Historical Events
- Mar 3 Mayerthorpe Incident: James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. Deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 North-West Rebellion.
- Mar 3 Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane around the world solo without any stops without refueling - a journey of 40,234 km/25,000 mi completed in 67 hours and 2 minutes.
- Mar 4 The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two passengers.
- Mar 4 United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected by HIV in the future without further action against the spread of the disease.
- Mar 5 The Burkinabé Party for Democracy and Socialism holds its first National Convention.
- Mar 7 Mass protest outside the National Assembly of Kuwait building for women's voting rights in Kuwait
- Mar 12 26th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Syracuse beats West Virginia, 68-59
- Mar 12 Tung Chee Hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, steps down from his post after his resignation is approved by the Chinese central government.
- Mar 13 46th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Florida beats Kentucky, 70-53
- Mar 13 52nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #3 Duke beats Georgia Tech, 69-64
- Mar 13 Terry Ratzmann shoots and kills six members of the Living Church of God and the minister at Sheraton Inn in Brookfield, Wisconsin before killing himself.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Mar 14 20th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Buddy Guy; The O'Jays; The Pretenders; Percy Sledge; U2; Frank Barsalona; and Seymour Stein
- Mar 14 Cedar Revolution, where over a million Lebanese march in the streets of Beirut to demonstrate against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon, and against the government, following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
- Mar 16 Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control.
Music Premiere
Mar 17 John Du Prez and Eric Idle's musical "Spamalot", based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and starring Tim Curry and David Hyde Pierce, opens at the Shubert Theatre, NYC; runs for 1575 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
Mar 18 "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" premieres on the Disney Channel, starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse
- Mar 18 Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband
- Mar 19 Wales beats Ireland, 32-20 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to win the Six Nations Rugby Championship and become the 1st team to complete a Grand Slam playing more games away than at home
- Mar 20 A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits Fukuoka, Japan, its first major quake in over 100 years. One person is killed, hundreds are injured and evacuated.
- Mar 23 Major explosion and fire at the BP's Texas City Refinery kills 15 workers in Texas City, Texas
- Mar 23 The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube
The Office
Mar 24 US version of "The Office" created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, developed by Greg Daniels, starring Steve Carell and John Krasinski premieres on NBC
- Mar 25 36th NAACP Image Awards: "Ray" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
Doctor Who
Mar 26 "Doctor Who" returns to BBC TV after 16 years with the debut of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose
- Mar 26 The Taiwanese government calls on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei, in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attend the walk.
Golf Major
Mar 27 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Annika Sörenstam of Sweden wins event for the 3rd time, 8 strokes ahead of American Rosie Jones
Grey's Anatomy
Mar 27 TV medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" created by Shonda Rhimes starring Ellen Pompeo and Sandra Oh debuts on ABC
PGA Players Championship
Mar 28 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: 48-year old Fred Funk becomes oldest event winner, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Luke Donald, Tom Lehman, and Scott Verplank
- Mar 28 The 2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since 1960.
We Belong Together
Mar 29 "We Belong Together" single is released by Mariah Carey (Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 2006, Billboard Song of the Year 2005)
Famous Birthdays
- Mar 28 D4vd [David Burke], American singer-songwriter (Here With Me), born in Queens, New York
Famous Divorces
- Mar 1 Former Full House actor John Stamos (41) divorces X-Men actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (31) after 5 years of marriage
Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston
Mar 25 American actress Jennifer Aniston (36) files for divorce from actor and film producer Brad Pitt (41) due to irreconcilable differences after 4 and a half years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Mar 1 Peter Malkin Israeli secret agent, dies at 77
- Mar 2 Hermann Dörnemann, German supercentarian, dies at 111
- Mar 2 Ivan Parik, Czech classical and electro-acoustic composer (Quadrophony), dies at 68
- Mar 2 Martin Denny, American exotica musician, dies at 93
- Mar 3 Max M. Fisher, American philanthropist (b. 1928)
- Mar 4 Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-born writer (b. 1934)
- Mar 4 Nicola Calipari, Italian secret service agent (b. 1953)
- Mar 4 Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)
- Mar 4 Una Hale, Australian soprano (b. 1922)
- Mar 4 Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian statesman (b. 1951)
- Mar 5 David Sheppard, British Church of England clergyman (Bishop of Liverpool, 1975-97) and cricketer (England batsman, 1950-63, 22 tests), dies of cancer at 75
- Mar 5 Sergiu Comissiona, Romanian-Israeli-American conductor (Haifa Symphony 1959-64), dies at 76
