Historical Events
- Mar 1 1st US commercial FM radio station goes on the air, Nashville, Tennessee
Captain America
Mar 1 Captain America created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby is first published by Timely Comics (premiere issue released on December 20, 1940)
Himmler Inspects Auschwitz
Mar 1 Commander of the SS, Heinrich Himmler inspects Auschwitz concentration camp for the first time, orders it be expanded [1]
- Mar 1 Former University of Notre Dame star fullback Elmer Layden is named first Commissioner of the NFL
- Mar 1 German troops invade Bulgaria
- Mar 1 Rangers' goalie Dave Kerr becomes the 5th goaltender in NHL history to record 200 career victories when New York wins, 3-1 over the Canadiens at Montreal
- Mar 2 World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.
Mussert Visits Goering
Mar 3 Netherlands NSB-leader Mussert visits Hermann Goering in Berlin
- Mar 4 18 Geuzen resistance fighters sentenced to death in The Hague
- Mar 4 Chicago Black Hawks goaltender Sam LoPresti faces NHL record 83 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Bruins in Boston
Prince Paul Rejects Hitler Deal
Mar 4 Prince Paul, prince regent of Yugoslavia meets with Adolf Hitler at the Berghof, Bavaria, where he rejects deal to allow Nazi's access to Greece
- Mar 4 The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands, during World War II.
- Mar 7 3rd largest snowfall then in NYC history (18.1")
- Mar 7 50,000 British soldiers land in Greece during WWII
- Mar 7 British troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
- Mar 8 1st baseball player drafted into WW II (Hugh Mulcahy, Phillies)
- Mar 10 Lee MacPhail, Dodger GM predicts all players will wear batting helmets
Nagurski vs Steele
Mar 11 Bronko Nagurski regains the World Wrestling title from Ray Steele in Minnesota, after losing to him a year earlier
- Mar 12 German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands
- Mar 13 Fons de Boungne and Corneil Dombret found AGRA (Amis du Grand Reich Allemand (Friends of the Greater German Reich)) in Begium
- Mar 14 Nazi occupiers of Holland forbid Jewish owned companies
- Mar 14 Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra record "Babalu"
- Mar 15 Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151 people
- Mar 16 Blizzard hits North Dakota & Minnesota killing 60
- Mar 16 National Gallery of Art opens in Washington, D.C.
Shostakovich Honored
Mar 16 Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich receives the Stalin Prize
- Mar 19 Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra record "Green Eyes" and "Maria Elena", with vocals by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly, in New York City
- Mar 20 Exhibition "Planning and Construction in the East" opens in Berlin to showcase Generalplan Ost (plan for the East) German rural settlements after planned deportation of millions of Slavs [1]
- Mar 20 Nazi German-Yugoslav pact drawn
- Mar 22 Grand Coulee Dam in Washington goes into operation
James Stewart in the Army
Mar 22 James Stewart is inducted into the Army, becoming the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II
- Mar 24 British troops defeat Italians in Somaliland
- Mar 24 German troops occupy El Agheila Libya
Glenn Miller's 1st Film
Mar 24 Glenn Miller begins work on his 1st movie "Sun Valley Serenade", starring Sonja Henie and John Payne, for 20th Century Fox
- Mar 24 LIU beats Ohio U 56-42 for NIT basketball championship
- Mar 24 Richard Wright and Paul Green's play "Native Son" premieres in NYC
- Mar 25 Carolina Paprika Mills in Dillon, South Carolina, incorporated
- Mar 27 Adolf Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia)
- Mar 27 Britain leases defense bases in Trinidad to US for 99 years
- Mar 27 Yugoslavian coup gets rid of pro-German Prince Paul
- Mar 28 Sea battle at Cape Matapan: British fleet under Cunningham defeats Italy
- Mar 29 3rd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Wisconsin beats Washington State, 39-34; Badgers' forward John Kotz is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
Requiem Symphony
Mar 29 World premiere performance of Benjamin Britten's "Requiem Symphony" by the New York Philharmonic under John Barbirolli. at Carnegie Hall, New York City
Famous Birthdays
- Mar 1 Dave Marcis, American auto racer (NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1975 runner-up; 5 career wins, 94 top-fives and 222 top-tens), born in Wausau, Wisconsin
