Historical Events
- Mar 1 First known COVID-19 case identified in New York, a health care worker returning from Iran
- Mar 1 Muhyiddin Yassin sworn as Malaysian Prime Minister by Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah
- Mar 1 Pete Buttigieg drops out of the US Democratic presidential race
- Mar 1 Turkey launches major offensive against Syrian government in northern Syria after 36 Turkish soldiers killed in air and artillery strikes 3 days earlier
Music History
Mar 2 American rap group Public Enemy part ways with Flavor Flav after 35 years over playing for free at Bernie Sanders rally
Music History
Mar 2 American singer-songwriter Garth Brooks receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
Event of Interest
Mar 2 Russian President Vladimir Putin proposes constitutional amendment banning gay marriage
- Mar 3 Heavy rain and landslides hit coastal areas of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states, Brazil, killing at least 18 people
- Mar 3 Iran releases 54,000 people from prison to avoid spread of COVID-19 as country reports 77 deaths and 2,300 cases including two dozen MPs
- Mar 3 Irishwomen Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamar, of Grafton Architecture, are the 1st women to share the Pritzker Architecture Prize
- Mar 3 Last Ebola patient discharged from hospital in Beni, DR Congo, raising hopes outbreak at an end in the country after 2,300 deaths
- Mar 3 Powerful storm producing multiple tornadoes rips through central Tennessee killing at least 25
- Mar 3 Super Tuesday: Biggest voting day for Democrats selecting their presidential candidate revives Joe Biden's campaign, he wins nine states, while Bernie Sanders wins four including California
- Mar 3 UK had its wettest February since records began in 1862, according to the Met Office, 209.1mm of rainfall, 237% above average
- Mar 3 US Federal Reserve makes its largest rate cut in a decade, short-tern interest rates by 0.5% to protect economy against COVID-19
- Mar 3 World Bank pledges $12 billion in emergency aid for developing countries dealing with COVID-19
- Mar 4 "Once in a century" winter in Moscow the hottest in 140 years, with 7.5° C (13.5° F) above average temperatures and virtually no snow [1]
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 4 Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announces all sports in Italy will be played behind closed doors for at least a month in an effort to contain COVID-19
Election of Interest
Mar 4 Michael Bloomberg drops out of the US Democratic presidential race after a disappointing showing during Super Tuesday primary elections
- Mar 4 New study confirms human-caused climate change did make the 2020 Australian bushfire season worse, published by World Weather Attribution
Event of Interest
Mar 5 US senator Elizabeth Warren drops out of the Democratic presidential race
- Mar 6 American rapper Lil Uzi Vert second album, "Eternal Atake", tops the Billboard charts upon its release
- Mar 6 Russia refuses to reduce oil production over COVID-19 fears, breaking with Saudi Arabia and OPEC and prompting a price war
Sports History
Mar 8 A police report is filed against Brian Ortega for allegedly slapping rapper Jay Park at UFC 248
- Mar 8 America registers 521 cases of COVID-19 with 21 deaths across 33 states
- Mar 8 BNP Paribas Open international tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, dubbed 'the 5th Grand Slam' is cancelled due to concerns surrounding COVID-19 and the safety of participants and attendees
- Mar 8 ICC Women's Cricket T20 World Cup, Melbourne: Defending champions Australia beats India by 85 runs; Beth Mooney [77no] Player of the Series; Alyssa Healy 75 off 39 balls MVP; crowd 86,174
- Mar 8 Italy announces it is locking down northern region of Lombardy, including Milan, with 16 million people, as COVID-19 cases reach 5,800 with 233 deaths
- Mar 9 Italy announces it is locking down the whole country due to a spike in COVID-19 cases with 10,040 cases and 630 deaths
- Mar 9 National one-day women's strike held in Mexico to protest high rates of femicide (more than 10 women murdered every day)
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 10 New York governor Andrew Cuomo deploys the national guard to New Rochelle after one-mile radius zone established as 108 cases of COVID-19 detected
- Mar 10 Russian lower house of Parliament passes legislation to allow Vladimir Putin to hold office of President for life
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 10 Three months into the COVID-19 epidemic Chinese President Xi Jinping finally travels to Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak as the rate of daily new infections declines in China falls to 19 new cases and 17 deaths
