Historical Events
- Mar 1 Indonesia seizes Yogyakarta from the Dutch
- Mar 2 1st automatic street light (New Milford, Ct)
- Mar 2 Lucky Lady II (USAF B-50 Superfortress), completes 1st nonstop round- the-world flight at Fort Worth, Texas, covering 23,452-mis in 94 hrs
- Mar 4 Piet Van de Pol of the Netherlands crowned world champion in billiards
- Mar 4 Security Council of UN recommends membership for Israel
- Mar 5 The Jharkhand Party is founded in India.
- Mar 8 WAGA TV channel 5 in Atlanta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Mar 8 WBAP-FM, Fort Worth Texas, begins broadcasting
- Mar 9 Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, ends term as deputy director of CIA
- Mar 9 England beat South Africa by scoring 174 runs in 94 minutes
- Mar 12 Ireland retains Five Nations Rugby Championship & Triple Crown with a 5-0 win over Wales at St. Helen's Ground, Swansea
- Mar 13 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Yvonne C Sherman
- Mar 13 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
- Mar 15 Cricket's master batsman Don Bradman receives his knighthood from the Governor-General of Australia, the Rt Hon. WJ McKell at the investiture in Queen’s Hall, Parliament House, Melbourne
- Mar 15 WICU TV channel 12 in Erie, PA (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 15 WLWD (now WDTN) TV channel 2 in Dayton, OH (NBC) begins broadcasting
6th Golden Globes
Mar 16 6th Golden Globes: Johnny Belinda, Laurence Olivier, & Jane Wyman win
Peggy Kirk Wins LPGA
Mar 20 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Amateur Peggy Kirk wins her only major title by 2 strokes from Patty Berg and Dorothy Kirby
21st Academy Awards
Mar 24 21st Academy Awards: "Hamlet", Laurence Olivier & Jane Wyman win, Walter & John Huston become 1st father-and-son team to win awards
- Mar 24 SS police chief in the Netherlands Hanns Albin Rauter's request for a pardon denied, executed by firing squad
- Mar 25 The Soviet Union begins Operation Pribioi, the mass deportation of 90,000 Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians to inhospitable areas in the Soviet Union
- Mar 26 103rd Grand National: Leo McMorrow aboard 66/1 outsider Russian Hero wins by a comfortable 8 lengths ahead of Roimond
- Mar 26 11th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Oklahoma State, 46-36; Wildcats' back-to-back titles; center Alex Groza MOP
- Mar 28 English astronomer Fred Hoyle coins the term "Big Bang" in a BBC radio talk while actually arguing for the alternative "steady-state" theory [1]
- Mar 29 Turkey recognizes Israel
- Mar 30 Riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO
- Mar 31 Newfoundland becomes Canada's 10th province
- Mar 31 RCA Victor of Camden, New Jersey, introduces the 45 RPM record player and the 7-inch single, a vinyl disc more durable than the 78 RPM shellac; initial releases include: Eddy Arnold's "Texarkana Baby"; Spade Cooley's "Spanish Fandango"; Arthur Crudup's "Crudup's After Hours"; and Saul Meisel's "A Klein Melamedl"
Troubled Island
Mar 31 William Grant Still's opera "Troubled Island" with libretto by Langston Hughes and Verna Arvey, premieres at the New York City Opera; 1st grand opera composed by an African American produced by a major company
Famous Birthdays
- Mar 1 Sido Martens, Dutch folk-rock guitarist, singer, and mandolin player (Fungus), born in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
- Mar 1 Zoia Ceauşescu, Romanian mathematician and daughter of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu
- Mar 2 Alain Chamfort [Le Govic], French rock singer-songwriter, and piano player, born in Paris, France
- Mar 2 Gates McFadden, American actress (Beverly Crusher-Star Trek Next Generation), born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
- Mar 2 J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby union fullback (55 caps Wales, 8 British & Irish Lions; Grand Slam 1971, 76, 78), born in Bridgend, Wales (d. 2024)
