1 March - Definition and Overview

March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). There are 305 days remaining.

Events

up to 17th century

• 29 BC - Horace writes the ode "Occidit Daci Cotisonis agmen."
• 286 - Maximian proclaimed junior Roman emperor.
• 293 - Constantius Chlorus and Galerius proclaimed junior Roman emperors.
• 492 - Pope Gelasius I succeeds Pope Felix III
• 499 - Pope Symmachus makes Antipope Laurentius bishop of Nocera in Campania.
• 705 - Pope John VII succeeds Pope John VI
• 965 - Pope Benedict V is put in place of Pope Leo VIII by the people.
• 1444 - Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg proclaimed commander of the Albanian resistance.
• 1524/5 - Giovanni da Verrazano lands near Cape Fear (approx. date is March 1).
• 1562 - Over 1,000 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Vassy, France marking the start of the First War of Religion.
• 1565 - The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
• 1628 - Writs are issued in February by Charles I of England that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date.
• 1633 - Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.
• 1642 - Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine) becomes the first incorporated city in America.
• 1692 - The Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony with the charging of four women with witchcraft.

18th century

• 1700 - Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to reform into the Gregorian calendar.
• 1712 - Sweden reverts to the Julian calendar as March 1 follows on February 30.
• 1753 - Sweden introduces the Gregorian Calendar as March 1 follows on February 17.
• 1763 - Charles Townshend becomes President of the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom government.
• 1781 - The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
• 1793 - John Langdon becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate until March 3.
• 1790 - The first United States census is authorized.
• 1799 - Federalist James Rossbecomes President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate.

19th century

1800s-1840s

• 1803 - Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state, retroactive from August 7, 1953.
• 1805 - Justice Samuel Chase acquitted of impeachment charges by the U.S. Senate.
• 1811 - Leaders of the Mameluke dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali.
• 1815 - Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
• 1819 - USS Columbus launched.
• 1831 - Democrat Samuel Smith becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate until December 4.
• 1836 - Convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos to deliberate independence from Mexico.
• 1836 - Antonio García Gutiérrez's play El Trovador played for the first time.
• 1840 - William Hobson, first governor of New Zealand suffers a stroke.
• 1840 - Adolphe Thiers becomes prime minister of France.
• 1843 - Walter Forward ends his term of office as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, serving under President John Tyler.
• 1843 - Zürich issues stamps, making it the second type of stamp in the world.
• 1845 - President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

1850s-1880s

• 1851 - Victor Hugo gives speech at the French national assembly and uses the phrase United States of Europe several times
• 1852 - Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
• 1854 - German pyschologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears, two years later his remains are found in the canal near Charlottenburg
• 1864 - Alejandro Mon Menéndez takes office as Prime Minister of Spain
• 1867 - Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state.
• 1867 - Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
• 1869 - North German Confederation issues 10gr and 30gr value stamps, printed on goldbeater's skin
• 1872 - Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
• 1873 - E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York, start production of the first practical typewriter.
• 1881 - English author James Spedding knocked down by a London cab, dies 8 days later from erysipelas

1890s

• 1890 - Léon Bourgeois succeeds Ernest Constans as French Minister of the Interior
• 1892 - Theodoros Deligiannis ends his term as Prime Minister of Greece and Konstantinos Konstantopoulos takes office
• 1894 - Thomas McGreevy, Canadian politician and contractor, is released from prison after serving time for defrauding the government
• 1895 - William L. Wilson is appointed United States Postmaster General, serving under President Grover Cleveland
• 1896 - Battle of Adowa, in which Ethiopia defended its independence against Italy, begins. The Italian invasion with 100 000 troops was defeated.
• 1896 - Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity.
• 1899 - in Afghanistan Capt. George Roos-Keppel makes a sudden attack on a predatory band of Chamkannis that have been raiding in the Kurram Valley and captures 100 prisoners with 3,000 head of cattle.