- Mar 11 11-year bull market ends as the Dow Jones industrial average falls more than 20%, becoming a bear market
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 11 COVID-19 declared a pandemic by the head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, after 121,564 cases worldwide and 4,373 deaths
Film & TV History
Mar 11 Harvey Weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison for a criminal sex act and rape in New York
- Mar 11 NBA suspends 2019-20 season until further notice after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tests positive for COVID-19
- Mar 11 Smallest dinosaur ever discovered - skull preserved in piece of amber smaller than a fingertip from a mine in Myanmar, reported in "Nature"
- Mar 12 2020 NCAA men's basketball tournament is cancelled over concerns of the spread of COVID-19; first time 'March Madness' not held since it began in 1939; women's tournament also cancelled
- Mar 12 NHL announces the pausing of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic
UK Faces Public Health Crisis
Mar 12 UK PM Boris Johnson says the UK is facing the “worst public health crisis for a generation”, that up to 10,000 people may already be infected with COVID-19
US Bans Travel to Europe
Mar 12 US President Trump bans travel with 26 European countries, though not the UK, due to COVID-19 (UK and Ireland added a day later)
- Mar 13 12 hours after PGA Tour cancelled its flagship event, The Players Championship, Augusta National announces postponement of the Masters Tournament to a date to be fixed because of COVID-19 pandemic
Event of Interest
Mar 13 African American Breonna Taylor shot and killed by police officers executing a no-knock warrant on her flat with a battering ram in Louisville, Kentucky [1]
- Mar 13 Elite football in Britain, including England's Premier League, EFL, Women's Super League plus in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is suspended until at least 3 April because of COVID-19 pandemic
Event of Interest
Mar 13 Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates steps down from the company's board to focus on philanthropic activities
- Mar 13 US President Donald Trump declares a national emergency, freeing up $50 billion to fight COVID-19
- Mar 14 Longest-ever scheduled passenger flight by distance by Air Tahiti Nui from French Polynesia to mainland France 9,765 m (15715 km) due to COVID-19 and it was domestic
- Mar 15 European countries impose restrictions on gatherings and borders as COVID-19 deaths rates rise dramatically - Italy 1,809, Spain 288, France 120
- Mar 15 US Federal Reserve slashes interest rates to near zero to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Mar 16 COVID-19 study by London Imperial College showing migration approach could lead to 250,00 deaths in UK, over 1 million in US, prompts strategy changes from both countries
- Mar 16 COVID-19: France orders a national lockdown, US recommends meetings 10 or less, 6 counties in San Francisco and surrounding counties told to "shelter in place"
- Mar 16 Global infections and deaths from COVID-19 overtake those in China for the 1st time, 86,000 vs 80,860 infections, 3,241 vs 3,208 deaths according to John Hopkins Uni
- Mar 16 Major League Baseball suspends remainder of Spring Training and delays start of regular season in response to COVID-19 pandemic; return dependent on recommendations by Centers for Disease Control
- Mar 17 Chad begins repaying a $100 million debt to Angola with cattle, as more than 1,000 cows arrive in Luanda
- Mar 17 European Union announces a 30-day ban on entering its 26 countries for almost all travelers as it struggles to contain COVID-19
- Mar 17 French Open becomes first Grand Slam tennis tournament to be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic; moves from May 24-June 7 to September 20-October 4; conflicts with Laver Cup men’s team event
- Mar 17 Golden Raspberry Film Awards (Razzies): Musical "Cats" wins six awards including worst film
- Mar 17 UEFA announces the postponement of its flagship national team football competition, UEFA EURO 2020, due to be played in June / July due to the COVID-19 emergency
- Mar 18 Turing Award given to Pixar employees Pat Hanraha and Ed Catmull for three-dimensional computer graphics
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 18 US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agree to close the US-Canada border, the world's longest, to non-essential travel to curb COVID-19
- Mar 19 Italian death toll from COVID-19 at 3,405 surpasses China's official total (3,245) making it then the worst-affected country in the world
- Mar 19 Professional football in England is further postponed until 'no earlier than 30 April' due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Mar 19 State of California with 910 cases of COVID-19 locks down and orders people to "stay at home"
