4 March

Events 
 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
 303 or 304 - Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
 852 - Croatian Duke Trpimir I issued a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
 932 - Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
 1152 - Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans.
 1215 - King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.
 1238 - The Battle of the Sit River was fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Russia.
 1275 - Chinese astronomers observe a total eclipse of the sun.
 1351 - Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
 1386 - Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) was crowned King of Poland.
 1461 - Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
 1492 - King James IV of Scotland concludes an alliance with France against England.
 1493 - Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal aboard his ship Niña from his discovery voyage to America. He returned to Spain on March 15.
 1519 - Hernan Cortes arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and their wealth. 
 1570 - King Philip II of Spain bans foreign Dutch students. 
 1611 - George Abbot is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
 1621 - Jakarta, Java is renamed Batavia.
 1629 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. 
 1634 - Samuel Cole opens the first tavern in Boston, Massachusetts.
 1665 - English King Charles II declares war on The Netherlands which marked the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
 1675 - John Flamsteed appointed first Astronomer Royal of England. 
 1681 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
 1774 - First sighting of Orion Nebula by William Herschel.
 1776 - The American War of Independence: The Americans capture "Dorchester Heights" dominating the port of Boston, Massachusetts.
 1778 - The Continental Congress voted to ratify both the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance with France. The two treaties were the first entered into by the United States government.
 1789 - In New York City, the first United States Congress meets, putting the Constitution of the United States into effect. 
 1790 - France is divided into 83 départements, which cut across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on noble ownership of land.
 1791 - Vermont is admitted as the 14th U.S. state.
 1791 - A Constitutional Act is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
 1793 - French troops conquer Geertruidenberg, Netherlands. 
 1794 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress.
 1797 - In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.
 1804 - The Battle of Vinegar Hill, colony of New South Wales (Australia), when Irish convicts (some of whom had been involved in Ireland’s Battle of Vinegar Hill in 1798) led the colony’s only significant convict uprising. 
 1813 - Russian troops fighting the army of Napoleon reach Berlin in Germany and the French garrison evacuate the city without a fight.
 1814 - Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London and Thamesville near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
 1824 - The "National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck" was founded in the United Kingdom, later to be renamed The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1858.
 1837 - Chicago becomes incorporated as a city.
 1848 - Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia
 1861 - First national flag of the Confederate States of America (the 'Stars and Bars') adopted.
 1865 - Third (and last) national flag of the Confederate States of America adopted.
 1877 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake premiers at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
 1882 - Britain's first electric trams run in East London.
 1887 - Gottlieb Daimler unveils his first automobile which he test runs in Esslingen and Cannstatt, Germany.
 1890 - The longest bridge in the United Kingdom, the Forth Bridge (railway) (1,710 ft) in Scotland is opened by the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII.
 1893 - Congo Free State: The army of Francis, Baron Dhanis attacks the Lualaba, enabling him to transport his troops across the Upper Congo and, capture Nyangwe almost without an effort.
 1894 - Great fire in Shanghai. Over 1,000 buildings are destroyed.
 1899 - Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 m wave that reaches up to 5 km inland - over 300 dead.
 1902 - In Chicago, the American Automobile Association is established.
 1904 - Russo-Japanese War: Russian troops in Korea retreat toward Manchuria followed by 100,000 Japanese troops.
 1908 - The Collinwood School Fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
 1911 - Victor Berger (Wisconsin) becomes the first socialist congressman in U.S..
 1917 - Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
 1917 - Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia's renunciation of the throne is made public, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia publicly issues his abdication manifesto. The victory of the February Revolution. 
 1925 - Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to have his inauguration broadcast on radio.
 1929 - Charles Curtis becomes the first native-American Vice President.
 1930 - Terrible floods ransack Languedoc and the surrounds in south-west France, resulting in twelve departments being submerged by water and causing the death of over 700 people.
 1931 - The British Viceroy of India, Governor-General Edward Frederick Lindley Wood and Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) meet to sign an agreement envisaging the release of political prisoners and allowing that salt is freely used by the poorest layers of the population.
 1933 - Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, first female member of the United States Cabinet.
 1933 - Bertha Wilson is appointed as first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada.
 1933 - The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure - Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates authoritarian rule by decree (see Austrofascism).