20th century

1900s-1910s

• 1901 - First soldiers transferred to the new Australian Army.
• 1905 - Australian Conservative leader Richard Butler takes office as Premier of South Australia.
• 1910 – Avalanche in Cascade Range sweeps two trains into a canyon - 96 dead.
• 1910 - USS South Carolina commissioned.
• 1911 - José Ordóñez is elected President of Uruguay.
• 1912 - Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
• 1912 - Georg Ritter von Trapp, head of the famous Austrian singing family memorialized in the musical The Sound of Music marries Agathe.
• 1916 - Liberal British Columbia Premier Harlan Carey Brewster's term in office ends.
• 1917 - U.S. government releases the plaintext of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public.
• 1917 - Japanese city Omuta, Fukuoka is founded.
• 1918 - German submarine Unterseeboot 19 (U-19) sinks HMS Calgarian off Rathlin Island.
• 1919 - March 1st Movement against Japanese colonial rule in Korea.

1920s-1930s

• 1920 - Hungarian Admiral and statesman Miklós Horthy becomes the Regent of Hungary
• 1921 - the city Kiryu, located in Gunma, Japan, is founded.
• 1923 - USS Connecticut decommissioned
• 1924 - Diana Vreeland, fashion editor and columnist, marries Thomas Reed Vreeland at St. Thomas's church in New York
• 1925 - Earthquake in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada
• 1925 - Edgar Varèse's Intégrales is premiered in New York City
• 1931 - Henry Pu Yi, former Emperor of China, is proclaimed Emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo by Japan.
• 1931 - USS Arizona (BB-39) placed back in full commission after a refit
• 1932 - The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
• 1933 - Kyriakos Varvaressos becomes Deputy Governor to the Bank of Greece
• 1934 - John H. Russell, Jr is appointed Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
• 1935 - Jamil al-Midfai becomes Prime minister of Iraq for the second time
• 1936 - Hoover Dam is completed.

1940s

• 1941 - World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact thus joining the Axis powers.
• 1941 - W47NV (now known as WSM-FM) begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station.
• 1941 - Arthur L. Bristol becomes Rear Admiral for the U.S. Navy's Support Force, Atlantic Fleet
• 1943 - "Panzer General" Heinz Guderian becomes the Inspector-General of the Armoured Troops for the German Army durinng World War II
• 1944 - USS Tarawa and USS Kearsarge laid down
• 1945 - Jesse Holman Jones starts his term of office as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, serving under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
• 1946 - The Bank of England passes into private ownership.
• 1947 - The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations.
• 1947 - Wernher von Braun marries his first cousin, 18-year-old Maria von Quirstorp.
• 1947 - Japanese city Tsushima, Aichi is founded
• 1949 - World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis announces his retirement from boxing.
• 1949 - Indonesia seizes Yogyakarta from the Dutch

1950s

• 1950 - Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by giving them top secret atomic bomb data.
• 1950 - Acting Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office
• 1950 - Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as Chinese President after moving his government to Taipei, Taiwan
• 1951 - the city Yaizu, located in Shizuoka, Japan, is founded
• 1953 - Joseph Stalin collapses, having suffered a stroke. He dies four days later
• 1953 - Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg made the deputy constable and lieutenant governor of Windsor Castle
• 1954 - Nuclear testing: Officials announce that an American hydrogen bomb test had been conducted on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
• 1954 - Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
• 1954 - the city Namerikawa, located in Toyama, Japan is founded
• 1956 - the International Air Transport Association finalises a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization
• 1957 - U Nu becomes Prime Minister of Burma
• 1957 - Arturo Lezama becomes President of the National Council of Government of Uruguay
• 1957 - Sud Aviation forms from a merger between SNCASE and SNCASO
• 1958 - Dr Arturo Frondizi becomes President of Argentina
• 1958 - Samuel Alphonsus Stritch, appointed Pro-Perfect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first American member of the Roman Curia
• 1959 - Japanese cities Uji, Kyoto and Muroto, Kocki are founded

