747 - Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, father of Catherine II of Russia (b. 1690) * 1861 – Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg- Saalfeld, mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1786) * 1888 - Hippolyte Carnot, French statesman (b. 1801) * 1890 – Zorka of Montenegro, Princess of Serbia (b. 1864) * 1898 – Aubrey Beardsley, British artist (b. 1872) * 1899 - Joseph Medill, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1823) === 1901 2000 === * 1903 – Roy Bean, American jurist (b. 1825) * 1912 – Lawrence Oates, English Antarctic explorer (b. 1880) * 1914 – Charles Albert Gorbat, Swiss politician (b. 1843) * 1919 – Yakov Sverdlov, Russian politician (b. 1885) * 1926 - Sergeant Stubby, American World War I dog (b. 1916 or 1917) * 1930 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish military leader (b. 1870) * 1935 – Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian chess player (b. 1886) * 1935 – John James Rickard Macleod, Scottish physiologist, won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, (b. 1876) * 1936 – Marguerite Durand, French journalist and feminist (b. 1864) * 1940 – Selma Lagerlof, Swedish writer (b. 1858) * 1945 - Simeon Price, American golfer (b. 1882) * 1957 – Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (b. 1876) * 1961 - Chen Geng, Chinese military leader (b. 1903) * 1963 – William Henry Beveridge, British economist (b. 1879) * 1968 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (b. 1895) * 1968 - Gunnar Ekelof, Swedish writer (b. 1858) * 1970 - Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1945) * 1971 – Thomas E. Dewey, American politician, 1948 Presidential candidate (b. 1902) * 1975 – T-Bone Walker, American musician (b. 1910) * 1977 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of anti- government forces during the Lebanese Civil War (b. 1917) * 1979 – Jean Monnet, French entrepreneur and politician (b. 1888) * 1980 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (b. 1898) * 1985 - Eddie Shore, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902) * 1985 - Roger Sessions, American composer (b. 1896) * 1992 - Yves Rocard, French physicist (b. 1903) * 1995 – Heinrich Sutermeister, Swiss composer (b. 1910) * 1998 – Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist (b. 1918) * 2000 - Thomas Ferebee, Hiroshima bomber (b. 1918) === From 2001 === * 2003 – Rachel Corrie, American activist (b. 1979) * 2005 – Sergiu Cunescu, Romanian politician (b. 1923) * 2008 – Ola Brunkert, Swedish drummer (b. 1946) * 2008 – Gary Hart, American professional wrestler and Wrestling manager (b. 1942) * 2012 – Mervyn Davies, Welsh rugby player (b. 1946) * 2012 – Estanislao Basora, Spanish footballer (b. 1926) * 2013 - Booth Gardner, 19th Governor of Washington (b. 1936) * 2013 - Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, Argentine economist (b. 1925) * 2013 - Marina Solodkin, Israeli politician (b. 1952) * 2013 - Frank Thornton, English actor (b. 1921) * 2014 - Gary Bettenhausen, American racing driver (b. 1941) * 2014 - Donald Crothers, American academic and educator (b. 1937) * 2014 - Alexander Pochinok, Russian economist and politician (b. 1958) * 2015 - Bruce Crump, American musician (b. 1957) * 2015 - Buddy Elias, Swiss actor (b. 1925) * 2015 - Andy Fraser, British musician (b. 1962) * 2015 - Arthur A. Hartman, American diplomat (b. 1926) * 2015 - Jack Haley, American basketball player (b. 1964) * 2015 - Miguel Donoso Pareja, Ecuadorean writer (b. 1931) * 2016 - Alexander Esenin- Volpin, Soviet-born American poet and mathematician (b. 1924) * 2016 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer (b. 1944) * 2016 - Cliff Michelmore, English broadcaster (b. 1919) * 2017 - James Cotton, American musician (b. 1935) * 2017 - Torgny Lindgren, Swedish writer (b. 1938) * 2017 - Hasyim Muzadi, Indonesian Islamic scholar and cleric (b. 1944) * 2018 - Boyukagha Hajiyev, Azerbaijani footballer (b. 1958) * 2018 - Arnie Lerma, American writer and Scientology whistleblower (b. 1950) * 2018 - Louise Slaughter, American politician (b. 1929) * 2019 - Dick Dale, American guitarist and surf music pioneer (b. 1937) * 2019 - Richard Erdman, American actor (b. 1925) * 2019 - Bengt Gustafsson, Swedish military officer (b. 1933) * 2019 - Barbara Hammer, American film director (b. 1939) * 2019 - Tom Hatten, American actor and television presenter (b. 1926) * 2019 - Yann-Fañch Kemener, French singer (b. 1957) * 2019 - Yulia Nachalova, Russian singer, actress and television presenter (b. 1981) == Observances == * St. Urho's Day (Finnish Communities in Canada and the US) * Latvian Legion Day * Day of the Book Smugglers (Lithuania) Category:Days of the year