Historical Events
- Mar 1 Bank of America adopts the name VISA for its credit cards
- Mar 1 PGA of America announces a sudden-death playoff format for the PGA Championship to be implemented; previously an 18-hole playoff applied after tie in regulation 72 holes
- Mar 1 US extends territorial waters to 200 miles
Film & TV History
Mar 2 Bette Davis is 1st woman to receive American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award
Film & TV History
Mar 2 Future The Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuts with host Johnny Carson
- Mar 2 Libya amends constitution
- Mar 3 Ice Pairs Champs at Tokyo won by Irina Rodnina/Alexandr Zaitsev (URS)
- Mar 3 Islanders allow Red Wings only 11 shots on goal
- Mar 3 Libyan Socialist Arabs People's Republic forms
- Mar 3 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Tokyo won by Vladimir Kovalev (USSR)
- Mar 3 World Ladies' Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Linda Fratianne (USA)
- Mar 4 1st CRAY 1 supercomputer shipped, to Los Alamos Laboratories, New Mexico
- Mar 4 Earthquake in Romania kills 1,541
Music Premiere
Mar 4 Roger Sessions' 6th Symphony premieres (in fully completed form) in New York City with José Serebrier conducting the Juilliard Orchestra
- Mar 4 West Indian cricket fast bowler Colin Croft takes 8-29 against Pakistan in 2nd Test win at Port-of-Spain; best Test figures by a pace bowler from the West Indies
- Mar 5 24th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats Virginia, 75-69
People's Choice Awards
Mar 5 3rd People's Choice Awards: John Wayne & Barbra Streisand win (Motion Picture) and Telly Savalas & Mary Tyler Moore win (TV)
- Mar 7 Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party wins elections
Meeting of Interest
Mar 7 Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin meets US President Jimmy Carter
- Mar 8 Henry L Marsh III elected mayor of Richmond, Virginia
- Mar 8 Princess Anne announces she's expecting her 1st child (Peter)
- Mar 9 Adm Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret), becomes 12th director of CIA replacing acting director Knoche
- Mar 9 Hanafi Muslims invade 3 buildings in Washington, D.C., siege ended Mar 11th
- Mar 10 CBS' premiere of "A Circle of Children", starring Jane Alexander and based on the life and book about this by Mary Mac Cracken
- Mar 10 Rings of Uranus discovered during occulation of SAO
- Mar 11 Hanafi Muslims hold 130 hostages in Washington, D.C.
Event of Interest
Mar 12 Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet bans the Christian-Democratic Party
Event of Interest
Mar 12 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat pledges to regain Arab territory from Israel
Sports History
Mar 13 Dennis Lillee takes 6-26, England all out 95 in Centenary Test
- Mar 15 "Eight is Enough" premieres on ABC-TV
- Mar 15 TV comedy "Three's Company" starring John Ritter, Suzanne Somers, and Joyce DeWitt, premieres on ABC in US
- Mar 15 US House of Representatives begins 90 day test of televising its sessions
Event of Interest
Mar 16 US President Jimmy Carter pleads for a Palestinian homeland
- Mar 17 Australia wins cricket Centenary Test by 45 runs, same result as 1877
- Mar 18 The Clash release their first recording "White Riot"
- Mar 18 US restricts citizens from visiting Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea & Cambodia
- Mar 18 Vietnam hands over MIA to US
- Mar 19 France beats Ireland, 15-6 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin to clinch its 6th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship and 2nd Grand Slam
- Mar 19 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- Mar 19 Jevgeni Kulikov skates world record 1000m (1:15.33)
- Mar 19 Last episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" premieres on CBS, with a group hug searching for a box tissues, then singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary"
- Mar 20 Communists and socialists win French municipal elections
Election of Interest
Mar 20 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's party loses election in India