1960s

1960-1967

• 1960 - USS Gato struck from the Naval Vessel Register
• 1961 - President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
• 1961 - first elections held in Uganda and it becomes self-governing
• 1962 - an American Airlines Boeing 707 crashes on takeoff at John F. Kennedy International Airport after its rudder separates from the tail, with loss of all life on board
• 1963 - Yoko Ono's marriage to American Christian fundamentalist filmmaker Tony Cox is annulled
• 1963 - first appearance of John Rockerduck (a character in the Scrooge McDuck Universe) in Italian story Zio Paperone e il kiwi volante ("Uncle Scrooge and the flying kiwi") by Giampaolo Barosso and Giorgio Bordini
• 1966 - Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.
• 1966 - The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria.
• 1967 - USS Tarawa struck from the Naval Vessel Register
• 1967 - USS Albany decommissioned in order to go undergo extensive modifications
• 1967 - the city Hatogaya, located in Saitama, Japan is founded

1968-1969

• 1968 - Clark Clifford starts his term of office as U.S. Secretary of Defense, serving under President Lyndon B. Johnson
• 1968 - Alexander Buel Trowbridge ends his term of office as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, serving under President Lyndon B. Johnson
• 1968 - United States Navy George Washington class fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) completes her 22nd patrol at Holy Loch.
• 1968 - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat first presented as a cantata at the Colet Court School in London
• 1969 - Major league baseballer Mickey Mantle announces his retirement.
• 1969 - Dad's Army episode Operation Kilt is first broadcast
• 1969 - During a performance at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium, Jim Morrison of the Doors is arrested for exposing himself during the show. Morrison is officially charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent behavior, open profanity and public drunkenness.
• 1969 - John Kerry officially leaves active duty in Vietnam

1970s

• 1971 - Bomb explodes in men's room in the White House - Weather Underground claims responsibility.
• 1971 - Pakistani President Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
• 1971 - Canadian John Robarts ends his term of office as 17th premier of Ontario
• 1972 - Thai province of Yasothon created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani province
• 1973 - The New York Joffrey Ballet's Deuce Coupe Ballet opens. The ballet is set entirely around music by The Beach Boys.
• 1974 - Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
• 1974 - Pierre Messmer finishes his first office as Prime Minister of France
• 1975 - Colour television transmissions begin in Australia
• 1976 - Merlyn Rees ends Special Category Status for those sentenced for crimes relating to the civil violence in Northern Island
• 1977 - Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan.
• 1978 - Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery.
• 1978 - Timbuktu Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre
• 1978 - USSR selects astronauts for the 1978 Intercosmos Group.

1980s

• 1980 - Voyager 1 probe confirms that Janus (moon of Saturn) exists
• 1980 - Patti Smith marries former MC5 member Fred Sonic Smith
• 1981 - Final IRA Hunger Strike begins in Northern Ireland.
• 1982 - Jimmy Page's soundtrack album Death Wish II is released by Swan Song Records
• 1983 - Balearic Islands and Madrid become autonomous communities of Spain
• 1983 - Swatch introduce their first timepieces
• 1983 - Duran Duran's album Rio goes gold
• 1988 - Anthony M. Frank is appointed United States Postmaster General
• 1989 - Louis Wade Sullivan starts his term of office as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, serving under President George H. W. Bush
• 1989 - James D. Watkins starts his term of office as U.S. Secretary of Energy, serving under President George H. W. Bush
• 1989 - The United States becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
• 1989 - The Politieke Partij Radicalen, Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, Communistische Partij Nederland and the Evangelische Volks Partij amalgamate to form Netherlands political party the GroenLinks (GL, GreenLeft)

