March 17

March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). There are 289 days remaining.

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Events

• 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
• 1577 – formation of the Cathay Company to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold
• 1673 – Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet begin their exploration of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river.
• 1756 – St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).
• 1776 – American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington places artillery overlooking the city.
• 1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King.
• 1845 – The rubber band is invented
• 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
• 1886 – Carrollton Massacre: 20 African Americans are killed in Mississippi.
• 1891 – The British steamship SS Utopia sinks off the coast of Gibraltar, killing 574.
• 1901 – A showing of 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation.
• 1910 – Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (formally announced in 1912).
• 1921 – The Second Republic of Poland adopts the March Constitution.
• 1931 – Nevada legalizes gambling.
• 1939 – Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945): The Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and the Japanese break out.
• 1941 – In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1948 – Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the NATO Agreement.
• 1950 – University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium".
• 1958 – The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
• 1959 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet and travels to India.
• 1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
• 1969 – Golda Meir of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1970 – My Lai massacre: The United States Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident.
• 1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker", commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California murder spree.
• 1988 – A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into the side of the mountains near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
• 1992 – A suicide car-bomb kills 29 and injures 242 at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 2003 – British Cabinet Minister, Robin Cook, resigns over government plans for war with Iraq.
• 2004 – Massive Unrest in Kosovo. Over 22 killed, 200 wounded, 15 destroyed Serb Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.

Births

• 1473 – King James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
• 1777 – Roger Taney, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1864)
• 1780 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor, social reformer, educator, author, and scientist (d. 1847)
• 1804 – Jim Bridger, American trapper and explorer (d. 1881)
• 1820 – Jean Ingelow, English poet (d. 1897)
• 1834 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and inventor (d. 1900)
• 1846 – Kate Greenaway, English children's author and illustrator (d. 1901)
• 1862 – Silvio Gesell, economist (d. 1930)
• 1866 – Pierce Butler, justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1939)
• 1870 – Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (d. 1951)
• 1880 – Sir Patrick Hastings, barrister (d. 1952)
• 1884 – Alcide Nunez, jazz musician (d. 1934)
• 1888 – Frank Buck, big game hunter (d. 1950)
• 1894 – Paul Green, novelist, playwright (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Shemp Howard, actor (d. 1955)
• 1902 – Bobby Jones, golfer (d. 1971)
• 1908 – Brigitte Helm, actress (d. 1996)
• 1912 – Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist (d. 1987)
• 1914 – Sammy Baugh, American football player
• 1916 – Ray Ellington, British singer (d. 1985)
• 1918 – Mercedes McCambridge, actress (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Nat King Cole, singer (d. 1965)
• 1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
• 1926 – Siegfried Lenz, writer
• 1930 – James Irwin, astronaut (d. 1991)
• 1933 – Laurence M. Janifer, science fiction author
• 1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights activist
• 1936 – Ladislav Kupkovic, composer
• 1936 – Ken Mattingly, astronaut
• 1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
• 1940 – Mark White, Texas politician
• 1941 – Paul Kantner, American musician (Jefferson Airplane)
• 1942 – John Wayne Gacy, serial killer (d. 1994)
• 1944 – John Sebastian, singer, songwriter
• 1944 – Pattie Boyd, British photographer, fashion model
• 1944 – Cito Gaston, American baseball player and coach
• 1945 – Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (d. 1982)
• 1947 – James Morrow, science fiction author
• 1948 – William Gibson, writer
• 1949 – Patrick Duffy, actor
• 1951 – Kurt Russell, actor
• 1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, actress
• 1955 – Gary Sinise, actor
• 1955  – Paul Overstreet, country singer
• 1956 – Patrick McDonnell, cartoonist
• 1957 – Michael Kelly, American journalist (d. 2003)
• 1959 – Danny Ainge, basketball player and coach, baseball player
• 1964 – Rob Lowe, actor
• 1967 – William Patrick Corgan, Jr., musician
• 1967 – Barry Minkow, businessman
• 1967 – Patrick Grandaw, American director
• 1969 – Mathew St. Patrick, American actor
• 1972 – Mia Hamm, US soccer player
• 1973 – Caroline Corr, singer, musician
• 1976 – Stephen Gately, Boyzone; singer, musician, actor
• 1979 – Andrew Ference, hockey player

Deaths

• 45 BC – Titus Labienus (b. c. 100 BC), Roman leader (in battle)
• 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius (executed)
• 180 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
• 461 – Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland (b. c. 373)
• 1040 – Harold Harefoot, King of England (b. c. 1016)
• 1058 – King Lulach I of Scotland (b. c. 1029)
• 1425 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Ashikaga shogun (b. 1407)
• 1640 – Philip Massinger, English dramatist
• 1704 – Menno van Coehoorn , Dutch military engineer (b. 1641)
• 1782 – Daniel Bernoulli, mathematician (b. 1700)
• 1853 – Christian Doppler, Austrian physician and mathematician
• 1917 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
• 1956 – Irene Joliot-Curie, scientist (b. 1897)
• 1956 – Fred Allen, American actor, comedian
• 1957 – Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines
• 1965 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, baseball, basketball, football coach and player (b. 1862)
• 1976 – Luchino Visconti, director, (b. 1906)
• 1987 – Santo Trafficante, Jr., gangster
• 1989 – Merritt Butrick, American actor
• 1990 – Capucine, actress (b. 1931)
• 1993 – Helen Hayes, actress (b. 1900)
• 1995 – Ronnie Kray, British gangster
• 1999 – Rod Hull, British actor
• 2002 – Pat Weaver, American broadcast executive
• 2002 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress, producer
• 2003 – Klaus Oldendorff, ship owner
• 2004 – J.J. Jackson, original MTV VJ (b. 1941 or 1942)
• 2005 – Andre Norton, science fiction author (b. 1912)
• 2005 – George F. Kennan, American Cold War strategist and historian

Holidays and observances

• Ancient Latvia – Kustonu Diena observed
• Boston, Massachusetts – Evacuation Day
• Feast day of St Patrick: a public holiday in Ireland and Montserrat, widely celebrated in North America (see St. Patrick's Day)
• ancient Rome – the second day of the Bacchanalia in honor of Bacchus
• ancient Rome – the Liberia in honor of Liber

External links

• BBC: On This Day

March 16 – March 18 – February 17 – April 17 — listing of all days