March 7
March 7 is the 66th day of the year (67th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 299 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 161 – Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by his adoptive sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.
- 238 – Roman subjects in Africa revolt against Maximinus Thrax and elect Gordian I as emperor.
- 321 – Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire.
- 1277 – Stephen Tempier, bishop of Paris, condemns 219 philosophical and theological theses.
- 1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives.
- 1814 – Emperor Napoleon I of France wins the Battle of Craonne.
- 1827 – Brazil marines unsuccessfully attack the temporary naval base of Carmen de Patagones, Argentina.
- 1827 – Shrigley Abduction: Ellen Turner is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a future politician in colonial New Zealand.
- 1850 – Senator Daniel Webster gives his "Seventh of March" speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Union forces defeat Confederate troops at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.
- 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the telephone.
- 1886 – The City of Lábrea in Amazonas, Brazil is founded. Today, the town is the seat of the Territorial Prelature of Lábrea.
- 1900 – The German liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse becomes the first ship to send wireless signals to shore.
- 1902 – Second Boer War: In the Battle of Tweebosch, a Boer commando led by Koos de la Rey inflicts the biggest defeat upon the British since the beginning of the war
- 1912 – Roald Amundsen announces that his expedition had reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911.
- 1914 – Prince William of Wied arrives in Albania to begin his reign.
- 1936 – World War II (Prelude to): In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
- 1945 – World War II: American troops seize the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen.
- 1950 – Cold War: The Soviet Union issues a statement denying that Klaus Fuchs served as a Soviet spy.
- 1951 – Korean War: Operation Ripper – United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against Chinese forces.
- 1965 – Bloody Sunday: A group of 600 civil rights marchers are forcefully broken up in Selma, Alabama.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnamese military begin Operation Truong Cong Dinh to root out Viet Cong forces from the area surrounding Mỹ Tho.
- 1985 – The song "We Are the World" has its international release.
- 1986 – Challenger Disaster: Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor.
- 1989 – Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a row over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel.
- 1994 – Copyright Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
- 2006 – The terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba coordinates a series of bombings in Varanasi, India.
- 2007 – The British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected.
- 2009 – The Real Irish Republican Army kills two British soldiers and two civilians, the first British military deaths in Northern Ireland since The Troubles.
- 2009 – The Kepler space observatory, designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars, is launched.
Births
- 189 – Publius Septimius Geta, Roman Emperor (d. 211)
- 1481 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (d. 1537)
- 1556 – Guillaume du Vair, French writer (d. 1621)
- 1671 – Robert Roy MacGregor, Scottish folk hero (d. 1734)
- 1678 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect (d. 1736)
- 1687 – Jean Lebeuf, French historian (d. 1760)
- 1693 – Pope Clement XIII (d. 1769)
- 1715 – Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet (d. 1759)
- 1715 – Ephraim Williams, American philanthropist (d. 1755)
- 1730 – Baron de Breteuil, French statesman (d. 1807)
- 1765 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor of photography (d. 1833)
- 1785 – Alessandro Manzoni, Italian writer (d. 1873)
- 1788 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist (d. 1878)
- 1792 – John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1871)
- 1837 – Henry Draper, American physician and astronomer (d. 1882)
- 1841 – William Rockhill Nelson, American publisher (The Kansas City Star) and patron of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (d. 1915)
- 1849 – Luther Burbank, American botanist (d. 1926)
- 1850 – Champ Clark, American politician (d. 1921)
- 1850 – Tomáš Masaryk, first President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1937)
- 1857 – Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1940)
- 1866 – Hans Fruhstorfer, German lepidopterist (d. 1922)
- 1872 – Piet Mondriaan, Dutch painter (d. 1944)
- 1873 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (d. 1959)
- 1875 – Maurice Ravel, French composer (d. 1937)
- 1878 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter (d. 1927)
- 1886 – Virginia Pearson, American silent film actress (d. 1958)
- 1887 – Heino Eller, Estonian composer (d. 1970)
- 1888 – Alidius Warmoldus Lambertus Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician (d. 1978)
