* 1340 – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (d. 1399)
* 1405 – King John II of Castile (d. 1454)
* 1459 – Jakob Fugger, German banker (d. 1525)
* 1475 – Michelangelo, Italian artist and sculptor (d. 1564)
* 1483 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian statesman and historian (d. 1540)
* 1495 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (d. 1556)
* 1619 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French soldier, poet (d. 1655)
* 1663 – Francis Atterbury, British man of letters (d. 1732)
* 1706 – George Pocock, British admiral (d. 1792)
* 1716 – Pehr Kalm, Swedish explorer and naturalist (d. 1779)
* 1724 – Henry Laurens, American merchant, slave trader, and political leader (d. 1792)
* 1761 – Antoine-Francois Andreossy, French General (d. 1828)
* 1779 – Antoine-Henri Jomini, French general (d. 1869)
* 1785 – Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer (d. 1857)
* 1787 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist (d. 1826)
* 1806 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, British poet (d. 1861)
* 1812 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison American watch manufacturer (d. 1895)
* 1817 – Princess Clémentine of Orléans (d. 1907)
* 1818 – William Claflin, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)
* 1823 – Charles I of Württemberg, King of Württemberg from 1864 (d. 1891)
* 1831 – Philip Sheridan, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1888)
* 1834 – George du Maurier British illustrator and writer (d. 1896)
* 1849 – Georg Luger, Austrian inventor (d. 1923)
* 1870 – Oscar Straus, Viennese operetta composer (d. 1954)
* 1871 – Afonso Costa, Portuguese politician (d. 1937)
* 1882 – Guy Kibbee, American actor d. 1956
* 1884 – Molla Mallory, Norwegian-born American tennis player (d. 1959)
* 1885 – Ring Lardner, American writer (d. 1933)
* 1893 – Furry Lewis, American blues guitarist (d. 1981)
* 1895 – Albert Tessier, French Canadian priest and film maker (d. 1976)
* 1900 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (d. 1975)
* 1900 – Henri Jeanson, French writer and journalist (d. 1970)
* 1903 – Empress Kōjun of Japan (d. 2000)
* 1904 – José Antonio Aguirre, Basque politician (d. 1960)
* 1905 – Bob Wills, American singer (d. 1975)
* 1906 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (d. 1959)
* 1909 – Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian politician (d. 1987)
* 1909 – Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Polish author (d. 1966)
* 1910 – Ejler Bille, Danish artist, member of the COBRA group (d. 2004)
* 1914 – Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (d. 1981)
* 1915 – Mohammed Burhanuddin, Dawoodi Bohra spiritual leader
* 1917 – Donald Davidson, American philosopher (d. 2003)
* 1917 – Will Eisner, American illustrator and cartoonist (d. 2005)
* 1917 – Frankie Howerd, English comedian (d. 1992)
* 1918 – Leslie Charles Smith, English businessman (d. 2005)
* 1920 – Olive Dickason, Canadian historian (d. 2011)
* 1920 – Lewis Gilbert, English film director, producer and screenwriter
* 1923 – Herman Leonard, American photographer (d. 2010)
* 1923 – Ed McMahon, American television personality (d. 2009)
* 1924 – William H. Webster, American lawyer
* 1925 – Wes Montgomery, American musician (d. 1968)
* 1926 – Alan Greenspan, American economist
* 1926 – Andrzej Wajda, Polish film director
* 1927 – William J. Bell, creator and executive producer of soap operas (The Young and the Restless) (d. 2005)
* 1927 – Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (d. 2004)
* 1927 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1927 – Norman Treigle, American bass-baritone (d. 1975)
* 1930 – Lorin Maazel, French-born American conductor
* 1931 – Hal Needham, American stuntman
* 1932 – Marc Bazin, Haitian politician (d. 2010)
* 1932 – Bronisław Geremek, Polish social historian and politician.
* 1933 – Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (d. 2004)
* 1934 – John Noakes, British television presenter
* 1934 – Keith Spicer, Canadian academic, public servant, journalist and writer
* 1935 – Ron Delany, Irish athlete
* 1936 – Marion Barry Jr., American politician
* 1936 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer (Mickey & Sylvia), musician and record producer (d. 2011)
* 1936 – Choummaly Sayasone, president of Laos
* 1937 – Ivan Boesky, American stock trader
* 1937 – Valentina Tereshkova, Soviet cosmonaut
* 1939 – Kit Bond, American politician
* 1939 – Infanta Margarita of Spain, duchess of Soria
* 1939 – Adam Osborne, British author and computer designer (d. 2003)
* 1939 – Cookie Rojas, Cuban baseball player
* 1940 – Ken Danby, Canadian realist painter (d. 2007)
* 1940 – Joanna Miles, American actress
* 1940 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player (d. 2001)
* 1941 – Peter Brötzmann, German jazz saxophonist
* 1942 – Ben Murphy, American actor
* 1942 – Flora Purim, Brazilian jazz singer
* 1944 – Richard Corliss, American film critic
* 1944 – Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealander opera singer
* 1944 – Mary Wilson, American singer (The Supremes)
* 1945 – Hugh Grundy, British drummer (The Zombies)
* 1946 – David Gilmour, British musician (Pink Floyd)
* 1946 – Martin Kove, American actor
* 1947 – Kiki Dee, British singer
* 1947 – Dick Fosbury, American athlete
* 1947 – Rob Reiner, American actor, comedian, and film producer
* 1947 – John Stossel, American author and pundit
* 1948 – Stephen Schwartz, American musical theatre lyricist and composer
* 1949 – Shaukat Aziz, Pakistani statesman
* 1949 – Martin Buchan, Scottish soccer player
* 1950 – Hirotaka Suzuoki, Japanese Seiyu (d. 2006)
* 1951 – Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)
* 1953 – Jan Kjærstad, Norwegian author
* 1953 – Madhav Kumar Nepal, former Prime Minister of Nepal
* 1953 – Carolyn Porco, American planetary scientist
* 1954 – Harald Schumacher, German footbal goalkeeper
* 1955 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress
* 1957 – Yves Bolduc, Canadian doctor and politician
* 1958 – Eddie Deezen, American actor
* 1959 – Tom Arnold, American actor and comedian
* 1960 – Sleepy Floyd, American basketball player
* 1962 – Erika Hess, Swiss alpine ski racer
* 1963 – D. L. Hughley, American comedian and actor
* 1964 – Skip Ewing, American country music singer and songwriter
* 1964 – Madonna Wayne Gacy, American musician
* 1966 – Alan Davies, British comedian and actor
* 1967 – Julio Bocca, Argentine ballet dancer
* 1967 – Connie Britton, American actress
* 1968 – Moira Kelly, American actress
* 1968 – Michael Romeo, American musician (Symphony X)
* 1969 – Andrea Elson, American actress
* 1969 – Tari Phillips, American basketball player
* 1969 – Amy Pietz, American actress
* 1970 – Chris Broderick, American musician (Megadeth)
* 1971 – Darrick Martin, American basketball player
* 1971 – Sean Morley, American professional wrestler
* 1972 – Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player
* 1972 – Jaret Reddick, American musician (Bowling For Soup)
* 1973 – Michael Finley, American basketball player
* 1973 – Peter Lindgren, Swedish guitarist (ex-Opeth)
* 1973 – Greg Ostertag, American basketball player
* 1974 – Beanie Sigel, American rapper
* 1975 – Aracely Arambula, Mexican actress and singer
* 1975 – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, French Canadian conductor
* 1976 – Ken Anderson, American professional wrestler
* 1977 – Giorgos Karagounis, Greek soccer player
* 1977 – Bubba Sparxxx, American rapper
* 1977 – Marcus Thames, American baseball player
* 1978 – Lara Cox, Australian actress
* 1978 – Sage Rosenfels, American football player
* 1979 – Clint Barmes, American baseball player
* 1979 – Érik Bédard, Canadian baseball player
* 1979 – David Flair, American professional wrestler
* 1979 – Rufus Hound, British comedian
* 1979 – Tim Howard, American soccer player
* 1980 – Daniel DeSanto, Canadian actor
* 1981 – Ellen Muth, American actress
* 1983 – Andranik Teymourian, Iranian soccer player
* 1984 – Becky, Japanese-British entertainer
* 1984 – Edmund Yeo, Malaysian filmmaker
* 1986 – Jake Arrieta, American baseball pitcher
* 1986 – Charlie Mulgrew, Scottish football player
* 1986 – Eli Marienthal, American actor
* 1987 – Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghanaian/German footballer
* 1987 – Hannah Taylor-Gordon, English actress
* 1988 – Agnes Carlsson, Swedish singer
* 1989 – Agnieszka Radwańska, Polish tennis player
* 1990 – Linn Haug, Norwegian snowboarder
* 1991 – Nicole Fox, American model
* 1991 – Lex Luger, American rap producer
* 1991 – Tyler the Creator, American rapper
* 1992 – Momoko Tsugunaga, Japanese actress and singer (Berryz Kobo)
* 2001 – Aryana Engineer, Canadian actress
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
March 6 in History
* 12 BC – The Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the Emperor
* 1454 – Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland who agrees to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation's struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.
