Events

• 238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperors.

• 1621 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.

• 1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquian Indians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony's population.

• 1630 – Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.

• 1638 – Anne Hutchinson is expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious dissent.

• 1765 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Stamp Act, which introduced a tax to be levied directly on its American colonies.

• 1784 – The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current place in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.

• 1809 – Charles XIII succeeds Gustav IV Adolf to the Swedish throne.

• 1829 – The three protecting powers (Britain, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece.

• 1849 – The Austrians defeat the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara.

• 1871 – In North Carolina, William Woods Holden becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by impeachment.

• 1873 – A law is approved by the Spanish National Assembly in Puerto Rico to abolish slavery.

• 1888 – The Football League is formed.

• 1894 – The first playoff game for the Stanley Cup starts.

• 1895 – First display (a private screening) of motion pictures by Auguste and Louis Lumière.

• 1916 – The last Emperor of China, Yuan Shikai, abdicates the throne and the Republic of China is restored.

• 1923 – The first radio broadcast of ice hockey is made by Foster Hewitt.

• 1933 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs into law a bill legalizing the sale of beer and wine.

• 1939 – World War II: Germany takes Memel from Lithuania.

• 1941 – Washington's Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity.

• 1942 – World War II: In the Mediterranean Sea, Britain's Royal Navy confronts Italy's Regia Marina in the Second Battle of Sirte.

• 1943 – World War II: the entire population of Khatyn in Belarus is burnt alive by German occupation forces.

• 1945 – The Arab League is founded when a charter is adopted in Cairo, Egypt.

• 1954 – Closed since 1939, the London bullion market reopens.

• 1960 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow & Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.

• 1975 – A fire at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Decatur, Alabama causes dangerous lowering of cooling water levels.

• 1978 – Karl Wallenda of the The Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• 1982 – NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia, is launched from the Kennedy Space Centre on its third mission, STS-3.

• 1984 – Teachers at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California are charged with satanic ritual abuse of the children in the school. The charges are later dropped as completely unfounded.

• 1989 – Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres suffers a near-fatal injury when another player accidentally slits his throat.

• 1993 – The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips (80586), featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64 bit data path.

• 1995 – Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov returns after setting a record for 438 days in space.

• 1997 – Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion of the women's world figure skating competition.

• 1997 – The Comet Hale-Bopp has its closest approach to earth.

• 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist resistance group Hamas, two bodyguards, and nine civilian bystanders are killed in the Gaza Strip when hit by Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache fired Hellfire missiles.

• 2006 – ETA, armed Basque separatist group, declares permanent ceasefire.

• 2006 – BC Ferries' M/V Queen of the North runs aground on Gil Island British Columbia and sinks; 101 on board, 2 presumed deaths.

• 2006 – Three Christian Peacemaker Teams Hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days captivity and the death of their colleague, American Tom Fox.

• 2009 – Mount Redoubt, a volcano in Alaska began erupting after a prolonged period of unrest.

Births

• 841 – Bernard Plantapilosa, Count of Auvergne (d. 885)

• 875 – William I, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 918)

• 1212 – Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (d. 1235)

• 1366 – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, English politician (d. 1399)

• 1459 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1519)

• 1503 – Antonio Francesco Grazzini, Italian writer (d. 1583)

• 1599 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter (d. 1641)

• 1609 – King John II Casimir of Poland (d. 1672)

• 1663 – August Hermann Francke, German Protestant minister (d. 1727)

• 1712 – Edward Moore, English writer (d. 1757)

• 1720 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect (d. 1799)

• 1723 – Charles Carroll, American statesman (d. 1783)

• 1759 – Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden and Norway (d. 1818)

• 1797 – King Wilhelm I of Germany (d. 1888)

• 1812 – Stephen Pearl Andrews, American abolitionist (d. 1886)

• 1817 – Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (d. 1876)

• 1818 – John Ainsworth Horrocks, English-born explorer of South Australia (d. 1846)

• 1852 – Otakar Ševčík, Czech violinist and violin teacher (d. 1934)

• 1857 – Paul Doumer, French President (d. 1932)

• 1860 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician (d. 1940)

• 1866 – Jack Boyle, American baseball player (d. 1913)

• 1868 – Robert Millikan, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)

• 1869 – Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippines (d. 1964)

• 1878 – Michel Théato, Luxembourgian athlete (d. 1919)

• 1880 – Ernie Quigley, Canadian-American sports official (d. 1960)

• 1885 – Aryeh Levin, Orthodox Jewish rabbi (d. 1969)

• 1887 – Chico Marx, American comedian and actor (d. 1961)

• 1896 – He Long, Chinese marshal (d. 1969)

• 1901 – Greta Kempton, American artist (d. 1991)

