March 11: On This Day
Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for March 11.
Events 44
- 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire.
- 1343 – Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last Bishop of Prague (3 March 1343 O.S.), and, a year later, the first Archbishop of Prague.
- 1387 – Battle of Castagnaro: Padua, led by John Hawkwood, is victorious over Giovanni Ordelaffi of Verona.
- 1641 – Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.
- 1649 – The Frondeurs and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.
- 1702 – The Daily Courant, England's first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.
- 1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
- 1784 – The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
- 1795 – The Battle of Kharda is fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad, resulting in Maratha victory.
- 1845 – Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hōne Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororāreka, New Zealand.
- 1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
- 1851 – The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
- 1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.
- 1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; it is located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
- 1879 – Shō Tai formally abdicates his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.
- 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400 people.
- 1892 – The Saint-Germain bombing ushers France into the Ère des attentats (1892-1894).
- 1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Frederick Stanley Maude.
- 1927 – In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
- 1941 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
- 1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
- 1945 – World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established.
- 1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
- 1977 – The 1977 Hanafi Siege: Around 150 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
- 1978 – Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel's Operation Litani.
- 1981 – Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.
- 1982 – Fifteen people are killed when Widerøe Flight 933 crashes into the Barents Sea near Gamvik, Norway.
- 1983 – Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.
- 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, making Gorbachev the USSR's de facto, and last, head of state.
- 1990 – Lithuania declares independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1990 – Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
- 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
- 2004 – Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid, Spain kill 191 people.
- 2006 – Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as the first female president of Chile.
- 2008 – Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-123, carrying the first component of the Japanese Kibō module to the International Space Station.
- 2009 – Winnenden school shooting: Fifteen are killed and nine are injured before recent graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.
- 2010 – Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile. Aftershocks of the 2010 Pichilemu earthquakes hit central Chile during the ceremony.
- 2011 – An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
- 2012 – A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.
- 2018 – A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashes into the Zagros Mountains near the Iranian city of Shar-e-kord, killing all 11 people on board.
- 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 virus epidemic a pandemic.
- 2021 – US President Joe Biden signs the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law.
- 2023 – The Burmese military kills at least 30 villagers, including 3 Buddhist monks, during the Pinlaung massacre in Shan State, Myanmar.
Births 154
- 1278 – Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (died c. 1332)
- 1544 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and educator (died 1595)
- 1738 – Benjamin Tupper, American general (died 1792)
- 1785 – John McLean, American jurist and politician (died 1861)
- 1806 – Louis Boulanger, French Romantic painter, lithographer and illustrator (died 1867)
- 1811 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (died 1877)
- 1815 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (died 1879)
- 1818 – Marius Petipa, French-Russian dancer and choreographer (died 1910)
- 1819 – Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Tate & Lyle (died 1899)
- 1822 – Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (died 1900)
- 1863 – Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer and rugby player (died 1915)
- 1870 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and theorist (died 1946)
- 1876 – Carl Ruggles, American composer and painter (died 1971)
- 1880 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist and sociologist (died 1943)
- 1884 – Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister and hymn-writer (died 1974)
- 1885 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver (died 1948)
- 1887 – Raoul Walsh, American actor and director (died 1980)
- 1890 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (died 1974)
- 1893 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (died 1946)
- 1897 – Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (died 1965)
- 1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (died 1968)
- 1899 – Frederik IX of Denmark (died 1972)
- 1899 – James H. Douglas, Jr., American lawyer, and politician, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (died 1988)
- 1903 – Ronald Syme, New Zealand historian and scholar (died 1989)
- 1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (died 1992)
- 1907 – Jessie Matthews, English actress, singer, and dancer (died 1981)
- 1908 – Matti Sippala, Finnish javelin thrower (died 1997)