- 1893 – Milton Avery, American artist (d. 1965)
- 1902 – Heinz Rühmann, German actor (d. 1994)
- 1904 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1969)
- 1904 – Reinhard Heydrich, German Nazi SS senior officer (d. 1942)
- 1908 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress (d. 1973)
- 1909 – Léo Malet, French writer (Nestor Burma) (d. 1996)
- 1914 – John Rodney, American actor
- 1915 – Jacques Chaban-Delmas, French politician (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Lee Young, American jazz drummer and singer (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Eddy Paape, Franco-Belgian comics artist (Luc Orient)
- 1922 – Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Rene Gagnon, American Marine shown in photograph of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1979)
- 1927 – James Broderick, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1927 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and teacher (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Henri Landwirth, Belgian-American hotelier and philanthropist
- 1930 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, British aristocrat, Lord Snowdon, former husband of Princess Margaret
- 1933 – Jackie Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1998)
- 1934 – Douglas Cardinal, Canadian architect
- 1934 – Giorgos Katsaros, Greek musician and composer
- 1934 – Willard Scott, American television broadcaster
- 1938 – David Baltimore, American biologist, Nobel laureate
- 1938 – Janet Guthrie, American race car driver
- 1940 – Rudi Dutschke, German student leader (d. 1979)
- 1940 – Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
- 1942 – Tammy Faye Bakker, American televangelist (d. 2007)
- 1942 – Charles R. Boutin, American politician
- 1942 – Michael Eisner, American film studio executive
- 1943 – Chris White, British musician (The Zombies)
- 1944 – Sir Ranulph Fiennes, British soldier and explorer
- 1944 – Zhiuli Shartava, Georgian politician and the Head of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (d. 1993)
- 1944 – Stanley Schmidt, American editor
- 1944 – Townes Van Zandt, American musician and songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1945 – John Heard, American actor
- 1945 – Bob Herbert, American journalist
- 1945 – Arthur Lee, American musician (Love) (d. 2006)
- 1945 – Elizabeth Moon, American author
- 1946 – Matthew Fisher, British musician (Procol Harum)
- 1946 – Daniel Goleman, American author and psychologist
- 1946 – Peter Wolf, American musician (The J. Geils Band)
- 1947 – Helen Eadie, Scottish politician
- 1947 – Richard Lawson, American actor
- 1947 – Walter Röhrl, German race and rally car driver
- 1949 – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician
- 1950 – Iris Chacon, Puerto Rican singer and dancer
- 1950 – Billy Joe Dupree, American football player
- 1950 – Franco Harris, American football player
- 1951 – Francis Rocco Prestia, American musician (Tower of Power)
- 1952 – Ernie Isley, American musician (The Isley Brothers)
- 1952 – Viv Richards, Antiguan West Indies cricketer
- 1952 – Lynn Swann, American football player
- 1955 – Anupam Kher, Indian actor
- 1955 – Tommy Kramer, American football player
- 1956 – Bryan Cranston, American actor
- 1957 – Robert Harris, English TV reporter and journalist
- 1958 – Alan Hale, American astronomer
- 1958 – Rik Mayall, British actor
- 1958 – Donna Murphy, American actress and singer
- 1960 – Joe Carter, American baseball player
- 1960 – Ivan Lendl, Czech tennis player
- 1960 – Jim Spivey, American track and field athlete
- 1962 – Taylor Dayne, American recording artist
- 1962 – Peter Manley, English darts player
- 1963 – Bill Brochtrup, American actor
- 1963 – Denyce Graves, American singer
- 1964 – Bret Easton Ellis, American writer
- 1964 – Wanda Sykes, American actress and comedienne
- 1965 – Jack Armstrong, American baseball player
- 1965 – Steve Beuerlein, American football player
- 1965 – Cameron Daddo, Australian actor
- 1965 – Jesper Parnevik, Swedish golfer
- 1966 – Joy Tanner, American actress
- 1967 – Jean-Pierre Barda, Swedish singer (Army of Lovers)
- 1967 – Ruthie Henshall, English theatre actress and singer
- 1967 – Ai Yazawa, Japanese manga artist
- 1968 – Denis Boucher, Canadian baseball player
- 1968 – Jeff Kent, American baseball player
- 1969 – Warrel Dane, American singer (Nevermore)
- 1969 – Massimo Lotti, Italian footballer
- 1969 – Hideki Noda, Japanese racing driver
- 1969 – Shin Ae Ra, Korean actress and radio DJ
- 1970 – Rachel Weisz, British actress
- 1971 – Peter Sarsgaard, American actor
- 1971 – Matthew Vaughn, British film producer and director
- 1972 – Jang Dong-gun, South Korean actor and musician
- 1972 – Maxim Roy, Quebec actress
- 1973 – Jason Bright, Australian racing driver
- 1973 – Sébastien Izambard, operatic pop singer (Il Divo)
- 1973 – Ray Parlour, English footballer
- 1974 – Larry Bagby, American actor and musician
- 1974 – Jenna Fischer, American actress
- 1974 – Krizz Kaliko, American Rapper
- 1974 – Facundo Sava, Argentine footballer
- 1975 – Audrey Marie Anderson, American actress
- 1975 – TJ Thyne, American actor