 1941 - The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands, during World War II.
 1941 - Adolf Hitler applies pressure on Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact.
 1944 - First U.S. daylight bombing of Berlin and Anti-Germany strikes in northern Italy.
 1945 - In the United Kingdom, Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth II, joins the British Army as a driver.
 1945 - Lapland War: Finland declares war on Nazi Germany.
 1954 - Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.
 1957 - The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
 1959 - U.S. Pioneer 4 misses Moon and becomes the second (U.S. first) artificial planet.
 1960 - French freighter 'La Coubre' explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the U.S.
 1962 - United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation.
 1966 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
 1970 - French submarine Eurydice explodes.
 1972 - Libya and the Soviet Union sign a cooperation treaty.
 1976 - The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London via the British parliament.
 1977 - The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake in southern and eastern Europe kills more than 1,500.
 1977 - The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. 
 1979 - The first encyclical written by Pope John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (Latin for "The Redeemer of Man") is promulgated less than five months after his installation as pope.
 1980 - Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.
 1982 - NASA launches "Intelsat V".
 1985 - The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
 1991 - Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, returned to his country for the first time since Iraq's invasion. 
 1994 - Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16) launches into orbit.
 1994 - Bosnia's Croats and Moslems sign an agreement to form a federation in a loose economic union with Croatia.
 1997 - US President Bill Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research.
 1998 - Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
 2001 - 4 March 2001 BBC bombing: a massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring 11 people. The attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
 2001 - Hintze Ribeiro disaster, a bridge collapses in northern Portugal, killing up to 70 people. 
 2002 - Canada bans human embryo cloning but permits government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from fertility treatment or abortions.
 2002 - Multinational Force in Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers are killed as they attempt to infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
 2005 - The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two passengers.
 2005 - United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by the HIV virus in the future without further action against the spread of the disease.
 2006 - Final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. No response was received.
 2007 - Estonian parliamentary election, 2007: Approximately 30,000 voters take advantage of electronic voting in Estonia, the world's first nationwide voting where part of the votecasting is allowed in the form of remote electronic voting via the Internet.

 Births 

 1188 - Blanche of Castile, wife of Louis VIII of France (d. 1252)
 1394 - Henry the Navigator (d. 1460)
 1492 - Francesco de Layolle, Italian composer (d. c.1540)
 1525 - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer of Renaissance music (d. 1594)
 1610 - William Dobson, English portraitist and painter (d. 1646)
 1651 - John Somers, 1st Baron Somers (d. 1716)
 1665 - Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
 1678 - Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer (d. 1741)
 1702 - Jack Sheppard, English burglar and escapee (d. 1724)
 1706 - Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect and architectural writer (d. 1759)
 1715 - James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, British statesman (d. 1763)
 1719 - George Pigot, Baron Pigot, British governor of Madras (d. 1777)
 1745 - Charles Dibdin, English composer (d.1814)
 1746 - Kazimierz Pułaski, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1779)
 1756 - Sir Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter (d. 1823)
 1781 - Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
 1782 - Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss folklorist (d. 1830)