- Mar 6 Hans Bethe, German-American quantum physicist (Nobel 1967), dies at 98
- Mar 6 Teresa Wright, American actress (Shadow Of A Doubt; Pride of the Yankees; The Best Years of Our Lives), dies of a heart attack at 86
- Mar 6 Tommy Vance, British radio disc jockey (b. 1943)
- Mar 7 Debra Hill, American screenwriter and film producer (Escape from New York), dies at 54
- Mar 7 John Box, British Academy Award and BAFTA winning film production designer and art director (A Man for all Seasons; Oliver!), dies at 85
- Mar 7 Willis Hall, British screenwriter and dramatist (Torn Curtain; Billy; Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure), dies of esophageal cancer at 75
- Mar 8 Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen leader (b. 1951)
- Mar 8 César Lattes, Brazilian physicist (b. 1924)
- Mar 8 Larry Bunker, American session and West Coast jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and timpanist (Bill Evans, Lalo Schifrin, The 5th Dimension, Peggy Lee), dies from complications of a stroke at 76
- Mar 9 Chris LeDoux, American country singer (Ridin' for a Fall), dies at 56
- Mar 9 Glenn Davis, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1946; National C'ship 1944, 45, 46; Army; NFL: LA Rams), dies of prostate cancer at 80
- Mar 9 István Nyers, Hungarian footballer, dies at 80
- Mar 9 Jeanette Schmid, Austrian transsexual professional whistler, dies at 80
- Mar 9 Kurt Lotz, German business executive and second postwar CEO of Volkswagen, dies at 92
- Mar 10 Danny Joe Brown, American singer (Molly Hatchet), dies of pneumonia at 53
- Mar 10 Dave Allen, Irish comedian (Dave Allen Show), dies at 68
- Mar 10 Mindy Jostyn, American session and touring vocalist, violinist, guitarist, accordionist, and harmonica player (New York Rock and Soul Revue; Billy Joel; Andreas Vollenweider; Carly Simon; Cyndi Lauper), and singer-songwriter ("Five Miles From Hope"; "Coming Home"), dies of cancer at 48
- Mar 12 Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1943)
- Mar 12 Stavros Koujioumtzis, Greek songwriter (b. 1932)
- Mar 13 Jason Evers, American actor (Wrangler, Channing), dies of heart failure at 83
- Mar 13 Lyn Collins [Gloria Lavern Collins], American soul singer (Think About It), dies from cardiac arrhythmia at 56
- Mar 15 Bob Bellear, Australian judge (b. 1944)
- Mar 15 Shoji Nishio, Japanese martial artist (b. 1927)
- Mar 16 Allan Hendrickse, South African politician (b. 1927)
- Mar 16 Anthony George, American actor (Checkmate; Dark Shadows), dies of emphysema at 83
- Mar 16 Dick Radatz, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1963, 64; AL saves leader 1962, 64; Boston Red Sox), dies after falling down a flight of stairs at 67
- Mar 16 Ralph Erskine, British architect (Byker Wall; Shopping, the first enclosed shopping mall - Luleå, Sweden), dies at 91
- Mar 16 William Lehman, American politician, dies at 91
- Mar 17 (Eduardo) "Lalo" Guerrero, American guitarist, Chicano singer-songwriter (Los Carlistas), and women's rights activist, dies at 88
- Mar 17 Andre Norton, American writer (b. 1912)
- Mar 17 George F. Kennan, American diplomat, Cold War strategist who advocated containment ("Long Telegram"; "The Sources of Soviet Conduct") and historian, dies at 101
- Mar 19 John De Lorean, American automobile engineer (b. 1925)
- Mar 20 Armand Lohikoski, Finnish film director (b. 1912)
- Mar 21 Barney Martin, American actor, comedy writer and NYPD detective (Seinfeld), dies of lung cancer at 82
- Mar 21 Bobby Short, American cabaret singer and pianist, dies at 80
- Mar 22 Kenzo Tange, Japanese architect (Kagawa Prefectural Government Office Building, 1987 Pritzker Prize), dies at 91
- Mar 22 Rod Price, British rock and blues guitar and slide guitar player (Foghat, 1971-80 - "Slow Ride"), dies of a heart attack at 57
- Mar 23 David Kossoff, British actor and anti-drug campaigner (The Young Lovers, The Larkins), dies at 85
- Mar 25 Paul Henning, American TV/film producer and writer (b. 1911)
- Mar 26 Gérard Filion, Quebec businessman and journalist (b. 1909)
James Callaghan (1912-2005)
Mar 26 British Prime Minister (Labour: 1976-79), dies of lobar pneumonia, cardiac failure and kidney failure at 92
- Mar 26 Marius Russo, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1941; World Series 1941, 43; New York Yankees), dies at 90
- Mar 26 Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Split Enz and Crowded House) (b. 1959)
- Mar 27 Bob Casey, American baseball announcer (b. 1925)
- Mar 27 Grant Johannesen, American concert pianist, dies at 83
- Mar 27 Gwydion Brooke [Holbrooke], British bassoonist (Royal Philharmonic, 1946-1961), dies at 93
- Mar 27 Wilfred Bigelow, Canadian heart surgeon (b. 1913)
- Mar 28 Dame Moura Lympany, British pianist (b. 1916)
- Mar 29 Howell Heflin, American politician (Sen-D-Alabama, 1979-97), dies at 83
- Mar 29 Johnnie Cochran, American attorney (O.J. Simpson defense attorney), dies at 67
- Mar 29 Miltos Sahtouris, Greek poet (b. 1919)
- Mar 29 Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (b. 1968)
- Mar 30 Derrick Plourde, American punk rock drummer, takes his own life at 33
- Mar 30 Emil Dimitrov, Bulgarian singer (b. 1940)
- Mar 30 Fred Korematsu, American civil rights activist (b. 1919)
- Mar 30 Milton Green, American athlete (WR 45-yard high hurdles 5.8s 1935; WR 60m high hurdles 7.5s 1936), dies at 91
- Mar 30 O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and cartoonist (b. 1930)
- Mar 30 Robert Creeley, American poet (b. 1926)
- Mar 31 Charles Palmer, English cricket batsman (1 Test; Leicestershire CCC, Worcestershire CCC) and administrator (President MCC 1978–79, chairman Test and County Cricket Board 1983-85), dies at 85
- Mar 31 Frank Perdue, American poultry farmer (b. 1920)
- Mar 31 Justiniano Montano, Filipino politician, dies at 99
- Mar 31 Stanley J. Korsmeyer, American oncologist (b. 1951)
- Mar 31 Terri Schiavo, American figure in right to die case (b. 1963)