* 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam.
* 1788 – The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.
* 1820 – The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.
* 1834 – York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto.
* 1836 – Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo – After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.
* 1840 – The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery opens, the first dental school.
* 1857 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
* 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.
* 1882 – The Serbian kingdom is refounded.
* 1899 – Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark.
* 1921 – Portuguese Communist Party is founded as the Portuguese Section of the Communist International.
* 1930 – International Unemployment Day demonstrations globally initiated by the Comintern
* 1945 – Cologne is captured by American Troops.
* 1946 – Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
* 1951 – The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.
* 1953 – Georgy Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
* 1957 – Ghana becomes the first Sub-Saharan country to gain Independence from the British
* 1964 – Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.
* 1964 – Constantine II becomes King of Greece.
* 1965 – Premier Tom Playford of South Australia loses power after 27 years in office.
* 1967 – Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States.
* 1968 – The first of the East L.A. Walkouts take place at several high schools.
* 1968 – Three black males are executed by Rhodesia, the first executions since UDI, prompting international condemnation.
* 1970 – Blast at Weather Underground safe house in Greenwich Village kills three.
* 1975 – For the first time, ever, the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion to a national TV audience by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory.
* 1975 – Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.
* 1981 – After 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
* 1983 – The first United States Football League game is played.
* 1987 – The British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes in about 90 seconds killing 193.
* 1988 – Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are killed by Special Air Service on the territory of Gibraltar in the conclusion of Operation Flavius.
* 1992 – Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
* 2008 – A Palestinian gunman shoots and kills 8 students and critically injures 11 in the library of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, in Jerusalem, Israel.
* 1454 – Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland who agrees to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation's struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.
* 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam.
* 1788 – The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.
* 1820 – The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.
* 1834 – York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto.
* 1836 – Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo – After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.
* 1840 – The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery opens, the first dental school.
* 1857 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
* 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.
* 1882 – The Serbian kingdom is refounded.
* 1899 – Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark.
* 1921 – Portuguese Communist Party is founded as the Portuguese Section of the Communist International.
* 1930 – International Unemployment Day demonstrations globally initiated by the Comintern
* 1945 – Cologne is captured by American Troops.
* 1946 – Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
* 1951 – The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.
* 1953 – Georgy Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
* 1957 – Ghana becomes the first Sub-Saharan country to gain Independence from the British
* 1964 – Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.
* 1964 – Constantine II becomes King of Greece.
* 1965 – Premier Tom Playford of South Australia loses power after 27 years in office.
* 1967 – Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States.
* 1968 – The first of the East L.A. Walkouts take place at several high schools.
* 1968 – Three black males are executed by Rhodesia, the first executions since UDI, prompting international condemnation.
* 1970 – Blast at Weather Underground safe house in Greenwich Village kills three.
* 1975 – For the first time, ever, the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion to a national TV audience by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory.
* 1975 – Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.
* 1981 – After 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
* 1983 – The first United States Football League game is played.
* 1987 – The British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes in about 90 seconds killing 193.
* 1988 – Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are killed by Special Air Service on the territory of Gibraltar in the conclusion of Operation Flavius.
* 1992 – Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
* 2008 – A Palestinian gunman shoots and kills 8 students and critically injures 11 in the library of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, in Jerusalem, Israel.
Friday, March 2, 2012
March 2 in History
* 986 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
* 1127 – Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.
* 1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
* 1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
* 1484 – The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
* 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
* 1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
* 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
* 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
* 1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
* 1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
* 1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the King of Sri Lanka.
* 1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
* 1836 – Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
* 1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
* 1861 – Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia: Tsar Alexander II signs the emancipation reform into law, abolishing Russian serfdom.
* 1865 – East Cape War: The Volkner Incident in New Zealand.
* 1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
* 1877 – U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
* 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
* 1888 – The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
* 1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
* 1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
* 1917 – The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
* 1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
* 1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
* 1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
* 1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
* 1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.
* 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea – United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
* 1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
* 1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
* 1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
* 1953 – The Academy Awards are first broadcast on television by NBC.
* 1955 – King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.
* 1956 – Morocco gains its independence from France.
* 1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d'état.
* 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
* 1965 – The US and South Vietnamese Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
* 1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
* 1969 – Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
* 1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
* 1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
* 1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
* 1983 – Compact Disc players and discs are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had only been available in Japan before then.
* 1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
* 1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
* 1991 – Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
* 1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
* 1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
* 1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
* 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
* 2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
* 1127 – Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.
* 1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
* 1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
* 1484 – The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
* 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
* 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
* 1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
* 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
* 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
* 1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
* 1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
* 1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the King of Sri Lanka.
* 1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
* 1836 – Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
* 1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
* 1861 – Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia: Tsar Alexander II signs the emancipation reform into law, abolishing Russian serfdom.
* 1865 – East Cape War: The Volkner Incident in New Zealand.
* 1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
* 1877 – U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
* 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
* 1888 – The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
* 1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
* 1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
* 1917 – The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
* 1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
* 1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
* 1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
* 1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
* 1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.
* 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea – United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
* 1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
* 1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
* 1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
* 1953 – The Academy Awards are first broadcast on television by NBC.
* 1955 – King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.
* 1956 – Morocco gains its independence from France.
* 1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d'état.
* 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
* 1965 – The US and South Vietnamese Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
* 1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
* 1969 – Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
* 1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
* 1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
* 1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
* 1983 – Compact Disc players and discs are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had only been available in Japan before then.