- Mar 20 India hangs four men for 2012 gang rape and murder of woman on a bus in New Delhi, country's first hanging since 2013
- Mar 20 Smoke from Australian bushfires killed more people than the fires - 417 vs 33 according to new study published in "Medical Journal of Australia"
- Mar 21 Italy records record daily death toll of 793 for COVID-19 as the worldwide death tolls surpasses 12,000 with 299,000 known infections (Johns Hopkins figures)
- Mar 22 India puts 1 billion people under a daytime curfew to curb COVID-19
Iran Refuses US Help
Mar 22 Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refuses American COVID-19 help, refers to conspiracy theory that it was manufactured by the US
- Mar 23 African American Daniel Prude dies after being physically retrained by police in Rochester, New York, including having a hood put over his head
- Mar 23 COVID-19 lockdowns imposed in South Africa and the United Kingdom while other European nations extend and strengthen their lockdowns
Call for Global Ceasefire
Mar 23 Immediate global ceasefire to fight COVID-19 called for by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
- Mar 23 New York confirmed as new center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US with 20,875 cases (5,707 in the last day) and 157 deaths
- Mar 23 WHO says the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating, 1st 100,000 cases took 67 days, 2nd 100,000 cases 11 days, 3rd 100,000 cases 4 days
- Mar 24 China's Hubei province, the original center of the COVID-19 outbreak eases restrictions on travel after a nearly two-month lockdown
Lockdown in India
Mar 24 Indian PM Narendra Modi orders a 21 day lockdown for world's second most populous country of 1.3 billion people to deal with COVID-19
Olympics Postponed
Mar 24 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announces postponement of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games until summer of 2021 because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic
- Mar 25 Spain's death toll from COVID-19 overtakes China's at 3,434 to become then second worldwide behind Italy with 7,503 deaths with a worldwide toll of 20,836
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 25 United Kingdom's Prince Charles tests positive for COVID-19
- Mar 26 American cases of COVID-19 exceed all other countries on this date, with 81,578 cases and 1,180 deaths (New York Times)
- Mar 26 Christchurch mosque gunman Brenton Tarrant pleads guilty to all 51 murders in New Zealand
- Mar 26 Record number of Americans file for unemployment - 3.3 million according to US Department of Labor
Event of Interest
Mar 26 US charges Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and other officials with "narco-terrorism", by flooding the US with drugs
- Mar 27 $2.2 trillion stimulus package, largest in US history, signed into law by President Donald Trump saying "I never signed anything with a 'T' on it"
- Mar 27 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces he has contracted COVID-19 but will continue to lead the country "thanks to the wizardry of modern technology" while in self-isolation
- Mar 28 US President Donald Trump makes grim projection that 240,000 American could die from COVID-19, even with restrictions in place
Nigeria Lockdown
Mar 29 Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari orders a lockdown in the cities of Lagos and Abuja after the country records 97 COVID-19 cases and one death
COVID-19 Pandemic
Mar 29 US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warns America may see between 100,000 - 200,000 deaths from COVID-19
- Mar 30 International Olympic Committee announces postponed 2020 Summer Olympic Games will be held July 23-August 8 in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Mar 30 Russian city Moscow begins a city-wide lockdown after 4 hours notice due to COVID-19
- Mar 30 Three out of four Americans now ordered to stay home due to COVID-19 as states of Virginia, Maryland, Arizona and Florida issue lockdowns
- Mar 31 British pensioner Robert Weighton becomes the world's oldest man at 112 years
Famous Divorces
- Mar 10 American actress and TV host Niecy Nash (50) divorces American electrical engineer Jay Tucker after over 8 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Mar 1 Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan Catholic priest, politician, poet, and writer, dies from ongoing heart and kidney issues at 95
Jack Welch (1935-2020)
Mar 1 American businessman and CEO of General Electric (GE), dies of renal failure at 84
- Mar 1 Stefan Lindqvist, Swedish soccer midfielder (5 caps; IFK Göteborg), dies from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 52
