March 11 is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 295 days remaining until the end of the year.

[edit] Events

• 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty).
• 928 - Trpimir II succeeds to the Croatian throne.
• 1387 - The Battle of Castagnaro begins.
• 1649 - The Frondeurs (rebels) and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.
• 1702 - The first regular English language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London, England.
• 1708 - Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
• 1779 - Army Corps of Engineers for the United States is authorized by Congress.
• 1801 - Paul I of Russia is assassinated, leading the way for his son Alexander I to accede the throne.
• 1824 - The United States War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• 1845 - The Flagstaff War: In New Zealand, Chiefs Hone Heke and Kawiti lead 700 Māoris to chop down the British flagpole and drive settlers out of the British colonial settlement of Kororareka because of breaches of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.
• 1845 - British baker Henry Jones invents self-raising flour.
• 1848 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
• 1851 - The first performance of Rigoletto, written by Verdi.
• 1861 - American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
• 1864 - The Great Sheffield Flood: The largest man-made disaster ever to befall England kills over 250 people in Sheffield.
• 1867 - The first performance of Don Carlos written by Verdi.
• 1872 - Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
• 1872 - The Meiji Japanese government officially annexes the Ryukyu Kingdom into what would become the Okinawa prefecture.
• 1888 - The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
• 1897 - A meteorite enters the earth's atmosphere and explodes over New Martinsville, West Virginia. The debris causes damage but no human injuries are reported.
• 1900 - Second Boer War: Boer leader Paul Kruger's peace overtures are rejected by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Lord Salisbury.
• 1912 - Eleftherios Venizelos, leader of the Liberal Party, wins the Greek elections again.
• 1917 - World War I: Baghdad falls to the Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
• 1918 - Bolshevist Russia moves the national capital from Petrograd to Moscow.
• 1918 - First confirmed cases of the Spanish Flu are observed at Fort Riley, Kansas.
• 1927 - In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
• 1931 - Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
• 1936 - British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin pardons five convicted Irish militants who promise to join growing conflict with Germany.
• 1941 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
• 1942 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur abandons Corregidor.
• 1945 - World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
• 1966 - Supersemar: President Sukarno of Indonesia is forced to give up his executive power.
• 1966 - A fire at two ski resorts in Numata, Japan kills 31 people.
• 1977 - The 1977 Hanafi Muslim Siege: more than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
• 1978 - Nine Palestinian Al Fatah guerrillas hijack a bus in Israel, killing 34 civilians and wounding 70 before being killed by security forces. The Israelis retaliate by invading southern Lebanon three days later in Operation Litani.
• 1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the Soviet Union's leader.
• 1988 - Iran–Iraq War: Iran and Iraq agree to stop attacking civilian centers.
• 1990 - Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
• 1990 - Patricio Aylwin is sworn-in as the first democratically elected Chilean president since 1970.
• 1991 - A curfew is imposed on black townships in South Africa after fighting between rival political gangs kills 49.
• 1993 - Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn-in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
• 1996 - The EU Database Directive is passed.
• 1996 - John Winston Howard becomes the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. His term in office is the second longest in Australian history, ending on December 3, 2007.
• 1997 - An explosion at a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Japan exposes 35 workers to low-level radioactive contamination in the worst nuclear accident in Japan's history.
• 1999 - Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
• 2003 - The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
• 2004 - Madrid Train Bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid (Spain) kill 191 people.
• 2006 - Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile.

[edit] Births

• 1544 - Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (d. 1595)
• 1725 - Henry Benedict Stuart, pretender to the throne of Great Britain (d. 1807)
• 1738 - Benjamin Tupper, Continental Army officer, and pioneer to the Ohio Country (d. 1792)
• 1785 - John McLean, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1861)
• 1787 - Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (d. 1852)
• 1811 - Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician (d. 1877)
• 1818 - Marius Petipa, French ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1910)
• 1822 - Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician (d. 1900)
• 1863 - Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer (d. 1915)
• 1873 - David Horsley, English-born film executive (d. 1933)
• 1876 - Carl Ruggles, American composer (d. 1971)
• 1870 - Louis Bachelier, French mathematician (d. 1946)
• 1880 - Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenecist (d. 1943)
• 1884 - Lewi Pethrus, Swedish politician (d. 1974)
• 1885 - Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver (d. 1948)
• 1887 - Raoul Walsh, American film director (d. 1980)
• 1890 - Vannevar Bush, American engineer and politician (d. 1974)
• 1897 - Henry Cowell, American composer and impresario (d. 1965)
• 1898 - Dorothy Gish, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1899 - Frederick IX of Denmark, Danish King (d. 1972)
• 1903 - Ronald Syme, New Zealand classicist and historian (d. 1989)
• 1903 - Lawrence Welk, American musician (d. 1992)
• 1907 - Jessie Matthews, English actress (d. 1981)
• 1910 - Robert Havemann, German chemist (d. 1982)
• 1915 - Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
• 1915 - Hans Peter Keller, German writer (d. 1988)
• 1915 - J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and Internet pioneer (d. 1990)
• 1916 - Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
• 1916 - Ezra Jack Keats, children's literature author (d. 1983)
• 1920 - Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1921 - Frank Harary, American mathematician (d. 2005)
• 1921 - Ástor Piazzolla, Argentine composer (d. 1992)
• 1922 - Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist (d. 1997)
• 1922 - José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor
• 1926 - Reverend Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights leader (d. 1990)
• 1926 - İlhan Mimaroğlu, Turkish musician and composer
• 1927 - Robert Mosbacher, 28^th United States Secretary of Commerce
• 1928 - Albert Salmi, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1929 - Timothy Carey, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1930 - Claude Jutra, Quebec film actor and director (d. 1986)
• 1931 - Rupert Murdoch, Australian-born entrepreneur
• 1932 - Leroy Jenkins, American composer and violinist (d. 2007)
• 1934 - Sam Donaldson, American reporter
• 1935 - Sandra Milo, Italian actress
• 1936 - Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court Justice
• 1937 - Carlos Larrañaga, Spanish actor
• 1939 - Lorraine Hunt, former Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
• 1939 - Flaco Jiménez, American musician
• 1940 - Alberto Cortez, Argentinian singer
• 1942 - Charles Swan, American actor
• 1945 - Dock Ellis, American baseball player
• 1945 - Harvey Mandel, American musician
• 1946 - Patty Waters, American jazz singer
• 1947 - Tristan Murail, French composer
• 1948 - Roy Barnes, 80^th Governor of Georgia
• 1948 - César Gerónimo, Dominican baseball player
• 1948 - Dominique Sanda, French actress
• 1950 - Bobby McFerrin, American singer
• 1950 - Jerry Zucker, American director
• 1952 - Douglas Adams, English writer (d. 2001)
• 1953 - Bernie LaBarge, Canadian musician
• 1954 - Gale Norton, 48^th United States Secretary of the Interior
• 1955 - Nina Hagen, German singer
• 1956 - Joey Buttafuoco, American statutory rapist
• 1956 - D. J. MacHale, American author and television writer
• 1956 - Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
• 1956 - Helen Rollason, British sports journalist and television presenter (d. 1999)
• 1957 - Lady Chablis, American entertainer
• 1957 - Cheryl Lynn, American singer
• 1958 - Anissa Jones, American actress (d. 1976)
• 1958 - Jim Pinkerton, American pundit
• 1958 - Flemming Rose, Danish journalist
• 1958 - Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, interim President of Iraq
• 1959 - Nina Hartley, American porn star
• 1960 - Christophe Gans, French film director
• 1961 - Elias Koteas, Canadian actor
• 1962 - Jeffrey Nordling, American actor
• 1963 - Alex Kingston, English actress
• 1963 - Davis Guggenheim, American director and producer
• 1964 - Peter Berg, American film actor, director and producer
• 1964 - Vinnie Paul, American drummer (Pantera)
• 1964 - Shane Richie, British actor
• 1965 - Nigel Adkins, English football manager
• 1965 - Jesse Jackson, Jr., American politician
• 1965 - Wallace Langham, American actor
• 1965 - Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, British television presenter
• 1967 - John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor
• 1967 - Brad Carson, American politician
• 1968 - Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter
• 1969 - Terrence Howard, American actor
• 1969 - Soraya, Colombian-American singer (d. 2006)
• 1970 - Delia Gallagher, American journalist
• 1971 - Johnny Knoxville, American television personality
• 1971 - Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player
• 1973 - Martin Hiden, Austrian footballer
• 1974 - Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1974 - Jon Dalton, American Survivor castmember
• 1975 - Eric the Midget, American radio personality
• 1975 - Shawn Springs, American football player
• 1976 - Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer
• 1977 - Andre Nickatina, American rapper
• 1977 - Becky Hammon, American basketball player
• 1978 - Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
• 1978 - Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
• 1978 - Christopher Rice, American author
• 1979 - Elton Brand, American basketball player
• 1979 - Fred Jones, American basketball player
• 1979 - Benji Madden, American guitarist (Good Charlotte)
• 1979 - Joel Madden, American singer (Good Charlotte)
• 1980 - Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
• 1980 - Dan Uggla, American baseball player
• 1981 - David Anders, American actor
• 1981 - Heidi Cortez, American erotic broadcaster
• 1981 - Lee Evans, American football player
• 1981 - Russell Lissack, English musician (Bloc Party)
• 1981 - LeToya Luckett, American singer (ex-Destiny's Child)
• 1981 - Paul Wall, American rapper
• 1982 - Brian Anderson, Major League Baseball player
• 1982 - Thora Birch, American actress
• 1982 - Lindsey McKeon, American actress
• 1984 - Marc-André Grondin, Canadian actor
• 1984 - Anna Tsuchiya, Japanese model, actress and singer
• 1984 - Tom James, British rower
• 1985 - Derek Schouman, American football player
• 1985 - Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian soccer player
• 1987 - Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 - Tomethy Furse, British bassist (The Horrors)
• 1989 - Anton Yelchin, Russian-born actor

