Historical Events
- Mar 1 Israeli assault on Gaza, kills 48
- Mar 1 KFAR (now KATN) TV channel 2 in Fairbanks, AK (ABC/NBC) 1st broadcast
- Mar 1 Pakistan and India play out a draw in the 5th cricket Test at the National Stadium in Karachi; 5 Test series drawn 0-0
- Mar 2 King Norodom Sihanukh of Cambodia succeeded by his father
- Mar 2 William Inge's "Bus Stop" premieres in NYC
- Mar 2 William Inge's stage drama "Bus Stop", opens at the Music Box Theater, NYC; runs for 478 performances
- Mar 4 1st radio facsimile transmission sent across the continent
- Mar 5 2nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Duke, 87-77
Elvis' 1st TV Appearance
Mar 5 Elvis Presley makes his 1st TV appearance on a local video broadcast of the popular radio program "Louisiana Hayride" from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana
- Mar 5 WBBJ TV channel 7 in Jackson, TN (ABC) begins broadcasting
Waiting for Godot
Mar 6 Dutch premiere of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"
Emmy Awards
Mar 7 7th Emmy Awards: "Make Room for Daddy", Danny Thomas & Loretta Young win
- Mar 7 Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick says he favors legalization of spitter
Peter Pan
Mar 7 Musical "Peter Pan", starring Mary Martin broadcast live on NBC as part of "Producers' Showcase" series; attracts a then record 65 million viewers
- Mar 13 Bir BSD Mahendra succeeds Tribhubana as king of Nepal
Golf Tournament
Mar 13 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg wins her 6th Titleholders title by 2 strokes from Mary Lena Faulk
Sports History
Mar 16 NHL President Clarence Campbell suspends Montreal Canadiens superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard for the remainder of the season after he viciously attacked an opponent; Riots ensued in Montreal
Event of Interest
Mar 16 President Eisenhower upholds the use of atomic weapons in case of war
- Mar 17 After Maurice Richard is suspended for the remainder of the season, riots break out in Montreal. 37 people are injured and over 100 are arrested. The following morning, Richard goes on the radio to ask citizens to stop vandalizing the city.
- Mar 18 Ichirō Hatojama recognized as premier of Japan
Sports History
Mar 19 17th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: San Francisco beats La Salle, 77-63; Dons' future Hall of Fame center Bill Russell is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
- Mar 20 KXTV TV channel 10 in Sacramento, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Mar 21 Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus advocates for Cyprus to join Greece
- Mar 21 Brooklyn Bulletin ask Dodger fans not to call their team "Bums"
- Mar 24 1st seagoing oil drill rig placed in service
- Mar 24 British Army patrols withdraw from Belfast after 20 years
Film & TV History
Mar 24 Tennessee Williams' stage drama "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", starring Ben Gazzarra, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Burl Ives, and directed by Elia Kazan, opens at the Morosco Theater, NYC; runs for 694 performances and wins a Pulitzer Prize
- Mar 25 East Germany granted full sovereignty by occupying power, USSR
Event of Interest
Mar 25 United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" as obscene.
- Mar 26 "Ballad of Davy Crockett" version recorded by Bill Hayes becomes the #1 record in US
- Mar 26 109th Grand National: Pat Taaffe wins aboard Quare Times at 100/9; third consecutive GN victory for trainer Vincent O'Brien
- Mar 26 France misses out on a maiden Grand Slam after losing, 16-11 to Wales at Stade Colombes; share Five Nations Rugby Championship with Wales with 3-1 record
- Mar 27 9th Tony Awards: "The Desperate Hours" (play) & "The Pajama Game" (musical) win
The Chivington Raid
Mar 27 Steve McQueen makes his network TV debut (Goodyear Playhouse, episode "The Chivington Raid")
- Mar 27 WPRI TV channel 12 in Providence, Rhode Island (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 28 NZ cricket all out for 26 v England at Eden Park
- Mar 29 Linguist Yuri Knorosov defends his master's thesis in Moscow, expanding on his new phonetic method to decipher the Mayan script (first announced in article Soviet Ethnology 1952) [1]
Academy Awards
Mar 30 27th Academy Awards: "On the Waterfront", Marlon Brando & Grace Kelly win
- Mar 31 Merger of Chase National Bank (3rd largest bank) and Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) forms Chase Manhattan
- Mar 31 West Indies cricket all-rounder Collie Smith scores 104 in his Test debut in a 9 wicket 1st Test defeat to Australia in Kingston, Jamaica
Famous Birthdays
- Mar 1 Denis Mukwege, Congolese gynecologist, founded Panzi Hospital (Noble Peace Prize 2018), born in Bukavu, Belgian Congo
- Mar 1 Jimmy Fortune, American country singer (Statler Brothers - Class of '57), born in Newport News, Virginia
- Mar 2 Dale Bosworth, American TV host (America's Most Wanted)
