March 8
- See also International Women's Day
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March 8 is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 298 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
- 1702 - Very unexpectedly, Anne Stuart, the sister of the childless Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland and Ireland after the death of William III of Orange.
- 1775 - Thomas Paine's "African Slavery in America" was published. It was the first article in the United States calling for the emancipation of all slaves and the abolition of slavery.
- 1782 - Gnadenhütten massacre: Almost 100 Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio had their skulls crushed with mallets by Pennsylvanian militiamen.
- 1817 - The New York Stock Exchange is founded.
- 1844 - King Oscar I ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway.
- 1862 - American Civil War: The iron-clad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) is launched at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
- 1911 - International Women's Day is celebrated for the first time.
- 1921 - Spanish Premier Eduardo Dato Iradier is assassinated while exiting the parliament building in Madrid.
- 1924 - Castle Gate mine disaster kills 172 coal miners near Castle Gate, Utah
- 1936 - The first stock car race is held in Daytona Beach, Florida.
- 1942 - World War II: The Dutch surrender to Japanese forces on Java.
- 1942 - World War II: Japan captures Rangoon, Burma.
- 1943 - World War II: Japanese troops counter-attack American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville in a battle that will last five days.
- 1945 - The allies send large numbers of troops across the Rhine significantly reinforcing and expanding the tenuous bridgehead at the captured railway Bridge at Remagen allowing them to push some armor across the Rhine and better secure the nascent lodgement.
- 1950 - The Soviet Union claims to have an atomic bomb.
- 1957 - Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal.
- 1957 - The 1957 Georgia Memorial to Congress, which petitions the U.S. Congress to declare the ratification of the 14th & 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 - Vietnam War: 3,500 United States Marines arrive in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam.
- 1966 - Vietnam War: Australia announces it is going to substantially increase its number of troops in Vietnam.
- 1966 - A bomb planted by young Irish protesters destroys Nelson's Pillar in Dublin.
- 1974 - Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
- 1978 - The first-ever radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is transmitted on BBC Radio 4.
- 1980 - The first festival of rock music kicks off in the Soviet Union
- 1983 - President of the United States Ronald Reagan calls the Soviet Union an evil empire.
- 1985 - A failed assassination attempt on Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in a car-bombing in Beirut kills 85 people and injures 175.
- 1988 Two U.S. Army helicopters collide in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing 17 servicemen.
- 1999 - Oklahoma City bombing: the Supreme Court of the United States upholds the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh.
- 2004 - A new constitution is signed by Iraq's Governing Council.
Births
- 1286 - John III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1341)
- 1293 - Beatrice of Castile, queen of Portugal (d. 1359)
- 1495 - John_of_God, Portuguese-born friar and saint (d. 1550)
- 1514 - Amago Haruhisa, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1562)
- 1560 - Don Carlo Gesualdo, Italian composer (d. 1613)
- 1659 - Isaac de Beausobre, French Protestant pastor (d. 1738)
- 1712 - John Fothergill, English physician (d. 1780)
- 1714 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (d. 1788)
- 1726 - Richard Howe, British admiral (d. 1799)
- 1746 - André Michaux, French botanist (d. 1802)
- 1748 - William V of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic
- 1783 - Hannah Van Buren, wife of American president Martin Van Buren (d. 1819)
- 1799 - Simon Cameron, U.S. Secretary of War (d. 1889)
- 1814 - Ede Szigligeti, Hungarian dramatist (d. 1878)
- 1822 - Ignacy Lukasiewicz, Polish inventor (d. 1882)
- 1827 - Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (d. 1875)