* 1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
* 1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
* 1991 – Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
* 1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
* 1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
* 1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
* 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
* 2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
March 2 Birthdays
* 1316 – King Robert II of Scotland (d. 1390)
* 1409 – John II of Alençon, Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche (d. 1476)
* 1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
* 1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (d. 1613)
* 1578 – George Sandys, English colonist and poet (d. 1644)
* 1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (d. 1793)
* 1755 – Antoine-Frédéric Gresnick, Belgian classical composer (d. 1799)
* 1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
* 1770 – Louis Gabriel Suchet, French Marshal (d. 1826)
* 1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American statesman and botanist (d. 1851)
* 1793 – Sam Houston, American politician, 8th Governor of Tennessee and 7th Governor of Texas (d. 1863)
* 1800 – Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet (d. 1844)
* 1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
* 1816 – Alexander H. Bullock, American politician and 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
* 1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist (d. 1882)
* 1820 – Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
* 1824 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (d. 1884)
* 1829 – Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and statesman (d. 1906)
* 1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American jurist (d. 1913)
* 1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer (d. 1914)
* 1843 – Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy (d. 1911)
* 1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American naval officer (d. 1930)
* 1859 – Sholom Aleichem, Russian novelist (d. 1916)
* 1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American politician (d. 1961)
* 1862 – Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (d. 1916)
* 1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
* 1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1944)
* 1886 – Willis O'Brien, American animator (d. 1962)
* 1897 – Minor Hall, American jazz musician (d. 1959)
* 1900 – Kurt Weill, German composer (d. 1950)
* 1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
* 1904 – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American author (d. 1991)
* 1905 – Marc Blitzstein American composer (d. 1964)
* 1908 – Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov, Yakut-born Soviet sniper (d. 1968)
* 1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
* 1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player (d. 1958)
* 1912 – Henry Katzman, American composer and pianist (d. 2001)
* 1913 – Godfried Bomans, Flemish author and television personality (d. 1971)
* 1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
* 1913 – Celedonio Romero, Spanish guitarist (d. 1996)
* 1914 – Martin Ritt, American director (d. 1990)
* 1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor and bandleader (d. 1986)
* 1917 – David Goodis, American writer (d. 1967)
* 1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (d. 1976)
* 1918 – Peter O'Sullevan, Irish horse racing commentator
* 1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
* 1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
* 1920 – Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt, German football manager (d. 2008)
* 1922 – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, American jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1986)
* 1923 – Basil Hume, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, England (d. 1999)
* 1923 – Orrin Keepnews, American writer and critic
* 1923 – Robert H. Michel, American politician
* 1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player
* 1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist (d. 1995)
* 1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist
* 1928 – Father John Romanides, Greek priest and professor (d. 2001)
* 1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
* 1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
* 1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Nobel laureate and statesman
* 1931 – Tom Wolfe, American author
* 1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish news presenter (d. 2011)
* 1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer (d. 2008)
* 1935 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
* 1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
* 1937 – Denny Crum, College basketball coach
* 1938 – Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile
* 1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer and songwriter (The Four Tops) (d. 1997)
* 1939 – BarBara Luna, American actress
* 1940 – Tony Croatto, Italian-born composer (d. 2005)
* 1941 – Jon Finch, English actor
* 1941 – David Satcher, 16th United States Surgeon General
* 1942 – Jonathan Borofsky, American artist
* 1942 – Kwang Jo Choi, Korean Choi Kwang-Do champion
* 1942 – Peter Guber, American film producer
* 1942 – John Irving, American author
* 1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Last Prime Minister of Iran
* 1942 – Luc Plamondon, Canadian lyricist
* 1942 – Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
* 1943 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish footballer (d. 2005)
* 1943 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1943 – Tony Meehan, English drummer (The Shadows) (d. 2005)
* 1943 – Peter Straub, American author
* 1944 – Uschi Glas, German actress
* 1947 – Harry Redknapp, English football manager
* 1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist
* 1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish guitarist (d. 1995)
* 1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian former politician
* 1949 – Alain Chamfort, French singer
* 1949 – Gates McFadden, American actress
* 1949 – J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby union player
* 1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (d. 1983)
* 1950 – Jeffrey Chodorow, American restaurateur and financier
* 1952 – Mark Evanier, American writer
* 1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress
* 1953 – Russ Feingold, American politician
* 1954 – Hans-Jürgen Baake, German footballer
* 1954 – Eddie Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1955 – Shoko Asahara, Japanese cult leader
* 1955 – Ken Salazar, American politician, United States Senator from Colorado, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
* 1955 – Terrence Stone, Irish-American voice actor
* 1956 – John Cowsill, American musician (The Cowsills)
* 1956 – Mark Evans, Australian bassist (AC/DC)
* 1958 – Kevin Curren, South African tennis player
* 1958 – Ian Woosnam, Welsh golfer
* 1959 – GX Jupitter-Larsen, American artist and writer
* 1960 – Hector Calma, Filipino basketball player
* 1960 – Debra Marshall, American professional wrestler and manager
* 1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor
* 1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American musician (Bon Jovi)
* 1962 – Al Del Greco, American football player
* 1962 – Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese writer
* 1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian football coach
* 1962 – Michael Salinger, American poet
* 1962 – Scott "La Rock" Sterling, American musician (Scott La Rock) (d. 1987)
* 1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
* 1963 – Tuff Hedeman, American bull rider
* 1963 – Tanyu Kiryakov, Bulgarian pistol shooter
* 1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
* 1964 – Laird Hamilton, American big-wave surfer
* 1964 – Megan Leigh, American porn star (d. 1990)
* 1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player
* 1965 – Lembit Öpik, British politician
* 1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor
* 1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
* 1970 – Alexander Armstrong, British comedian, actor and television presenter
* 1971 – Dave Gorman, English documentary comedian
* 1971 – Lisa Lackey, Australian actress
* 1971 – Amber Smith, American actress and model
* 1972 – Richard Ruccolo, American actor
* 1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
* 1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer
* 1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer
* 1974 – Monika Niederstätter, Italian athlete
* 1976 – Glenn Rubenstein, American writer and journalist
* 1976 – JJ Fernandez, Malaysian radio personality
* 1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player
* 1977 – Jay Gibbons, American baseball player
* 1977 – Chris Martin, English musician (Coldplay)
* 1977 – Heather McComb, American actress
* 1977 – Andrew Strauss, English cricket player
* 1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
* 1978 – Giannis Skopelitis, Greek footballer
* 1979 – Sergei Davydov, Belarusian figure skater
* 1979 – Damien Duff, Irish footballer
* 1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
* 1980 – Lance Cade, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
* 1980 – Karl Dominik, Polish-born actor
* 1980 – Sunny Lane, American pornographic actress
* 1980 – Édson Nobre, Angolan footballer
* 1980 – Vincent Walker, American musician (Suburban Legends)
* 1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
* 1982 – Jade Galbraith, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
* 1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
* 1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
* 1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
* 1983 – Kolawole Agodirin, Nigerian footballer
* 1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
* 1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
* 1984 – Elizabeth Jagger, English model and actress
* 1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
* 1985 – Robert Iler, American actor
* 1985 – Luke Pritchard, British singer (The Kooks)
* 1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish football player
* 1986 – Jon D'Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1988 – Nicola Geuer, German tennis player
* 1988 – Keith Jack, Scottish singer and actor
* 1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
* 1988 – Nadine Samonte, Filipino actress
* 1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian footballer
* 1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
* 1989 – Shane Vereen, American college football player
* 1990 – Lee Hongki, Korean singer (F.T. Island)
* 1409 – John II of Alençon, Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche (d. 1476)
* 1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
* 1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (d. 1613)
* 1578 – George Sandys, English colonist and poet (d. 1644)
* 1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (d. 1793)
* 1755 – Antoine-Frédéric Gresnick, Belgian classical composer (d. 1799)
* 1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
* 1770 – Louis Gabriel Suchet, French Marshal (d. 1826)