 1792 - Samuel Slocum, American inventor (d. 1861)
 1793 - Karl Lachmann, German philologist (d. 1851)
 1817 - Edwards Pierrepont, American statesman, jurist and lawyer; 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
 1819 - Charles Oberthur, German-born harpist (d. 1895)
 1820 - Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (d. 1856)
 1822 - Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician (d. 1880)
 1826 - John Buford, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1863)
 1826 - Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (d. 1863)
 1835 - John Hughlings Jackson, English neurologist (d. 1911)
 1847 - Karl Bayer, Austrian chemist (d. 1904)
 1854 - Sir Napier Shaw, British meteorologist (d. 1945)
 1856 - Toru Dutt, English and French poet and author (d. 1877)
 1856 - Alfred William Rich, English painter (d. 1921)
 1859 - Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1905)
 1862 - Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
 1863 - Reginald Innes Pocock, British zoologist (d. 1947)
 1863 - Guilląme Furrét, Portuguese playwright and political activist (d. 1937)
 1863 - John Henry Wigmore, American jurist and expert in the law of evidence (d. 1943)
 1864 - David W. Taylor, U.S. Navy architect (d. 1940)
 1870 - Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet (d. 1944)
 1871 - Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician (d. 1945)
 1873 - Guy Wetmore Carryl, American humorist and poet (d. 1904)
 1873 - John H. Trumbull, 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Connecticut (d. 1961)
 1875 - Mihály Károlyi, former Prime Minister of Hungary and President of Hungary (d. 1955)
 1876 - Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet (d. 1947)
 1876 - Theodore Hardeen, Magician and stunt performer, founder of the Magician's Guild (d. 1945)
 1877 - Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike, Russian composer (d. 1957)
 1877 - Fritz Graebner, German ethnologist (d. 1934)
 1877 - Garrett Morgan, American inventor (d. 1963)
 1878 - Egbert Van Alstyne, American songwriter and pianist (d. 1951)
 1878 - Peter D. Ouspensky, Russian philosopher (d. 1947)
 1878 - Arishima Takeo, Japanese novelist, short-story writer and essayist (d. 1923)
 1879 - Josip Murn Aleksandrov, Slovenian poet (d. 1901)
 1880 - Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
 1881 - Todor Aleksandrov, 19th century Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1924)
 1881 - Maude Fealy, American actor (d. 1971)
 1881 - Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American writer (d. 1965)
 1881 - Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (d. 1948)
 1882 - Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian diplomat, government minister, and former President of the League of Nations (d. 1941)
 1883 - Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (d. 1956)
 1884 - Red Murray, American professional baseball player (d. 1958)
 1886 - Paul Bazelaire, French cellist (d. 1958)
 1887 - Violet MacMillan, American Broadway theatre actress (d. 1953)
 1888 - Jeff Pfeffer, American professional baseball pitcher (d. 1972)
 1888 - Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
 1889 - Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician (d. 1967)
 1889 - Oren E. Long, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawai'i (d. 1965)
 1889 - Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
 1891 - Dazzy Vance, American Major League Baseball pitcher (d. 1961)
 1891 - Lois Wilson, founder of Al-Anon (d. 1988)
 1895 - Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian violinist (d. 1978)
 1895 - Milt Gross, American comic book illustrator (d. 1953)
 1895 - Shemp Howard, American comedian (Three Stooges) (d. 1955)
 1897 - Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (d. 1969)
 1898 - Georges Dumézil, French philologist (d. 1940)
 1899 - Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and editor (d. 1962)
 1900 - Herbert Biberman, American screenwriter (d. 1971)
 1901 - Charles Goren, American bridge player and writer (d. 1991)
 1901 - Jean Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy/French poet (d. 1937)
 1903 - Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish statesman (d. 1973)
 1903 - William C. Boyd, American immunochemist (d. 1983)
 1903 - Dorothy Mackaill, British-born actress (d. 1990)
 1903 - John Scarne, American magician (d. 1985)
 1904 - George Gamow, Ukrainian-born physicist (d. 1968)