1990s

1990-1994

• 1990 - A fire at the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo kills 16.
• 1990 - Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• 1991 - Ballistic Missile Submarine USS-Lafayette (now ex-Lafayette) starts to be deactivated
• 1991 - Ethan-Allen-class submarine USS-Sam Houston (now ex-Sam Houston SSBN-609) starts to be deactivated
• 1991 - Clayton Keith Yeutter finishes as the United States Secretary of Agriculture, under the George H. W. Bush administration
• 1992 - After a majority of Muslim and Croatian communities vote for Bosnian independence, Bosnian Serb snipers fire on civilians.
• 1992 - boxer Kostya Tszyu beats Darrell Hiles by a knockout in one round
• 1993 - Pet Lamb releases EP Paranoid from the Neck Down
• 1994 - South Africa cedes Walvis Bay to Nambia
• 1994 - Mary Ellen Withrow begins term of office as Treasurer of the United States, serving under President Bill Clinton
• 1994 - Beck releases the album Mellow Gold

1995-1999

• 1995 - Attack Submarine USS-Seahorse (now ex-Seahorse (SSN-669)) starts to be deactivated
• 1995 - Polish Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak resigns from parliament and is replaced by ex-communist Jozef Oleksy
• 1995 - Daniel Sleator announces his intentions to commercialize the Internet Chess Server (ICS) himself, renames it the Internet Chess Club, or ICC, and charges a yearly membership fee of $49 to howls of protest
• 1995 - R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry leaves the stage during a Switzerland concert after suffering a brain aneurysm, which requires immediate surgery
• 1995 - Muntinlupa City, Philippines officially becomes a city
• 1997 - The band Phish record Slip Stitch and Pass live at Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany
• 1997 - Northern Ireland band Ash release the single Barbie
• 1998 - Attack Submarine USS-Sea Devil (now ex-Sea Devil (SSN-664)) starts to be deactivated
• 1999 - One of four bombs detonated in Lusaka, Zambia, destroys the Angolan Embassy.
• 1999 - Hutu rebels kill eight tourists in Uganda.
• 1999 - The Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines comes into force.
• 1999 - Sony Music Distribution raises wholesale prices on audio Compact Discs by 8 cents/

21st century

2000-2002

• 2000 - The Constitution of Finland is rewritten.
• 2000 - Collin Raye is awarded the Artist Humanitarian Award from Country Radio Broadcasters Inc.
• 2000 - Hans Blix assumes the position of Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC.
• 2001 - An Israeli is killed in a suicide bombing in a service taxi.
• 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.
• 2002 - Vladimir Putin meets with Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze in Kazakhstan and pledges his support for the American military initiative against the War on Terrorism.
• 2002 - 28 people die in continuing violence in Ahmedabad. Police shoot and kill five while attempting to control rioters.
• 2002 - The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800km above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500kg.
• 2002 - Space Shuttle Columbia flies Hubble Space Telescope service mission (STS-109).
• 2002 - Peseta discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced with the euro (€).

2003

• 2003 - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of September 11 attacks, is detained by Pakistani authorities in Rawalpindi
• 2003 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The United Arab Emirates calls for Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to step down to avoid war. The sentiment is later echoed by Bahrain and Kuwait.
• 2003 - Iraq disarmament crisis: the Turkish speaker of Parliament voids the vote accepting U.S. troops involved in the planned invasion of Iraq into Turkey on constitutional grounds. 264 votes for and 250 against accepting 62,000 US military personnel do not constitute the necessary majority under the Turkish constitution, due to 19 abstentions.
• 2003 - Attack Submarine USS-Lapon (now ex-Lapon SSN-661) starts to be deactivated
• 2003 - the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs Service, and the United States Secret Service moves to the United States Department of Homeland Security
• 2003 - boxer Roy Jones Jr. beats John Ruiz to become WBA champion
• 2003 - America's Cup race postponed after yachts wait two hours for better weather
• 2003 - Nicoleta Alexandru wins the Eurovision Song Contest at Riga for her song "Don't Break My Heart"

