March 8

Events

• 1010 - Ferdowsi completes his epic poem Shahnameh.
• 1126 - Following the death of his mother Urraca, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
• 1262 - Battle of Hausbergen between bourgeois militias and the army of the bishop of Strasbourg.
• 1576 - Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán.
• 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
• 1655 - John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in England's North American colonies where a crime was not committed.
• 1658 - Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars, Frederick III, the King of Denmark–Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.
• 1702 - Queen Anne, the younger sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
• 1722 - The Safavid Empire of Iran is defeated by an army from Afghanistan at the Battle of Gulnabad, pushing Iran into anarchy.
• 1736 - Nader Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty, is crowned Shah of Iran.
• 1775 - An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes "African Slavery in America", the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery.
• 1777 - Regiments from Ansbach and Bayreuth, sent to support Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, mutiny in the town of Ochsenfurt.
• 1782 - Gnadenhutten massacre: Ninety-six Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, who had converted to Christianity, are killed by Pennsylvania militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indian tribes.
• 1801 - War of the Second Coalition: At the Battle of Abukir, a British force under Sir Ralph Abercromby lands in Egypt with the aim of ending the French campaign in Egypt and Syria.
• 1817 - The New York Stock Exchange is founded.
• 1844 - King Oscar I ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
• 1862 - American Civil War: The Naval Battle of Hampton Roads begins.
• 1868 - Sakai incident: Japanese samurai kill 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai, Osaka.
• 1910 - French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot's license.
• 1914 - First flights at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.
• 1916 - World War I: A British force unsuccessfully attempts to relieve the siege of Kut in the Battle of Dujaila.
• 1917 - International Women's Day protests in St. Petersburg mark the beginning of the February Revolution.
• 1917 - The United States Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.
• 1920 - The Arab Kingdom of Syria, the first modern Arab state to come into existence, is established.
• 1921 - Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato Iradier is assassinated while exiting the parliament building in Madrid.
• 1924 - A mine disaster kills 172 coal miners near Castle Gate, Utah.
• 1936 - Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race.
• 1937 - Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.
• 1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces gave ultimatum to Dutch East Indies Governor General Jonkheer Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer and KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, to unconditionally surrender.
• 1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British.
• 1947 - Thirteen thousand troops of the Republic of China Army arrive in Taiwan after the February 28 Incident and launch crackdowns which kill thousands of people, including many elites. This turns into a major root of the Taiwan independence movement.
• 1949 - President of France Vincent Auriol and ex-emperor of Annam Bảo Đại sign the Élysée Accords, giving Vietnam greater independence from France and creating the State of Vietnam to oppose Viet Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
• 1957 - Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis.
• 1957 - The 1957 Georgia Memorial to Congress, which petitions the U.S. Congress to declare the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution null and void, is adopted by the U.S. state of Georgia.
• 1963 - The Ba'ath Party comes to power in Syria in a coup d'état by a clique of quasi-leftist Syrian Army officers calling themselves the National Council of the Revolutionary Command.
• 1965 - Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War.
• 1966 - Nelson's Pillar in Dublin, Ireland, destroyed by a bomb.
• 1971 - The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali commences. Frazier wins in 15 rounds via unanimous decision.
• 1974 - Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
• 1979 - Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
• 1983 - Cold War: While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an "evil empire".
• 1985 - A supposed failed assassination attempt on Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut, Lebanon kills at least 45 and injures 175 others.
• 2004 - A new constitution is signed by Iraq's Governing Council.
• 2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
• 2017 - The Azure Window, a natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses in stormy weather.