* 1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American statesman and botanist (d. 1851)
* 1793 – Sam Houston, American politician, 8th Governor of Tennessee and 7th Governor of Texas (d. 1863)
* 1800 – Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet (d. 1844)
* 1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
* 1816 – Alexander H. Bullock, American politician and 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
* 1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist (d. 1882)
* 1820 – Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
* 1824 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (d. 1884)
* 1829 – Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and statesman (d. 1906)
* 1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American jurist (d. 1913)
* 1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer (d. 1914)
* 1843 – Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy (d. 1911)
* 1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American naval officer (d. 1930)
* 1859 – Sholom Aleichem, Russian novelist (d. 1916)
* 1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American politician (d. 1961)
* 1862 – Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (d. 1916)
* 1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
* 1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1944)
* 1886 – Willis O'Brien, American animator (d. 1962)
* 1897 – Minor Hall, American jazz musician (d. 1959)
* 1900 – Kurt Weill, German composer (d. 1950)
* 1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
* 1904 – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American author (d. 1991)
* 1905 – Marc Blitzstein American composer (d. 1964)
* 1908 – Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov, Yakut-born Soviet sniper (d. 1968)
* 1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
* 1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player (d. 1958)
* 1912 – Henry Katzman, American composer and pianist (d. 2001)
* 1913 – Godfried Bomans, Flemish author and television personality (d. 1971)
* 1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
* 1913 – Celedonio Romero, Spanish guitarist (d. 1996)
* 1914 – Martin Ritt, American director (d. 1990)
* 1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor and bandleader (d. 1986)
* 1917 – David Goodis, American writer (d. 1967)
* 1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (d. 1976)
* 1918 – Peter O'Sullevan, Irish horse racing commentator
* 1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
* 1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
* 1920 – Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt, German football manager (d. 2008)
* 1922 – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, American jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1986)
* 1923 – Basil Hume, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, England (d. 1999)
* 1923 – Orrin Keepnews, American writer and critic
* 1923 – Robert H. Michel, American politician
* 1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player
* 1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist (d. 1995)
* 1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist
* 1928 – Father John Romanides, Greek priest and professor (d. 2001)
* 1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
* 1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
* 1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Nobel laureate and statesman
* 1931 – Tom Wolfe, American author
* 1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish news presenter (d. 2011)
* 1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer (d. 2008)
* 1935 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
* 1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
* 1937 – Denny Crum, College basketball coach
* 1938 – Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile
* 1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer and songwriter (The Four Tops) (d. 1997)
* 1939 – BarBara Luna, American actress
* 1940 – Tony Croatto, Italian-born composer (d. 2005)
* 1941 – Jon Finch, English actor
* 1941 – David Satcher, 16th United States Surgeon General
* 1942 – Jonathan Borofsky, American artist
* 1942 – Kwang Jo Choi, Korean Choi Kwang-Do champion
* 1942 – Peter Guber, American film producer
* 1942 – John Irving, American author
* 1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Last Prime Minister of Iran
* 1942 – Luc Plamondon, Canadian lyricist
* 1942 – Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
* 1943 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish footballer (d. 2005)
* 1943 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1943 – Tony Meehan, English drummer (The Shadows) (d. 2005)
* 1943 – Peter Straub, American author
* 1944 – Uschi Glas, German actress
* 1947 – Harry Redknapp, English football manager
* 1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist
* 1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish guitarist (d. 1995)
* 1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian former politician
* 1949 – Alain Chamfort, French singer
* 1949 – Gates McFadden, American actress
* 1949 – J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby union player
* 1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (d. 1983)
* 1950 – Jeffrey Chodorow, American restaurateur and financier
* 1952 – Mark Evanier, American writer
* 1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress
* 1953 – Russ Feingold, American politician
* 1954 – Hans-Jürgen Baake, German footballer
* 1954 – Eddie Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1955 – Shoko Asahara, Japanese cult leader
* 1955 – Ken Salazar, American politician, United States Senator from Colorado, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
* 1955 – Terrence Stone, Irish-American voice actor
* 1956 – John Cowsill, American musician (The Cowsills)
* 1956 – Mark Evans, Australian bassist (AC/DC)
* 1958 – Kevin Curren, South African tennis player
* 1958 – Ian Woosnam, Welsh golfer
* 1959 – GX Jupitter-Larsen, American artist and writer
* 1960 – Hector Calma, Filipino basketball player
* 1960 – Debra Marshall, American professional wrestler and manager
* 1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor
* 1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American musician (Bon Jovi)
* 1962 – Al Del Greco, American football player
* 1962 – Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese writer
* 1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian football coach
* 1962 – Michael Salinger, American poet
* 1962 – Scott "La Rock" Sterling, American musician (Scott La Rock) (d. 1987)
* 1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
* 1963 – Tuff Hedeman, American bull rider
* 1963 – Tanyu Kiryakov, Bulgarian pistol shooter
* 1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
* 1964 – Laird Hamilton, American big-wave surfer
* 1964 – Megan Leigh, American porn star (d. 1990)
* 1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player
* 1965 – Lembit Öpik, British politician
* 1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor
* 1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
* 1970 – Alexander Armstrong, British comedian, actor and television presenter
* 1971 – Dave Gorman, English documentary comedian
* 1971 – Lisa Lackey, Australian actress
* 1971 – Amber Smith, American actress and model
* 1972 – Richard Ruccolo, American actor
* 1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
* 1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer
* 1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer
* 1974 – Monika Niederstätter, Italian athlete
* 1976 – Glenn Rubenstein, American writer and journalist
* 1976 – JJ Fernandez, Malaysian radio personality
* 1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player
* 1977 – Jay Gibbons, American baseball player
* 1977 – Chris Martin, English musician (Coldplay)
* 1977 – Heather McComb, American actress
* 1977 – Andrew Strauss, English cricket player
* 1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
* 1978 – Giannis Skopelitis, Greek footballer
* 1979 – Sergei Davydov, Belarusian figure skater
* 1979 – Damien Duff, Irish footballer
* 1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
* 1980 – Lance Cade, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
* 1980 – Karl Dominik, Polish-born actor
* 1980 – Sunny Lane, American pornographic actress
* 1980 – Édson Nobre, Angolan footballer
* 1980 – Vincent Walker, American musician (Suburban Legends)
* 1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
* 1982 – Jade Galbraith, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
* 1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
* 1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
* 1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
* 1983 – Kolawole Agodirin, Nigerian footballer
* 1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
* 1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
* 1984 – Elizabeth Jagger, English model and actress
* 1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
* 1985 – Robert Iler, American actor
* 1985 – Luke Pritchard, British singer (The Kooks)
* 1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish football player
* 1986 – Jon D'Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1988 – Nicola Geuer, German tennis player
* 1988 – Keith Jack, Scottish singer and actor
* 1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
* 1988 – Nadine Samonte, Filipino actress
* 1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian footballer
* 1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
* 1989 – Shane Vereen, American college football player
* 1990 – Lee Hongki, Korean singer (F.T. Island)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Today in History; March 1, 1692- Salem Witch Trials Begin
1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
Before the Salem witchcraft persecutions, the supernatural was part of everyday life, for there was a strong belief that Satan was present and active on earth. This concept emerged in Europe around the fifteenth century and spread to Colonial America. Previously, witchcraft had been widely used as peasants heavily relied on particular charms for farming and agriculture. Over time, the idea of white magic transformed into dark magic and became associated with demons and evil spirits. From 1560 to 1670, witchcraft persecutions became common as superstitions became associated with the devil. In "Against Modern Sadducism" (1668), Joseph Glanvill claimed that he could prove the existence of witches and ghosts of the supernatural realm. Glanvill wrote about the "denial of the bodily resurrection, and the [supernatural] spirits". In his treatise, he claimed that ingenious men should believe in witches and apparitions; if they doubted the reality of spirits, they not only denied demons, but also the almighty God. Glanvill wanted to prove that the supernatural could not be denied; those who did deny apparitions were considered heretics for it also disproved their beliefs in angels. Works from men like Glanvill's and Cotton Mather tried to prove to humanity that "demons were alive", which played on the fears of individuals who believed that demons were active among them on Earth.