- 1830 - João de Deus, Portuguese poet (d. 1896)
- 1841 - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1935)
- 1856 - Bramwell Booth, the 2nd General of The Salvation Army (d. 1929)
- 1856 - Tom Roberts, Australian artist (d. 1931)
- 1859 - Kenneth Grahame, English author (d. 1932)
- 1865 - Frederic Goudy, American type designer (d. 1947)
- 1872 - Anna Held, Polish-born actress and singer (d. 1918)
- 1879 - Otto Hahn, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1886 - Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1972)
- 1891 - Sam Jaffe, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1892 - Mississippi John Hurt, American blues singer and guitarist (d. 1966)
- 1896 - Charlotte Whitton, Canadian politician, Mayor of Ottawa (d. 1975)
- 1899 - Elmer Keith, Firearms enthusiast and Author (d. 1984)
- 1902 - Louise Beavers, American actress (d. 1962)
- 1907 - Constantine Karamanlis, Greek politician, President of Greece (d. 1998)
- 1910 - Claire Trevor, American actress (d. 2000)
- 1911 - Alan Hovhaness, American composer (d. 2000)
- 1912 - Preston Smith, Governor of Texas (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (d. 1987)
- 1915 - Tapio Rautavaara, Finnish athlete, actor, and singer (d. 1979)
- 1916 - John Seybold, American economist and computer typesetting pioneer (d. 2004)
- 1921 - Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer
- 1921 - Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese soldier and Mangaka
- 1922 - Carl Furillo, American baseball player (d. 1989)
- 1925 - Warren Bennis, American educator and author
- 1926 - Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor (d. 2001)
- 1927 - Dick Hyman, American pianist, conductor, and composer
- 1928 - Gerald Bull, Canadian engineer (d. 1990)
- 1930 - Bob Grim, baseball player (d. 1996)
- 1931 - John McPhee, American writer and professor
- 1931 - Neil Postman, American cultural critic (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Luca Ronconi, Italian actor, theater and opera director
- 1936 - Gábor Szabó, Hungarian guitarist (d. 1982)
- 1937 - Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
- 1938 - Pete Dawkins, American football player
- 1939 - Jim Bouton, baseball player, author, and entrepreneur
- 1939 - Lidia Skoblikova, Russian skater
- 1939 - Robert Tear, Welsh tenor
- 1940 - Susan Clark, Canadian actress
- 1942 - Ann Packer, British athlete
- 1942 - Dick Allen, baseball player
- 1943 - Lynn Redgrave, English actress
- 1944 - Sergey Nikitin, Russian composer
- 1944 - Pepé Romero, Spanish guitarist
- 1944 - Palito Ortega, Argentine singer and actor
- 1945 - Jim Chapman, American politician
- 1945 - Micky Dolenz, American musician (The Monkees)
- 1945 - Anselm Kiefer, German painter
- 1946 - Randy Meisner, American musician (The Eagles)
- 1947 - Mike Allsup, American musician (Three Dog Night)
- 1947 - Carole Bayer Sager, American composer
- 1947 - Florentino Pérez, former President of Real Madrid
- 1948 - Peggy March, American pop singer
- 1952 - George Felix Allen, Former U.S. Senator from Virginia
- 1953 - Bob Brozman, American musician
- 1953 - Jim Rice, baseball player
- 1954 - Cheryl Baker, British singer (Bucks Fizz)
- 1954 - David Wilkie, Scottish swimmer
- 1955 - Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1981)
- 1956 - John Kapelos, Canadian actor
- 1956 - Laurie Cunningham, English former footballer (d. 1989)
- 1957 - Clive Burr, British musician, former drummer for Iron Maiden
- 1957 - Cynthia Rothrock, American actress and martial artist
- 1958 - Gary Numan, British singer
- 1959 - Aidan Quinn, American actor
- 1960 - Max Metzker, Australian swimmer
- 1961 - Camryn Manheim, American actress
- 1961 - Larry Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 - Lorelei, American fetish model and photographer
- 1963 - Mike Lalor, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 - Fátima Lopes, Portuguese fashion designer
- 1968 - Michael Bartels, German race car driver
- 1968 - Shawn Mullins, American musician
- 1969 - Andrea Parker, American actress, ballet dancer
- 1970 - Jason Elam, American football player
- 1971 - Kit Symons, Welsh footballer
- 1972 - Angie Hart, Australian pop singer
- 1972 - Fergal O'Brien, Irish snooker player
- 1972 - Georgios Georgiadis, Greek footballer
- 1973 - Anneke van Giersbergen, Dutch singer (The Gathering)