  Births

• 1286 - John III, Duke of Brittany
• 1293 - Beatrice of Castile
• 1495 - John of God, Portuguese friar and saint
• 1514 - Amago Haruhisa, Japanese daimyō
• 1518 - Sidonie of Saxony, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg
• 1550 - William Drury, English politician
• 1658 - Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor, British Baron
• 1566 - Carlo Gesualdo, Italian lute player and composer
• 1712 - John Fothergill, English physician and botanist
• 1714 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German pianist and composer
• 1726 - Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician, Treasurer of the Navy
• 1746 - André Michaux, French botanist and explorer
• 1748 - William V, Prince of Orange
• 1761 - Jan Potocki, Polish ethnologist, historian, linguist, and author
• 1799 - Simon Cameron, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Secretary of War
• 1804 - Alvan Clark, American astronomer and optician
• 1822 - Ignacy Łukasiewicz, Polish inventor and businessman, invented the Kerosene lamp
• 1826 - Johann Köler, Estonian painter and academic
• 1827 - Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist and anthropologist
• 1830 - João de Deus, Portuguese poet and educator
• 1839 - Josephine Cochrane, American inventor
• 1841 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist
• 1848 - LaMarcus Adna Thompson, American engineer and businessman, developed the roller coaster
• 1856 - Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army
• 1856 - Colin Campbell Cooper, American painter and academic
• 1859 - Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English banker and author
• 1865 - Frederic Goudy, American type designer, created Copperplate Gothic and Goudy Old Style
• 1879 - Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1886 - Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1892 - Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet and author
• 1896 - Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa
• 1899 - Elmer Keith, American gun designer and author
• 1900 - Howard H. Aiken, American physicist and computer scientist, created the Harvard Mark I
• 1902 - Louise Beavers, American actress and singer
• 1902 - Jennings Randolph, American journalist and politician
• 1907 - Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Greece
• 1909 - Beatrice Shilling, English motorcycle racer and engineer
• 1909 - Paula Strasberg, American actress and acting coach
• 1910 - Claire Trevor, American actress
• 1911 - Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American pianist and composer
• 1912 - Preston Smith, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Texas
• 1912 - Meldrim Thomson, Jr., American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire
• 1914 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Belarusian-Russian physicist and astronomer
• 1918 - Eileen Herlie, Scottish-American actress
• 1920 - Douglass Wallop, American author and playwright
• 1921 - Alan Hale, Jr., American actor
• 1921 - Sahir Ludhianvi, Indian poet and songwriter
• 1922 - Ralph H. Baer, German-American video game designer, created the Magnavox Odyssey
• 1922 - Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer
• 1922 - Carl Furillo, American baseball player
• 1922 - Yevgeny Matveyev, Russian actor and director
• 1922 - Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese author and illustrator
• 1924 - Anthony Caro, English sculptor and illustrator
• 1924 - Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1924 - Sean McClory, Irish-American actor and director
• 1925 - Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic
• 1926 - Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1927 - Ramon Revilla Sr., Filipino actor and politician
• 1929 - Hebe Camargo, Brazilian actress and singer
• 1930 - Bob Grim, American baseball player
• 1930 - Douglas Hurd, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• 1931 - Neil Adcock, South African cricketer
• 1931 - John McPhee, American author and educator
• 1931 - Gerald Potterton, English-Canadian animator, director, and producer
• 1931 - Neil Postman, American author and critic
• 1934 - Marv Breeding, American baseball player and scout
• 1935 - George Coleman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
• 1936 - Sue Ane Langdon, American actress and singer
• 1936 - Gábor Szabó, Hungarian guitarist and composer
• 1937 - Richard Fariña, American singer-songwriter and author
• 1937 - Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician, 2nd President of Rwanda
• 1938 - Pete Dawkins, American football player, colonel, and politician
• 1939 - Jim Bouton, American baseball player and journalist
• 1939 - Lynn Seymour, Canadian ballerina and choreographer
• 1939 - Lidiya Skoblikova, Russian speed skater and coach
• 1939 - Robert Tear, Welsh tenor and conductor
• 1941 - Norman Stone, Scottish-English historian, author, and academic
• 1942 - Dick Allen, American baseball player and tenor
• 1942 - Ann Packer, English sprinter, hurdler, and long jumper
• 1943 - Susan Clark, Canadian actress and producer
• 1943 - Michael Grade, English businessman
• 1943 - Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer
• 1943 - Dionysis Simopoulos, Greek physicist and astronomer
• 1944 - Sergey Nikitin, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1945 - Jim Chapman, American lawyer and politician
• 1945 - Micky Dolenz, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
• 1945 - Anselm Kiefer, German painter and sculptor
• 1945 - Sylvia Wiegand, American mathematician
• 1946 - Robert Jaworski, Filipino basketball player, coach, and politician
• 1946 - Randy Meisner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1947 - Carole Bayer Sager, American singer-songwriter and painter
• 1947 - Michael S. Hart, American author, founded Project Gutenberg
• 1947 - Vladimír Mišík, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 - Florentino Pérez, Spanish engineer and businessman
• 1948 - Robert W. Boyd, American physicist and academic
• 1948 - Gyles Brandreth, German-English actor, screenwriter, and politician
• 1948 - Mel Galley, English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1948 - Sam Lacey, American basketball player
• 1948 - Peggy March, American pop singer
• 1948 - Jonathan Sacks, English rabbi, philosopher, and scholar
• 1949 - Teofilo Cubillas, Peruvian footballer
• 1951 - Phil Edmonds, Zambian-English cricketer and businessman
• 1951 - Dianne Walker, American tap dancer
• 1952 - George Allen, American lawyer and politician, 67th Governor of Virginia
• 1953 - Jim Rice, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1954 - Steve James, American documentary filmmaker
• 1954 - David Wilkie, Sri Lankan-Scottish swimmer
• 1956 - Laurie Cunningham, English footballer
• 1956 - David Malpass, American economist and government official
• 1957 - Clive Burr, English rock drummer
• 1957 - William Edward Childs, American pianist and composer
• 1957 - Bob Stoddard, American baseball player
• 1958 - Andy McDonald, English lawyer and politician
• 1958 - Gary Numan, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1959 - Aidan Quinn, Irish-American actor
• 1959 - Lester Holt, American journalist and news anchor
• 1960 - Jeffrey Eugenides, American author and academic
• 1960 - Irek Mukhamedov, Russian ballet dancer
• 1960 - Buck Williams, American basketball player and coach
• 1961 - Camryn Manheim, American actress
• 1961 - Larry Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player and journalist
• 1962 - Leon Robinson, American actor and producer
• 1964 - Kate Betts, American journalist and author
• 1965 - Kenny Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1966 - Greg Barker, Baron Barker of Battle, English politician
• 1966 - Jaime Levy, American computer scientist and academic
• 1967 - Joel Johnston, American baseball player
• 1968 - Michael Bartels, German race car driver
• 1968 - Shawn Mullins, American singer-songwriter
• 1969 - Juan de Dios Ramírez Perales, Mexican footballer
• 1970 - Jason Elam, American football player
• 1971 - Kit Symons, English-Welsh footballer and manager
• 1972 - Georgios Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager
• 1972 - Matthew Nable, Australian rugby player and actor
• 1972 - Lena Sundström, Swedish journalist and author
• 1973 - Boris Kodjoe, Austrian-born American actor and producer
• 1973 - Anneke van Giersbergen, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1975 - Mauro Briano, Italian footballer
• 1976 - Gaz Coombes, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1976 - Juan Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
• 1976 - Freddie Prinze, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1977 - James Van Der Beek, American actor
• 1977 - Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
• 1978 - Nick Zano, American actor and producer
• 1979 - Apathy, American rapper and producer
• 1979 - Tom Chaplin, English singer-songwriter
• 1979 - Andy Ross, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1980 - Stephen Milne, Australian footballer
• 1981 - Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
• 1981 - Timothy Jordan II, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1981 - Joost Posthuma, Dutch cyclist
• 1982 - Nicolas Armindo, French racing driver
• 1982 - Leonidas Kampantais, Greek footballer
• 1982 - Isak Strand, Norwegian drummer, composer, and producer
• 1983 - André Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1983 - Mark Worrell, American baseball player
• 1984 - Rafik Djebbour, Algerian footballer
• 1984 - Ross Taylor, New Zealand cricketer
• 1984 - Sasha Vujačić, Slovenian basketball player
• 1987 - Jonathan Wright, Australian rugby league player
• 1988 - Benny Blanco, American rapper and producer
• 1988 - Tommy Pham, American baseball player
• 1990 - Asier Illarramendi, Spanish footballer
• 1990 - Petra Kvitová, Czech tennis player
• 1990 - Nico Salva, Filipino basketball player
• 1990 - Ben Tozer, English footballer
• 1991 - Miriam Bryant, Swedish-Finnish singer-songwriter
• 1991 - Tom English, Australian rugby player
• 1992 - Uki Satake, Japanese singer, actress, and radio host
• 1994 - Pablo Dyego, Brazilian footballer
• 1994 - Claire Emslie, Scottish footballer
• 1994 - Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer
• 1996 - Matthew Hammelmann, Australian rules footballer
• 1998 - Tali Darsigny, Canadian weightlifter