• 1902 – Madeleine Milhaud, French actress (d. 2008)

• 1907 – James Gavin, American general and ambassador (d. 1990)

• 1907 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (d. 2005)

• 1908 – Jack Crawford, Australian tennis player (d. 1991)

• 1908 – Louis L'Amour, American author (d. 1988)

• 1909 – Gabrielle Roy, Canadian author (d. 1983)

• 1910 – Nicholas Monsarrat, British novelist (d. 1979)

• 1912 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor (d. 1985)

• 1912 – Karl Malden, American actor (d. 2009)

• 1913 – Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish combat pilot (d. 2001)

• 1913 – Tom McCall, Governor of Oregon (d. 1983)

• 1913 – Lew Wasserman, American film studio executive (d. 2002)

• 1915 – Georgiy Zhzhonov, Russian actor and writer (d. 2005)

• 1917 – Virginia Grey, American actress (d. 2004)

• 1918 – Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (d. 1997)

• 1920 – Werner Klemperer, German-born actor (d. 2000)

• 1920 – Ross Martin, Polish-American actor (d. 1981)

• 1921 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (d. 2004)

• 1923 – Marcel Marceau, world renown French Mime (d. 2007)

• 1924 – Allen Neuharth, American businessman

• 1924 – Bill Wendell, American television announcer (d. 1999)

• 1928 – Carrie Donovan, American fashion editor (d. 2001)

• 1928 – E.D. Hirsch. American social commentator

• 1928 – Ed Macauley, American basketball player

• 1930 – Derek Bok, American lawyer and educator

• 1930 – Pat Robertson, American televangelist

• 1930 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist

• 1931 – Burton Richter, American physicist, Nobel laureate

• 1931 – William Shatner, Canadian actor

• 1933 – Abolhassan Banisadr, former President of Iran

• 1933 – May Britt, Swedish actress

• 1934 – Orrin Hatch, American politician

• 1934 – Larry Martyn, English comedy actor (d. 1994)

• 1935 – M. Emmet Walsh, American actor

• 1936 – Ron Carey, American labor leader

• 1936 – Roger Whittaker, British singer

• 1937 – Angelo Badalamenti, American composer

• 1937 – Armin Hary, German athlete

• 1940 – Dave Keon, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1940 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian/American actor (d. 1996)

• 1941 – Jeremy Clyde, British actor and musician (Chad and Jeremy)

• 1941 – Billy Collins, American poet

• 1941 – Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor

• 1941 – Cassam Uteem, Mauritian political figure

• 1942 – Bernd Herzsprung, German actor

• 1942 – Jorge Ben Jor, Brazilian musician

• 1942 – Dick Pound, Canadian chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency

• 1943 – George Benson, American musician

• 1943 – Keith Relf, English musician (The Yardbirds) (d. 1976)

• 1945 – Eric Roth, American screenwriter

• 1946 – Don Chaney, American basketball player and head coach

• 1946 – Rudy Rucker, American author

• 1947 – James Patterson, American author

• 1948 – Wolf Blitzer, American television journalist

• 1948 – Andrew Lloyd Webber, English theatre composer

• 1949 – Fanny Ardant, French actress

• 1950 – Jocky Wilson, Scottish darts player

• 1952 – Bob Costas, American sports commentator

• 1952 – Jay Dee Daugherty, American drummer

• 1955 – Pete Sessions, American politician

• 1955 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress

• 1955 – Valdis Zatlers, 7th President of Latvia

• 1956 – Generosa Ammon, widow of Ted Ammon (d. 2003)

• 1957 – Stephanie Mills, American actress and singer

• 1958 – Laurie David, American political activist

• 1958 – Pete Wylie, British singer/songwriter

• 1959 – Carlton Cuse, Mexican-born American TV writer and executive

• 1959 – Matthew Modine, American actor

• 1959 – Avraham Fried, Orthodox Jewish Musician

• 1965 – John Kordic, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1992)

• 1965 – Emma Wray, English actress

• 1966 – Artis Pabriks, Latvian politician

• 1966 – Brian Shaw, American basketball player

• 1967 – Mario Cipollini, Italian cyclist

• 1968 – Euronymous, Norwegian black metal musician (d. 1993)

• 1970 – Andreas Johnson, Swedish singer

• 1970 – Leontien van Moorsel, Dutch cyclist

• 1971 – Will Yun Lee, American actor

• 1971 – Iben Hjejle, Danish actress

• 1972 – Shawn Bradley, American basketball player

• 1972 – Cory Lidle, American baseball player (d. 2006)

