What happened on March 15? There are more than 303 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About March 15
March 15 is the 75th day of the year 2024. There are 291 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 11th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Athens, Pennsylvania 18810 sunrise occured at 07:15 AM and sunset occured at 07:14 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Pisces. The modern birthstone for this month is Aquamarine while the mystical birthstone is Jade.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 320 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
March 15: A Day In History
In the Roman calendar, March 15 was known as the Ides of March.
Historical Events For March 15
- 44 BCJulius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.
- 221Liu Bei, a Chinese warlord and member of the Han royal house, declares himself emperor of Shu-Han and claims his legitimate succession to the Han Dynasty.
- 280Sun Hao of Eastern Wu surrenders to Sima Yan which began the Jin Dynasty.
- 351Constantius II elevates his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and puts him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
- 933After a ten-year truce, German King Henry I defeats a Hungarian army at the Battle of Riade near the Unstrut river.
- 1311Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.
- 1493Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
- 1514Jodocus Badius Ascensius publishes Christiern Pedersen’s Latin version of Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, the oldest known version of that work.
- 1545First meeting of the Council of Trent.
- 1564Mughal Emperor Akbar abolishes jizya (per capita tax) .
- 1672Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.
- 1781American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Courthouse – Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400.
- 1783In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d'état never takes place.
- 1820Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.
- 1848A revolution breaks out in Hungary. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
- 1888Start of the Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888.
- 1906Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.
- 1916President Woodrow Wilson sends 4,800 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
- 1917Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne and his brother the Grand Duke becomes Tsar.
- 1922After Egypt gains nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt.
- 1926The dictator Theodoros Pangalos is elected President of Greece without opposition.
- 1931SS Viking explodes off Newfoundland, killing 27 of the 147 on board.
- 1933Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss keeps members of the National Council from convening, starting the austrofascist dictatorship.
- 1939Carpatho-Ukraine declares itself an independent republic, but is annexed by Hungary the next day.
- 1939World War II: German troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist.
- 1943World War II: Third Battle of Kharkov – the Germans retake the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
- 1945World War II: Soviet forces begin an offensive to push Germans from Upper Silesia.
- 1952In Cilaos, Réunion, 1870 mm (73 inches) of rain falls in a 24 hour period, setting a new world record (March 15 through March 16).
- 1956My Fair Lady premiered on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.
- 1961South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1965President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress “We shall overcome” while advocating the Voting Rights Act.
- 1985The end of the Brazilian military dictatorship.
- 1985The first Internet domain name is registered (symbolics.com).
- 1986Hotel New World Disaster a 1 star hotel collapses in Singapore’s Little India’s district killing 33 people
- 1990Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying.
- 1990Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.
- 2004French President Jacques Chirac signs the law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, commonly known as the headscarf ban.
Who Were Born On March 15?
- 938Romanos II, Byzantine emperor (d. 963)
- 1275Margaret of England (1275–1333), English princess (d. 1333)
- 1455Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1532)
- 1493Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France (d. 1567)
- 1591Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1660)
- 1638Shunzhi Emperor of China (d. 1661)
- 1666George Bähr, German architect (d. 1738)
- 1684Francesco Durante, Italian composer (d. 1755)
- 1713Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French astronomer (d. 1762)
- 1737Amarindra, Queen consort to King Rama I of Siam (d. 1826)
- 1754Archibald Menzies, Scottish naturalist and surgeon (d. 1842)