2004

• 2004 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide, former President of Haiti, announces that his resignation of February 29 was forced, and that he was forced to leave the country by American soldiers.
• 2004 - Terry Nichols convicted of state murder charges and accomplice to the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh has his trial started in McAlester, Oklahoma
• 2004 - Britney Spears releasesIn The Zone single, "Toxic"
• 2004 - The Price is Right airs its 6,000 episode
• 2004 - Vladimir Putin nominates Mikhail Fradkov for the position as prime minister of Russia.
• 2004 - the Bush Administration officially admits to the implementation of a Continuity of Operations plan following the September 11, 2001 attacks
• 2004 - notorious convicted criminal Marc Dutroux starts trial in Belgium
• 2004 - Tauranga, New Zealand officially becomes a city, for the second time
• 2004 - Gerry Doherty begins office as General Secretary for the trade union the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
• 2004 - Yahoo! announces that it will practice paid inclusion for its search service.
• 2004 - SCO Group announces it has reached a license agreement with EV1Servers.net, which allows EV1Servers to use some of SCO's "intellectual property". See also SCO v. IBM
• 2004 - Punycode adopted by the national registrars of Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• 2004 - Canadian Jean Pelletier fired as head of VIA Rail
• 2004 - Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum becomes President of Iraq
• 2004 - the 6 towns on the Japanese island of Tsushima are unified to create Tsushima city

See also Afghanistan 2003 and Afghanistan 2004 (part of the Timeline of Afghan history)

Births

up to 18th century

• 1104/5 - Alfonso VII, king of Castile (d. 1157)
• 1445 - Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (d. 1510)
• 1456 - Wadysaw Jagielloczyk, king of Bohemia and Hungary, (d. 1516)
• 1474 - Angela Merici, Italian nun (d. 1540)
• 1528 - Albrecht V von Wittelsbach, duke of Bavaria
• 1610 - Johann Schup (Schuppius), poet and historian
• 1630 - Ferdinand van Apshoven de Jongere, Flemish painter
• 1683 - Caroline of Brandenburg-Amsbach, (d. 1737), wife of George II
• 1709 - Josef Gurecky, composer
• 1711 - Peregrinus Pogl, composer
• 1760 - François Nicolas Leonard Buzot, French revolutionary (suicide) (d. 1794)
• 1769 - François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (d. 1796)
• 1771 - Armand-Emmanuel Trial, composer

19th century

• 1807 - Wilford Woodruff, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1898)
• 1810 - Frédéric Chopin, Polish-French composer and pianist, (d. 1849)
• 1817 - Giovanni Dupre, sculptor
• 1821 - Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (d. 1896)
• 1828 - Vittorio Bersezio, Italian playwright
• 1837 - William Dean Howells, American writer, historian, editor, politician, (d. 1920)
• 1852 - Théophile Delcassé, French statesman (d. 1923)
• 1858 - Georg Simmel, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1918)
• 1860 - Joe Natus, musician
• 1865 - Abe Iso, Japanese politician (d. 1949)
• 1871 - Ben Harney, American composer and ragtime pianist (d. 1938)
• 1876 - Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian IOC president, (d. 1942)
• 1879 - Alexandur Stamboliyski, Bulgarian politician (d. 1923)
• 1880 - Giles Lytton Strachey British writer and biographer (d. 1932)
• 1886 - Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian painter, graphic artist, and poet, (d. 1980)
• 1889 - Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese ethicist and philosopher (d. 1960)
• 1892 - Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Japanese writer (d. 1927)
• 1893 - Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright, costume designer, and socialite (d. 1968)
• 1896 - Dimitri Mitropoulos, Greek conductor, pianist, and composer (d. 1960)

20th century

1900s-1910s

• 1901 - Pietro Spiggia, Italian poet
• 1904 - Glenn Miller, American bandleader, (d. 1944)
• 1906 - Phạm Văn Ðồng, Prime Minister of North Vietnam (d. 2000)
• 1909 - David Niven, English actor, (d. 1983)
• 1911 - Harry Golombek, English chess grandmaster (d. 1995)
• 1914 - Ralph Ellison, American writer, (d. 1994)
• 1917 - Robert Lowell, American poet, (d. 1977)
• 1917 - Harry Caray, American sports broadcaster (d. 1998)
• 1918 - Joao Goulart, president of Brazil (1961-March 31, 1964) (d. 1976)
• 1918 - Roger Delgado, British actor (d. 1973)

1920s

• 1921 - Jack Clayton, film director
• 1921 - Richard Wilbur, American poet
• 1921 - Terence Cardinal Cooke, tenth bishop (seventh archbishop) of the Roman Catholic diocese of New York (d. 1983)
• 1922 - Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1995)
• 1922 - William Gaines, American publisher, founder of MAD Magazine, (d. 1992)
• 1923 - Kuczka Péter, Hungarian writer, poet and Science Fiction editor (d. 1999)
• 1924 - Deke Slayton, astronaut (d. 1993)
• 1926 - Alvin "Pete" Rozelle, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) (d. 1996)
• 1927 - Harry Belafonte, American musician and actor
• 1927 - Robert Bork, American law professor
• 1928 - Jacques Rivette, French director
• 1928 - Dr. Seymour Papert, South African mathematician, artificial intelligence researcher
• 1929 - Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident, (d. 1978)

1930s-1950s

• 1933 - Jakob Maria Mierscheid, fictitious politician in the German Bundestag since 1983
• 1935 - Robert Conrad, American actor
• 1935 - Judith Rossner, writer
• 1937 - Jed Allan, American actor
• 1939 - Warren Davis, The Monotones
• 1942 - Richard Bowman Myers, General of the United States Air Force, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
• 1942 - Gabriel Hudon, Canadian terrorist
• 1943 - Gil Amelio, American CEO of National Semiconductor and Apple Computer and venture capitalist
• 1944 - Roger Daltrey, English rock musician (The Who)
• 1944 - Mike D'Abo, rock vocalist of band Mannfred Mann
• 1944 - John Breaux, United States Senator from Louisiana
• 1945 - Dirk Benedict, American movie and television actor
• 1946 - Tony Ashton, British rock musician
• 1948 - Winston Rodney, aka Burning Spear, Jamaican roots rock reggae singer and musician
• 1952 - Steven Barnes, science fiction writer
• 1953 - Richard Bruton, Irish Fine Gael politician and economist
• 1954 - Ron Howard, American actor, director, producer
• 1954 - Catherine Bach, American actress

1960s-1970s

• 1963 - Dan Michaels, producer, saxophonist, member of the rock band The Choir and also The Swirling Eddies, owner of Galaxy21 Music.
• 1964 - Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, suspected military head of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda (his birth date is also reported to be April 14, 1965)
• 1965 - Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
• 1967 - Stuart Conquest, English chess player
• 1967 - Aron Winter, Dutch soccer player
• 1969 - Javier Bardem, Spanish actor
• 1969 - Rob Janssen, baseball player
• 1969 - Dafydd Ieuan, Welsh drummer with the band Super Furry Animals
• 1971 - Tyler Hamilton, American cyclist
• 1973 - Ryan Peake, guitarist with the band Nickelback
• 1974 - Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor

Deaths

up to 19th century

• 1244 - Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, eldest, illegitimate son of Llywelyn the Great (b. 1200)
• 1383 - Amadeus VI of Savoy, Count of Savoy (b. 1334)
• 1546 - George Wishart, Scottish religious reformer (b 1513)
• 1620 - Thomas Campion, English poet and composer (b. 1567)
• 1633 - George Herbert, English poet and orator (b. 1593)
• 1643 - Girolamo Frescobaldi, Italian keyboard composer. (b. 1583)
• 1661 - Richard Zouch, English jurist (b. 1590)
• 1697 - Francesco Redi, Italian physician (b. 1626)
• 1734 - Roger North, English biographer (b. 1653)
• 1768 - Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and writer (b. 1694)
• 1792 - Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1747)
• 1862 - Peter Barlow, English mathematician (b. 1776)
• 1879 - Joachim Heer, Swiss politician (b. 1825)
• 1884 - Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician (b. 1820)
• 1898 - George Bruce Malleson, English officer in India, author (b. 1825)

20th century

• 1911 - J. H. van 't Hoff, Dutch physical and organic chemist, the winner of the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1852)
• 1912 - George Grossmith, English actor and comic writer, best remembered for his work with Gilbert & Sullivan. (b. 1847)
• 1914 - Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto (b. 1845)
• 1920 - John H. Bankhead, United States Senator (b. 1842)
• 1920 - Joseph Trumpeldor, early Zionist activist (b. 1880)
• 1922 - Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish football player (b. 1892)
• 1924 - Louise-Marie Amélie, daughter of Leopold II of Belgium, wife of Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1858)
• 1932 - Frank Teschemacher, jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist
• 1938 - Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian poet, dramatist, daredevil, war hero and politician (b. 1863)
• 1945 - Umenosuke Bessho, Japanese writer (b. 1871)
• 1966 - Fritz Houtermans, physicist (b. 1903)
• 1970 - Lucille Hegamin, U.S. singer and entertainer (b. 1894)
• 1974 - Bobby Timmons, jazz pianist (b. 1935)
• 1979 - Mustafa Barzani, leader of Kurdistan Democratic Party (b. 1903)
• 1984 - Jackie Coogan, actor (b. 1914)
• 1988 - Joe Besser, member of the Three Stooges (b. 1907)
• 1991 - Edwin Herbert Land, inventor (b. 1909)
• 1995 - Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist, anchor, and director of ORTV (b. 1956)

21st century

• 2000 - Dennis Danell guitarist of band Social Distortion
• 2002 - Doreen Waddell, vocalist of bands Soul II Soul and KLF
• 2003 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, former president of El Salvador (1967-1972) (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances

• Korea - Independence Movement Day (Samiljeol; 삼일절)
• Roman Empire - Matronalia in honor of Juno
• Roman Empire - Feriae Marti in honor of Mars
• Roman Empire - New Year
• Roman Empire - The sacred fire of Rome was renewed (See Vesta)
• Saint David's Day (National Holiday of Wales)
• Historically, March 1st was considered to be the beginning of the year. The names of some months reflect this. (September = Seventh, October = Eighth, November = Ninth, December = Tenth). (see New Year) If the days of the year were counted from March 1, till the next March 1, each date of the year would have the same number every year, unlike counting from January 1.
• World Day of Prayer
• Bahá'í Faith - Last Day (4 or 5) of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
• Labour day - Western Australia
• Eight Hours Day - Tasmania, Australia
• Feast of Saint David - United Kingdom (in Wales)
• Martenitsa - a sesonal holiday in Bulgaria

Seasons beginning March 1

In Denmark, spring begins on March 1, while in Australia autumn begins on March 1.

Year Beginning March 1

If one begins each year on March 1, then each date will have the same day number in this year, regardless of whether it is a leap year or not (e.g. December 25 is always day 300). Also the months follow a regular 5-month cycle of 153 days, till the end of February. This can be seen by listing the number of days in the months thus:

Mar 31   Aug 31   Jan 31
Apr 30   Sep 30   Feb 28/29
May 31   Oct 31
Jun 30   Nov 30
Jul 31   Dec 31

This regularity is sometimes used in calendar calculations.

February 28 - February 29 - (February 30) - March 2 - February 1 - April 1 -- listing of all days