 1904 - Joseph Schmidt Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
 1904 - Chief Tahachee, American-born Old Settler Cherokee Indian stage and film actor (d. 1978)
 1906 - Meindert DeJong American author (d. 1991)
 1906 - Georges Ronsse, Belgian national cyclo-cross and world champion road bicycle racer (d. 1969)
 1906 - Charles Rudolph Walgreen, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
 1907 - Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley (d. 2003)
 1908 - T.R.M. Howard, American civil rights leader (d. 1976)
 1909 - Harry Helmsley, American real estate entrepreneur (d.1997)
 1912 - Afro Basaldella, Italian painter (d. 1976)
 1912 - Judith Furse, British character actress (d. 1974)
 1912 - Carl Marzani, American documentarian (d. 1994)
 1913 - Taos Amrouche, Algerian writer and singer (d. 1976)
 1913 - John Garfield, American actor (d. 1952)
 1913 - Willie Johnson (guitarist), American guitarist (d. 1995)
 1914 - Gino Colaussi (Luigi Colaussi), Italian footballer (d. 1991)
 1914 - Ward Kimball, American cartoonist (d. 2002)
 1914 - Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor and architect (d. 2000)
 1915 - Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (d. 1997)
 1916 - William Alland, American actor, producer, writer and director (d. 1997)
 1916 - Giorgio Bassani, Italian writer (d. 2000)
 1916 - Hans Eysenck, German-born psychologist (d. 1997)
 1917 - Clyde McCullough, American baseball player (d. 1982)
 1918 - Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player
 1919 - Buck Baker, American racecar driver (d. 2002)
 1920 - Jean Lecanuet, French politician (d. 1993)
 1920 - Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (d. 2002)
 1921 - Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-born composer
 1921 - Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
 1921 - Wilson Harris, Guyanese writer
 1921 - Dinny Pails, Australian tennis player
 1922 - Richard E. Cunha, American cinematographer and film director (d. 2005)
 1922 - Martha O'Driscoll, American film actress (d. 1998)
 1922 - Dina Pathak (Deena Pathak), Veteran Gujarati theatre and film actress (d. 2002)
 1923 - Sir Patrick Moore, British astronomer
 1924 - Kenneth O'Donnell, aide to US President John F. Kennedy (d. 1977)
 1925 - Paul Mauriat, French musician (d. 2006)
 1926 - Richard DeVos, American billionaire, co-founder of Amway
 1926 - James J. Eagan, Former Mayor of Florissant, Missouri (d. 2000)
 1926 - Pascual Pérez (boxing), Argentine flyweight boxer (d. 1977)
 1926 - Don Rendell, English jazz musician and arranger
 1926 - Fran Warren, American singer
 1927 - Philip Batt, 29th Governor of the U.S. state of Idaho
 1927 - Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
 1927 - Robert Orben, American magician
 1927 - Dick Savitt, American tennis player
 1927 - Cy Touff, American jazz musician (d. 2003)
 1928 - Samuel Adler, American composer
 1928 - Alan Sillitoe, English writer
 1929 - Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor 
 1929 - Josep Mestres Quadreny, Catalan composer
 1931 - Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
 1931 - Bob Johnson, American ice hockey coach (d. 1991) 
 1931 - William Henry Keeler, American Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal
 1931 - Alice Rivlin, American economist
 1932 - Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist (d. 2007)
 1932 - Miriam Makeba, South African singer 
 1932 - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American car designer (d. 2001)
 1932 - Frank Wells, American entertainment businessman (d. 1994)
 1933 - Ann Burton, Dutch jazz singer (d. 1989)
 1933 - John W Mills, British sculptor
 1933 - Nino Vaccarella, former Italian sports car racing and Formula One driver
 1934 - Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian composer
 1934 - John Duffey, American bluegrass musician (d. 1996)
 1934 - Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
 1934 - Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
 1934 - Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist
 1934 - Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and dissident
 1935 - Bent Larsen, Danish chess player
 1935 - Nancy Whiskey, Scottish folk singer (d. 2003)
 1936 - Jim Clark, OBE, Scottish racing driver and two-time F1 world champion (d. 1968)
 1936 - Aribert Reimann, German composer 
 1937 - Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
 1937 - Leslie Gelb, American foreign policy advisor