  Deaths

• 865 - Rudolf of Fulda, German theologian
• 1126 - Urraca of León and Castile
• 1137 - Adela of Normandy, by marriage countess of Blois
• 1144 - Pope Celestine II
• 1223 - Wincenty Kadłubek, Polish bishop and historian
• 1365 - Queen Noguk of Korea
• 1403 - Bayezid I, Ottoman sultan
• 1441 - Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria
• 1466 - Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan
• 1550 - John of God, Portuguese friar and saint
• 1619 - Veit Bach, German baker and miller
• 1641 - Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer
• 1702 - William III of England
• 1717 - Abraham Darby I, English blacksmith
• 1723 - Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul's Cathedral
• 1731 - Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor
• 1771 - Louis August le Clerc, French-Danish sculptor and academic
• 1819 - Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
• 1844 - Charles XIV John of Sweden
• 1869 - Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic
• 1872 - Cornelius Krieghoff, Dutch-Canadian painter
• 1874 - Millard Fillmore, American lawyer and politician, 13th President of the United States
• 1887 - Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and activist
• 1887 - James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge
• 1889 - John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, designed the USS Monitor
• 1917 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Company
• 1923 - Krišjānis Barons, Latvian linguist and author
• 1923 - Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1930 - William Howard Taft, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States
• 1930 - Edward Terry Sanford, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, United States Assistant Attorney General
• 1935 - Hachikō, Japanese dog
• 1937 - Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1941 - Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer
• 1942 - José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player and theoretician
• 1944 - Fredy Hirsch, German Jewish athlete who helped thousands of Jewish children in the Holocaust
• 1945 - Frederick Bligh Bond, English archaeologist and architect
• 1948 - Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and scientist
• 1957 - Othmar Schoeck, Swiss composer and conductor
• 1961 - Thomas Beecham, English conductor and composer
• 1971 - Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer
• 1973 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, American keyboard player and songwriter
• 1975 - George Stevens, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1976 - Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel
• 1983 - Chabuca Granda, Peruvian-American singer-songwriter
• 1983 - Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies
• 1983 - William Walton, English composer
• 1985 - Edward Andrews, American actor
• 1988 - Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter
• 1988 - Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic
• 1991 - John Bellairs, American author and academic
• 1993 - Billy Eckstine, American trumpet player
• 1996 - Jack Churchill, British colonel
• 1997 - Gershon Liebman, French rabbi
• 1998 - Ray Nitschke, American football player and actor
• 1999 - Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian journalist and author
• 1999 - Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian
• 1999 - Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach
• 2001 - Edward Winter, American actor
• 2003 - Adam Faith, English singer
• 2003 - Karen Morley, American actress
• 2004 - Muhammad Zaidan, Syrian terrorist, founded the Palestine Liberation Front
• 2005 - César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic
• 2005 - Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen commander and politician, 3rd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
• 2007 - John Inman, English actor
• 2007 - John Vukovich, American baseball player and coach
• 2009 - Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 2009 - Zbigniew Religa, Polish surgeon and politician, Polish Minister of Health
• 2011 - Mike Starr, American bass player
• 2012 - Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic
• 2012 - Minoru Mori, Japanese businessman, founded the Mori Art Museum
• 2012 - Steven Rubenstein, American anthropologist and academic
• 2013 - Haseeb Ahsan, Pakistani cricketer and manager
• 2013 - John O'Connell, Irish journalist and politician, 17th Irish Minister of Health
• 2013 - Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, German soldier and publisher
• 2014 - Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American Holocaust survivor and author
• 2014 - William Guarnere, American sergeant
• 2015 - Tjol Lategan, South African rugby player
• 2015 - Sam Simon, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 2016 - Aldo Ferrer, Argentinian economist and diplomat
• 2016 - Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 2016 - George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer
• 2018 - Kate Wilhelm, American author
• 2019 - Marshall Brodien, American actor
• 2019 - Cedrick Hardman, American football player and actor
• 2020 - Max von Sydow, Swedish actor

  Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
• *Edward King
• *Felix of Burgundy
• *Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy
• *John of God
• *Philemon the actor
• *March 8
• Earliest day on which Canberra Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March
• Earliest day on which Commonwealth Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March
• Earliest day on which Decoration Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Wednesday in March
• Earliest day on which Passion Sunday can fall, while April 17 is the latest; observed on the fifth Sunday of Lent
• International Women's Day, and its related observances:
• *International Women's Collaboration Brew Day