- 1973 - Boris Kodjoe, Austrian model
- 1973 - Kurt Mollekens, Belgian racing car driver
- 1975 - Fardeen Khan, Indian actor
- 1975 - Peggy Zina, Greek singer
- 1976 - Gaz Coombes, English singer (Supergrass)
- 1976 - Juan Encarnacion, baseball player
- 1976 - Hines Ward, American football player
- 1976 - Freddie Prinze Jr., American actor
- 1977 - James Van Der Beek, American actor
- 1977 - Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
- 1979 - Tom Chaplin, English singer (Keane)
- 1979 - Andy Ross, American guitarist (OK Go)
- 1979 - Nick Zano, American actor
- 1981 - Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
- 1981 - Jessica Jaymes, American porn actress
- 1981 - Timothy Jordan II, American musician (The All American Rejects, Jonezetta) (d. 2005)
- 1982 - Nicoleta Onel, Romanian gymnast
- 1982 - Nicolas Armindo, race car driver
- 1982 - Leonidas Kabantais, Greek footballer
- 1991 - Devon Werkheiser, American Actor
- 1992 - Charlie Ray, American actress
Deaths
- 1126 - Urraca of Castile (b. 1082)
- 1144 - Pope Celestine II
- 1202 - Sverre of Norway
- 1223 - Wincenty Kadłubek, Polish chronicler (b. 1161)
- 1550 - Saint John of God, a saint (b. 1495)
- 1641 - Xu Xiake, Chinese adventurer (b. 1587)
- 1674 - Charles Sorel, sieur de Souvigny, French writer (b. 1597)
- 1702 - William III of England (b. 1650)
- 1731 - Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1688)
- 1757 - Thomas Blackwell, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1701)
- 1771 - Louis August le Clerc, French-born sculptor (b. 1688)
- 1819 - Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, doctor, Continental Army officer, member of the Massachusetts legislature (b. 1739)
- 1844 - Charles XIV John of Sweden (b. 1763)
- 1855 - William Poole, Infamous member of New York City's Bowery Boys gang (b. 1821)
- 1869 - Hector Berlioz, French composer (b. 1803)
- 1872 - Cornelius Krieghoff, Canadian painter (b. 1815)
- 1874 - Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States (b. 1800)
- 1887 - Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman (b. 1813)
- 1887 - James Buchanan Eads, American engineer (b. 1820)
- 1889 - John Ericsson, Swedish inventor (b. 1803)
- 1917 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German aircraft manufacturer (b. 1838)
- 1923 - Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
- 1923 - Krišjānis Barons, Latvian writer (b. 1835)
- 1930 - William Howard Taft, President of the United States (b. 1857)
- 1937 - Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
- 1941 - Sherwood Anderson, American author (b. 1876)
- 1942 - José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player (b. 1888)
- 1961 - Thomas Beecham, English conductor (b. 1879)
- 1971 - Harold Lloyd, American actor (b. 1893)
- 1972 - Erich von dem Bach, Nazi official (b. 1899)
- 1973 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, American musician (b. 1945)
- 1975 - George Stevens, American director (b. 1904)
- 1976 - Alfons Rebane, Estonian military commander (b. 1908)
1983 - William Walton, English composer (b. 1902)
- 1985 - Edward Andrews, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Amar Singh Chamkila, Punjabi folk singer (b. 1961)
- 1988 - Henryk Szeryng, Polish-born violinist (b. 1918)
- 1993 - Billy Eckstine, American musician (b. 1914)
- 1995 - Ingo Schwichtenberg, German drummer (b. 1965)
- 1998 - Ray Nitschke, American football player (b. 1936)
- 1999 - Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian (b. 1924)
- 1999 - Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (b. 1914)
- 1999 - Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinean writer (b.1914)
- 2001 - Edward Winter, American actor (b. 1937)
- 2003 - Adam Faith, English singer and actor (b. 1940)
- 2003 - Karen Morley, American actress (b. 1909)
- 2004 - Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (b. 1948)
- 2004 - Robert Pastorelli, American actor (b. 1954)
- 2005 - Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen leader (b. 1951)
- 2005 - César Lattes, Brazilian physicist (b. 1924)
- 2006 - Brian Barratt-Boyes, New Zealand heart surgeon (b. 1924)
- 2007 - John Inman, English actor (b. 1935)
- 2007 - John Vukovich, American baseball player and coach (b. 1947)
Holidays and observances
Liturgical feasts
- Catholicism
- Saint John of God.
- Saint Philemon (d. 305)