Men and women in Salem believed that all the misfortunes were attributed to the work of the devil; when things like infant death, crop failures or friction among the congregation occurred, the supernatural was blamed. Because of the unusual size of the outbreak of witchcraft accusations, various aspects of the historical context of this episode have been considered as specific contributing factors.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Despite being generally known as the Salem witch trials, the preliminary hearings in 1692 were conducted in a variety of towns across the province: Salem Village (now Danvers), Ipswich, Andover and Salem Town.
The most infamous trials were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town. One contemporary writer summed the results of the trials thus:
"And now Nineteen persons having been hang'd, and one prest to death, and Eight more condemned, in all Twenty and Eight, of which above a third part were Members of some of the Churches of N. England, and more than half of them of a good Conversation in general, and not one clear'd; about Fifty having confest themselves to be Witches, of which not one Executed; above an Hundred and Fifty in Prison, and Two Hundred more acccused; the Special Commision of Oyer and Terminer comes to a period,..."
—Robert Calef
At least five more of the accused died in prison.
"When I put an end to the Court there ware at least fifty persons in prision in great misery by reason of the extream cold and their poverty, most of them having only spectre evidence against them and their mittimusses being defective, I caused some of them to be lettout upon bayle and put the Judges upon consideration of a way to reliefe others and to prevent them from perishing in prision, upon which some of them were convinced and acknowledged that their former proceedings were too violent and not grounded upon a right foundation ... The stop put to the first method of proceedings hath dissipated the blak cloud that threatened this Province with destruccion;..."
— Governor William Phips, February 21st, 1693
The episode is one of the most famous cases of mass hysteria, and has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations and lapses in due process.[1] It was not unique, being an American example of the much larger phenomenon of witch trials in the Early Modern period, but many have considered the lasting impressions from the trials to have been highly influential in subsequent American history.
Before the Salem witchcraft persecutions, the supernatural was part of everyday life, for there was a strong belief that Satan was present and active on earth. This concept emerged in Europe around the fifteenth century and spread to Colonial America. Previously, witchcraft had been widely used as peasants heavily relied on particular charms for farming and agriculture. Over time, the idea of white magic transformed into dark magic and became associated with demons and evil spirits. From 1560 to 1670, witchcraft persecutions became common as superstitions became associated with the devil. In "Against Modern Sadducism" (1668), Joseph Glanvill claimed that he could prove the existence of witches and ghosts of the supernatural realm. Glanvill wrote about the "denial of the bodily resurrection, and the [supernatural] spirits". In his treatise, he claimed that ingenious men should believe in witches and apparitions; if they doubted the reality of spirits, they not only denied demons, but also the almighty God. Glanvill wanted to prove that the supernatural could not be denied; those who did deny apparitions were considered heretics for it also disproved their beliefs in angels. Works from men like Glanvill's and Cotton Mather tried to prove to humanity that "demons were alive", which played on the fears of individuals who believed that demons were active among them on Earth.
Men and women in Salem believed that all the misfortunes were attributed to the work of the devil; when things like infant death, crop failures or friction among the congregation occurred, the supernatural was blamed. Because of the unusual size of the outbreak of witchcraft accusations, various aspects of the historical context of this episode have been considered as specific contributing factors.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Despite being generally known as the Salem witch trials, the preliminary hearings in 1692 were conducted in a variety of towns across the province: Salem Village (now Danvers), Ipswich, Andover and Salem Town.
The most infamous trials were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town. One contemporary writer summed the results of the trials thus:
"And now Nineteen persons having been hang'd, and one prest to death, and Eight more condemned, in all Twenty and Eight, of which above a third part were Members of some of the Churches of N. England, and more than half of them of a good Conversation in general, and not one clear'd; about Fifty having confest themselves to be Witches, of which not one Executed; above an Hundred and Fifty in Prison, and Two Hundred more acccused; the Special Commision of Oyer and Terminer comes to a period,..."
—Robert Calef
At least five more of the accused died in prison.
"When I put an end to the Court there ware at least fifty persons in prision in great misery by reason of the extream cold and their poverty, most of them having only spectre evidence against them and their mittimusses being defective, I caused some of them to be lettout upon bayle and put the Judges upon consideration of a way to reliefe others and to prevent them from perishing in prision, upon which some of them were convinced and acknowledged that their former proceedings were too violent and not grounded upon a right foundation ... The stop put to the first method of proceedings hath dissipated the blak cloud that threatened this Province with destruccion;..."
— Governor William Phips, February 21st, 1693
The episode is one of the most famous cases of mass hysteria, and has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations and lapses in due process.[1] It was not unique, being an American example of the much larger phenomenon of witch trials in the Early Modern period, but many have considered the lasting impressions from the trials to have been highly influential in subsequent American history.
March 1 Birthdays
* 40 – Martial, Latin poet (d. 102)
* 1432 – Isabel of Coimbra, queen of Portugal (d. 1455)
* 1445 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (d. 1510)
* 1456 – King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1516)
* 1474 – Saint Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (d. 1540)
* 1547 – Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher (d. 1628)
* 1597 – Jean-Charles de la Faille, Flemish mathematician (d. 1652)
* 1611 – John Pell, English mathematician (d. 1685)
* 1657 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (d. 1740)
* 1683 – Caroline of Ansbach, wife of George II of Great Britain (d. 1737)
* 1683 – Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama (d. 1706)
* 1732 – William Cushing, American jurist (d. 1810)
* 1760 – François Nicolas Leonard Buzot, French revolutionary (d. 1794)
* 1769 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (d. 1796)
* 1781 – Javiera Carrera, Chilean aristoctrat (d. 1862)
* 1807 – Wilford Woodruff, American religious figure (d. 1898)
* 1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer (d. 1849)
* 1812 – Augustus Pugin, English-born architect (d. 1852)
* 1817 – Giovanni Duprè, Italian sculptor (d. 1882)
* 1821 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Catholic bishop (d. 1896)
* 1837 – William Dean Howells, American writer, historian and politician (d. 1920)
* 1842 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter (d. 1901)
* 1848 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-born American sculptor (d. 1907)
* 1852 – Théophile Delcassé, French statesman (d. 1923)
* 1858 – Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1918)
* 1863 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (d. 1930)
* 1865 – Abe Iso, Japanese politician (d. 1949)
* 1871 – Ben Harney, American composer and ragtime pianist (d. 1938)
* 1876 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian amateur sports executive (d. 1942)
* 1880 – Giles Lytton Strachey, British writer (d. 1932)
* 1886 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian painter and poet (d. 1980)
* 1888 – Ewart Astill, English cricketer (d. 1948)
* 1889 – Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (d. 1960)
* 1892 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese writer (d. 1927)
* 1893 – Mercedes de Acosta, American socialite (d. 1968)
* 1896 – Dimitris Mitropoulos, Greek conductor and composer (d. 1960)
* 1896 – Moriz Seeler, German writer and producer (d. 1942)
* 1899 – Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, German Nazi official (d. 1972)
* 1904 – Paul Hartman, American actor (d. 1973)