Election of Interest
Mar 20 Parisians elect former PM Jacques Chirac as 1st mayor in a century
- Mar 20 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Sawgrass CC: Mark Hayes wins in windy conditions, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Mike McCullough
- Mar 22 Dutch coalition government under Labour Party (PvdA) leader Joop den Uyl falls
- Mar 22 Indira Gandhi resigns as Prime Minister of India
Music Concert
Mar 23 Elvis Presley begins his final concert tour
Tony Awards
Mar 24 Lily Tomlin is the first woman to appear solo in a Broadway show in "Appearing Nitely" (special Tony award 1977)
- Mar 26 AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, Delta State beat Louisiana State University 68-55 in Minneapolis
Music History
Mar 26 Elvis Costello releases his 1st record "Less Than Zero"
- Mar 26 Focus on the Family is founded by Dr. James Dobson
Tenerife Airport Disaster
Mar 27 583 die in aviation's worst ever disaster when two Boeing 747s collide at Tenerife airport in Spain
Sports History
Mar 27 American tennis star Chris Evert wins her 4th and final WTA Tour Championship 2–6, 6–1, 6–1 against England's Sue Barker at Madison Square Garden, NYC
- Mar 28 39th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Marquette beats North Carolina, 67-59; Warriors' first title; coach Al McGuire retires
Academy Awards
Mar 28 49th Academy Awards: "Rocky", Peter Finch & Faye Dunaway win
- Mar 28 Morarji Desai forms a government in India
- Mar 31 Michael Cristofer's "Shadow Box" premieres in NYC
Famous Birthdays
- Mar 1 Esther Cañadas, Spanish actress and supermodel
- Mar 1 Rens Blom, Dutch athlete (World C'ships gold pole vault 2005), born in Munstergeleen, Netherlands
- Mar 1 Rod White, American archer (Olympic gold team 1996, bronze 2000), born in Sharon, Pennsylvania
- Mar 2 Andrew Strauss, English cricket batsman and captain (100 Tests, 21 x 100s, 7,037 runs; 127 ODIs), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
Chris Martin (47 years old)
Mar 2 British rock singer-songwriter, and piano player (Coldplay - "Viva la Vida"), born in Exeter, Devon, England
- Mar 2 Heather McComb, American actress (Ray Donovan, Prison Break), born in Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Ronan Keating (47 years old)
Mar 3 Irish pop singer (Boyzone - "Words"; "No Matter What"; solo -"When You Say Nothing At All"), radio host, and television personality, born in Bayside, Dublin, Ireland
- Mar 4 Ana Gabriela Guevara, Mexican athlete
- Mar 4 Daniel Klewer, German footballer
- Mar 4 Jason Marsalis, American jazz drummer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Mar 4 Jeremiah Green, American drummer (Modest Mouse), born in Oahu, Hawaii (d. 2022)
- Mar 4 Juha Helppi, Finnish professional poker player
- Mar 5 Bryan Berard, NHL defenseman (Team USA Olympics 1998, NY Islanders)
- Mar 5 Mike MacDougal, American baseball player
- Mar 5 Wally Szczerbiak, American NBA basketball player, 1999-2009 (Minnesota Timberwolves and 3 other teams), and broadcaster (New York Knicks), born in Madrid, Spain
- Mar 6 Giorgos Karagounis, Greek soccer midfielder (139 caps; Inter Milan, Benfica, Panathinaikos, Fulham), born in Pyrgos, Greece
- Mar 6 Marcus Thames, American baseball player
- Mar 7 Bartosz Kowalski [-Banasewicz], Polish classical music composer (Contra Tempus; Symmetrical Visions), born in Warsaw, Poland
- Mar 7 Gianluca Grava, Italian footballer, born in Caserta
- Mar 7 Mitja Zastrow, German-born Dutch swimmer, born in Wuppertal, Germany
James Van Der Beek (47 years old)
Mar 8 American actor (Dawson's Creek), born in Cheshire, Connecticut
- Mar 8 Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
- Mar 9 Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey left wing (World C'ship gold 1999, 2001, 05; Florida Panthers, NY Rangers), born in Tábor, Czech Republic
- Mar 9 Yamila Diaz, Argentine supermodel, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Mar 10 Bree Turner, American dancer and actress
- Mar 10 Colin Murray, British radio DJ
- Mar 10 Matt Rubano, American rock bassist (Taking Back Sunday, 2003-10), and comedian, born in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York