 1937 - Yuri Senkevich, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2003)
 1937 - Barney Wilen, French jazz saxophonist (d. 1996)
 1938 - Angus MacLise, American percussionist (d. 1979)
 1938 - Don Perkins, American football player
 1938 - Paula Prentiss, American actress
 1938 - Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish diplomat and researcher
 1939 - Jack Fisher, American baseball player
 1939 - Carlos Vereza, Brazilian actor
 1940 - Volodymyr Morozov, Ukrainian flatwater canoer
 1941 - John Aprea, American actor
 1941 - Adrian Lyne, English film director
 1941 - Bobby Shew, American jazz musician
 1942 - Gloria Gaither, American gospel songwriter
 1942 - Charles C. Krulak, 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
 1942 - David Matthews, American keyboardist, pianist, and arranger
 1943 - Lucio Dalla, Italian singer and songwriter
 1943 - Zoltan Jeney, Hungarian composer
 1944 - Ulrich Roski, German singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
 1944 - Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer and race car designer (d. 1999)
 1944 - Bobby Womack, American singer
 1945 - Tara Browne, British socialite (d. 1966)
 1945 - Dieter Meier, Swiss singer
 1945 - Frank Novak, American actor 
 1945 - Tommy Svensson, Swedish football manager
 1945 - Gary Williams, American basketball coach
 1946 - Michael Ashcroft, English entrepreneur
 1946 - Haile Gerima, Ethiopian filmmaker
 1946 - Harvey Goldsmith, British impresario
 1947 - David Franzoni, American screenwriter
 1947 - Jan Garbarek, Norwegian musician
 1947 - Gunnar Hansen, Icelandic actor
 1947 - Gwen Welles, American actress (d. 1993)
 1948 - Lindy Chamberlain, Australian author
 1948 - James Ellroy, American writer
 1948 - Tom Grieve, American baseball player
 1948 - Leron Lee, American baseball player
 1948 - Jean O'Leary, American gay and lesbian rights activist and politician (d. 2005)
 1948 - Chris Squire, English bassist (Yes)
 1948 - Shakin' Stevens, Welsh singer
 1949 - Carroll Baker, Canadian country singer and songwriter
 1950 - Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
 1950 - Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
 1951 - Edelgard Bulmahn, German politician
 1951 - Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
 1951 - Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, American novelist (d. 1982)
 1951 - Sam Perlozzo, American Major League Baseball manager (Baltimore Orioles)
 1951 - Mike Quarry, American light heavyweight boxer (d. 2006)
 1951 - Chris Rea, English singer
 1951 - Linda Yamamoto, Japanese singer
 1952 - Ronn Moss, American actor
 1952 - Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer
 1953 - Emilio Estefan, Cuban percussionist
 1953 - Scott Hicks, Ugandan-born film director
 1953 - Paweł Janas, Polish football manager and former footballer
 1953 - Kay Lenz, American actress
 1953 - Chris Smith, American politician
 1954 - Mark Chorvinsky, American author and editor (d. 2005)
 1954 - François Fillon, French politician, Prime Minister of France
 1954 - Peter Jacobsen, American professional golfer
 1954 - Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
 1954 - Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian writer and dissident
 1954 - Willie Thorne, English snooker player
 1954 - Adrian Zmed, American actor
 1955 - Rowland Charles Gould (Boon Gould) English musician (Level 42) 
 1955 - Dominique Pinon, French actor
 1955 - James Weaver, English race car driver
 1956 - Kermit Driscoll, American jazz bassist
 1957 - Jim Dwyer, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
 1957 - Rick Mast, American NASCAR driver
 1958 - Patricia Heaton, American actress
 1958 - Lennie Lee, British artist
 1959 - Rick Ardon, Australian news presenter
 1960 - Mikko Kuustonen, Finnish singer and songwriter
 1960 - John Mugabi, Ugandan boxer
 1960 - Christina Sussiek, former German athlete
 1960 - Mykelti Williamson, American actor
 1961 - Sabine Everts, former German track athlete
 1961 - Ray Mancini, American boxer
 1961 - Steven Weber, American actor
 1961 - Roger Wessels, South African golfer
 1962 - Simon Bisley, British comic book artist
 1962 - Lolo Ferrari, French actress (d. 2000)
 1962 - Greg Kragen, American footballer
 1962 - David Sparrow, English actor
 1963 - Barbara Bubula, Polish politician
 1963 - Janey Lee Grace, English singer, author, television presenter and radio disc jockey
 1963 - Jason Newsted, American bassist (Metallica)
 1963 - Daniel Roebuck, American actor