- Mar 2 Dale Bozzio (née Consalvi), American rock vocalist (Missing Persons - "Destination Unknown"; Frank Zappa), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Mar 2 Jawanza Kobie, American jazz pianist and composer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Mar 2 Jay Osmond, American singer and drummer (Osmond Brothers - "One Way Ticket to Anywhere"), born in Ogden, Utah
- Mar 2 Ken Salazar, American politician and diplomat (Ambassador to Mexico, 2021-present; Secretary of the Interior, 2009-13: US Senator from Colorado, 2005-09), born in Alamosa, Colorado
- Mar 2 Shoko Asahara [Chizuo Matsumoto], Japanese sect leader
- Mar 4 Dominique Pinon, French actor (Delicatessen, Outlander), born in Saumur, France
- Mar 4 Khoisan X [Benny Alexander], South African activist (Secretary-General for the Pan-Africanist Movement), born in Kimberley, South Africa (d. 2010)
- Mar 5 Juraj Filas, Slovak composer (Oratio Spei (Prayer of Hope)), born in Kosice, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) (d. 2021)
- Mar 5 Marcia McCabe, American actress (Alice Grande - One Life to Live), born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Penn Jillette (69 years old)
Mar 5 American magician (Penn & Teller) and author (God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales), born in Greenfield, Massachusetts
- Mar 6 Cyprien Ntaryamira, 5th President of Burundi (1994) who was assassinated at the start of the Rwandan genocide, born in Mubimbi, Bujumbura Rural Province, Burundi (d. 1994)
- Mar 7 Anupam Kher, Bollywood actor (Vijay, Silver Linings Playbook), and Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India, born in Shimla, India
- Mar 7 Tommy Kramer, American College Football HOF quarterback (Rice University; NFL Comeback Player of the Year & Pro Bowl 1986 Minnesota Vikings), born in San Antonio, Texas
- Mar 8 Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1981)
- Mar 9 Fernando Bujones, American ballet dancer, born in Miami, Florida (d. 2005)
- Mar 9 Ornella Muti, Italian actress (Flash Gordon; Most Beautiful Wife), born in Rome, Italy
- Mar 9 Teo Fabi, Italian Formula-1 Indy-car racer (rookie of year-1983), born in Milan, Italy
- Mar 10 Gary Louris, American singer-songwriter and musician (Jayhawks), born in Toledo, Ohio
- Mar 10 Juliusz Machulski, Polish director/writer/actor (Do It Yourself)
- Mar 10 Toshio Suzuki, Japanese racing driver
- Mar 10 Youssra [Seveen Nessim], Egyptian actress and singer, born in Cairo, Egypt
- Mar 11 Catharina "Nina" Hagen, German punk rock singer, and actress (The Go-Blue Girl), born in East Berlin, East Germany
- Mar 13 Bruno Conti, Italian footballer and manager, born in Nettuno, Rome
- Mar 13 Glenne Headly, actress (Dick Tracy, Making Mr Right), born in New London, Connecticut
- Mar 13 John Hackett, British rock, classical, and new age flautist, born in Pimlico, London, England
- Mar 13 Olga Rukavishnikova, Soviet pentathlete (Olympic silver 1980), born in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk
- Mar 13 Patricia J. Engfer, General manager (Hyatt Regency-Orlando), born in Hackensack, New Jersey
- Mar 14 (Rowland) "Boon" Gould, British rock guitarist (Level 42, 1979-87 - "Hot Water"), born in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight, England (d. 2019)
- Mar 14 Helen Atkinson-Wood, British actress and comedian (O.T.T., Blackadder the Third), born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire
- Mar 15 (Daniel) "Dee" Snider, American singer, songwriter and actor (Twisted Sister), born in Astoria, Queens
- Mar 15 Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge, American rock and soul singer-songwrtier (DeBarge - "Time Will Reveal"), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Mar 15 Mohsin Khan, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani opening batsman late 70s early 80s), born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
- Mar 15 Steve Lillywhite, British record producer (U2; Rolling Stones; Phish), born in Egham, England
- Mar 16 Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
- Mar 16 Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
- Mar 17 Bill Beyers, American actor (Capitol - "Wally McCandless"), born in Lake Success, New York (d. 1992)
- Mar 17 Cynthia McKinney, American politician (Rep-D-Georgia, Green Party presidential candidate 2008), born in Atlanta, Georgia
Gary Sinise (69 years old)
Mar 17 American actor (Apollo 13, CSI: NY, Forrest Gump), born in Blue Island Illinois
- Mar 17 Paul Overstreet, American country singer (Daddy's Come Around), born in Van Cleave, Mississippi
- Mar 18 Francis Slay, American politician, Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri (2001-17), born in St. Louis, Missouri
Bruce Willis (69 years old)
Mar 19 American actor (Moonlighting, Die Hard), born in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany
- Mar 21 Barbel Wockel-Eckert, German DR, sprinter (Olympic-4 gold-1976, 80)