- Mar 3 Bonnie J. Dunbar, American aerospace engineer and astronaut (STS 61-A, 32, 50, 71, 89), born in Sunnyside, Washington
- Mar 3 James S. Voss, American Army colonel and astronaut (STS 44, 53, 69), born in Cordova, Alabama
- Mar 3 Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player
- Mar 3 Jüri Allik, Estonian psychologist
- Mar 3 Richie Cannata, American music producer, multi-instrumentalist and studio owner, born in Brooklyn, New York
- Mar 4 Carroll Baker, Canadian country singer and songwriter, born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
- Mar 4 Doug Lofstrom, American double-bassist, contemporary classical and theater composer (Misdsummer Passage), and educator, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Mar 4 Jeff Grayshon, English rugby league utility (England 11 caps; GB 13 caps; Dewsbury, Cronulla-Sutherland, Bradford Northern, Leeds, Featherstone Rovers, Batley), born in Birstall, England (d. 2021)
- Mar 4 Karel Loprais, Czech rally driver (Dakar Rally truck category 1988, 94, 95, 98, 99, 2001), born in Ostrava, Czech Republic (d. 2021)
- Mar 5 Bernard Arnault, French businessman (LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), born in Roubaix, France
- Mar 5 Franz Josef Jung, Commander-in-chief of the German Bundeswehr
- Mar 6 Martin Buchan, Scottish soccer player
- Mar 7 Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician, born in Bhalessa, Dominion of India
- Mar 7 Rex Hunt, Australian TV and radio personality and former Australian rules player, born in Mentone, Australia
- Mar 8 Charles Lismont, Belgian marathon runner (Olympic silver 1972)
- Mar 8 Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast (Olympic gold team, balance bean; bronze floor, all-round 1968), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Mar 9 Kalevi Aho, Finnish composer, born in Forssa, Finland
- Mar 9 Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer, born in Hamina, Finland
- Mar 11 Richard de Bois, Dutch songwriter ("Ik Hou Van Jou"), record producer (Dollly Dots); Ivy Green), and drummer (Roek's Family; Ginger Ale), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2008)
- Mar 12 Bill Payne, American rock keyboardist (Little Feat - "Time Loves a Hero"), born in Waco, Texas
- Mar 12 David Mellor, secretary of the British treasury/MP
- Mar 12 Mary Alice Williams, American television news reporter and anchor (CNN; NBC; WNET; CBS; NJN), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Mar 12 Mike Gibbins, Welsh musician and drummer (Badfinger - "Come and Get It"; "No Matter What"), born in Swansea, Wales (d. 2005)
- Mar 12 Moctesuma Esparza, Mexican-American producer and filmmaker
- Mar 12 Sara Lane, American actress (Elizabeth Grainger-The Virginian), born in New York City
- Mar 13 Donny York, American rock singer (Sha Na Na,1969 - present), born in Boise, Idaho
- Mar 13 Hiroshi Kazato, Japanese racing driver, born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan (d. 1974)
- Mar 13 Julia Migenes, American soprano, born in New York City
- Mar 14 Michael Stedman, British World War I Historian and Author
- Mar 14 Peter "Ollie" Halsall, British rock guitarist and vibraphone player (Patto; The Rutles; Kevin Ayers), born in Southport, England (d. 1992)
- Mar 14 Roger Powell, American Moog synthesizer and keyboard player (Utopia - Deface The Music; Todd Rundgren), born in Front Royal, Virginia
- Mar 15 Bernd Nickel, German soccer attacking midfielder (1 cap West Germany, 1972 Olympics; Eintracht Frankfurt 426 games, 141 goals), born in Siegbach, Germany (d. 2021)
- Mar 15 John Duttine, English actor (The Day of the Triffids), born in Barnsley, England
- Mar 16 Bertha Knox Gilkey, welfare & tenament rights for urban women
- Mar 16 Elliott Murphy, American singer-songwriter (Aquashow), and author, born in Rockville Centre, New York
- Mar 16 Erik Estrada, actor (CHiPs), born in New York City