• 1972 – Elvis Stojko, Canadian figure skater

• 1973 – Beverley Knight, English singer

• 1973 – Joe Nedney, American football player

• 1973 – Sean Marshall

• 1974 – Marcus Camby, American basketball player

• 1974 – Philippe Clement, Belgian footballer

• 1974 – Kidada Jones, American actress

• 1975 – Cole Hauser, American actor

• 1975 – Jiří Novák, Czech tennis player

• 1976 – Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player

• 1976 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress

• 1976 – Kellie Shanygne Williams, American actress

• 1977 – Joey Porter, American football player

• 1977 – Jean Mckay, Carpenter, Mother

• 1978 – Tom Poti, American ice hockey player

• 1979 – Aaron North, American musician

• 1979 – Juan Uribe, Dominican baseball player

• 1980 – Shannon Bex, American singer (Danity Kane)

• 1980 – Pamela O'Connor, Scottish ice dancer

• 1981 – Victoria Lanz, Venezuelan porn star

• 1983 – Dagoberto, Brazilian footballer

• 1985 – Mike Jenkins, American football player

• 1988 – Tania Raymonde, American actress

Deaths

• 1322 – Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, English politician (b. 1278)

• 1418 – Dietrich of Nieheim, German historian

• 1421 – Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, second son of Henry IV of England (killed in battle) (b. 1388)

• 1544 – Johannes Magnus, last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden (b. 1488)

• 1602 – Agostino Carracci, Italian artist (b. 1557)

• 1685 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (b. 1638)

• 1687 – Jean Baptiste Lully, Italian-born French composer (b. 1632)

• 1758 – Jonathan Edwards, American minister (b. 1703)

• 1758 – Richard Leveridge, English bass and composer (b. 1670)

• 1772 – John Canton, English physicist (b. 1718)

• 1820 – Stephen Decatur, American naval officer (b. 1779)

• 1832 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer (b. 1749)

• 1840 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (b. 1798)

• 1896 – Thomas Hughes, English novelist (b. 1822)

• 1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, Chinese Nationalist (b. 1882)

• 1924 – William Macewen, Scottish surgeon (b. 1848)

• 1934 – Theophilos Hatzimihail, Greek painter (b. 1870)

• 1945 – John Hessin Clarke, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1857)

• 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)

• 1952 – Uncle Dave Macon, American musician (b. 1870)

• 1955 – Ivan Šubašić, Kingdom of Yugoslavia prime minister and last ban of Croatia (b. 1892)

• 1958 – Mike Todd, American film producer (b. 1909)

• 1960 – José Antonio Aguirre, Basque politician (b. 1904)

• 1966 – John Harlin, American mountaineer (b. 1935)

• 1974 – Peter Revson, American racecar driver (b. 1939)

• 1977 – A.K. Gopalan, Indian communist leader (b. 1904)

• 1978 – Karl Wallenda, German acrobat (b. 1905)

• 1981 – James "Jumbo" Elliott, American track coach (b. 1915)

• 1986 – Mark Dinning, American singer (b. 1933)

• 1986 – Charles Starrett, American actor (b. 1903)

• 1986 – Olive Deering, American actress (b. 1918)

• 1990 – Gerald Bull, Canadian engineer (b. 1928)

• 1991 – Léon Balcer, French Canadian politician (b. 1917)

• 1991 – Dave Guard, American folk singer (The Kingston Trio) (b. 1934)

• 1991 – Gloria Holden, American film actress (b. 1908)

• 1993 – Steve Olin, American baseball player (b. 1965)

• 1994 – Dan Hartman, American musician, songwriter, and record producer (b. 1950)

• 1994 – Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (b. 1900)

• 1996 – Don Murray, American musician (The Turtles) (b. 1945)

• 1996 – Billy Williamson, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (b. 1925)

• 1999 – David Strickland, American actor (b. 1969)

• 2001 – Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish combat pilot (b. 1913)

• 2001 – William Hanna, American animator and studio founder (b. 1910)

• 2003 – Terry Lloyd, English reporter (b. 1952)

• 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, Palestinian co-founder of Hamas (b. c. 1937)

• 2005 – Kenzo Tange, Japanese architect (b. 1913)

• 2006 – Pierre Clostermann, French World War II pilot (b. 1921)

• 2006 – Kurt von Trojan, Australian science fiction author (b. 1937)

• 2006 – Lawrence Stephen, Nauruan politician (b. 1939)

• 2007 – Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (b. 1918)

• 2008 – Cachao López, Cuban mambo musician (b. 1918)

• 2009 – Leon Walker, Wakefield Wildcats Rugby Player (b. 1988)

• 2009 – Jade Goody, Reality TV Star and Entrepreneur

Holidays and observances

• The fourth day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva.

• World Water Day.

• In the Gregorian Calendar 22 March is the earliest date on which Easter Sunday can fall (25 April is the latest)