March 20

2024 Calendar

March 20 is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 286 days remaining until the end of the year.

March 20 is usually the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and the first day of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

Events

Up to 1800

325 – The First Council of Nicaea – the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church – is held.
526 – An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia.
685 – The Battle of Nechtansmere is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
1217 – The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
1293 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá.
1413 - Henry V of England becomes King.
1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship The Mathew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
1498 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
1521 – Battle of Pampeluna.
1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas.
1600 - Linkoping bloodbath in Sweden.
1602 - The Dutch East India Company is founded.
1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years War.
1690 – England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of Catholic James II.
1713 - An earthquake destroys most of the city of Foggia, Italy, and kills around 2,000 people.
1760 - One tenth of Boston, Massachusetts is destroyed by fire.

1801 – 1900

1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte, after his escape from the Italian island of Elba, enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of over 200,000.
1845 – HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All crew members die on the expedition.
1848 - King Ludwig I of Bavaria gives up the throne, through his affair with Lola Montez.
1852 – The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is published for the first time.
1854 - The US Republican Party is founded in Ripon, Wisconsin.
1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.
1861 – Mendoza, Argentina, is completely destroyed by an earthquake in which around 6,000 people are killed.
1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church – In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred Campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a United States patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
1882 – The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed.
1888 - The premiere (first showing) of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow.
1890 - Leo von Caprivi replaces Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany.
1891 – History of cinema: First public display of Thomas Alva Edison's prototype kinetoscope (shown at Edison's Laboratory for a convention of the National Federation of Women's Clubs).

1901 – 1950

1903 - Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist (d. 1990)
1905 - Jean Galia, French rugby player (d. 1949)
1906 – Abraham Beame, Mayor of New York City (d. 2001)
1907 - Ellis Arnall, Governor of Georgia (d. 1992)
1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor (d. 1985)
1911 – Alfonso Garcia Robles, Mexican diplomat and politician (d. 1991)
1912 - Ralph Hauenstein, American philanthropist and businessman (d. 2016)
1915 – Rudolf Kirchschlaeger, President of Austria (d. 2000)
1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Soviet pianist (d. 1997)
1916 – Pierre Messmer, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
1917 – Dame Vera Lynn, British singer
1917 - Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, politician and general (d. 1984)
1918 - Jack Barry, American game show host and producer (d. 1984)
1918 - Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
1920 - Pamela Harriman, British-American diplomat (d. 1997)
1922 – Carl Reiner, American movie director and actor
1923 - Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani writer, journalist and activist (d. 2006)
1925 – John Ehrlichman, American political figure (d. 1999)
1927 - Jean Joubert, South African-born British composer
1928 – Fred Rogers, American TV host (d. 2003)
1929 - German Robles, Spanish actor
1930 - Thomas Stafford Williams, New Zealand cardinal
1931 - Hal Linden, American actor
1933 - Alexander Gorodnitsky, Russian geologist and poet
1933 - Azeglio Vicini, Italian footballer
1933 - Renato Salvatori, Italian actor (d. 1988)
1934 - Willie Brown, former Mayor of San Francisco
1935 - Jim McAnearney, Scottish footballer (d. 2017)
1936 - Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jamaican reggae producer
1936 - Lina Morgan, Spanish actress (d. 2015)
1937 - Lois Lowry, American writer
1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
1939 – Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada
1939 - Don Edwards, American singer and guitarist
1939 - Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss developmental biologist (d. 2014)
1939 - Robert Swindells, English author
1940 - Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer (d. 2015)
1941 - Kenji Kimihara, Japanese long-distance runner
1943 - Douglas Tompkins, American philanthropist and businessman
1944 - Erwin Neher, German biophysicist
1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
1945 - Tim Yeo, British politician
1946 - Malcolm Simmons, British speedway rider (d. 2014)
1947 - John Boswell, American historian
1948 - John de Lancie, American actor, comedian, director, producer and singer
1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
1950 – William Hurt, American actor
1950 - Carl Palmer, English drummer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)

1951 – 2000

1951 - Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture is founded in central Honshu, Japan.
1952 - The United States Senate supports a peace treaty with Japan.
1954 – Chiang Kai-shek is selected for another term as President of the Republic of China by the National Assembly.
1956 – Tunisia becomes independent from France.
1964 - The European Space Research Organization is founded, as a precursor to the European Space Agency.
1965 – A Pakistani Airlines Boeing 720-B crashes on landing at Cairo airport, killing 121 people.
1966 – The original FIFA World Cup trophy is stolen in England. It is found a week later.
1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
1972 - The Troubles: The Provisional IRA carry out a car bomb attack in Belfast, killing 7 people, and injuring 148.
1974 - Near Buckingham Palace, Ian Ball attempts to kidnap Anne, Princess Royal and her then-husband Mark Phillips. They both escape unhurt.
1980 – In a Referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
1985 – Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska.
1988 - Eritrean War of Independence: The Eritrean People's Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet.
1989 – The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
1993 – The television sitcom, Cheers ends an 11-year run on NBC.
1993 - An IRA bomb explodes in Warrington, England, killing two boys.
1995 – The Japanese cult, Aum Shinrikyo, under leadership of Shoko Asahara carries out a deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.
1999 - LEGOLAND California opens in Carlsbad, California.

From 2001

2004 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
2007 - Taha Yassin Ramadan, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
2008 - Klaus Dinger, German musician (b. 1946)
2009 - Abdellatif Filali, Prime Minister of Morocco (b. 1928)
2010 – Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepalese politician (b. 1925)
2010 – Harry Carpenter, British sports commentator (b. 1925)
2010 – Stewart Udall, American politician (b. 1920)
2013 - Zillur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b. 1929)
2013 - James Herbert, English writer (b. 1943)
2013 - George Lowe, New Zealand mountaineer (b. 1924)
2014 - Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and novelist (b. 1915)
2014 - Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
2014 - Tonie Nathan, American politician (b. 1923)
2015 - Malcolm Fraser, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1930)
2015 - A. J. Pero, American drummer (b. 1959)
2015 - Walter Grauman, American director and producer (b. 1922)
2015 - Gregory Walcott, American actor (b. 1928)
2015 - Eva Burrows, Australian Salvation Army General (b. 1929)
2015 - Robert Kastenmeier, American politician (b. 1924)
2016 - Anker Jorgensen, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
2017 - Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Filipino politician (b. 1929)
2017 - Chandler Robbins, American ornithologist and writer (b. 1918)
2017 - David Rockefeller, American banker, businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
2017 - Robert B. Silvers, American editor and essayist (b. 1929)
2017 - Bagrat de Bagration y de Baviera, Spanish royal (b. 1949)
2017 - Edward Joseph McManus, American politician and jurist (b. 1920)
2017 - Tony Terran, American trumpeter and session musician (b. 1926)
2018 - Katie Boyle, Italian-born British actress and television presenter (b. 1926)
2018 - Peter George Peterson, American financier and politician (b. 1926)

Births

Up to 1900

687 – Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, patron saint of Northumbria (b. 634)
1390 - Alexios III, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
1413 – King Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
1568 - Duke Albert of Prussia (b. 1490)
1586 - Richard Maitland, Scottish statesman and historian (b. 1496)
1619 – Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
1668 – Nicolas Mignard, French painter (b. 1606)
1730 - Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
1865 – Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (b. 1810)
1878 - Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
1894 – Lajos Kossuth, National hero of Hungary (b. 1802)
1897 - Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (b. 1821)
1899 - Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist (b. 1822)

1951 – 1975

1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American guitarist
1954 - Yamina Bachir, Algerian director and screenwriter
1954 - Mike Francesa, American talk show host
1956 – Catherine Ashton, British politician
1957 - David Foster, Australian world champion wood chopper
1957 - Chris Wedge, American animator, screenwriter, producer and voice actor
1957 – Spike Lee, American movie director
1957 - Theresa Russell, American actress
1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress
1960 – Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist
1960 - Yuri Shargin, Russian cosmonaut
1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer
1961 - Sara Wheeler, English author and journalist
1963 - Paul Annacone, American tennis player
1963 - Andrei Sokolov, Russian-French chess player
1963 – David Thewlis, British actor
1963 – Kathy Ireland, American model and actress
1965 - William Dalrymple, Scottish writer and historian
1967 - Xavier Beauvoir, French actor, director and screenwriter
1968 – Paul Merson, English footballer
1969 - Yvette Cooper, Scottish-English politician
1970 - Edoardo Ballerini, American actor, writer, director and producer
1970 - Michael Rapaport, American actor and director
1972 - Chilly Gonzales, Canadian musician
1972 – Alexander Kapranos, Greek-British musician, Franz Ferdinand
1973 - Chris Stephens, Scottish politician
1974 - Paula Garcés, American-Colombian actress
1974 – Carsten Ramelow, German footballer

From 1976

1976 – Chester Bennington, American musician (Linkin Park)
1979 – Freema Agyeman, British actress
1979 – Bianca Lawson, American actress
1979 - Keven Meleanu, New Zealand rugby player
1979 - Valdas Trakys, Lithuanian footballer
1980 - Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
1981 - Ian Murray, Scottish footballer
1982 – Rory Fallon, New Zealand footballer
1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
1983 – Eiji Kawashima, Japanese footballer
1983 – Thomas Kahlenberg, Danish footballer
1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
1984 - Christy Carlson Romano, American actress and singer
1984 - iJustine, American YouTube personality
1984 - Marcus Vick, American football player
1985 - Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
1986 – Julian Magallanes, Argentine footballer
1986 - Kirsty Blackman, Scottish politician
1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
1987 – Jo, Brazilian footballer
1988 – Louie Vito, American snowboarder
1989 - Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter
1990 - Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer
1991 - Lucie Jones, Welsh singer
1991 - Alexis Pinturault, French skier
1993 - Sloane Stephens, American tennis player
2006 - Barron Trump, son of Donald and Melania Trump

Deaths

1901 – 2000

1916 - Ota Benga, Congolese Pygmy (b. 1884)
1918 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War general (b. 1828)
1925 - George Nathaniel Curzon, British Viceroy of India (b. 1859)
1931 – Hermann Müller, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
1933 - Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin (b. 1900)
1934 – Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Regent of the Netherlands (b. 1858)
1935 - Jon Thorlaksson, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1877)
1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and movie director (b. 1884)
1958 - Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian politician (b. 1915)
1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish playwright and writer (b. 1923)
1965 - Daniel Frank, American long jumper (b. 1882)
1968 - Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish movie director (b. 1889)
1977 - Terukuni Manzo, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1919)
1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician (b. 1891)
1990 – Lev Yashin, Soviet footballer (b. 1929)
1990 - Maurice Cloche, French director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1907)
1992 - Georges Delerue, French movie composer (b. 1925)
1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German physicist (b. 1911)
1995 – Werner Liebrich, German footballer (b. 1927)
1998 – Catherine Sauvage, French singer and actress (b. 1929)

Observances

Independence Day in Tunisia
Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere
Autumn Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere
Norouz/Nowruz, Iranian New Year
Francophone Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and French-speaking countries)
UN French language Day
World Sparrow Day
International Day of Happiness