597 BC
Babylonians captured Jerusalem, replaced Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king.
37
Caligula became Roman Emperor after the death of his great uncle, Tiberius.
1190
Massacre of Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York.
1244
Over 200 Cathars are burned after the Fall of Montségur
1322
The Battle of Boroughbridge took place in the Despenser Wars.
1521
Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines.
1621
Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.”
1660
The Long Parliament dissolved.
1689
The 23rd Regiment of Foot or Royal Welch Fusiliers is founded.
1782
American Revolutionary War: Spanish troops capture the British-held island of Roatán.
1792
King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he died on March 29.
1802
The Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.
1812
Battle of Badajoz (March 16 – April 6) – British and Portuguese forces besieged and defeated French garrison during Peninsular War.
1815
Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaimed himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
1818
Second Battle of Cancha Rayada – Spanish forces defeated Chileans under José de San Martín.
1861
Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who has been evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy.
1865
American Civil War: The Battle of Averasborough began as Confederate forces suffer irreplaceable casualties in the final months of the war.
1872
The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
1900
Sir Arthur Evans purchased the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete.
1912
Lawrence Oates, an ill member of Robert Falcon Scott’s South Pole expedition, left the tent to die, saying: “I am just going outside and may be some time.”
1916
The 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing crossed the US-Mexico border to join the hunt for Pancho Villa.
1924
In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, Fiume became annexed as part of Italy.
1926
History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
1935
Adolf Hitler ordered Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
1939
From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.
1939
Marriage of Princess Fawzia of Egypt to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran.
1940
First person killed in a German bombing raid on the UK in World War II during a raid on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, James Isbister.
1942
The first V-2 rocket test launch. It exploded at lift-off.
1945
Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers. 5,000 are killed.
1945
World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
1950
Communist Czechoslovakia’s ministry of foreign affairs asked nuncios of Vatican to leave the country.
1958
The Ford Motor Company produced its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company’s founding.
1962
A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappeared in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 missing.
1963
Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing 11,000.
1966
Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle.
1968
General Motors produced its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.
1968
Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (men, women, and children) are killed by American troops.
1976
British Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigned, citing personal reasons.
1977
Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War.
1978
Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped and is later killed by his captors.
1978
Supertanker Amoco Cadiz split in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the 5th-largest oil spill in history.
1983
Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last wooden radio tower in Germany.
1984
William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later died in captivity.
1985
Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He is released on December 4, 1991.
1988
Halabja poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5000 people and injuring about 10000 people.
1988
Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
1995
Mississippi formally ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment is officially ratified in 1865.
2005
Israel officially handed over Jericho to Palestinian control.
1338
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick (d. 1401)
1445
Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss-born preacher (d. 1510)
1473
Henry IV the Pious, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541)
1581
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian and writer (d. 1647)
1585
Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero, Dutch writer (d. 1618)
1631
René Le Bossu, French critic (d. 1680)
1654
Andreas Acoluthus, German orientalist (d. 1704)
1687
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Queen consort in Prussia (d. 1757)
1750
Caroline Herschel, German-born astronomer (d. 1848)
1751
James Madison, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836)
1773
Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician (d. 1836)
1774
Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer (d. 1814)
1789
Georg Simon Ohm, German physicist (d. 1854)
1794
Ami Boué, Austrian geologist (d. 1881)
1797
Alaric Alexander Watts, English poet and journalist (d. 1864)
1800
Emperor Ninko of Japan (d. 1846)
1805
Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philosopher and writer (d. 1861)
1822
Rosa Bonheur, French realist painter and sculptor (d. 1899)
1834
James Hector, Scottish geologist (d. 1907)
1839
John Butler Yeats, Northern Irish artist (d. 1922)
1839
René François Armand Sully-Prudhomme, French writer and Nobel laureate (d. 1907)
1840
Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (d. 1931)
1845
Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (d. 1928)
1846
Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (d. 1927)
1846
Jurgis Bielinis, Lithuanian book-smuggler (d. 1918)
1851
Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (d. 1931)
1856
Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial, only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France (d. 1879)
1857
Charles Harding Firth, British historian (d. 1936)
1859
Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1906)
1865
Patsy Donovan, American baseball player (d. 1953)
1869
F. A. Forbes, Scottish author (d. 1936)
1871
Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (d. 1951)
1877
Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iranian shah (d. 1944)
1878
Clemens August Graf von Galen, German archbishop and cardinal (d. 1946)
1883
Ethel Anderson, Australian poet (d. 1958)
1889
Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951)
1890
Solomon Mikhoels, Soviet actor and chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (d. 1948)
1892
César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (d. 1938)
1892
James Petrillo, American president of the musicians union (d. 1984)
1897
Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970)
1901
Edward Pawley, American actor (d. 1988)
1901
Potti Sreeramulu, an Indian revolutionary (d. 1952)
1902
Leon Roppolo, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1943)
1903
Mike Mansfield, American politician, and diplomat (d. 2001)
1905
Elisabeth Flickenschildt, German actress (d. 1977)
1906
Francisco Ayala, Spanish writer (d. 2009)
1906
Henny Youngman, American comedian (d. 1998)
1908
René Daumal, French writer (d. 1944)
1908
Robert Rossen, American film director, screenwriter and producer (d. 1966)
1911
Dr. Josef Mengele, German physician and SS officer (d. 1979)
1911
Pierre Harmel, Belgian politician (d. 2009)
1912
Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993)
1916
Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004)
1916
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese Businessman, and Survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings (d.2010)
1917
Louis C. Wyman, American politician (d. 2002)
1917
Samael Aun Weor, Colombian writer (d. 1977)
1918
Frederick Reines, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
1920
Dorothea Binz, Nazi war criminal (d. 1947)
1920
John Addison, British composer (d. 1998)
1920
Leo McKern, Australian actor (d. 2002)
1920
Sid Fleischman, American author (d. 2010)
1920
Traudl Junge, German secretary to Adolf Hitler (d. 2002)
1922
Harding Lemay, American television scriptwriter and playwright
1924
Beryl Davis, English singer (d. 2011)
1925
Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist (d. 2004)
1926
Charles Goodell, American politician (d. 1987)
1926
Jerry Lewis, American comedian
1927
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American senator (d. 2003)
1927
Olga San Juan, American comedian (d. 2009)
1927
Vladimir Komarov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1967)
1928
Christa Ludwig, German mezzo-soprano
1928
Karlheinz Böhm, Austrian actor
1928
Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 45th Yokozuna (d. 2010)
1929
Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress
1930
Tommy Flanagan, American jazz pianist (d. 2001)
1931
Betty Johnson, American singer
1932
Baruch Modan, Israeli scientist (d. 2001)
1932
Don Blasingame, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
1932
Kurt Diemberger, Austrian mountaineer
1932
Walter Cunningham, American astronaut
1933
Sandy Weill, American financier and philanthropist
1934
Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada (d. 2002)
1935
Teresa Berganza, Spanish soprano
1936
Fred Neil, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
1936
Raymond Vahan Damadian, Armenian American practitioner of MRI
1937
Amos Tversky, Israeli psychologist (d. 1996)
1939
Carlos Bilardo, Argetinian football coach
1940
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director
1940
Jan Pronk, Dutch politician
1940
Keith Rowe, English painter and guitarist (AMM)
1941
Chuck Woolery, American game show host
1941
Robert Guéï, ruler of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 2002)
1942
James Soong, Taiwanese politician
1942
Jerry Jeff Walker, American musician
1942
Roger Crozier, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1996)
1943
Kim Mu-saeng, South Korean actor (d. 2005)
1943
Ursula Goodenough, American biologist, zoologist, professor and author
1944
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, American Computer Science Professor, Author of MINIX OS
1946
Hubert Soudant, Dutch conductor
1946
Michael Basman, English chess master
1947
Baek Yoon-sik, South Korean actor
1947
Ramzan Paskayev, Chechen accordionist
1948
Margaret Weis, American author
1948
Michael Bruce, American musician (Alice Cooper)
1948
Richard Desjardins, Canadian singer, songwriter and film director
1949
Elliott Murphy, American singer-songwriter
1949
Erik Estrada, American actor
1949
Joe Pilato, Italian-American actor
1949
Victor Garber, Canadian actor
1951
Joe DeLamielleure, American football player
1951
Kate Nelligan, Canadian actress
1952
Alice Hoffman, American author
1952
Graham Cole, British actor
1952
Scott Simon, American journalist and radio personality
1953
Óscar Ramírez, Peruvian revolutionary
1953
Isabelle Huppert, French actress
1953
Richard Stallman, American free software activist
1954
Jimmy Nail, British actor and singer
1954
Nancy Wilson, American guitarist, singer and actress (Heart)
1955
Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
1955
Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
1958
Jorge Ramos, Mexican TV anchor
1958
Kate Worley, American comic book writer (d. 2004)
1959
Flavor Flav, American rapper, and reality TV star
1959
Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway
1960
Duane Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
1960
Jenny Eclair, British comedienne, novellist and actress.
1961
Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league footballer
1961
Michiru Oshima, Japanese composer
1961
Todd McFarlane, Canadian comic book artist, writer and media entrepreneur
1962
Philippe Kahn, French entrepreneur
1963
Jimmy Degrasso, American musician (F5)
1963
Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (d. 2002)
1964
Gore Verbinski, American movie director
1964
Pascal Richard, Swiss cyclist
1964
Patty Griffin, American singer and songwriter
1965
Belén Rueda, Spanish actress
1965
Richard Daniel Roman, English songwriter and record producer
1966
Hans Peter Geerdes, German musician (Scooter)
1967
John Darnielle, American Musician
1967
Lauren Graham, American actress
1968
Ananya Khare, Indian actress and teacher
1968
Trevor Wilson, American basketball player
1969
Aggelos Koronios, Greek basketball coach and retired player
1969
Judah Friedlander, American actor and comedian
1970
Joakim Berg, Swedish singer (Kent)
1970
Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, Icelandic singer, songwriter and disc jockey
1970
Reynolds Wolf, American TV meteorologist and journalist
1971
Alan Tudyk, American actor
1972
Velibor Radovic, Serbian basketball player
1973
Brant Bjork, American musician (Kyuss)
1973
Vonda Ward, American boxer
1974
Fotini Vavatsi, Greek archer
1974
Georgios Anatolakis, Greek footballer
1975
Sienna Guillory, British actress
1976
Abraham Núñez, Dominican baseball player
1976
Nick Spano, American actor
1976
Paul Schneider, American actor
1977
Donal Óg Cusack, Irish hurler
1978
Brooke Burns, American actress
1979
Edison Méndez, Ecuadorian footballer
1979
Leena Peisa, Finnish musician (Lordi)
1979
Rashad Moore, American football player
1980
Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player
1980
Todd Heap, American football player
1981
Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
1981
Curtis Granderson, American baseball player
1981
Danny Brown (rapper), American rapper
1981
Yoav Ziv, Israeli footballer
1982
Riley Cote, Canadian hockey player
1983
Brandon League, American baseball player
1983
Tramon Williams, American football player
1984
Hosea Gear, New Zealand rugby player
1984
Levi Brown, American football player
1985
Eddy Lover, Panamanian singer
1986
Boaz Solossa, Indonesian footballer
1986
Daisuke Takahashi, Japanese figure skater
1986
Joe Denly, English cricketer
1986
Ken Doane, American professional wrestler
1986
Nicole Trunfio, Australian model
1986
T. J. Jordan, American basketball player
1986
Toney Douglas, American basketball player
1987
Tiiu Kuik, Estonian model
1989
Blake Griffin, American basketball player
1989
Theo Walcott, English footballer
1991
Wolfgang Van Halen, American musician
37
Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, Roman Emperor (b. 46 BC)
455
Heraclius, Western Roman courtier
455
Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor (b. 419)
1021
Heribert of Cologne, Archbishop of Cologne and Chancellor of Emperor Otto III
1037
Robert I, Archbishop of Rouen
1072
Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop
1322
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English soldier (b. 1276)
1410
John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (b. 1373)
1457
László Hunyadi, Hungarian statesman and warrior (b. 1433)
1485
Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456)
1559
Anthony St. Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496)
1620
St. John Sarkander, Moravian priest, died of injuries caused by torturing (b. 1576)
1649
Saint Jean de Brébeuf, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)
1679
John Leverett, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)
1721
James Craggs the Elder, English politician (b. 1657)