* 1904 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader (d. 1944)
* 1905 – Doris Hare, Welsh actress (d. 2000)
* 1906 – Camilla Spira, German actress (d. 1997)
* 1906 – Pham Van Dong, Vietnamese politician (d. 2000)
* 1910 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
* 1910 – David Niven, English actor (d. 1983)
* 1912 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian archbishop (d. 2003)
* 1912 – Boris Chertok, Polish-born Russian rocket designer (d. 2011)
* 1914 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (d. 1998)
* 1914 – Ralph Ellison, American writer (d. 1994)
* 1917 – Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
* 1918 – Roger Delgado, English actor (d. 1973)
* 1918 – João Goulart, President of Brazil (d. 1976)
* 1918 – Gladys Noon Spellman, American politician (d. 1988)
* 1920 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
* 1921 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal archbishop (d. 1983)
* 1921 – Richard Wilbur, American poet
* 1922 – William Gaines, American publisher (d. 1992)
* 1922 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1995)
* 1923 – Péter Kuczka, Hungarian writer and editor (d. 1999)
* 1924 – Deke Slayton, American astronaut (d. 1993)
* 1926 – Robert Clary, French-born actor
* 1926 – Cesare Danova, Italian-born American actor (d. 1992)
* 1926 – Pete Rozelle, American professional sports executive (d. 1996)
* 1927 – Harry Belafonte, American actor and musician
* 1927 – Robert Bork, American legal scholar
* 1928 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician
* 1928 – Jacques Rivette, French film director
* 1929 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident (d. 1978)
* 1930 – Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (d. 1980)
* 1933 – Gerry Bron, British record producer
* 1934 – Jean-Michel Folon, Belgian artist (d. 2005)
* 1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)
* 1935 – Robert Conrad, American actor
* 1936 – Monique Bégin, French-Canadian politician
* 1936 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (d. 1997)
* 1937 – Jed Allan, American actor
* 1939 – Leo Brouwer, Cuban composer and guitarist
* 1940 – David Broome, Welsh showjumper
* 1940 – Robert Grossman, American illustrator
* 1941 – Joo Hyun, South Korean actor
* 1941 – Donnie Walsh, American basketball coach and executive
* 1942 – Richard Bowman Myers, American soldier, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
* 1943 – Gil Amelio, American venture capitalist
* 1943 – José Ángel Iribar, Spanish footballer
* 1943 – Akinori Nakayama, Japanese gymnast
* 1943 – Richard H. Price, American physicist
* 1943 – Rashid Sunyaev, Russian physicist
* 1943 – Cha Katō, Japanese comedian and actor
* 1944 – John Breaux, American politician
* 1944 – Mike d'Abo, English singer (Manfred Mann)
* 1944 – Roger Daltrey, English musician (The Who)
* 1945 – Dirk Benedict, American actor
* 1946 – Elvin Bethea, American football player
* 1946 – Gerry Boulet, French-Canadian singer (d. 1990)
* 1946 – Lana Wood, American actress
* 1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian actor and songwriter
* 1948 – Burning Spear, Jamaican singer and musician
* 1951 – Sergei Kourdakov, former KGB agent
* 1952 – Steven Barnes, American writer
* 1952 – Nevada Barr, American author
* 1952 – Leigh Matthews, Australian rules footballer and coach
* 1952 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician (d. 2009)
* 1952 – Martin O'Neill, Northern Irish footballer and manager
* 1952 – Brian Winters, American basketball player and coach
* 1954 – Catherine Bach, American actress
* 1954 – Ron Howard, American actor and director
* 1956 – Timothy Daly, American actor
* 1956 – Dalia Grybauskaitė, Lithuanian politician
* 1957 – Peter Athans, American mountaineer
* 1958 – Nik Kershaw, English musician
* 1958 – Chosei Komatsu, Japanese conductor
* 1958 – Bertrand Piccard, Swiss balloonist and psychiatrist
* 1959 – Nick Griffin, British politician
* 1959 – Diamanto Manolakou, Greek politician
* 1960 – William Bennett, English musician (Whitehouse)
* 1962 – Melanie Moore, American actress
* 1963 – Rob Affuso, American drummer
* 1963 – Thomas Anders, German singer (Modern Talking)
* 1963 – Maurice Benard, American actor
* 1963 – Ron Francis, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1963 – Dan Michaels, American musician and record producer
* 1963 – Russell Wong, American actor
* 1964 – Clinton Gregory, American musician
* 1964 – Paul Le Guen, French football manager
* 1965 – Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
* 1965 – Booker Huffman, American professional wrestler
* 1965 – Mary Lou Lord, American singer/songwriter
* 1966 – Susan Auch, Canadian speed-skater
* 1966 – Zack Snyder, American film-maker
* 1967 – Yelena Afanasyeva, Russian athlete
* 1967 – George Eads, American actor
* 1967 – Aron Winter, Dutch footballer
* 1968 – Salil Ankola, Indian cricketer and TV actor
* 1969 – Javier Bardem, Spanish actor
* 1969 – Doug Creek, American baseball player
* 1969 – Dafydd Ieuan, Welsh drummer (Super Furry Animals)
* 1969 – József Szabó, Hungarian swimmer
* 1970 – Jason V Brock, American author
* 1971 – Tyler Hamilton, American cyclist
* 1973 – Jack Davenport, English actor
* 1973 – Anton Gunn, American politician
* 1973 – Ryan Peake, Canadian guitarist (Nickelback)
* 1973 – Carlo Resoort, Dutch DJ
* 1973 – Chris Webber, American basketball player
* 1974 – Stephen Davis, American football player
* 1974 – Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
* 1974 – Shane Harwood, Australian cricketer
* 1975 – Maya Kulenovic, Canadian painter
* 1975 – Francesco Mazzariol, Italian rugby player
* 1976 – Peter F. Bell, Australian rules footballer
* 1976 – Dave Malkoff, American TV news reporter
* 1977 – Rens Blom, Dutch athlete
* 1977 – Esther Cañadas, Spanish actress and model
* 1978 – Jensen Ackles, American actor
* 1978 – Donovan Patton, Guamanian television star
* 1978 – Alicia Leigh Willis, American actress
* 1980 – Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
* 1980 – Gennaro Bracigliano, French footballer
* 1980 – Sercan Güvenışık, Turkish footballer
* 1980 – Abdur Rehman, Pakistani cricketer
* 1980 – Djimi Traoré, Malian footballer
* 1981 – Ana Hickmann, Brazilian supermodel
* 1981 – Adam LaVorgna, American actor
* 1981 – Will Power, Australian racing driver
* 1981 – Brad Winchester, American ice hockey player
* 1982 – Shalva Didebashvili, Georgian-born German rugby player
* 1982 – Juan Manuel Ortiz, Spanish footballer
* 1983 – Daniel Carvalho, Brazilian footballer
* 1983 – Elan Sara DeFan, Mexican singer-songwriter
* 1983 – Chris Hackett, English footballer
* 1983 – Blake Hawksworth, Canadian baseball player
* 1984 – Jacob Lillyman, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1984 – Naima Mora, American model
* 1984 – Alexander Steen, Canadian-born Swedish ice hockey player
* 1984 – Anthony Tupou, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1985 – J Leman, American football player
* 1985 – Andreas Ottl, German footballer
* 1986 – Jonathan Spector, American footballer
* 1987 – Ke$ha, American singer
* 1987 – Sammie, American singer
* 1988 – Trevor Cahill, American baseball player
* 1988 – Katija Pevec, American actress
* 1988 – Freddie Smith, American actor
* 1989 – Anjo Buckman, German rugby player
* 1989 – Sonya Kitchell, American singer
* 1989 – Daniella Monet, American actress
* 1989 – Carlos Vela, Mexican footballer
* 1990 – Harry Eden, English actor
* 1993 – Josh McEachran Chelsea and England Footballer
* 1994 – Justin Bieber, Canadian pop star
* 1995 – Jonathan Krohn, American political prodigy
* 1432 – Isabel of Coimbra, queen of Portugal (d. 1455)
* 1445 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (d. 1510)
* 1456 – King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1516)
* 1474 – Saint Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (d. 1540)
* 1547 – Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher (d. 1628)
* 1597 – Jean-Charles de la Faille, Flemish mathematician (d. 1652)
* 1611 – John Pell, English mathematician (d. 1685)
* 1657 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (d. 1740)
* 1683 – Caroline of Ansbach, wife of George II of Great Britain (d. 1737)
* 1683 – Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama (d. 1706)
* 1732 – William Cushing, American jurist (d. 1810)
* 1760 – François Nicolas Leonard Buzot, French revolutionary (d. 1794)
* 1769 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (d. 1796)
* 1781 – Javiera Carrera, Chilean aristoctrat (d. 1862)
* 1807 – Wilford Woodruff, American religious figure (d. 1898)
* 1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer (d. 1849)
* 1812 – Augustus Pugin, English-born architect (d. 1852)
* 1817 – Giovanni Duprè, Italian sculptor (d. 1882)
* 1821 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Catholic bishop (d. 1896)
* 1837 – William Dean Howells, American writer, historian and politician (d. 1920)