- Mar 1 Michael Lampton, American astronaut and founder of the optical ray tracing company "Stellar Software", born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- Mar 2 David Satcher, Amdniral and 16th United States Surgeon General (1998-2001), born in Anniston, Alabama
- Mar 2 John Cornell, Australian screenwriter (Paul Hogan Show; Crocodile Dundee), and director (Crocodile Dundee II), born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia (d. 2021)
- Mar 4 John Aprea, American actor (Lucas-Another World, The Godfather Part II), born in Englewood, New Jersey
- Mar 4 John Hancock, American actor (Black Marble, Traxx, Houston Knights), born in Hazen, Arkansas (d. 1992)
- Mar 6 Ann Winterton, British MP
- Mar 6 Karyn Kupcinet, American actress (Carol-Gertrude Berg Show), born in Karyn Kupcinet (d. 1963)
- Mar 6 Peter Brötzmann, German free jazz saxophonist and clarinet player, born in Remscheid, Germany (d. 2023)
- Mar 8 Andrei Mironov, Soviet actor (d. 1987)
- Mar 8 Ivana Loudová, Czech composer (Vocal Symphony), born in Chlumec nad Cidlinou, Bohemia (d. 2017)
- Mar 8 Yvar Mikhashoff [Ronald Mackay], American contemporary classical pianist, composer, and educator (University of Buffalo, 1973-93), born in Troy, New York (d. 1993)
- Mar 9 Ernesto Miranda, American litigant, conviction on kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges, born in Mesa, Arizona (d. 1976)
- Mar 9 Ger van Elk, Dutch sculptor, born in Amsterdam (d. 2014)
- Mar 9 Jim Colbert, American golfer (8 PGA Tour titles; Senior Players Championship 1993), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
- Mar 10 Daniel Kirkland Lentz, American composer, born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania
- Mar 10 George Smith, American Chemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2018), born in Norwalk, Connecticut
- Mar 10 Piotr Warzecha, Polish composer, born in Bytom, Poland (d. 2015)
- Mar 13 Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer, born in al-Birwa, Galilee (d. 2008)
- Mar 14 Wolfgang Petersen, German director, screenwriter and producer (Das Boot; Air Force One; The Perfect Storm), born in Emden, Germany (d. 2022)
- Mar 15 Cecil Turtle, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Tex Avery (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in "Tortoise Beats Hare"
- Mar 15 Dick Top, Dutch actor and director (Witch of Haarlem)
- Mar 15 Mike Love, American vocalist (Beach Boys - "Fun, Fun, Fun"; "California Girls"), born in Los Angeles, California
Bernardo Bertolucci (1941-2018)
Mar 16 Italian director (Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor), born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- Mar 16 Robert Guéï, Military ruler and President of the Ivory Coast (1999-2001), born in Kabakouma, Man Department, French West Africa (d. 2002)
- Mar 17 Clarence Collins, American doo-wop singer The (Imperials - "Tears On My Pillow"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Mar 17 Edward Harper, English composer, born in Taunton, England (d. 2009)
- Mar 17 Paul Kantner, American rock singer and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane; Jefferson Starship), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2016)
- Mar 17 Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese politician
- Mar 18 Frank McRae, American actor (Dillinger; 1941; Rocky II; Love's Abiding Joy), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2021)
- Mar 18 John W. Derr, American politician
Wilson Pickett (1941-2006)
Mar 18 American R&B singer ("In The Midnight Hour"; "Funky Broadway"), born in Prattville, Alabama
- Mar 18 Wolfgang Bauer, writer
- Mar 19 Lord Vestey, British food magnate/billionaire (Union International)
- Mar 20 Carlos Lopez snr, American jockey
- Mar 20 Pat Corrales, American baseball catcher (Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, SD Padres) and manager (Texas Rangers 1978–80, Philadelphia Phillies 1982–83, Cleveland Indians 1983–87), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2023)
- Mar 21 Dirk D Frimout, Belgian cosmonaut
- Mar 21 John Boylan, American record producer (Pure Prairie League; Commander Cody; Little River Band), born in New York City
- Mar 21 Malcolm Francke, cricketer (leg-spinner, Ceylon 1956 to Qld 1984)
- Mar 22 Billy Collins, American poet (Poet Laureate of the United States 2001-2003), born in New York City
- Mar 22 Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (Strapless, Wings of Desire), born in Zurich, Switzerland
- Mar 22 Jeremy Clyde, English pop singer and guitarist (Chad & Jeremy - "A Summer Song") and actor (The Iron Lady), born in Dorney, Buckinghamshire
- Mar 23 Jim Trelease, American educator and children's literature author
- Mar 25 Gudmund Hernes, Norwegian politician
- Mar 26 Barclay Plager, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (NHL All-Star 1970, 71, 73, 74 St. Louis Blues) and coach (St. Louis Blues 1977-83), born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario (d. 1988)
- Mar 26 Bob Plager, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (St. Louis Blues 1969-77) and coach (St. Louis Blues 1992), born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario (d. 2021)
- Mar 26 Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist (The God Delusion), born in Nairobi, Kenya Colony
- Mar 26 Yvon Marcoux, Quebec politician, born in Lévis, Quebec
- Mar 27 Charles Pashayan Jr., U.S. House of Representatives from California, born in Fresno, California
- Mar 27 Ivan Gašparovič, President of Slovakia (2004-14), born in Poltár, Slovak Republic
- Mar 27 Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete (Olympic silver 1968), born in Tulln District, Austria (d. 2006)
- Mar 28 Alf Clausen, American orchestra leader and film and television score composer (Donny & Marie; The Simpsons; ALF), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Mar 28 Charlie McCoy, American Grammy-winning session musician and harmonica player (Hee Haw), born in Oak Hill, West Virginia
- Mar 28 Jim Turner, American football placekicker (Super Bowl 1969; Pro Bowl 1968, 69 NY Jets; Denver Broncos), born in Martinez, California
- Mar 29 Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., American astrophysicist (1993 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of a new type of pulsar), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Mar 29 Terence Hill, Italian actor (Super Fuzz; They Call Me Trinity), born in Venice, Italy
- Mar 30 Bob Smith, American politician (Senator New Hampshire 1990-2003, Rep New Hampshire 1985-90), born in Trenton, New Jersey
- Mar 30 Brendan O'Friel, CEO (Prison Governors Association)
- Mar 30 Ron Johnston, English geographer, born in Swindon, England (d. 2020)
Famous Weddings
Hattie McDaniel
Mar 21 American Actress Hattie McDaniel (45) weds real estate salesman James Lloyd Crawford; divorced 1945
Famous Deaths
- Mar 3 Constant W L Scheurleer, archaeologist/banker/art expert, dies at 59
- Mar 3 Ernst Cahn, owner of Amsterdam Koco ice cream parlor, executed
- Mar 4 Edoardo Mascheroni, Italian composer, dies at 81
- Mar 5 Ludwig Quidde, German politician and pacifist (Nobel Peace Prize 1927), dies at 82
- Mar 6 John Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor (Mount Rushmore), dies at 73
- Mar 6 Leen Schijvenschuurder, Dutch February strike leader, executed
- Mar 7 Arnold Schering, German musicologist (Humor, Heldentum, Tragik), dies at 63
- Mar 7 Günther Prien, German World War II submarine captain (U-47 - responsible for sinking at least 30 Allied vessels), dies at sea, in battle off coast of Ireland at 33
- Mar 7 Julian Eltinge [Dalton], American vaudeville, Broadway, and silent film female impersonator star (The Crinoline Girl), dies of a suspected cerebral hemorrhage at 59
- Mar 8 José Serrano Simeón, Spanish composer, dies at 67
- Mar 8 Sherwood Anderson, American author and publisher (Winesburg Ohio), dies at 64
- Mar 9 Carlos Pedrell, Uruguayan guitarist and composer, dies at 62
- Mar 11 Walford Davies, British organist, composer, educator, and broadcaster (BBC), dies at 71
- Mar 12 Charles Sanford Skilton, composer, dies at 72
- Mar 13 A Coenradi, Dutch resistance fighter, executed
- Mar 13 Bernard Ijzerdraat, Dutch resistance fighter, executed by Nazi regime at 49
- Mar 13 E Hellendoorn, Dutch resistance fighter, executed
- Mar 13 Elizabeth Madox Roberts, American poet and novelist (The Time of Man), dies at 54
- Mar 13 J Eyl, Dutch resistance fighter, executed
- Mar 15 Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian painter, dies at 77
- Mar 17 Joachim Schepke, German commandant (U-100), dies in battle
- Mar 17 Marguerite Nichols, American actress (b. 1895)
- Mar 20 D A van den Bosch, anti-nazi clergyman (Amersfoort Camp), dies
- Mar 21 Robert Liefmann, German economist (Kartelle und Trusts), dies at 67
- Mar 24 (Rafaël) "Raf" Verhulst, Flemish poet, journalist, playwright (Jesus of Nazarus; Semini's Children), and educator, dies at 75
- Mar 28 Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian Police Commissioner (b. 1877)
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
Mar 28 British author (Jacob's Room, To the Lighthouse), commits suicide at 59