- Mar 2 Henry N. Cobb, American architect (Pei Cobb Freed & Partners), dies at 93
- Mar 2 James Lipton, American actor, writer and host of Inside the Actors Studio, dies at 93
- Mar 3 Stanisław Kania, Polish communist politician, dies of pneumonia at 92
- Mar 4 Alan Cartwright, British rock bass player (Procol Harum, 1972-77), dies at 75
- Mar 4 Amo Houghton, American politician (Rep-R-New York, 1987-2005), dies at 93
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (1920-2020)
Mar 4 Peruvian diplomat (5th Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1982-91; Prime Minister of Peru, 2000-01), dies at 100
- Mar 4 Robert Shavlakadze, Georgian athlete (Olympic gold USSR high jump 1960), dies at 86
- Mar 5 Antonio Permunian, Swiss soccer goalkeeper (11 caps; AC Bellinzona, FC Luzern), dies at 89
Henri Richard (1936-2020)
Mar 6 Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (record 11 Stanley Cups; 9 x NHL All Star; Montreal Canadiens), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 84
Max Von Sydow (1929-2020)
Mar 8 Swedish actor (Hawaii, Exorcist, Dune, Game of Thrones), dies at 90
- Mar 9 Keith Olsen, American rock record producer and sound engineer (Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac; Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station; Joe Walsh - The Confessor), dies of cardiac arrest at 74
- Mar 9 Lorenzo Brino, American actor (7th Heaven - "Sam"), dies in single vehicle car crash at 21
- Mar 11 Charles Wuorinen, American contemporary classical pianist, conductor, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Time's Encomium; Marimba Variations; Brokeback Mountain), dies at 81
- Mar 11 Michel Roux, French chef and restaurateur (Le Gavroche, 1st Michelin three-starred restaurant in Britain), dies at 78
- Mar 12 Don Burrows, Australian jazz musician, dies at 91
- Mar 12 John Chalstrey, British surgeon and politician (668th Lord Mayor of London. 1995-96), dies at 88
- Mar 13 Barbara Harris, 1st American Episcopal female bishop, dies at 89
Breonna Taylor (1993-2020)
Mar 13 African American medical technician, shot and killed by police officers in her home at 26 [1]
- Mar 13 Dana Zátopková, Czech athlete (Olympic gold women's javelin 1952, silver 1960), dies at 97
- Mar 14 Genesis P-Orridge [Neil Megson], British avant-garde rock singer-songwriter, and performance artist (Throbbing Gristle; Psychic TV), dies of leukemia at 70
- Mar 14 Phil Phillips [Baptiste], American singer-songwriter (Sea of Love), dies at 94
- Mar 15 Roy Hudd, British comedian, radio host (News Huddlines, 1975-2001), author (Underneath The Arches), and actor (Lipstick On Your Collar), dies at 83
- Mar 15 Suzy Delair, French actress and singer (The Murderer Lives at Number 21, Utopia, White Paws), dies at 102
- Mar 16 Stuart Whitman, American actor (Johnny Thunder; The Mark; The Comancheros; Cimarron Strip), dies at 92
- Mar 17 Lyle Waggoner, American actor (The Carol Burnett Show; Wonder Woman), dies from cancer at 84
- Mar 17 Roger Mayweather, American boxer (WBA & lineal super featherweight title 1983-84, WBC light welterweight 1987-89; IBO light welterweight; IBO welterweight 1994-95), dies at 58
- Mar 18 Alfred M. Worden, American Colonel USAF, NASA astronaut (Apollo 15), dies of a stroke at 88
- Mar 20 Borislav Stanković, Serbian Basketball Hall of Fame administrator (International Basketball Federation secretary general 1976-2002), dies at 94
Kenny Rogers (1938-2020)
Mar 20 American pop and country singer-songwriter ("The Gambler"; "Through the Years") and entrepreneur (Kenny Rogers Roasters), dies of natural causes at 81
- Mar 21 Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish businessman and football executive (president Real Madrid 1995-2000; owner Málaga CF), dies from COVID-19 at 76
- Mar 21 Ted Graham, Lord Graham of Edmonton, English politician, House of Lords (chief opposition whip), dies at 94
- Mar 22 Eric Weissberg, American singer and musician (Duelling Banjos), dies of Alzheimer’s at 80
- Mar 22 Julie Felix, American-born British-based folk-rock singer-songwriter, and BBC presenter (The Frost Report; Once More With Felix), dies at 81
- Mar 22 Stan Bronstein, American rock saxophonist (Elephant's Memory), dies at 81
- Mar 23 Benjamin Smit, Curacaos architect (St Elizabeth Hospital), dies at 97
- Mar 23 Branko Cikatić, Croatian kickboxer (first K-1 World Grand Prix Heavyweight C'ship 1993), dies from Parkinson's disease at 65
Albert Uderzo (1927-2020)
Mar 24 French cartoonist and script writer (Asterix comic books), dies at 92
- Mar 24 Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist (Nobel Peace Prize 1976), dies of pneumonia at 76
- Mar 24 Bill Rieflin, American rock drummer (Nine Inch Nails; R.E.M.; King Crimson. 2013-20), dies of cancer at 59