* 1842 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter (d. 1901)
* 1848 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-born American sculptor (d. 1907)
* 1852 – Théophile Delcassé, French statesman (d. 1923)
* 1858 – Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1918)
* 1863 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter (d. 1930)
* 1865 – Abe Iso, Japanese politician (d. 1949)
* 1871 – Ben Harney, American composer and ragtime pianist (d. 1938)
* 1876 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian amateur sports executive (d. 1942)
* 1880 – Giles Lytton Strachey, British writer (d. 1932)
* 1886 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian painter and poet (d. 1980)
* 1888 – Ewart Astill, English cricketer (d. 1948)
* 1889 – Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (d. 1960)
* 1892 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese writer (d. 1927)
* 1893 – Mercedes de Acosta, American socialite (d. 1968)
* 1896 – Dimitris Mitropoulos, Greek conductor and composer (d. 1960)
* 1896 – Moriz Seeler, German writer and producer (d. 1942)
* 1899 – Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, German Nazi official (d. 1972)
* 1904 – Paul Hartman, American actor (d. 1973)
* 1904 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader (d. 1944)
* 1905 – Doris Hare, Welsh actress (d. 2000)
* 1906 – Camilla Spira, German actress (d. 1997)
* 1906 – Pham Van Dong, Vietnamese politician (d. 2000)
* 1910 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
* 1910 – David Niven, English actor (d. 1983)
* 1912 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian archbishop (d. 2003)
* 1912 – Boris Chertok, Polish-born Russian rocket designer (d. 2011)
* 1914 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (d. 1998)
* 1914 – Ralph Ellison, American writer (d. 1994)
* 1917 – Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
* 1918 – Roger Delgado, English actor (d. 1973)
* 1918 – João Goulart, President of Brazil (d. 1976)
* 1918 – Gladys Noon Spellman, American politician (d. 1988)
* 1920 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
* 1921 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal archbishop (d. 1983)
* 1921 – Richard Wilbur, American poet
* 1922 – William Gaines, American publisher (d. 1992)
* 1922 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1995)
* 1923 – Péter Kuczka, Hungarian writer and editor (d. 1999)
* 1924 – Deke Slayton, American astronaut (d. 1993)
* 1926 – Robert Clary, French-born actor
* 1926 – Cesare Danova, Italian-born American actor (d. 1992)
* 1926 – Pete Rozelle, American professional sports executive (d. 1996)
* 1927 – Harry Belafonte, American actor and musician
* 1927 – Robert Bork, American legal scholar
* 1928 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician
* 1928 – Jacques Rivette, French film director
* 1929 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident (d. 1978)
* 1930 – Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (d. 1980)
* 1933 – Gerry Bron, British record producer
* 1934 – Jean-Michel Folon, Belgian artist (d. 2005)
* 1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)
* 1935 – Robert Conrad, American actor
* 1936 – Monique Bégin, French-Canadian politician
* 1936 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (d. 1997)
* 1937 – Jed Allan, American actor
* 1939 – Leo Brouwer, Cuban composer and guitarist
* 1940 – David Broome, Welsh showjumper
* 1940 – Robert Grossman, American illustrator
* 1941 – Joo Hyun, South Korean actor
* 1941 – Donnie Walsh, American basketball coach and executive
* 1942 – Richard Bowman Myers, American soldier, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
* 1943 – Gil Amelio, American venture capitalist
* 1943 – José Ángel Iribar, Spanish footballer
* 1943 – Akinori Nakayama, Japanese gymnast
* 1943 – Richard H. Price, American physicist
* 1943 – Rashid Sunyaev, Russian physicist
* 1943 – Cha Katō, Japanese comedian and actor
* 1944 – John Breaux, American politician
* 1944 – Mike d'Abo, English singer (Manfred Mann)
* 1944 – Roger Daltrey, English musician (The Who)
* 1945 – Dirk Benedict, American actor
* 1946 – Elvin Bethea, American football player
* 1946 – Gerry Boulet, French-Canadian singer (d. 1990)
* 1946 – Lana Wood, American actress
* 1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian actor and songwriter
* 1948 – Burning Spear, Jamaican singer and musician
* 1951 – Sergei Kourdakov, former KGB agent
* 1952 – Steven Barnes, American writer
* 1952 – Nevada Barr, American author
* 1952 – Leigh Matthews, Australian rules footballer and coach
* 1952 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician (d. 2009)
* 1952 – Martin O'Neill, Northern Irish footballer and manager
* 1952 – Brian Winters, American basketball player and coach
* 1954 – Catherine Bach, American actress
* 1954 – Ron Howard, American actor and director
* 1956 – Timothy Daly, American actor
* 1956 – Dalia Grybauskaitė, Lithuanian politician
* 1957 – Peter Athans, American mountaineer
* 1958 – Nik Kershaw, English musician
* 1958 – Chosei Komatsu, Japanese conductor
* 1958 – Bertrand Piccard, Swiss balloonist and psychiatrist
* 1959 – Nick Griffin, British politician
* 1959 – Diamanto Manolakou, Greek politician
* 1960 – William Bennett, English musician (Whitehouse)
* 1962 – Melanie Moore, American actress
* 1963 – Rob Affuso, American drummer
* 1963 – Thomas Anders, German singer (Modern Talking)
* 1963 – Maurice Benard, American actor
* 1963 – Ron Francis, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1963 – Dan Michaels, American musician and record producer
* 1963 – Russell Wong, American actor
* 1964 – Clinton Gregory, American musician
* 1964 – Paul Le Guen, French football manager
* 1965 – Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
* 1965 – Booker Huffman, American professional wrestler
* 1965 – Mary Lou Lord, American singer/songwriter
* 1966 – Susan Auch, Canadian speed-skater
* 1966 – Zack Snyder, American film-maker
* 1967 – Yelena Afanasyeva, Russian athlete
* 1967 – George Eads, American actor
* 1967 – Aron Winter, Dutch footballer
* 1968 – Salil Ankola, Indian cricketer and TV actor
* 1969 – Javier Bardem, Spanish actor
* 1969 – Doug Creek, American baseball player
* 1969 – Dafydd Ieuan, Welsh drummer (Super Furry Animals)
* 1969 – József Szabó, Hungarian swimmer
* 1970 – Jason V Brock, American author
* 1971 – Tyler Hamilton, American cyclist
* 1973 – Jack Davenport, English actor
* 1973 – Anton Gunn, American politician
* 1973 – Ryan Peake, Canadian guitarist (Nickelback)
* 1973 – Carlo Resoort, Dutch DJ
* 1973 – Chris Webber, American basketball player
* 1974 – Stephen Davis, American football player
* 1974 – Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
* 1974 – Shane Harwood, Australian cricketer
* 1975 – Maya Kulenovic, Canadian painter
* 1975 – Francesco Mazzariol, Italian rugby player
* 1976 – Peter F. Bell, Australian rules footballer
* 1976 – Dave Malkoff, American TV news reporter
* 1977 – Rens Blom, Dutch athlete
* 1977 – Esther Cañadas, Spanish actress and model
* 1978 – Jensen Ackles, American actor
* 1978 – Donovan Patton, Guamanian television star
* 1978 – Alicia Leigh Willis, American actress
* 1980 – Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
* 1980 – Gennaro Bracigliano, French footballer
* 1980 – Sercan Güvenışık, Turkish footballer
* 1980 – Abdur Rehman, Pakistani cricketer
* 1980 – Djimi Traoré, Malian footballer
* 1981 – Ana Hickmann, Brazilian supermodel
* 1981 – Adam LaVorgna, American actor
* 1981 – Will Power, Australian racing driver
* 1981 – Brad Winchester, American ice hockey player
* 1982 – Shalva Didebashvili, Georgian-born German rugby player
* 1982 – Juan Manuel Ortiz, Spanish footballer
* 1983 – Daniel Carvalho, Brazilian footballer
* 1983 – Elan Sara DeFan, Mexican singer-songwriter
* 1983 – Chris Hackett, English footballer
* 1983 – Blake Hawksworth, Canadian baseball player
* 1984 – Jacob Lillyman, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1984 – Naima Mora, American model
* 1984 – Alexander Steen, Canadian-born Swedish ice hockey player
* 1984 – Anthony Tupou, Australian rugby league footballer
* 1985 – J Leman, American football player
* 1985 – Andreas Ottl, German footballer
* 1986 – Jonathan Spector, American footballer
* 1987 – Ke$ha, American singer
* 1987 – Sammie, American singer
* 1988 – Trevor Cahill, American baseball player
* 1988 – Katija Pevec, American actress
* 1988 – Freddie Smith, American actor
* 1989 – Anjo Buckman, German rugby player
* 1989 – Sonya Kitchell, American singer
* 1989 – Daniella Monet, American actress
* 1989 – Carlos Vela, Mexican footballer
* 1990 – Harry Eden, English actor
* 1993 – Josh McEachran Chelsea and England Footballer
* 1994 – Justin Bieber, Canadian pop star
* 1995 – Jonathan Krohn, American political prodigy
March 1 in History
* 752 BC – Romulus, legendary first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following The Rape of the Sabine Women.