- Mar 10 Peter Enckelman, Finnish footballer
- Mar 10 Rita Simons, English actress (Eastenders), born in London, England
- Mar 10 Robin Thicke, Canadian-American singer ("Blurred Lines"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Mar 10 Shannon Miller, American gymnast (Olympic gold team, balance beam 1996, 2 x silver, 3 x bronze 1992; World C'ship gold x 5), born in Rolla, Missouri
- Mar 11 Andre Nickatina [Adams], American rapper ("Conversation with a Devil "), born in San Francisco, California
- Mar 11 Becky Hammon, American Basketball HOF point guard (WNBA: NY Liberty, SA Stars; Russia Olympics 2008, 12) and coach (first female to coach an NBA team; SA Spurs 2020; LV Aces), born in Rapid City, South Dakota
- Mar 12 Ben Kenney, American rock guitarist and bassist (The Roots, 2000-03; Incubus, 2003-present), born in Brielle, New Jersey
- Mar 12 Ramiro Corrales, American soccer defender (6 caps; San Jose Earthquakes 225 games), born in Salinas, California
- Mar 13 Ed Sloan, American musician (Crossfade), born in South Carolina
- Mar 13 Momo Sylla, Guinean footballer, born in Bouaké, Cote d'Ivoire
- Mar 14 Aki Hoshino, Japanese model
- Mar 14 Britta Byström, Swedish classical composer (Many, Yet One; Ten Secret Doors), born in Sundsvall, Sweden
- Mar 15 Brian Tee, American actor
- Mar 15 Joe Hahn, American musician and turntablist (Linkin Park), born in Dallas, Texas
- Mar 16 Donal Óg Cusack, Irish hurler
- Mar 17 Ebon Moss-Bachrach, American actor (The Bear), born in Amherst, Massachusetts
- Mar 17 Richard Swift [Ochoa], American singer and songwriter (The Black Keys), born in California (d. 2018)
- Mar 18 Danny Murphy, English footballer
- Mar 18 Devin Lima [Harold Lima], American singer (LFO), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2018)
- Mar 18 Fernando Rodney, Dominican baseball player
- Mar 18 Terrmel Sledge, American MLB and NPB baseball outfileder, 2004-12 (Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Yokohama BayStars), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Mar 18 Willy Sagnol, French footballer
- Mar 18 Zdeno Chára, Slovak ice hockey player
- Mar 19 Jorma Taccone, American writer and comedian
- Mar 22 Joey Porter, American NFL linebacker and coach (4-time Pro Bowl; Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Mar 22 Santa Ratniece, Latvian classical and choral composer (Horo horo hata hata), born in Jelgava, Latvia
- Mar 23 Jean Carlos Gamarra, Peruvian taekwondo practitioner
- Mar 23 Joanna Page, Welsh stage and screen actress (Gavin & Stacy; The Cazalets), born in Treboeth, Swansea, Wales
- Mar 23 Josh Ackerman, actor (Mickey Mouse Club)
- Mar 24 Corneille [Cornelius Nyungura], Rawandan-Canadian R&B, pop, and soul singer, born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
- Mar 24 Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league footballer
- Mar 24 Jason Dufner, American golfer (PGA C'ship 2013), born in Cleveland, Ohio
Jessica Chastain (47 years old)
Mar 24 American Academy Award-winning actress (Mama; The Help; The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and film producer, born in Sacramento, California
- Mar 24 Matthew Lopez, American playwright and screenwriter (1st Latino writer to win Tony for Best Play for "The Inheritance"), born in Panama City, Florida
- Mar 24 Natalie Hemby (Wrucke), American Grammy Award-winning country music songwriter (Miranda Lambert - "Only Prettier"; "Automatic"; Toby Keith - "Drinks After Work"), and singer (The Highwomen), born in Bloomington, Illinois
- Mar 24 Olivia Burnette, American actress (The Torkelsons), born in San Clemente, California
- Mar 25 Édgar Ramírez, Venezuelan actor (Carlos), born in San Cristóbal, Venezuela
- Mar 26 Kevin Davies, English soccer striker who played 1 international; Bolton Wanderers 351 games, Southampton, Preston NE), born in Sheffield, England
- Mar 26 Sylvain Grenier, Canadian professional wrestler
- Mar 27 Vitor Meira, Brazilian auto racer who was runner-up Indianapolis 500 in 2005, 08, born in Brasilia, Brazil