- Mar 21 Haakon Graf, Norwegian jazz keyboard player, composer, arranger and producer, born in Oslo, Norway
Jair Bolsonaro (69 years old)
Mar 21 Brazilian politician and President of Brazil (2019-22), born in Glicério, São Paulo, Brazil
- Mar 21 Jean Marie Hon, actress (Jane-Man From Atlantis), born in San Francisco, California
- Mar 22 (Waliou) "Wally" Badarou, French musician (Level 42), born in Paris, France
- Mar 22 Pete Sessions, American politician (REP-R-Texas 1997-209, 2021-), born in Waco, Texas
- Mar 22 Valdis Zatlers, Latvian politician 7th President of Latvia, born in Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR
- Mar 23 Cindy Olavarri, Pleasant Hills California, cyclist (7-Eleven team)
Moses Malone (1955-2015)
Mar 23 Basketball Hall of Fame center (NBA MVP 1979, 82-83; NBA Finals MVP 1983; 12 x NBA All Star; Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers), born in Petersburg, Virginia,
- Mar 23 Petrea Burchard, American actress
- Mar 24 Doug Jarvis, Canadian ice hockey forward (record for most consecutive NHL games 964; Stanley Cup 1976-79 Montreal Canadiens), born in Brantford, Ontario
- Mar 25 Daniel Boulud, French chef and restaurateur
- Mar 25 Lee Mazzilli, American baseball utility (MLB All Star 1979, NY Mets; World Series 1986, Pittsburgh Pirates), manager (Baltimore Orioles) and coach (World Series 2000, NY Yankees), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Mar 26 Dean Dillon, American country music singer (Chair), born in Lake City, Tennessee
- Mar 27 Mariano Rajoy, Spanish politician, Prime Minister of Spain (2011-18), born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Mar 27 Patrick McCabe, Irish novelist (The Butcher Boy), born in Clones, County Monaghan
- Mar 28 John Alderdice, Northern Irish politician, born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Reba McEntire (69 years old)
Mar 28 American Grammy Award-winning country singer ("Can't Even Get the Blues"; "Consider Me Gone"), actress, and television personality (The Voice, 2023-), born in McAlester, Oklahoma
Brendan Gleeson (69 years old)
Mar 29 Irish actor and film director (Braveheart, The Banshees of Inisherin), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Mar 29 Christopher Lawford, American actor (Charlie Brent-All My Children), born in Santa Monica, California
- Mar 29 Dianne Kay, American actress (Nancy-8 is Enough, Reggie, Glitter), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- Mar 29 Earl Campbell, American College-Pro Football HOF running back (Heisman Trophy 1977, Uni of Texas; Pro Bowl 1978, 79, 80, 81, 83, Houston Oilers), born in Tyler, Texas
Marina Sirtis (69 years old)
Mar 29 English actress (Troi-Star Trek: The Next Generation), born in London, England
- Mar 30 Randy Vanwarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Just When I Needed You Most"), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2004)
Angus Young (69 years old)
Mar 31 Scottish rock guitarist (AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Mar 31 Robert Vance, New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper (4 Tests @ 29.57), born in Wellington, NZ
Famous Weddings
- Mar 17 Erotic writer Anaïs Nin marries actor Rupert Pole at Quartzsite, Arizona, while still married to her first husband
Famous Deaths
- Mar 3 Katharine Drexel, American philanthropist and Roman Catholic Saint, dies at 96
- Mar 5 Antanas Merkys, President of Lithuania (b. 1888)
- Mar 7 Tom Dugan, Irish actor (Circus Clown, Drag, Skyway), dies at 66
- Mar 8 Clémentine, Princess of Belgium, wife of Prince Napoleon Bonaparte V, dies at 82
- Mar 9 Matthew Henson, American explorer, 1st African American to reach North Pole (Jun 4 1909), dies at 88
Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)
Mar 11 Scottish bacteriologist (invented penicillin; Nobel Prize 1945), dies of a heart attack at 73
- Mar 11 Oscar Mayer, Bavarian-born American meat packer (b. 1859)
Charlie "Bird" Parker (1920-1955)
Mar 12 American jazz saxophonist (Ornithology) and composer, dies of pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer at 34 in NYC
- Mar 12 Theodor Plievier, German writer (Des Kaisers Kulis [The Kaiser's Coolies]; Stalingrad), dies at 63
- Mar 13 Tribhuwan Bir Bikram Shah, King of Nepal (1911-55), dies under mysterious circumstances at 48
- Mar 16 Mayhew Lake, composer, dies at 75
- Mar 16 Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter (b. 1914)
- Mar 21 Muriel Aked, British actress, dies at 67
- Mar 21 Walter Francis White, American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), dies at 61
- Mar 22 Ivan Šubašić, Kingdom of Yugoslavia prime minister and last ban of Croatia (b. 1892)
- Mar 23 Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (b. 1875)
- Mar 24 John W. Davis, American politician and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, dies at 81
- Mar 29 Everard Verachtert, Flemish linguist (I Can Speak Nicely pamphlet), dies at 81
- Mar 29 Zlatko Baloković, Croatian-American concert violinist, dies at 69