[edit] Deaths

• 222 - Elagabalus, Roman Emperor
• 222 - Julia Soaemias, mother of Elagabalus (b. 180)
• 859 - Eulogius of Cordoba, Spanish Bishop and Christian Martyr
• 1198 - Marie de Champagne, daughter of Louis VII of France (b. 1145)
• 1486 - Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1414)
• 1514 - Donato Bramante, Italian architect (b. 1444)
• 1575 - Matthias Flacius, Croatian Protestant reformer (b. 1520)
• 1602 - Emilio de' Cavalieri, Italian composer
• 1607 - Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer
• 1722 - John Toland, Irish philosopher (b. 1670)
• 1759 - John Forbes, British general (b. 1710)
• 1786 - Charles Humphreys, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1714)
• 1801 - Paul I of Russia, Russian tsar (b. 1754)
• 1820 - Benjamin West, English-American painter (b. 1738)
• 1847 - Johnny Appleseed, American pioneer agronomist (b. 1774)
• 1851 - George McDuffie, Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
• 1854 - Willard Richards, American religious leader (b. 1804)
• 1856 - James Beatty, Irish railway engineer (b. 1820)
• 1863 - Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (b. 1803)
• 1869 - Vladimir Odoevsky, Russian philosopher (b. 1803)
• 1870 - King Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho
• 1874 - Charles Sumner, American politician (b. 1811)
• 1898 - William Rosecrans, American Civil War Union general (b. 1819)
• 1907 - Jean Casimir-Perier, French politician (b. 1847)
• 1908 - Revd Benjamin Waugh, American activist (b. 1839)
• 1915 - Thomas Alexander Browne, Australian writer (b. 1826)
• 1920 - Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (b. 1865)
• 1931 - F.W. Murnau, German film director (b. 1888)
• 1937 - Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist (b. 1860)
• 1944 - Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-born American historian (b. 1882)
• 1952 - Pierre Renoir, French stage and film actor and director (b. 1885)
• 1955 - Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1881)
• 1955 - Oscar Mayer, Bavarian-born American meat packer (b. 1859)
• 1957 - Admiral Richard E. Byrd, American explorer (b. 1888)
• 1958 - Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish inventor of Legos (b. 1891)
• 1960 - Roy Chapman Andrews, American explorer and adventurer (b. 1884)
• 1967 - Geraldine Farrar, American soprano (b. 1882)
• 1969 - John Wyndham, English author (b. 1903)
• 1970 - Erle Stanley Gardner, American novelist (b. 1889)
• 1971 - Philo T. Farnsworth, American television pioneer (b. 1906)
• 1971 - Whitney Young, American civil rights leader (b. 1921)
• 1977 - Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist (b. 1893)
• 1977 - Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentine racing driver (b. 1934)
• 1978 - Claude François, French singer (b. 1939)
• 1982 - Edmund Cooper, English author (b. 1926)
• 1982 - Horace Gregory, American poet (b. 1898)
• 1984 - Kostas Roukounas, Greek rembetiko singer and song writer (b. 1903)
• 1986 - Sonny Terry, American blues musician (b. 1911)
• 1987 - Joe Gladwin, English actor (b. 1906)
• 1989 - James Kee, American politician (b. 1917)
• 1989 - John J. McCloy, United States Secretary of War (b. 1895)
• 1990 - Dean Horrix, English footballer (b. 1961)
• 1992 - Richard Brooks, American film director (b. 1912)
• 1993 - Dino Bravo, Italian-born professional wrestler (b. 1949)
• 1996 - Vince Edwards, American film actor and director (b. 1928)
• 1999 - Camille Laurin, Quebec psychiatrist and politician (b. 1922)
• 2002 - James Tobin, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1918)
• 2003 - Brian Cleeve, Irish author (b. 1921)
• 2003 - Ivar Hansen, speaker of the Danish Folketing (b. 1938)
• 2006 - Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931)
• 2006 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia (b. 1941)
• 2007 - Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (b. 1921)

[edit] Holidays and observances

• United States - Johnny Appleseed Day.
• Lithuania - Reestablishment of Lithuania's Independence.
• Zambia - Youth Day.
• Saint Vindician
• Blessed John Righi
• Saint Alberta
• Saint Aurea
• Saint Angus

[edit] External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada