What Happened in March 1965

Historical Events

Olympic Gold

Mar 1 Australian swimming authorities suspend triple Olympic gold medal winning sprinter Dawn Fraser for 10 years for misconduct at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

  • Mar 1 Gas explosion kills 28 in apartment complex in La Salle, Quebec
  • Mar 1 WPSX TV channel 3 in Clearfield, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Mar 2 Montcalm Community College founded in Sidney, Mich

The Sound of Music

Mar 2 One of the most popular musical films of all time, "The Sound of Music", starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premieres (Academy Awards Best Picture - 1966)

  • Mar 2 US Air Force begins Operation Rolling Thunder, a three year sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam
  • Mar 3 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Mar 3 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

David Attenborough Heads BBC2

Mar 4 David Attenborough becomes the new controller of BBC2

Music Premiere

Mar 5 1st performance of Walter Piston's 8th Symphony (his last), by the Boston Symphony, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf

  • Mar 5 Ernie Terrell beats Eddie Machen by unanimous points decision over 15 rounds in Chicago, Illinois to win vacant WBA heavyweight boxing title
  • Mar 5 March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence
  • Mar 6 12th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Duke, 91-85
  • Mar 6 1st nonstop helicopter crossing of North America, JR Willford
  • Mar 6 Bruce Taylor hits 105 for NZ v India in 1st Test Cricket innings

How to Succeed...

Mar 6 Frank Loesser's musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", starring Robert Morse and Rudy Vallée, closes at 46th Street Theatre, NYC, after 1415 performances, 7 Tony Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize

My Girl Hits #1

Mar 6 The Temptations' single "My Girl" reaches #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart; written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White

Event of Interest

Mar 7 Alabama state troopers and 600 black protesters clash in Selma during "Bloody Sunday", protesters, including future congressman John Lewis beaten and hospitalized

  • Mar 7 Bruce Taylor takes 5-86 in debut innings for NZ after ton
  • Mar 7 Christian-democrats win parliament in Chile
  • Mar 8 First US combat forces arrive in Vietnam, on the beaches of Da Nang
  • Mar 10 "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail" album by Buck Owens is released (Billboard Album of the Year, 1965)
  • Mar 10 Dutch Princess Margriet & Pieter van Vollenhoven get engaged

Event of Interest

Mar 11 Indonesia President Sukarno signs the 'Supersemar' order, giving army commander Lt. Gen. Suharto authority to do whatever he "deemed necessary" to restore order

  • Mar 12 "Wooly Bully" single released by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
  • Mar 13 Beatles' "Eight Days a Week" single goes #1 & stays #1 for 2 weeks

Music History

Mar 13 British guitarist Eric Clapton quits the Yardbirds due to the band moving away from traditional blues; Jeff Beck becomes his replacement

  • Mar 14 Israeli cabinet approves diplomatic relations with West Germany
  • Mar 15 T.G.I. Friday's 1st restaurant opens in NYC
  • Mar 15 WMFE TV channel 24 in Orlando, FL (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Mar 17 Beatles announce their second film is titled "8 Arms to Hold You" ; later changed to "Help!"
  • Mar 18 "Do I Hear a Waltz?" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 220 performances
  • Mar 18 A truck loses control down Moosic Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania, killing the driver. This accident later inspired the 1974 Harry Chapin song, "30,000 Pounds of Bananas."
  • Mar 18 Poppin' Fresh Pillsbury Dough Boy introduced
  • Mar 18 Rolling Stones fined £5 each for public urination

1st Person to Walk in Space

Mar 18 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov leaves his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes and becomes the first person to conduct a spacewalk

  • Mar 18 USSR launches Voshkod 2
  • Mar 19 Indonesia nationalizes all foreign oil companies
  • Mar 19 Rembrandt's "Titus" sells for then record 7,770,000 guilders
  • Mar 19 Stoica becomes president & Ceausescu party leader of Romania
  • Mar 19 The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000, said to have been most powerful Confederate cruiser, discovered by then teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence exactly 102 years after its destruction.
  • Mar 20 10th Eurovision Song Contest: France Gall of Luxembourg wins singing "Poupee de cire, poupee de son" written by Serge Gainsbourg in Naples, Italy
  • Mar 20 27th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Michigan, 91-80; Bruins' back-to-back National titles; Gail Goodrich 42 points

Dorothy Height's 1st Column

Mar 20 Civil and Women's Rights Activist Dorothy Height has her first column published in the weekly African-American newspaper called the "New York Amsterdam News"