- Mar 28 Angelo Garcia, American pop singer (Menudo - "Cannonball"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Mar 28 Lauren Weisberger, American novelist
- Mar 31 Garth Tander, Australian auto racer (Bathurst 1000: 2000, 09, 11), born in Perth, WA
- Mar 31 Toshiya [Toshimara Hara], Japanese heavy metal bassist (Dir en Grey), born in Nagano, Japan
Famous Deaths
- Mar 2 Eugénie Brazier, French chef who was the 1st woman to earn 3 Michelin stars (1933), and the 1st person earn 3 Michelin stars for 2 restaurants, dies at 81
- Mar 3 Percy Marmont, British actor (Secret Agent, Lisbon, Captain Apache), dies at 93
- Mar 4 Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951)
- Mar 4 Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German politician and former Chancellor of Germany (b. 1887)
- Mar 4 Toma Caragiu, Romanian actor (b. 1925)
- Mar 5 Jansen Van Vuuren, Dutch volunteer safety marshal at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, dies in a car crash at 19
- Mar 5 Lockrem Johnson, American pianist, composer (A Letter to Emily), educator, and music publisher, dies at 52
- Mar 5 Moses Pergament, Finnish-Swedish classical composer (The Jewish Song Choral Symphony) and music critic, dies at 83
- Mar 8 Henry Hull, American actor (Werewolf of London, Boys Town), dies at 86
- Mar 10 E. Power Biggs, British classical organist and composer (CBS; Bach), dies at 70
- Mar 10 Pieter Jan Bouman, Dutch sociologist and historian, dies at 74
- Mar 10 Willem Schermerhorn, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1945-46), dies at 82
- Mar 11 Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentine racing driver (b. 1934)
- Mar 11 Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist (b. 1893)
- Mar 13 Jan Patocka, Czech philosopher, dies in prison
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)
Mar 14 American civil rights activist (Freedom Summer, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), dies of breast cancer at 59 [1]
- Mar 14 Gyula David, Hungarian composer (Viola Concerto) and violinist, dies at 63
- Mar 15 Antonino Rocca, Italian-Argentine professional wrestler, dies at 49
- Mar 15 Hubert Aquin, French Canadian novelist, political activist and editor, dies at 47
- Mar 16 Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese politician and founder of the Progressive Socialist Party, assassinated by unknown gunmen at 59
- Mar 18 José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1944)
- Mar 18 Marien Ngouabi, president of Congo-Brazzaville, murdered
- Mar 19 Buck Shaw, American College Football HOF coach (NC State, Nevada, Santa Clara, California, Air Force; NFL: SF 49ers; NFL Championship 1960 Philadelphia Eagles), dies of cancer at 77
- Mar 22 A.K. Gopalan, Indian Communist leader and politician (Member of Indian parliament, 1952-71), dies at 72
- Mar 22 Hymie Shertzer, American jazz and session saxophonist (Benny Goodman; NBC's Tonight Show), dies at 67
- Mar 22 Witold Friemann, Polish composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue, dies at 87
- Mar 23 Bennie Green, American swing jazz and soul trombonist (Earl Hines), dies at 53
- Mar 24 Saburō Moroi, Japanese composer and educator, dies at 73
- Mar 25 Nunnally Johnson, American screenwriter and producer, dies at 79
- Mar 27 A. P. Hamann, American politician and city manager of San Jose, California, dies in the Tenerife airport disaster at 67
- Mar 27 Diana Hyland, actress (Peyton Place, 8 is Enough), dies at 41
- Mar 27 Eve Meyer, X actress (Immoral Mr Teas), dies in a plane crash at 46
- Mar 27 Lodewijk de Vocht, Belgian composer (Prayer for My Fatherland), conductor, kapellmeister (Antwerp Cathedral, 1913-50), and educator (Antwerp Conservatory, 1921-52), dies at 89
- Mar 29 Madeleine Dring, British composer and pianist, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 53
- Mar 30 Abdel Halim Hafez [Shabana], Egyptian singer and actor, dies of liver failure due to schistosomiasis (parasitic flatworm infection) at 47
- Mar 30 Levko Revutsky, Ukrainian composer, music editor and pedagogue, dies at 88