- Mar 16 Victor Garber, actor (Days & Nights of Molly Dodd), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Mar 17 Pat Rice, Irish soccer defender and coach (49 caps; Arsenal, Watford), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Mar 17 Patrick Duffy, American actor (Dallas - "Bobby Ewing"; Man from Atlantis), born in Townsend, Montana
- Mar 18 Alex "Hurricane" Higgins, Irish snooker player (2x world-champ), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2010)
- Mar 18 Åse Kleveland, Norwegian singer, guitarist, and politician (Minister of Culture, 1990-96), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Mar 18 Hannu Siitonen, Finnish athlete
- Mar 18 Jacques Secrétin, French table tennis player (World C'ship gold mixed doubles 1977), born in Carvin, France (d. 2020)
- Mar 18 Starr Danias, American ballerina (Turning Point), born in Queens, New York City
- Mar 19 Denny Albee, American actor (Dr Janssen-One Life to Live), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Mar 20 Marcia Ball, American blues singer and pianist (Presumed Innocent), born in Orange, Texas
- Mar 21 Alvin Kallicharran, West Indian cricket batsman (66 Tests 1972-81 @ 44.43), born in Port Mourant, British Guiana
- Mar 21 Eddie Money [Mahoney], American rock singer-songwriter ("Two Tickets To Paradise"; 'Take Me Home Tonight"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2019)
- Mar 21 Rolf-Dieter Amend, German canoeist (Olympic gold GDR C-2 slalom 1972), born in Magdeburg, Germany (d. 2022)
- Mar 21 Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher and cultural critic, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Mar 22 Brian Hanrahan, British TV newsman (BBC), born in Middlesex, England (d. 2010)
- Mar 22 Fanny Ardant, French actress (The Woman Next Door), born in Saumur, France
- Mar 23 Karen English, American politician (Rep-D-Arizona 1993-5), born in Berkeley, California
- Mar 23 Roland Lee, American Watercolor Artist
- Mar 24 Nick Lowe, British rock bassist, singer, songwriter (Brinsley Schwarz - "What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding"; Rockpile - "Teacher, Teacher"; solo -"Cruel To Be Kind"), and producer (Elvis Costello; Graham Parker), born in Walton-on-Thames, England
- Mar 24 Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan politician (Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 2022-), born in Colombo, Ceylon
- Mar 24 Steve Lang, Canadian rock bassist (April Wine, 1976-84 - "Just Between You And Me"), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2017)
- Mar 25 Bob Ezrin, Canadian keyboardist and music producer (Alice Cooper; Peter Gabriel; Kiss; Pink Floyd), born in Toronto, Canada
- Mar 25 Jean Potvin, Canadian NHL player, 1970-81 (New York Islanders, and three other teams), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- Mar 25 Kaja Danczowska, Polish classical violinist, and teacher, born in Kraków, Poland
- Mar 25 Klaus Mertens, German bass and bass-baritone singer, born in Kleve, West Germany
- Mar 25 Neil Jones, Welsh rock guitarist (Amen Corner - "Bend Me Shape Me"), born in Llanbradach, South Wales (d. 2018)
- Mar 26 Aldo Bet, Italian soccer defender (2 caps; Roma, Verona, AC Milan), born in Mareno di Piave, Italy (d. 2023)
- Mar 26 Baroness Hayman [Helene Hayman], British politician (Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, 2006-11), born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands
- Mar 26 Fran Sheehan, American rock bassist (Boston - "More Than A Feeling"), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Mar 26 Francisco Aguilar, Spanish soccer forward (3 caps; Real Madrid), born in Santander, Spain (d. 2020)
- Mar 26 Patrick Süskind, German novelist and screenwriter ("Perfume: The Story of a Murderer"), born in Ambach, Bavaria, Germany
- Mar 26 Rudi Koertzen, South African cricket umpire who officiated in 108 Tests 1992-2010; ODIs 209; T20Is 14, born in Knysna, South Africa (d. 2022)
- Mar 26 Vicki Lawrence, American television actress (The Carol Burnett Show; Mama's Family), and singer ("The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia"), born in Inglewood, California
- Mar 27 Patrick Deuchar, CEO (Albert Hall)
- Mar 27 Poul Ruders, Danish organist and composer (Four Compositions; Manhattan Abstraction; Sound And Simplicity), born in Ringsted, Denmark
- Mar 27 Russ Conway, American sports journalist (Eagleson NHL scandal), born in Haverhill, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
- Mar 28 Michael W. Young, American geneticist noted for work studying circadian rhythms (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2017), born in Miami, Florida
- Mar 28 Paul Bayvel, South African rugby union scrum-half (10 caps; Transvaal), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2020)
- Mar 28 Ronnie Ray Smith, American athlete, 4 X 100m relay runner (Olympic gold 1968), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
- Mar 28 Shafiq Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani batsman during the 70's), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- Mar 29 Dave Greenfield, British rock keyboardist, and songwriter (The Stranglers - "Golden Brown"), born in Brighton, England (d. 2020)
- Mar 29 Keith Simpson, British politician and military historian, born in Norwich, Norfolk
- Mar 29 Michael Brecker, American jazz saxophonist (Brecker Brothers), born in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania (d. 2007)
- Mar 29 Uton Dowe, West Indian cricket fast bowler (4 Tests, 12 wickets; Jamaica), born in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica
- Mar 30 (Richenda Antoinette) "Dana" Gillespie, British actress (Jesus Christ Superstar), and folk-pop-rock-blues singer-songwriter, born in Woking, Surrey, England
- Mar 30 Lene Lovich, English-American singer, songwriter and musician (Lucky Number), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Mar 30 Liza Frulla, Canadian politician (National Assembly of Quebec, 1989-98; Member of Parliament, 2002-06), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Mar 30 Naomi Sims, American fashion model and businesswoman
- Mar 30 Sue Cook, British broadcaster (Crimewatch), born in Ruislip, England
Famous Weddings
Mike Wallace
Mar 11 American CBS news correspondent Mike Wallace (30) weds second wife American actress Buff Cobb (21) in Cook County, Illinois; divorce in 1955
Famous Deaths
- Mar 2 Sarojini Naidu, Indian freedom fighter and poet, dies at 70
- Mar 7 Bradbury Robinson Jr., American football pioneer (threw first legal forward pass at a game at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin 1906), dies from complications following routine surgery at 65
- Mar 7 Francis Dodd, English artist (official war artist WWI), commits suicide at 74
- Mar 10 James Rector, American athlete (b. 1884)
- Mar 11 Juan Lamote de Grignon, Catalan pianist, composer (La nit de Nadal (Christmas Night); Hespèria), and orchestra leader (Cobla Barcelona; València Municipal Orchestra), dies at 76
- Mar 12 Maria "Beppie" Bakker, Dutch actress abd wife of Piet Vink Sr, dies at 95
- Mar 13 Henri Giraud, French general (b. 1879)
- Mar 14 John Callan O'Laughlin, American political and military figure and journalist (b. 1873)
- Mar 17 Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (b. 1882)
- Mar 17 Felix Bressart, German actor (Ninotchka, Escape, Crossroads), dies from Leukemia at 57
- Mar 21 Samuel Sidney McClure, Irish-American newspaper editor, publisher and muckracker (McClure's Magazine), dies at 92
- Mar 24 [Johann Baptist] Hanns Albin Rauter, German SS and Police leader in the occupied Netherlands, executed by firing squad at 54
- Mar 25 Hanns A Rauter, German SS-commandant in Netherland, executed at 54
- Mar 28 Grigoras Dinicu, Romanian violin virtuoso and composer, dies at 59
- Mar 29 Helen Homans, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1906), dies at 72
- Mar 30 Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricket wicketkeeper (4 Tests, 3 dismissals; Bombay), dies at 40
- Mar 30 Friedrich Bergius, German chemist (benzine from brown coal, Nobel Prize 1931), dies at 64