- Mar 24 Gerard Schurmann, Dutch-British conductor, and composer of classical music (The Double Heart), and film scores, (The Bedford Incident), dies at 96
- Mar 24 Ignacio Trelles, Mexican soccer midfielder (Mexican Primera División: 1935, 37, 38; Club Necaxa) and coach (Mexico 1960-69), dies at 103
- Mar 24 John Davies, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 200m breaststroke 1952; WR 200m breaststroke 2:34.4 1952), dies at 90
- Mar 24 Manu Dibango, Cameroonian musician (Soul Makossa), dies of COVID-19 at 86
- Mar 24 Terrence McNally, American Tony-winning playwright (Kiss of the Spider Woman), dies of COVID-19 complications at 81
- Mar 24 Tony Rutter, British motorcycle road racer (Formula Two World C'ship 1981-84; 7 x Isle of Man TT Races), dies at 78
- Mar 25 Bill Bartholomay, American businessman and MLB owner (Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves 1962-76), dies from pneumonia at 71
- Mar 25 Mark Blum, American actor (Desperately Seeking Susan, Blind Date, Presidio), dies of COVID-19 complications at 69
- Mar 25 Mike Stratton, American football linebacker (AFL C'ship 1964, 65; AFL All-Star 1963–68; Buffalo Bills; NFL: SD Chargers), dies from heart complications at 78
- Mar 25 Peter Kemper, Dutch soccer defender (3 caps; PSV 221 games), dies of heart failure at 77
- Mar 26 Curly Neal, American basketball guard (Harlem Globetrotters 1963-85), dies at 77
- Mar 26 Jimmy Wynn, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1967, 74, 75; Houston Colt 45s/Astros, LA Dodgers), dies at 78
- Mar 26 John O'Leary, Irish golfer (Irish Open 1982; Ryder Cup 1975; director European Tour 1985-2019), dies at 70
- Mar 26 Michel Hidalgo, French soccer midfielder (1 cap; Monaco) and manager (France 1976-84; UEFA Euro 1984), dies at 87
- Mar 27 Bob Andy [Keith Anderson], Jamaican reggae songwriter, and vocalist ("Feel the Feeling"; "Fire Burning"), dies of cancer at 75
- Mar 27 Frank Myler, English rugby league stand-off (24 caps Great Britain, 1 England; Widnes, St. Helens) and coach (Widnes, Swinton, Oldham), dies at 81
- Mar 27 Les Hunter, American basketball center (NCAA C'ship 1963, Loyola Ramblers; NBA: Baltimore Bullets; ABA All Star 1968, 69; Miami Floridians), dies from cancer at 77
- Mar 28 Azam Khan, Pakistani squash player (British Open 1959-62), dies from COVID-19 at 95
- Mar 28 Jan Howard [Lula Grace Johnson], American country music singer and songwriter (For Loving You), dies at 91
- Mar 28 Tom Coburn, American politician (Sen-R-Oklahoma 2005-2015, Rep-R-Oklahoma 1995-2001), dies at 72
- Mar 29 Alan Merrill [Allan Sachs], American vocalist and songwriter (The Arrows -"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"), dies from COVID-19 complications at 69
- Mar 29 Jamary Oliveira, Brazilian composer (Sanctus; Piano Pièce), and music professor, dies at 76
- Mar 29 Jim Lambright, American college football coach (University of Washington 1993-98; 44–25–1 record), dies from complications of dementia at 77
- Mar 29 Joe Diffie, American country singer and guitarist (Home), dies of COVID-19 complications at 61
- Mar 29 José Luis Capón, Spanish soccer defender (13 caps; Atlético Madrid, 200 games), dies of COVID-19 at 72
- Mar 29 Ken Shimura, Japanese comedian and actor (Shimura Ken no Bakatono-sama), dies of COVID-19 at 70
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)
Mar 29 Polish composer ("Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima"), dies at 86
- Mar 29 Yuri Bondarev, Russian writer and screenwriter (Liberation), dies at 96
Bill Withers (1938-2020)
Mar 30 American singer-songwriter and rhythm & blues musician ("Ain't No Sunshine"; "Lean on Me"; "Just The Two Of Us"), dies of heart complications at 81
- Mar 30 Frank Maloney, American football coach (Syracuse University 1974-1980), dies from brain cancer at 79
- Mar 30 Manolis Glezos, Greek politician, writer and resistance hero (took down Nazi flag from Acropolis), dies at 97
- Mar 31 Cristina [Monet Zilkha], American dance-pop singer songwriter (Sleep It Off), dies at 64
- Mar 31 Jeff Grosso, American skateboarder (host Youtube’s 'Vans Loveletters to Skateboarding'), dies at 51
- Mar 31 Pape Diouf, Senegalese journalist and football agent (president Olympique de Marseille 2005-09; first black president in Europe's top 6 leagues), dies from COVID-19 at 68
- Mar 31 Richard Friedman, American psychoanalyst who proved sexual orientation biological, dies at 79
- Mar 31 Tony Adams, radio and television broadcaster (WCAX-TV Sports Director 1954-89; Vermont sports figure), dies at 95
- Mar 31 Wallace Roney, American post-bop jazz trumpeter, dies of COVID-19 complications at 59 [1]
- Mar 31 Zoltán Peskó, Hungarian opera conductor and composer, dies at 83
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists