Events 45 BC - In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. 1756 - St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern). 1776 - American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington places artillery overlooking the city. 1861 - The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed. 1886 - Carrollton Massacre: 20 African Americans are killed in Mississippi. 1891 - The British steamship SS Utopia sinks off the coast of Gibraltar, killing 574. 1901 - A showing of 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation. 1910 - Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (formally announced in 1912). 1931 - Nevada legalizes gambling. 1941 - In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1948 - Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels which is a precursor to the NATO Agreement. 1950 - University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98 which they have named "californium". 1958 - The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite. 1959 - The Dalai Lama flees Tibet and travels to India. 1966 - Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the ALVIN submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb. 1969 - Golda Meir of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel. 1970 - My Lai massacre: The United States Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident. 1985 - Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker", commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California murder spree. 1988 - A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into the side of the mountains near Venezuela border killing 143. 1992 - 29 are killed and 242 injured when a suicide car-bomb goes off in the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. 2003 - British Cabinet Minister, Robin Cook, resigns over government plans for war with Iraq. Births 1473 - King James IV of Scotland (+ 1513) 1777 - Roger Taney, Chief Justice of the United States (+ 1864) 1804 - Jim Bridger, pioneer (+ 1881) 1834 - Gottlieb Daimler, engineer and inventor (+ 1900) 1862 - Silvio Gesell, economist (+ 1930) 1870 - Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe, British entomologist, myrmecologist and coleopterist. (+ 1951) 1888 - Frank Buck, "big game" hunter (+ 1950) 1894 - Paul Green, novelist, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (+ 1981) 1895 - Shemp Howard, actor ("The Three Stooges") (+ 1955) 1902 - Bobby Jones, golfer (+ 1971) 1908 - Brigitte Helm, actress (+ 1996) 1912 - Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist (+ 1987) 1914 - Sammy Baugh, American football star 1918 - Mercedes McCambridge, actress 1919 - Nat King Cole, singer (+ 1965) 1920 - Mujibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (+ 1975) 1926 - Siegfried Lenz, writer 1936 - Ladislav Kupkovic, composer 1938 - Rudolf Nureyev, dancer and choreographer (+ 1993) 1942 - John Wayne Gacy, serial killer (+ 1994) 1944 - John Sebastian, singer-songwriter, also a member of the Lovin' Spoonful 1948 - William Gibson, writer 1949 - Patrick Duffy, actor 1951 - Kurt Russell, actor 1954 - Lesley-Anne Down, actress 1955 - Gary Sinise, actor 1956 - Patrick McDonnell, creator of syndicated cartoon strip "Mutts" 1959 - Danny Ainge, basketball player, coach, baseball player 1964 - Rob Lowe, actor 1972 - Mia Hamm, soccer player Deaths 45 BC - Titus Labienus, Roman statesman, and Gnaeus Pompeius (died in and executed after the battle of Munda) 180 - Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 461 - Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland died in Saul, County Down 1058 - King Lulach I of Scotland 1917 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist 1956 - Irene Joliot-Curie, scientist 1965 - Amos Alonzo Stagg, baseball, basketball and American football coach and player 1976 - Luchino Visconti, director 1957 - Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines 1990 - Capucine, actress 1993 - Helen Hayes, actress 2003 - Klaus Oldendorff, ship owner Holidays and observances Saint Patrick's Day: a public holiday in Ireland and Montserrat Roman Empire - the second day of the Bacchanalia in honor of Bacchus Roman Empire - the Liberia in honor of Liber Ancient Latvia - Kustonu Diena observed Boston, Massachusetts - Evacuation Day See Also: March 16 - March 18 - February 17 - April 17 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
March 16 - March 18 - February 17 - April 17 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December