  • Mar 20 Venkataraghavan takes 8-72 v NZ at Delhi
  • Mar 20 Wales misses out on a 4th Grand Slam after losing to France, 22-13 at Stade Colombes, Paris despite winning the Five Nations Rugby Championship
  • Mar 21 US Ranger 9 launched; takes 5,814 pictures before lunar impact
  • Mar 22 Dudley Senanayake wins his third in general elections in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

Election of Interest

Mar 22 Nicolae Ceausescu is elected General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party

  • Mar 22 US confirms its troops used chemical warfare against the Vietcong
  • Mar 23 Gemini 3 launched, 1st US 2-man space flight (Grissom & Young)
  • Mar 23 Moroccan army shoots on demonstrators, about 100 killed
  • Mar 24 US Ranger 9 strikes Moon, 10 miles (16 km) NE of crater Alphonsus
  • Mar 25 Martin Luther King Jr. leads 25,000 to state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama
  • Mar 25 West German Bondsdag extends war crimes retribution
  • Mar 27 119th Grand National: Tommy Smith becomes first American jockey to win GN aboard US trained and owned horse, Jay Trump at 100/6
  • Mar 30 Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others
  • Mar 31 Iberia Airlines Convair 440 crashes into the sea on approach to Tangier killing 47 of 51 occupants
1965 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Mar 1 Booker T [Robert Booker Tio Huffman], American pro wrestler (WCW Heavyweight Champion 2000–01; WWF Heavyweight Champion 2006–07), born in Houston, Texas
  • Mar 1 Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey (2004 Kentucky Derby & Preakness on Smarty Jones), born in Toronto, Ontario
  • Mar 2 Lembit Öpik, British politician (Liberal Democrats), born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland

Ron Gant (59 years old)

Mar 2 American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1992, 95; Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds) and broadcaster (WAGA-TV, co-host 'Good Day Atlanta', born in Victoria, Texas

  • Mar 2 Wolfgang Muthspiel, Austrian jazz guitarist, born in Judenburg, Austria
  • Mar 3 A J Sager, pitcher (Detroit Tigers), born in Columbus, Ohio

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (59 years old)

Mar 3 Ethiopian politician and the first African Director-General of the World Health Organization, born in Asmara, Eritrea

  • Mar 4 Andrew Collins, English journalist, scriptwriter and broadcaster
  • Mar 4 Jonathan Shearer, Scottish winner of reality series Castaway
  • Mar 4 Khaled Hosseini, Afghan author (The Kite Runner) and physician, born in Kabul, Afghanistan
  • Mar 4 Paul W. S. Anderson, English filmmaker (Resident Evil), born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
  • Mar 4 Stacy Edwards, American actress (Santa Barbara), born in Glasgow, Montana
  • Mar 4 WestBam [Maximillian Lenz], German rave techno DJ, and record label owner, born in Münster, West Germany
  • Mar 6 Tammy Liley, volleyball mid blocker/capt (Olympic bronze 1992, 96), born in Long Beach, California
  • Mar 7 Cameron Daddo, Australian actor (Brian Petersen-Models Inc), born in Melbourne, Victoria
  • Mar 7 Jack Armstrong, American baseball player, born in Englewood, New Jersey
  • Mar 7 Jesper Parnevik, Swedish golfer (Ryder Cup 1997, 99, 2002; British Open 2004, 07 runner-up), born in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Mar 7 Steve Beuerlein, American NFL quarterback (Jacksonville Jaguars, Car Panthers), born in Hollywood, California
  • Mar 7 [Willie] Flipper Anderson, NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts), born in Paulsboro, New Jersey
  • Mar 8 Fátima Lopes, Portuguese fashion designer
  • Mar 8 Kenny Smith, NBA guard (Houston Rockets)
  • Mar 9 Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
  • Mar 9 Brian Bosworth, American College Football Hall of Fame linebacker (National C'ship 1985 Uni of Oklahoma; NFL: Seattle Seahawks), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Mar 10 Paul Masotti, Canadian CFL receiver (Toronto Argonauts) and football executive, born in Hamilton, Ontario
  • Mar 10 Pepsi Tate [Huw Smith], Welsh glam-rock bassist (Tigertailz), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 2007)
  • Mar 10 Rod Woodson, American NFL cornerback/kick returner (11 Pro Bowl; Super Bowl 2000, Baltimore Ravens), born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
  • Mar 11 Andy Sturmer, American pop-rock singer, songwriter and producer (Jellyfish; Puffy AmiYumi), born in Los Angeles County, California
  • Mar 11 Jesse Jackson, Jr., American politician (US House of Representative from Illinois, 1995-2012), born in Greenville, South Carolina
  • Mar 11 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, British interior designer and television host (Changing Rooms), born in Kensington, London, England
  • Mar 11 Wallace Langham, American actor (The Larry Sanders Show; CSI), born in Fort Worth, Texas
  • Mar 12 Fran Harris, American basketball guard (FIBA World C'ship gold 1986; Houston Comets, Utah Starzz) and broadcaster (ESPN), born in Dallas, Texas
  • Mar 12 Liza Umarova, Chechen singer and actress, born in Almaty, Kazakhstan
  • Mar 12 Steve Finley, American baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 1997, 2000; World Series 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks; 5 × Gold Glove Award), born in Union City Tennessee
  • Mar 12 Steve Levy, American sports journalist (ESPN: Monday Night Football, NHL), born in New York, New York

Aamir Khan (59 years old)

Mar 14 Indian Bollywood actor, director and talk show host (3 Idiots, Lagaan, PK), born in Mumbai, India

  • Mar 14 Catherine Dent, American actress (The Shield), born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Mar 14 John Stephenson, cricketer (England opening bat in one Test v Aust 1989)
  • Mar 14 Kevin Brown, American pitcher (Florida Marlins), born in Mcintyre, Georgia
  • Mar 14 Kevin Williamson, American screenwriter, director and producer (Scream, Dawson's Creek, Vampire Diaries), born in New Bern, North Carolina
  • Mar 14 Kiana Tom, American fitness guru and model
  • Mar 15 Marianne Morris, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 3rd 1995), born in Middletown, Ohio
  • Mar 16 Belén Rueda, Spanish actress
  • Mar 16 Cindy Brown, American basketball player (Olympic gold 1988)
  • Mar 16 Mark Carney, Canadian economist, Governor of the Bank of England, and Chairman of the G20's Financial Stability Board, born in Fort Smith, Canada
  • Mar 17 Andrew Hudson, South African cricket player, 1984-2000 (South Africa, 163 on debut vs WI 1992), 55), born in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Nata
  • Mar 17 Caitlin Bilodeaux, US fencer (Olympic-92), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Mar 17 John Smiley, American MLB pitcher, 1986-97 (Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and two other teams), born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
  • Mar 18 Birgit Clarius, German heptathlete
  • Mar 18 Geronimo Berroa, outfielder (Oakland A's), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • Mar 18 Jeff Labar, American glam rock guitarist (Cinderella, 1985-2014 - "Nobody's Fool"; "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)"), born in Darby, Pennsylvania (d. 2021)
  • Mar 18 Yoriko Douguchi, Japanese actress
  • Mar 20 Chris Hoiles, Bowling Green OH, catcher (Baltimore Orioles)
  • Mar 21 Cynthia Geary, American actress (Northern Exposure - Shelly"), born in Jackson, Mississippi
  • Mar 21 Xavier Bertrand, French politician
  • Mar 22 Emma Wray, English actress, born in Birkenhead, England
  • Mar 23 Dante Jones, NFL linebacker (Denver Broncos)
  • Mar 23 Daren Puppa, Kirkland Lake, NHL goalie (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • Mar 23 Gary Whitehead, American poet
  • Mar 23 Marti Pellow [Mark McLachlan], Scottish pop singer, and musical theater performer (Wet, Wet, Wet - "Love Is All Around"), born in Clydebank, Scotland
  • Mar 23 Richard Grieco, Waterton NY, actor (21 Jump Street, Booker)
  • Mar 23 Wayne Presley, NHL right wing (Toronto Maple Leafs), born in Detroit, Michigan
  • Mar 24 Gurmit Singh, Singaporean actor
  • Mar 24 Jeff Reese, Brantford, NHL goalie (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • Mar 24 Peter Jacobson, American actor
  • Mar 25 Avery Johnson, NBA guard (San Antonio Spurs)

Sarah Jessica Parker (59 years old)

Mar 25 American actress (Square Pegs, Sex and the City), born in Nelsonville, Ohio

  • Mar 25 Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton, DJ (Hangin' With Hollywood, Z-100)
  • Mar 26 Jonathan Glazer, English filmmaker (The Zone of Interest), born in London, England
  • Mar 27 Johnny April, American bass guitarist (Staind - "It's Been A While"), born in Enfield, Connecticut
  • Mar 27 Stacey Kent, American jazz singer (Breakfast On The Morning Tram), born in South Orange, New Jersey
  • Mar 28 Jaime Alves, Portuguese soccer midfielder (3 caps; Boavista), born in Espinho, Portugal (d. 2020)
  • Mar 28 Jeff Beukeboom, Canadian ice hockey player, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers), born in Ajax, Canada
  • Mar 28 Steve Bull, English footballer, born in Tipton, Staffordshire
  • Mar 28 Steve Turner, American grunge rock guitarist (Mudhoney), born in Houston, Texas
  • Mar 29 Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist, born in Kiato, Greece (d. 2005)
  • Mar 29 Louise Casey [Baroness Casey of Blackstock], English government official (led review of the Metropolitan Police), born in Redruth, England
  • Mar 29 Voula Patoulidou, Greek athlete (Olympic gold 100m hurdles 1992), born in Tripotamo, Greece
  • Mar 29 William Oefelein, American astronaut (STS-116 Space Shuttle), born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia
  • Mar 30 Piers Morgan, English newspaper editor and TV personality (Daily Mirror, CNN), born in Newick, England
  • Mar 31 Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer best known for his solo self-rescue on Annapurna with a broken arm, born in Gap, Hautes-Alpes (d. 2006)
  • Mar 31 Patty Fendick, American tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1991), born in Sacramento, California
  • Mar 31 Tom Barrasso, American NHL goaltender (Calder Memorial Trophy, Vezina Trophy 1984), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Mar 31 William McNamara, American actor (Texasville, Beat, Stealing Home), born in Dallas, Texas
Born in 1965

Famous Weddings

Tom Stoppard

Mar 26 Playwright Tom Stoppard (28) weds nurse Josie Ingle

Famous Deaths

  • Mar 1 Boleslav Vomácka, Czech composer (Vodntk - The Water Sprite), critic, and musicologist (Josef Suk), dies at 77
  • Mar 3 Carlo Gatti, Italian musicologist (Verdi), dies at 88
  • Mar 5 Chen Cheng, Chinese politician (b. 1897)
  • Mar 5 John "Pepper" Martin, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1933–35, 37; World Series 1931, 34; NL stolen base leader 1933, 34, 36; St. Louis Cardinals), dies of a heart attack at 61
  • Mar 6 Jules Goux, French auto racer (first European to win Indianapolis 500 1913), dies at 79
  • Mar 6 Margaret Dumont [Daisy Baker], actress (Animal Crackers), dies at 75
  • Mar 6 Ruvim Pergament, composer, dies at 58
  • Mar 8 Esther Howard, actress (Detour), dies of a heart attack at 72
  • Mar 8 Tadd Dameron, American jazz pianist, composer ("If You Could See Me Now"; "Lady Bird"), arranger (Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine) and bandleader, dies of cancer at 48
  • Mar 9 Anthon van der Horst, Dutch organist and composer, dies at 65
  • Mar 9 Kazys Boruta, Lithuanian writer, dies at 60
  • Mar 11 James Reeb, American minister and civil rights activist, dies from head injuries after being beaten in Selma, Alabama at 38
  • Mar 13 Corrado Gini, Italian statistician (b. 1884)
  • Mar 13 Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop, poet, and politician (b. 1882)
  • Mar 13 George Călinescu [Gheorghe Vișan], Romanian poet, novelist (Lauda lucrurilor (In Praise of Things); Enigma Otiliei (Otilia's Riddle)), and literary critic and historian, dies of cirhossis at 65
  • Mar 13 Vittorio Jano, Italian automobile designer, dies at 73
  • Mar 14 Marion Jones, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1899, 1902), dies at 85
  • Mar 17 Almos Alonzo Stagg, American football coach (University of Chicago), dies in California at 102
  • Mar 17 Nancy Cunard, British writer and activist, dies at 69
  • Mar 17 Quentin Reynolds, American newscaster (Its News to Me) and author (FBI), dies at 62
  • Mar 18 Farouk I, last King of Egypt (1936-52), dies at 45
  • Mar 19 Lavere "Buster" Harding, Canadian-American jazz pianist, composer and arranger (Count Basie; Dizzy Gillespie; Billie Holiday), dies at 53
  • Mar 23 Mae Murray, actress (Bachelor Apartment), dies of heart ailment at 75
  • Mar 25 Giorgio Federico Ghedini, Italian composer, dies at 72
  • Mar 25 Viola Gregg Liuzzo, American civil rights activist, murdered by Ku KLux Klan members in Selma, Alabama at 39
  • Mar 28 Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (b. 1888)
  • Mar 28 Jack Hoxie, American actor and rodeo performer (The White Outlaw), dies at 80
  • Mar 28 Mary [Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary], Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood and daughter of George V, dies at 67
  • Mar 30 Philip Showalter Hench, American physician, (Nobel Prize 1950 for cortisone), dies at 69