- 1977 – Paul Cattermole, British singer, actor and member of pop group S Club
- 1977 – Gianluca Grava, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Ronan O'Gara, Irish rugby union footballer
- 1977 – Mitja Zastrow, German-born swimmer
- 1979 – Rodrigo Braña, Argentine footballer
- 1979 – Amanda Somerville, American singer (Aina) and vocal coach
- 1980 – Éric Godard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Laura Prepon, American actress
- 1981 – Rica Peralejo, Philippine Actress
- 1982 – Kate Michael, American beauty queen
- 1982 – Erika Yamakawa, Japanese talent
- 1983 – Manucho, Angolan footballer
- 1983 – Taylor Tankersley, American baseball player
- 1984 – Mathieu Flamini, French footballer
- 1984 – Brandon T. Jackson, American actor
- 1984 – Rachel Rice, Welsh reality tv star
- 1985 – Thomas Erak, American guitarist
- 1985 – Andre Fluellen, American football player
- 1986 – Ben Griffin, Australian soccer player
- 1986 – George Whitelock, New Zealand rugby player
- 1987 – Hatem Ben Arfa, French footballer
- 1987 – Niclas Bergfors, Swedish hockey player
- 1988 – Larry Asante, American football player
- 1989 – Gerald Anderson, Filipino actor and model
- 1990 – Abigail and Brittany Hensel, American conjoined twins
- 1990 – Choi Jong Hun, South Korean guitarist, leader in F.T. Island
- 1990 – Lefteris Matsoukas, Greek footballer
- 1991 – Michele Rigione, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Bel Powley, English actress
- 2009 – Prince Umberto of Savoy
Deaths
- 161 – Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor (b. 86)
- 308 – Saint Eubulus, Christian martyr
- 413 – Heraclianus, Roman usurper
- 851 – Nominoe, Duke of Brittany
- 1226 – William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English military leader
- 1274 – Saint Thomas Aquinas, Philosopher (b. 1225)
- 1578 – Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (b. 1515)
- 1625 – Johann Bayer, German astronomer (b. 1572)
- 1724 – Pope Innocent XIII (b. 1655)
- 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French colonizer (b. 1680)
- 1778 – Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist (b. 1720)
- 1810 – Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, British admiral (b. 1750)
- 1904 – Ferdinand André Fouqué, French geologist (b. 1828)
- 1913 – Emily Pauline Johnson, Native Canadian poet (b. 1861)
- 1928 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon (b. 1851)
- 1932 – Aristide Briand, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1938 – Andreas Michalakopoulos, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
- 1942 – Lucy Parsons, American anarchist, communist and labor organizer (b. 1853)
- 1943 – Alma Moodie, Australian classical violinist (b. 1898)
- 1949 – Francis Dodd, English artist (b. 1874)
- 1949 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player (b. 1884)
- 1952 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (b. 1893)
- 1954 – Otto Diels, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Wyndham Lewis, British author (b. 1882)
- 1965 – Louise Mountbatten, Swedish queen (b. 1889)
- 1967 – Alice B. Toklas, American companion to Gertrude Stein (b. 1877)
- 1974 – Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor (b. 1906)
- 1975 – Mikhail Bakhtin, Russian philosopher (b. 1895)
- 1975 – Ben Blue, Canadian actor (b. 1901)
- 1976 – Wright Patman, American politician (b. 1893)
- 1978 – Steve Bilko, American baseball player (b. 1928)
- 1981 – Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)
- 1983 – Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian conductor and composer (b. 1912)
- 1984 – Paul Rotha, English director (b. 1907)
- 1986 – Jacob K. Javits, American politician (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Divine, American actor (b. 1945)
- 1988 – Robert Livingston, American film actor (b. 1904)
- 1991 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1995 – Paul-Émile Victor, French explorer (b. 1907)
- 1997 – E. H. Bronner, German-American soap magnate (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Edward Mills Purcell, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Sidney Gottlieb, American CIA official (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Stanley Kubrick, American film director (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Charles Gray, British actor (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Pee Wee King, American country music songwriter and musician (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Frankie Carle, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1903)
- 2004 – Paul Winfield, American actor (b. 1941)
- 2005 – John Box, British film production designer and art director (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Debra Hill, American screenwriter and film producer (b. 1950)
- 2006 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian musician (b. 1939)
- 2006 – John Junkin, British performer (b. 1930)
- 2006 – Gordon Parks, photographer (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Jang Ja-yeon, South Korean actress (b. 1982)
- 2010 – Mary Josephine Ray, Canadian-American supercentenarian (b. 1895)
Holidays and observances
External links