* 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola, Roman consul, celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus.
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus as Caesar to Maximian.
* 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares
* 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar.
* 1457 – The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination.
* 1562 – 23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
* 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
* 1593 – The Uppsala Synod is summoned to confirm the exact forms of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.
* 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date.
* 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.
* 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States.
* 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
* 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian Calendar on this date in 1753.
* 1781 – The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
* 1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
* 1803 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.
* 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
* 1811 – Leaders of the Mameluke dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali.
* 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
* 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
* 1845 – President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
* 1847 – The state of Michigan formally abolishes capital punishment.
* 1852 – Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
* 1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg.
* 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
* 1870 – Marshal F.S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War.
* 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
* 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter.
* 1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
* 1893 – Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
* 1896 – Battle of Adowa: an Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo–Ethiopian War.
* 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity.
* 1901 – The Australian Army was formed.
* 1910 – The worst avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
* 1912 – Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
* 1914 – The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
* 1917 – The U.S. government releases the unencrypted text of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public.
* 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea.
* 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years.
* 1932 – The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
* 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
* 1936 – A strike occurs aboard the S.S. California, leading to the demise of the International Seamen's Union and the creation of the National Maritime Union.
* 1939 – A Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94.
* 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers.
* 1941 – W47NV (now known as WSM-FM) begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station in the U.S..
* 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised.
* 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations.
* 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
* 1953 – Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
* 1954 – Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
* 1954 – Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
* 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
* 1956 – Formation of the National People's Army
* 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first American member of the Roman Curia.
* 1961 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
* 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections.
* 1962 – American Airlines Flight 1 crashes on take off in New York.
* 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe.
* 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.
* 1966 – The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria.
* 1971 – A bomb explodes in a men's room in the United States Capitol: the Weather Underground claims responsibility.
* 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
* 1972 – The Thai province of Yasothon is created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani province.
* 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
* 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
* 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
* 1989 – The United States becomes a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
* 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
* 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
* 1995 – Prime Minister of Poland Waldemar Pawlak resigns from parliament and is replaced by ex-communist Józef Oleksy.
* 1995 – Yahoo! is incorporated.
* 2000 – The Constitution of Finland is rewritten.
* 2000 – Hans Blix assumes the position of Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC.
* 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
* 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 mi) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (9.5 tons).
* 2002 – The peseta is discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced by the euro (€).
* 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
* 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
* 2004 – Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum becomes President of Iraq.
* 2005 – US Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional marking a change in "national standards,".
* 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
* 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20; eight of the deaths are at a high school in Enterprise, Alabama.
* 2007 – "Squatters" are evicted from Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, provoking the March 2007 Denmark Riots.
* 2008 – The Armenian police clashed with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections 2008
* 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola, Roman consul, celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus.
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus as Caesar to Maximian.
* 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares
* 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar.
* 1457 – The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination.
* 1562 – 23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
* 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
* 1593 – The Uppsala Synod is summoned to confirm the exact forms of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.
* 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date.
* 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.
* 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States.
* 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
* 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian Calendar on this date in 1753.
* 1781 – The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
* 1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
* 1803 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.
* 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
* 1811 – Leaders of the Mameluke dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali.
* 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
* 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
* 1845 – President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
* 1847 – The state of Michigan formally abolishes capital punishment.
* 1852 – Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
* 1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg.
* 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
* 1870 – Marshal F.S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War.
* 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
* 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter.
* 1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
* 1893 – Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
* 1896 – Battle of Adowa: an Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo–Ethiopian War.
* 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity.
* 1901 – The Australian Army was formed.
* 1910 – The worst avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
* 1912 – Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
* 1914 – The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
* 1917 – The U.S. government releases the unencrypted text of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public.
* 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea.
* 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years.
* 1932 – The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
* 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
* 1936 – A strike occurs aboard the S.S. California, leading to the demise of the International Seamen's Union and the creation of the National Maritime Union.
* 1939 – A Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94.
* 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers.
* 1941 – W47NV (now known as WSM-FM) begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station in the U.S..
* 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised.
* 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations.
* 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
* 1953 – Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
* 1954 – Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
* 1954 – Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
* 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
* 1956 – Formation of the National People's Army
* 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first American member of the Roman Curia.
* 1961 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
* 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections.
* 1962 – American Airlines Flight 1 crashes on take off in New York.
* 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe.
* 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.
* 1966 – The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria.
* 1971 – A bomb explodes in a men's room in the United States Capitol: the Weather Underground claims responsibility.
* 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
* 1972 – The Thai province of Yasothon is created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani province.
* 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
* 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
* 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
* 1989 – The United States becomes a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
* 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
* 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
* 1995 – Prime Minister of Poland Waldemar Pawlak resigns from parliament and is replaced by ex-communist Józef Oleksy.
* 1995 – Yahoo! is incorporated.
* 2000 – The Constitution of Finland is rewritten.
* 2000 – Hans Blix assumes the position of Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC.
* 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
* 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 mi) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (9.5 tons).
* 2002 – The peseta is discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced by the euro (€).
* 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
* 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
* 2004 – Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum becomes President of Iraq.
* 2005 – US Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional marking a change in "national standards,".
* 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
* 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20; eight of the deaths are at a high school in Enterprise, Alabama.
* 2007 – "Squatters" are evicted from Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, provoking the March 2007 Denmark Riots.
* 2008 – The Armenian police clashed with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections 2008
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