March 4

Events

 * AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
 * 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
 * 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
 * 932 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
 * 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
 * 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus'.
 * 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
 * 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
 * 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
 * 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
 * 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
 * 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
 * 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
 * 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
 * 1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
 * 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
 * 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
 * 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
 * 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
 * 1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
 * 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
 * 1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
 * 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
 * 1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
 * 1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
 * 1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
 * 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia.
 * 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the "Stars and Bars") is adopted.
 * 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
 * 1882 – Britain's first electric trams run in east London.
 * 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1710 ft long, is opened by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
 * 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 m wave that reaches up to 5 km inland, killing over 300.
 * 1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
 * 1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution's Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State
 * 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
 * 1913  – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
 * 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
 * 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
 * 1933  – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
 * 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
 * 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
 * 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
 * 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
 * 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
 * 1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
 * 1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
 * 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
 * 1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
 * 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
 * 1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
 * 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.
 * 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
 * 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley's Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
 * 1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
 * 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
 * 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
 * 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
 * 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
 * 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
 * 2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Births

 * 895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the short-lived Later Han dynasty (d. 948)
 * 1188 – Blanche of Castile (d. 1252)
 * 1394 – Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese patron of exploration (d. 1460)
 * 1484 – George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
 * 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
 * 1602 – Kanō Tan'yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
 * 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
 * 1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
 * 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
 * 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
 * 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
 * 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
 * 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
 * 1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
 * 1729 – Anne d'Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
 * 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
 * 1745  – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
 * 1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
 * 1769 – Muhammad Ali of Egypt (d. 1849)
 * 1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
 * 1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
 * 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
 * 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
 * 1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
 * 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
 * 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
 * 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
 * 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
 * 1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
 * 1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
 * 1826  – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
 * 1826  – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
 * 1826  – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
 * 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
 * 1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
 * 1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
 * 1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
 * 1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
 * 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
 * 1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
 * 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
 * 1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
 * 1863  – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
 * 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
 * 1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
 * 1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
 * 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
 * 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
 * 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
 * 1873  – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
 * 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
 * 1875  – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
 * 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
 * 1876  – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
 * 1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
 * 1877  – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
 * 1877  – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
 * 1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
 * 1878  – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
 * 1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
 * 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
 * 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
 * 1881  – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
 * 1881  – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
 * 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
 * 1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
 * 1883  – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
 * 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
 * 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
 * 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
 * 1888  – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
 * 1888  – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
 * 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
 * 1889  – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
 * 1889  – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
 * 1889  – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
 * 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
 * 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
 * 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
 * 1893  – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
 * 1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
 * 1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
 * 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
 * 1897 – Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
 * 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
 * 1898  – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
 * 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
 * 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
 * 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
 * 1901  – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
 * 1901  – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
 * 1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
 * 1902  – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
 * 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
 * 1903  – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
 * 1903  – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
 * 1903  – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
 * 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
 * 1904  – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
 * 1904  – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
 * 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
 * 1906  – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
 * 1906  – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
 * 1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
 * 1908  – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
 * 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
 * 1909  – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
 * 1910  – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
 * 1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
 * 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
 * 1912  – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
 * 1912  – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
 * 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
 * 1913  – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
 * 1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
 * 1914  – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
 * 1914  – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
 * 1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
 * 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
 * 1915  – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
 * 1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
 * 1916  – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
 * 1916  – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
 * 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
 * 1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist
 * 1918  – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
 * 1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
 * 1919  – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
 * 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
 * 1920  – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
 * 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator
 * 1921  – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
 * 1921  – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
 * 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
 * 1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
 * 1923  – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
 * 1923  – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
 * 1924 – Kenneth O'Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
 * 1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic
 * 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
 * 1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic
 * 1926  – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway
 * 1926  – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
 * 1926  – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
 * 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
 * 1927  – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
 * 1927  – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
 * 1927  – Robert Orben, American magician and author
 * 1927  – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
 * 1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
 * 1928  – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
 * 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
 * 1929  – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
 * 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
 * 1931  – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
 * 1931  – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal
 * 1931  – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician
 * 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
 * 1932  – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
 * 1932  – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
 * 1932  – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
 * 1932  – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
 * 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
 * 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic
 * 1934  – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
 * 1934  – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
 * 1934  – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
 * 1934  – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
 * 1934  – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
 * 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
 * 1935  – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
 * 1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
 * 1936  – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
 * 1936  – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
 * 1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
 * 1937  – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
 * 1937  – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
 * 1937  – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author
 * 1937  – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
 * 1937  – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
 * 1937  – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author
 * 1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
 * 1938  – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
 * 1938  – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
 * 1938  – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
 * 1938  – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
 * 1938  – Paula Prentiss, American actress
 * 1938  – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
 * 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
 * 1940  – David Plante, American novelist
 * 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1941  – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
 * 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
 * 1942  – Charles C. Krulak, American general
 * 1942  – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
 * 1942  – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
 * 1942  – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer, and politician
 * 1942  – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
 * 1943  – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
 * 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
 * 1944  – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
 * 1944  – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
 * 1944  – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
 * 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
 * 1945  – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
 * 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
 * 1946  – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
 * 1946  – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
 * 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
 * 1947  – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
 * 1947  – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer
 * 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
 * 1948  – James Ellroy, American writer
 * 1948  – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
 * 1948  – Jean O'Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
 * 1948  – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2014)
 * 1948  – Shakin' Stevens, British singer-songwriter
 * 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
 * 1949  – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
 * 1949  – Cookie Mueller, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1989)
 * 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
 * 1950  – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
 * 1950  – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
 * 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
 * 1951  – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
 * 1951  – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
 * 1951  – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
 * 1951  – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
 * 1951  – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1951  – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
 * 1951  – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
 * 1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
 * 1952  – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1952  – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
 * 1952  – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
 * 1953  – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
 * 1953  – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
 * 1953  – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
 * 1953  – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
 * 1953  – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
 * 1953  – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
 * 1953  – Daniel Woodrell American novelist and short story writer
 * 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
 * 1954  – Mark Chorvinsky, American magician and author (d. 2005)
 * 1954  – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
 * 1954  – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
 * 1954  – Catherine O'Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
 * 1954  – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author
 * 1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
 * 1955  – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
 * 1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
 * 1957  – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
 * 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
 * 1958  – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
 * 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
 * 1959  – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
 * 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
 * 1961  – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1961  – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
 * 1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
 * 1962  – Paul Canoville, English footballer
 * 1962  – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
 * 1962  – David Sparrow, English-Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player
 * 1964  – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
 * 1964  – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1964  – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
 * 1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
 * 1965  – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1965  – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
 * 1965  – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
 * 1965  – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
 * 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
 * 1966  – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
 * 1966  – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
 * 1966  – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
 * 1966  – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
 * 1966  – Grand Puba, American rapper
 * 1966  – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
 * 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
 * 1967  – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1967  – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
 * 1967  – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
 * 1967  – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
 * 1967  – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
 * 1967  – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
 * 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
 * 1968  – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
 * 1968  – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
 * 1968  – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician
 * 1968  – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
 * 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
 * 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
 * 1970  – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
 * 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
 * 1971  – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
 * 1971  – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
 * 1971  – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
 * 1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
 * 1972  – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1972  – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
 * 1972  – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
 * 1972  – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
 * 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
 * 1973  – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
 * 1973  – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
 * 1973  – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
 * 1973  – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1973  – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1973  – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
 * 1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
 * 1974  – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
 * 1974  – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
 * 1974  – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
 * 1974  – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
 * 1974  – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1974  – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
 * 1974  – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
 * 1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
 * 1975  – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
 * 1975  – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
 * 1975  – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
 * 1975  – Brian McGuire, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1975  – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
 * 1976  – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
 * 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
 * 1977  – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
 * 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1978  – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
 * 1978  – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
 * 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
 * 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
 * 1980  – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
 * 1980  – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
 * 1980  – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
 * 1980  – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
 * 1980  – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
 * 1980  – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
 * 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
 * 1981  – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
 * 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
 * 1982  – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
 * 1982  – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
 * 1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
 * 1983  – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
 * 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
 * 1984  – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
 * 1984  – Spencer Larsen, American football player
 * 1984  – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
 * 1984  – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
 * 1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
 * 1985  – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
 * 1985  – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
 * 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
 * 1986  – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
 * 1986  – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
 * 1986  – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
 * 1986  – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
 * 1987  – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
 * 1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
 * 1988  – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
 * 1988  – Adam Watts, English footballer
 * 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
 * 1990  – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
 * 1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
 * 1992  – Érik Lamela, Argentinian footballer
 * 1992  – Bernd Leno, German footballer
 * 1992  – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
 * 1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
 * 1993  – Richard Peniket, English footballer
 * 1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
 * 1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer

Deaths

 * 306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
 * 480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
 * 561 – Pope Pelagius I
 * 1172 – Stephen III of Hungary (b. 1147)
 * 1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
 * 1238 – Joan of England, Queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
 * 1238  – Yuri II of Vladimir (b. 1189)
 * 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian saint (b. 1261)
 * 1371 – Jeanne d'Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
 * 1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
 * 1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
 * 1496 – Sigismund, Archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
 * 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
 * 1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
 * 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
 * 1710 – Louis, Prince of Condé (b. 1668)
 * 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
 * 1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
 * 1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
 * 1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
 * 1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
 * 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
 * 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)
 * 1811 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1778)
 * 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist and scholar (b. 1790)
 * 1851 – James Richardson, English explorer (b. 1809)
 * 1852 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (b. 1809)
 * 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776)
 * 1853  – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1774)
 * 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794)
 * 1864 – Thomas Starr King, American minister and politician (b. 1824)
 * 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish-American minister and theologian (b. 1788)
 * 1872 – Carsten Hauch, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1790)
 * 1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
 * 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher and educator (b. 1799)
 * 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English author (b. 1834)
 * 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831)
 * 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856)
 * 1916 – Franz Marc, German painter (b. 1880)
 * 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (b. 1854)
 * 1925  – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
 * 1925  – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
 * 1927 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (b. 1846)
 * 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1852)
 * 1938  – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
 * 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (b. 1860)
 * 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
 * 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and activist (b. 1855)
 * 1944  – Louis Buchalter, American mob boss (b. 1897)
 * 1944  – Louis Capone, Italian-American gangster (b. 1896)
 * 1944  – René Lefebvre, French businessman (b. 1879)
 * 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
 * 1945  – Mark Sandrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
 * 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor and director (b. 1896)
 * 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury English cyclist (b. 1882)
 * 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
 * 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer and songwriter (b. 1898)
 * 1960 – Herbert O'Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896)
 * 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1883)
 * 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-American businessman (b. 1881)
 * 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894)
 * 1972  – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
 * 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (b. 1903)
 * 1976 – John Marvin Jones, American judge and politician (b. 1882)
 * 1976  – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (b. 1886)
 * 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian poet, author, and critic (b. 1925)
 * 1977  – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian botanist and curator (b. 1912)
 * 1977  – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1951)
 * 1977  – William Paul, American lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
 * 1977  – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1887)
 * 1978 – Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909)
 * 1978  – Joe Marsala, American clarinet player and songwriter (b. 1907)
 * 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926)
 * 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912)
 * 1981 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
 * 1981  – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900)
 * 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917)
 * 1986  – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943)
 * 1986  – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913)
 * 1987 – Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884)
 * 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
 * 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916)
 * 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
 * 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
 * 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907)
 * 1992  – Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
 * 1993 – Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904)
 * 1993  – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
 * 1993  – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894)
 * 1993  – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929)
 * 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
 * 1994  – George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918)
 * 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
 * 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912)
 * 1996  – John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
 * 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901)
 * 1997  – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916)
 * 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907)
 * 1999 – Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
 * 1999  – Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934)
 * 1999  – Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929)
 * 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905)
 * 2000  – Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
 * 2000  – Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907)
 * 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961)
 * 2001  – Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904)
 * 2001  – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
 * 2001  – Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
 * 2001  – Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907)
 * 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
 * 2002  – Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913)
 * 2002  – Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
 * 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
 * 2003  – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931)
 * 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
 * 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)
 * 2005  – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951)
 * 2005  – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934)
 * 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
 * 2006  – Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
 * 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929)
 * 2007  – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
 * 2007  – Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932)
 * 2008 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938)
 * 2008  – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
 * 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938)
 * 2009  – Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916)
 * 2009  – George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918)
 * 2010 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933)
 * 2010  – Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
 * 2010  – Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945)
 * 2010  – Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
 * 2011 – Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
 * 2011  – Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921)
 * 2011  – Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
 * 2011  – Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930)
 * 2011  – Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920)
 * 2011  – Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
 * 2012 – Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965)
 * 2012  – Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938)
 * 2013 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923)
 * 2013  – Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
 * 2013  – Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960)
 * 2014 – Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953)
 * 2014  – Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
 * 2014  – Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920)
 * 2014  – Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939)
 * 2015 – Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924)
 * 2015  – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932)
 * 2016 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
 * 2016  – Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945)
 * 2016  – P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947)
 * 2016  – Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917)
 * 2017 – Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Adrian of Nicomedia
 * Bisinus
 * Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy (Roman Catholic Church)
 * Blessed Zoltán Meszlényi
 * Casimir
 * Paul Cuffee (Episcopal Church)
 * Peter of Pappacarbone
 * March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Giovanni Antonio Farina (Catholic Church)
 * National Grammar Day (United States)
 * St Casimir's Day (Poland and Lithuania)