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