- 1767Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States (d. 1845)
- 1771Robert Hett Chapman, American Presbyterian minister and president of the University of North Carolina (d. 1833)
- 1779William Lamb, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, (d. 1848)
- 1790Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, German mathematician (d. 1861)
- 1791Charles Knight, English publisher (d. 1873)
- 1809Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first President of Liberia (d. 1876)
- 1809Karl Josef von Hefele, German theologian (d. 1893)
- 1813John Snow, English epidemiologist (d. 1858)
- 1818Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general (d. 1924)
- 1821Eduard Heine, German mathematician (d. 1881)
- 1821Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian scientist (d. 1895)
- 1821William Milligan, Scottish theologian (d. 1892)
- 1824Jules Chevalier, French priest (d. 1907)
- 1830Élisée Reclus, French geographer (d. 1905)
- 1830Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1914)
- 1831Daniel Comboni, Italian missionary (d. 1881)
- 1835Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer (d. 1916)
- 1835John Henrie Kagi, American abolitionist (d. 1859)
- 1838Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (d. 1889)
- 1851William Mitchell Ramsay, Scottish archaeologist (d. 1939)
- 1852Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish dramatist (d. 1932)
- 1854Emil Adolf von Behring, German physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1917)
- 1860Waldemar Haffkine, Russian Jewish bacteriologist (d. 1930)
- 1864Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (d. 1935)
- 1865Manuk Abeghian, scholar of Armenian literature and folklore (d. 1944)
- 1866Johan Vaaler, Norwegian inventor (d. 1910)
- 1866Matthew Charlton, Australian politician (d. 1948)
- 1867Lionel Johnson, British poet (d. 1902)
- 1868Grace Chisholm Young, English mathematician (d. 1944)
- 1869Stanisław Wojciechowski, President of Poland (d. 1953)
- 1874Eugène Fiset, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1951)
- 1882James Lightbody, American middle distance runner (d. 1953)
- 1884Angelos Sikelianos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1951)
- 1887Marjorie Merriweather Post, American entrepreneur (d. 1973)
- 1890Boris Nikolaevich Delaunay, Russian mathematician (d. 1980)
- 1892James Basevi Ord, US army officer (d. 1938)
- 1897Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986)
- 1899George Brent, American film actor (d. 1979)
- 1904Yu Gwan-sun, Korean independence fighter (d. 1920)
- 1905Berthold von Stauffenberg, German lawyer and Nazi opponent (d. 1944)
- 1907Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)
- 1910Nick Stewart, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1912Lightnin' Hopkins, American musician (d. 1982)
- 1912Louis Paul Boon, Flemish journalist and novelist (d. 1979)
- 1913Jack Fairman, British racing driver (d. 2002)
- 1913Macdonald Carey, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1914Aniello Dellacroce, American gangster (d. 1985)
- 1915Caterina Boratto, Italian film actress (d. 2010)
- 1915Joe E. Ross, American actor and comedian (d. 1982)
- 1916Fadil Hoxha, Yugoslav politician (d. 2001)
- 1916Frank Coghlan Jr, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1916Harry James, American musician and band leader (d. 1983)
- 1918Punch Imlach, Canadian hockey coach and general manager (d. 1987)
- 1918Richard Ellmann, American biographer (d. 1987)
- 1919Lawrence Tierney, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1920E. Donnall Thomas, American physician, Nobel laureate
- 1920Lawrence Sanders, American novelist (d. 1998)
- 1921Madelyn Pugh, American television writer
- 1921Stafford Smythe, Canadian hockey executive (d. 1971)
- 1923Charles Wheeler, British journalist (d. 2008)
- 1924Walter Gotell, German actor (d. 1997)
- 1925Bert Bolin, Swedish meteorologist (d. 2007)
- 1926Ben Johnston, American composer
- 1926Norm Van Brocklin, American football player (d. 1983)
- 1927Carl Smith, American singer (d. 2010)
- 1927Christian Marquand, French actor and director (d. 2000)
- 1927Stanisław Kania, Polish politician
- 1930Kostas Nestoridis, Greek footballer
- 1930Zhores Ivanovich Alferov, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1931Richard Wirthlin, American political strategist for Ronald Reagan (d. 2011)
- 1932Alan Bean, American astronaut
- 1933Philippe de Broca, French film director (d. 2004)
- 1933Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist
- 1934Aldo Giorgini, Italian artist
- 1934Kanshi Ram, Indian dalit leader
- 1934Richard Layard, Baron Layard, British economist
- 1935Jimmy Swaggart, American televangelist
- 1935Judd Hirsch, American actor
- 1935Leonid Yengibarian, Armenian clown and actor (d. 1972)
- 1936David Andrews, Irish politician
- 1936Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1939David Eisenberg, American biochemist
- 1939Jack Whyte, Scottish-Canadian author
- 1939Julie Tullis, British climber (d. 1986)
- 1939Ted Kaufman, American politician
- 1940Frank Dobson, British politician
- 1940Margo Coleman, American advice columnist
- 1940Mel Phillips, American radio programmer
- 1940Phil Lesh, American musician (Grateful Dead)
- 1941Mike Love, American musician (The Beach Boys)
- 1944Chi Cheng, Taiwanese athlete and politician
- 1944Jacques Doillon, French film director
- 1944Sly Stone, American musician
- 1945A. K. Faezul Huq, Bengali lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
- 1945Mark J. Green, American public official
- 1946Bobby Bonds, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1946Howard E. Scott, American musician (War)
- 1946Masaharu Satō, Japanese seiyū
- 1947Gino Ferrin, German footballer
- 1947Juraj Kukura, Slovak actor
- 1947Ry Cooder, American guitarist
- 1948Kate Bornstein, American author
- 1948Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
- 1950Jørgen Olsen, Danish singer
- 1952Howard Devoto, British musician (Buzzcocks, Magazine)
- 1952Howard Koh, American state government official
- 1953Heather Graham, American writer
- 1953Kostas Bigalis, Greek singer and songwriter
- 1953Richard Bruton, Irish politician
- 1954Bob Budiansky, American comic book writer, illustrator, and editor
- 1954Craig Wasson, American actor
- 1954Massimo Bubola, Italian singer-songwriter
- 1955Dee Snider, American singer (Twisted Sister)
- 1956Clay Matthews, American football player
- 1957David Silverman, American animator
- 1957Joaquim de Almeida, Portuguese-American actor
- 1957Park Overall, American actress
- 1957Víctor Muñoz, Spanish football manager
- 1959Fabio Lanzoni, Italian model
- 1959Harold Baines, American baseball player
- 1959Lisa Holton, American writer
- 1959Renny Harlin, Finnish film director
- 1960Chris Sanders, American animator and director
- 1960Marco Pennette, American television producer
- 1960Mike Pagliarulo, American baseball player
- 1961Craig Ludwig, American ice hockey player
- 1961Terry Cummings, American basketball player
- 1962Jimmy Baio, American actor
- 1962Terence Trent D'Arby, American singer
- 1963Bret Michaels, American musician (Poison)
- 1964Davide Pinato, Italian footballer
- 1964Rockwell, American musician
- 1965Svetlana Medvedeva, First Lady of Russia
- 1967Naoko Takeuchi, Japanese artist
- 1968Jon Schaffer, American guitarist (Iced Earth)
- 1968Kahimi Karie, Japanese singer
- 1968Mark McGrath, American musician (Sugar Ray)
- 1968Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer
- 1968Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician
- 1969Apollo Papathanasio, Swedish vocalist
- 1969Elvir Laković Laka, Bosnian rock singer
- 1969Gianluca Festa, Italian footballer
- 1969Kim Raver, American actress
- 1969Rona Ambrose, Canadian politician
- 1969Timo Kotipelto, Finnish musician
- 1969Yutaka Take, Japanese jockey
- 1970Derek Parra, American speed skater
- 1971Joanne Wise, English long jumper
- 1971Penny Lancaster, English model
- 1972Mark Hoppus, American musician (+44 and blink-182)
- 1972Mike Tomlin, American football coach
- 1973Boris Durdevic, Croatian musician
- 1973Lee Jung-jae, South Korean actor & model
- 1974Robert Fick, American baseball player
- 1975Darcy Tucker, Canadian hockey player
- 1975Eva Longoria, American actress
- 1975Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess player
- 1975Will.i.am, American musician
- 1976Cara Pifko, Canadian actress
- 1976Katherine Brooks, American television director
- 1977Adrian Burnside, Australian baseball player
- 1977Brian Tee, American actor
- 1977Joe Hahn, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1978Takeru Kobayashi, Japanese competitive eater
- 1979Kevin Youkilis, American baseball player
- 1980Freddie Bynum, American baseball player
- 1981Mikael Forssell, Finnish footballer
- 1981Veronica Maggio, Swedish singer
- 1981Young Buck, American rapper
- 1982Emily Tyndall, American actress
- 1982Jordan Hastings, Canadian drummer (Alexisonfire)
- 1982Rafael Pérez, Dominican baseball player
- 1983Daryl Murphy, Irish footballer
- 1983Sean Biggerstaff, Scottish actor
- 1984Badradine Belloumou, French-born football player
- 1984Juninho, Brazilian footballer
- 1984Kostas Vasileiadis, Greek basketball player
- 1985Antti Autti, Finnish snowboarder
- 1985Curtis Davies, English footballer
- 1985Eva Amurri, American actress
- 1985James MacLurcan, Australian actor
- 1985Kellan Lutz, American model and actor
- 1985Tom Chilton, British racing driver
- 1986Adrianne Leon, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987Taiwan Brown, American video jockey
- 1988Chris Lent, American drummer and keyboardist
- 1988James Reimer, Canadian hockey player
- 1989Bryce Gibbs, Australian rules footballer
- 1989Caitlin Wachs, American actress
- 1990Siobhan Magnus, American singer
- 1991Kii Kitano, Japanese actress
Who Died On March 15?
- 44 BCJulius Caesar (b. 100 BC)
- 220Cao Cao, King of Wei (b. 155)
- 493Odoacer, King of Italy (b. 435)
- 1145Pope Lucius II
- 1311Walter V of Brienne, Duke of Athens
- 1416John, Duke of Berry, son of John II of France (b. 1340)
- 1536Pargalı İbrahim Pasha, Grand Vizier under Suleiman the Magnificent
- 1575Annibale Padovano, Italian composer (b. 1527)
- 1644Louise Juliana of Nassau, Regent of Bohemia (b. 1576)
- 1670John Davenport, Connecticut pioneer (b. 1597)
- 1673Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (b. 1615)
- 1701Jean Renaud de Segrais, French writer (b. 1624)
- 1711Eusebio Kino, Italian Catholic missionary (b. 1645)
- 1820Clemens Maria Hofbauer, patron saint of Vienna (b. 1751)
- 1842Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer (b. 1760)
- 1849Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti, Italian cardinal and linguist (b. 1774)
- 1891Sir Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (b. 1819)
- 1891Théodore de Banville, French writer (b. 1823)
- 1898Sir Henry Bessemer, English metallurgist (b. 1813)
- 1937H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (b. 1890)
- 1941Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian painter (b. 1864)
- 1951John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-born astronomer (b. 1889)
- 1957Ernst Nobs, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1886)
- 1959Lester Young, American musician (b. 1909)
- 1962Arthur Compton, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- 1966Abe Saperstein, American basketball executive (b. 1902)
- 1969Miles Malleson, British actor and dramatist (b. 1888)
- 1969Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 33rd Yokozuna (b. 1909)
- 1970Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (b. 1897)
- 1971Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (b. 1948)
- 1972Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter (b. 1910)
- 1975Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (b. 1900)
- 1977Antonino Rocca, Argentine professional wrestler (b. 1927)
- 1977Hubert Aquin, Canadian novelist, political activist and editor (b. 1929)
- 1981René Clair, French film director (b. 1898)
- 1983Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian football midfielder and manager (b. 1905)
- 1983Rebecca West, English writer (b. 1892)
- 1985Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and writer (b. 1921)
- 1986Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor (b. 1897)
- 1988Dmitri Polyakov, Soviet double-agent (b. 1926)
- 1989Muhammad Jameel Didi, Maldivian poet (b. 1915)
- 1989Valerie Quennessen, French actress (b. 1957)
- 1990Farzad Bazoft, Iranian-born journalist (b. 1958)
- 1990Tom Harmon, American football player and broadcaster (b. 1919)
- 1991Bud Freeman, American jazz musician (b. 1906)
- 1997Gail Davis, American actress (b. 1925)
- 1997Victor Vasarely, Hungarian painter (b. 1906)
- 1998Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and writer (b. 1903)
- 2001Ann Sothern, American actress (b. 1909)
- 2003Dame Thora Hird, British actress (b. 1911)
- 2003Paul Stojanovich, Reality TV pioneer (b. 1956)
- 2004John Pople, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
- 2004Sir William Pickering, New Zealand-born space scientist (b. 1910)
- 2005Bob Bellear, Australian judge (b. 1944)
- 2005Shoji Nishio, Japanese martial artist (b. 1927)
- 2006George Rallis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1918)
- 2006Red Storey, Canadian football player and hockey referee (b. 1918)
- 2007Bowie Kuhn, American commissioner of baseball (b. 1926)
- 2007Charles Harrelson, American hitman and father of Woody Harrelson (b. 1938)
- 2007Stuart Rosenberg, American film and television director (b. 1927)
- 2008Ken Reardon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
- 2008Mikey Dread, Jamaican singer (b. 1954)
- 2008Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian singer, TV shows announcer (b. 1951)
- 2009Ron Silver, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2011Nate Dogg, American rapper (b. 1969)
- 2011Smiley Culture, British reggae singer (b. 1963)
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