 1964 - Tom Lampkin, American baseball player
 1964 - Paolo Virzì, Italian screenwriter and director
 1965 - Paul W. S. Anderson, English filmmaker
 1965 - Andrew Collins, English journalist, scriptwriter and broadcaster
 1965 - Stacy Edwards, American actress
 1965 - Gary Helms, American country singer
 1965 - Khaled Hosseini, Afghan author and physician
 1965 - WestBam (Maximillian Lenz), German rave techno DJ
 1965 - Yuri Lonchakov, Russian cosmonaut
 1965 - Jonathan Shearer, Scottish castaway
 1966 - Daniela Amavia, Greek-American actress and international model
 1966 - Steve Bastoni, Italian Australian actor
 1966 - Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
 1966 - Kevin Johnson, American basketball player
 1966 - Dav Pilkey, American author
 1966 - Grand Puba, American rapper
 1966 - Wash West, English gay porn film director
 1967 - Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer
 1967 - Evan Dando, American musician (The Lemonheads)
 1967 - Andrew Osmond, English writer
 1967 - Kubilay Türkyılmaz, former Turkish-Swiss footballer
 1968 - Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
 1968 - Patsy Kensit, English actress
 1968 - Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek politician
 1969 - Chastity Bono, American actress and gay rights activist
 1969 - Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian football manager
 1969 - Annie Shizuka Inoh, Taiwanese actress
 1969 - Frank Nicotero, American comedian 
 1969 - Stina Nordenstam, Swedish experimental pop singer, songwriter and musician
 1969 - Patrick Roach, Canadian actor
 1969 - Jason Townsend, American artist and record producer 
 1970 - Andrea Bendewald, American actress
 1970 - Àlex Crivillé, Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer
 1971 - Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player
 1971 - Fergal Lawler, Irish drummer (The Cranberries)
 1971 - Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese racing driver
 1971 - Shavar Ross, American actor-turned film director, writer, film producer and editor
 1971 - Nick Stabile, American actor
 1971 - Jovan Stanković, Serbian footballer
 1972 - Pae Gil-Su, North Korean gymnast
 1972 - Ivy Queen, American composer and singer
 1972 - Robert Smith, American footballer
 1972 - Jos Verstappen, Dutch Formula One driver
 1972 - Alison Wheeler, British singer (The Beautiful South)
 1973 - Summer Cummings, American actress
 1973 - Phillip Daniels, American footballer
 1973 - Len Wiseman, American director
 1974 - ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnæs), Norwegian vocalist (Arcturus) 
 1974 - Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player 
 1974 - Ariel Ortega, Argentine footballer
 1974 - Tommy Phelps, American baseball player
 1975 - Kirsten Bolm, German hurdler
 1975 - Patrick Femerling, German-born professional basketball player
 1975 - Kim Jung-Eun, South Korean actress
 1975 - Myrna Veenstra, Dutch field hockey player
 1975 - Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
 1975 - Hawksley Workman, Canadian rock singer-songwriter
 1976 - Hiram Bocachica, Puerto Rican baseball player
 1976 - Sean Covel, American film producer
 1976 - Scott Sturgeon (Stza Crack), American musician (Choking Victim and Leftover Crack)
 1976 - Thierry Renaer, Belgian field hockey player
 1976 - Vic Wunderle, American archer
 1977 - Ana Gabriela Guevara, Mexican athlete
 1977 - Juha Helppi, Finnish professional poker player
 1977 - Daniel Klewer, German footballer
 1977 - Jason Marsalis, American musician
 1978 - Nate Ackerman, British-American logician and wrestler
 1978 - Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
 1978 - Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
 1978 - Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
 1979 - Ben Fouhy, New Zealand flatwater canoeist
 1979 - Geoff Huegill, Australian swimmer
 1979 - John Lawler (John Fratelli), Scottish singer (The Fratellis)
 1980 - Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
 1980 - Jung Da Bin, South Korean actress (d. 2007)
 1980 - Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
 1980 - Arash Markazi, American sportswriter
 1981 - Carol Banawa, Filipino singer and celebrity
 1981 - Donny Tourette, English punk rock singer (Towers of London)
 1982 - Mariano Altuna, Argentine racing driver
 1982 - Landon Donovan, American soccer player
 1982 - Charity Rahmer, American actress
 1983 - Max Vergara Poeti, Colombian writer
 1983 - Ryan Lonie, Australian football player.
 1984 - Ai Iwamura, Japanese actress 
 1984 - Zak Whitbread, American-born English soccer player
 1985 - Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
 1986 - Margo Harshman, American actress
 1986 - Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
 1986 - Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
 1990 - Andrea Bowen, American actress
 1991 - Diandra Newlin, American actress, singer, and fashion model
 1992 - Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, daughter of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
 1993 - Jenna Boyd, American actress
 1993 - Alice Jones, British actress
 1993 - Abigail Mavity, American actress
 1993 - Yves Michel-Beneche, American actor

 Deaths 
 251 - Pope Lucius I
 480 - Saint Landry, bishop of Sées
 561 - Pope Pelagius I
 1172 - Stephen III of Hungary (b. 1147)
 1193 - Saladin, Kurdish sultan (b. 1137)
 1238 - Joan of England, Queen Consort of Scotland, wife of Alexander II (b. 1210)
 1238 - Yuri II, Grand Prince of Vladimir (b. 1189)
 1303 - Daniel of Moscow, Russian Saint, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1261)
 1484 - Saint Casimir, Prince of Poland (b. 1458)
 1496 - Sigismund of Austria (b. 1427)
 1583 - Bernard Gilpin, English clergyman, "Apostle of the North" (b. 1517)
 1604 - Fausto Paolo Sozzini, Italian theologian (b. 1539)
 1615 - Hans von Aachen, German painter (b. 1552)
 1619 - Anne of Denmark, wife of James I (b. 1574)
 1710 - Louis III, Prince of Condé (b. 1668)
 1733 - Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (b. 1656)
 1744 - John Anstis, Garter King of Arms (b. 1669) 
 1762 - Johannes Zick, German fresco painter (b. 1702)
 1793 - Louis de Bourbon, French admiral (b. 1725)
 1795 - John Collins, American politician (b. 1717)
 1805 - Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
 1807 - Abraham Baldwin, American politician (b. 1754)
 1821 - Princess Elizabeth of Clarence, daughter of King William IV, granddaughter of King George III (b. 1820)
 1832 - Jean-François Champollion, French scholar (b. 1790)
 1851 - James Richardson, British explorer (b. 1809)
 1852 - Nikolai Gogol, Russian writer (b. 1809)
 1853 - Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (b. 1774)
 1858 - Matthew Perry, U.S. naval officer (b. 1794)
 1864 - Thomas Starr King, influential Californian Unitarian minister during the American Civil War (b. 1824)
 1866 - Alexander Campbell, Irish founder of the Disciples of Christ (b. 1788)
 1868 - Jesse Chisholm, American pioneer of the Chisholm Trail (b. 1805)
 1872 - Johannes Carsten Hauch, Danish poet (b. 1790)
 1883 - Alexander Hamilton Stephens, former Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812) 
 1888 - Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher (b. 1799)
 1903 - Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English novelist (b. 1834)
 1906 - John McAllister Schofield, former U.S. Secretary of War and Commanding General of the U.S. Army (b. 1831)
 1910 - Knut Ångström, Swedish physicist (b. 1857)
 1915 - William Willett, inventor of Daylight Saving Time (b. 1856)
 1916 - Franz Marc, German artist (b. 1880)
 1922 - Bert Williams, American entertainer (b. 1874)
 1925 - Moritz Moszkowski, Polish/German composer (b. 1854)
 1925 - James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
 1925 - John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player (b. 1860)
 1927 - Ira Remsen American chemist (b. 1846)
 1938 - George Foster Peabody, American politician (b. 1852)
 1938 - Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
 1940 - Hamlin Garland, American novelist (b. 1860)
 1941 - Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1858)
 1944 - Louis Buchalter, Jewish American mobster (b.1897) (executed)
 1944 - Louis Capone, New York organized crime figure (b. 1896) (executed)
 1944 - Emanuel Weiss, American hitman (b. 1906) (executed)
 1944 - Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and political activist (b. 1855)
 1945 - Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
 1945 - Mark Sandrich, American film director, writer and producer (b. 1900)
 1946 - Bror von Blixen-Finecke, Danish big-game hunter (b. 1886)
 1948 - Antonin Artaud, French actor/director (b. 1896)
 1950 - Adam Rainer, the only man in recorded human history ever to have been both a dwarf and a giant (b. 1899)
 1952 - Charles Scott Sherrington, English scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)
 1954 - Noel Gay, English composer, (b. 1898)
 1959 - Maxey Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
 1960 - Herbert O'Conor, 51st Governor of the US State of Maryland (b. 1896)
 1960 - Leonard Warren, American baritone (b. 1911)
 1962 - George Mogridge, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1889)
 1963 - William Carlos Williams, American poet (b. 1883)
 1967 - Vladan Desnica, Croatian and Serbian writer (b. 1905)
 1967 - Michel Plancherel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1885)
 1969 - Nicholas Schenck, Russian-born film empresario (b. 1881)
 1973 - Samuel Tolansky, British scientist and expert on spectroscopy (b. 1907)
 1974 - Adolph Gottlieb, American painter (b. 1903)
 1976 - Walter H. Schottky, German physicist (b. 1886)
 1977 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)
 1977 - Toma Caragiu, Romanian actor (b. 1925)
 1977 - Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German politician and former Chancellor of Germany (b. 1887)
 1978 - Wesley Bolin, former Governor of the U.S. State of Arizona (b. 1909)
 1979 - Willi Unsoeld, American mountain climber (b. 1926)
 1981 - Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
 1981 - Torin Thatcher, Indian actor (b. 1905)
 1984 - Ernest Buckler, Canadian novelist (b. 1908)
 1984 - Jewel Carmen, American actress (b. 1897)
 1984 - Geoffrey Lumsden, British actor (b. 1914)
 1986 - Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (b. 1936)
 1986 - Richard Manuel, Canadian musician (The Band) (b. 1943)
 1989 - Tiny Grimes, American jazz and R&B guitarist (b. 1916)
 1990 - Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
 1992 - Art Babbitt, American animator (b. 1907)
 1993 - Art Hodes, American jazz pianist (b. 1904)
 1994 - John Candy, Canadian comedian (b. 1950)
 1995 - Eden Ahbez, American composer (b. 1908)
 1996 - Minnie Pearl, American comedian (b. 1912)
 1997 - Robert H. Dicke, American physicist (b. 1916)
 1997 - Carey Loftin, American actor/stuntman (b. 1914)
 1999 - Harry Blackmun, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (b. 1908)
 1999 - Del Close, American actor (b. 1934)
 1999 - Karel van het Reve, Dutch writer (b. 1921)
 2001 - Glenn Hughes, American singer (The Village People) (b. 1950)
 2001 - Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
 2001 - Jim Rhodes, Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
 2001 - Harold Stassen, American politician (b. 1907)
 2002 - Claire Davenport, English actress (b. 1933)
 2002 - Eric Flynn, British actor/singer (b. 1939)
 2002 - Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (b. 1913)
 2002 - Velibor Vasović, Yugoslavian footballer (b. 1939)
 2003 - Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian bank robber (b. 1926)
 2003 - Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter and film director (b. 1931)
 2004 - John McGeoch, Scottish musician (b. 1955)
 2004 - Claude Nougaro, French singer (b. 1929)
 2004 - George Pake, American physicist (b. 1924)
 2004 - Stephen Sprouse, American fashion designer (b. 1953)
 2005 - Nicola Calipari, Italian secret service agent (b. 1953)
 2005 - Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)
 2005 - Una Hale, Australian soprano (b. 1922)
 2005 - Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian statesman (b. 1951)
 2005 - Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-born writer (b. 1934)
 2006 - Roman Ogaza, Polish footballer (b. 1952)
 2006 - John Reynolds Gardiner, American engineer (b. 1944)
 2006 - Dave Rose, American artist (b. 1910)
 2006 - Edgar Valter, Estonian illustrator/cartoonist (b. 1929)
 2007 - Natalie Bodanya (Natalie Bodanskaya), American soprano (b. 1908)
 2007 - Thomas Eagleton, American politician (b. 1929)
 2007 - Bob Hattoy, American activist (b. 1950)
 2007 - Richard Joseph, British games soundtrack composer (b. 1954)
 2007 - Sunil Kumar Mahato, Indian parliamentarian (b. 1966)
 2007 - Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist and lyricist (b. 1934)
 2007 - Ian Wooldridge, British sports journalist (b. 1932)
 2008 - Gary Gygax, Fantasy author and role-playing games creator. (b. 1938)
 2008 - Elena Nathanael, Greek film actress (b. 1941)
 2008 - Leonard Rosenman, American film, television and concert composer (b. 1924)

 Holidays and observances 
 Pennsylvania - Charter Day (1681).
 St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada - Charter Day (1881)
 United States - Inauguration Day (1789 - 1933)
 Vermont - Admission Day (1791).
 Roman Catholicism - Feast day of Saint Casimir, patron saint of Lithuania.
 Roman Catholicism - Humbert III of Savoy 
 Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, bishop of Saint Andrew's, and his Companions.
 Saint Basil and his Companions
 Saint Basinus
 Saint Efrem 
 Saint Lucius I.
 Saint Peter of Pappacarbone.
 Roman Catholicism - Commemoration of Saint Lucius I, pope, martyr.
 March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

 External links 
 BBC: On This Day

 On This Day in Canada

March 04