1736
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (b. 1710)
1737
Benjamin Wadsworth, President of Harvard University (b. 1670)
1738
George Bähr, German architect (b. 1666)
1747
Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, father of Catherine II of Russia (b. 1690)
1838
Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician (b. 1773)
1888
Hippolyte Carnot, French statesman (b. 1801)
1890
Zorka of Montenegro, Princess of Serbia (b. 1864)
1892
Samuel F. Miller, American politician (b. 1827)
1898
Aubrey Beardsley, British artist (b. 1872)
1899
Joseph Medill, mayor of Chicago (b. 1823)
1903
Roy Bean, American jurist
1914
Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843)
1926
Sergeant Stubby, decorated World War I dog
1930
Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish dictator (b. 1870)
1935
Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-born chess player (b. 1886)
1935
John James Rickard Macleod, Scottish-born physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
1936
Marguerite Durand, French journalist and feminist (b. 1864)
1940
Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
1945
Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (b. 1874)
1955
Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter (b. 1914)
1957
Constantin Brâncuşi, Romanian sculptor (b. 1876)
1961
Chen Geng, Chinese military leader (b. 1903)
1968
Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet and writer (b. 1907)
1968
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (b. 1895)
1970
Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1946)
1971
Thomas E. Dewey, American presidential candidate (b. 1902)
1975
Richard W. DeKorte, American politician (b. 1936)
1975
T-Bone Walker, American musician (b. 1910)
1977
Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (b. 1917)
1979
Jean Monnet, French politician (b. 1888)
1980
Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (b. 1898)
1983
Arthur Godfrey, American actor and television host (b. 1903)
1983
Fred Rose, Canadian politician (b. 1907)
1984
John Hoagland, American photographer (b. 1947)
1985
Eddie Shore, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
1992
Roger Lemelin, Canadian novelist and television writer (b. 1919)
1992
Yves Rocard, French physicist (b. 1903)
1993
Johnny Cymbal, American singer and producer (b. 1945)
1996
Charlie Barnett, American actor (b. 1954)
1998
Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1918)
1999
Gratien Gélinas, Canadian playwright and director (b. 1909)
2000
Thomas Ferebee, Hiroshima bombardier (b. 1918)
2001
Bob Wollek, French race car driver (b. 1943)
2001
Norma MacMillan, Canadian actress (b. 1921)
2003
Rachel Corrie, American political activist (b. 1979)
2003
Ronald Ferguson, father of Sarah, Duchess of York (b. 1931)
2004
Vilém Tauský, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1910)
2005
Allan Hendrickse, South African politician (b. 1927)
2005
Anthony George, American TV actor (b. 1921)
2005
Dick Radatz, American baseball player (b. 1937)
2005
Ralph Erskine, British architect (Byker Wall) (b. 1914)
2005
Todd Bell, American football player (b. 1958)
2006
David Feintuch, American sci-fi author (b. 1944)
2007
Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi cricketer (b. 1984)
2008
Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (b. 1912)
2008
Daniel MacMaster, Canadian singer (Bonham). (b. 1968)
2008
G. David Low, American astronaut (b. 1956)
2008
Gary Hart, American professional wrestling manager and wrestler (b. 1942)
2008
John Hewer, English actor (b. 1922)
2008
Ola Brunkert, Swedish session drummer for ABBA (b. 1946)
2011
Richard Wirthlin, American political strategist for Ronald Reagan. (b. 1931)