- 1910 – Robert Havemann, German chemist and academic (died 1982)
- 1911 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Scottish general and politician (died 1996)
- 1913 – Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, German colonel and pilot (died 1944)
- 1915 – Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (died 2004)
- 1915 – J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and psychologist (died 1990)
- 1915 – Dude Martin, American country singer, bandleader, radio and television host (died 1991)
- 1916 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1995)
- 1920 – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017)
- 1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (died 1992)
- 1922 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (died 1997)
- 1922 – Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Malaysia (died 1976)
- 1922 – José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor, costume designer, scenic designer and assistant director (died 2009)
- 1923 – Louise Brough, American tennis player (died 2014)
- 1925 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (died 1983)
- 1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (died 1990)
- 1927 – Vince Boryla, American basketball player, coach, and executive (died 2016)
- 1927 – Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (died 2015)
- 1927 – Robert Mosbacher, American businessman, and politician, United States Secretary of Commerce (died 2010)
- 1927 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (died 2014)
- 1929 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1994)
- 1929 – Jackie McGlew, South African cricketer (died 1998)
- 1930 – David Gentleman, English illustrator and engraver
- 1930 – Claude Jutra, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (died 1986)
- 1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
- 1932 – Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (died 2007)
- 1932 – Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (died 2023)
- 1934 – Sam Donaldson, American journalist
- 1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 2016)
- 1940 – Alberto Cortez, Argentinian-Spanish singer-songwriter (died 2019)
- 1941 – Shelly Zegart, quilt historian (died 2025)
- 1943 – Arturo Merzario, Italian race car driver
- 1945 – Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (died 2008)
- 1945 – Harvey Mandel, American guitarist
- 1946 – Mark Metcalf, American actor
- 1947 – Tristan Murail, French composer and educator
- 1948 – Roy Barnes, American politician, 80th Governor of Georgia
- 1948 – Jim McMillian, American basketball player (died 2016)
- 1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor
- 1950 – Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1951 – Dominique Sanda, French model and actress
- 1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (died 2001)
- 1953 – Derek Daly, Irish-American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1953 – Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Beats Electronics
- 1953 – Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – David Newman, American composer and conductor
- 1954 – Gale Norton, American politician, 48th United States Secretary of the Interior
- 1955 – Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer
- 1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer-songwriter
- 1956 – Willie Banks, American triple jumper
- 1956 – Helen Rollason, English sports journalist and sportscaster (died 1999)
- 1957 – Qasem Soleimani, Former Iranian commander of the Quds Force (died 2020)
- 1958 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (died 1976)
- 1959 – Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author
- 1960 – Warwick Taylor, New Zealand rugby player
- 1961 – Elias Koteas, Canadian actor
- 1961 – Bruce Watson, Canadian-Scottish guitarist
- 1962 – Matt Mead, American politician, 32nd Governor of Wyoming
- 1962 – Jeffrey Nordling, American actor
- 1963 – Gary Barnett, English footballer and manager
- 1963 – Alex Kingston, English actress
- 1963 – David LaChapelle, American photographer and director
- 1964 – Peter Berg, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
- 1964 – Raimo Helminen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
- 1964 – Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter and producer (died 2018)
- 1964 – Shane Richie, English actor and singer
- 1965 – Nigel Adkins, English footballer and manager
- 1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician
- 1965 – Wallace Langham, American actor
- 1965 – Jenny Packham, English fashion designer
- 1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball player and coach
- 1967 – John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer
- 1967 – Sergei Bautin, Belarusian ice hockey player and coach (died 2022)
- 1967 – Brad Carson, American lawyer and politician
- 1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2006)
- 1969 – Michael Rulli, American politician and businessman
- 1971 – Johnny Knoxville, American actor and entertainer
- 1971 – Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player
- 1971 – Lee Sang-hoon, South Korean baseball player
- 1974 – Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1976 – Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer
- 1977 – Becky Hammon, American-Russian basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Michal Handzuš, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1978 – Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
- 1978 – Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
- 1979 – Elton Brand, American basketball player
- 1979 – Fred Jones, American basketball player
- 1979 – Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1980 – Rich Hill, American baseball player
- 1980 – Mark Rober, American YouTuber and engineer
- 1980 – Dan Uggla, American baseball player
- 1981 – David Anders, American actor
- 1981 – Lee Evans, American football player
- 1981 – Russell Lissack, English musician
- 1981 – LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1982 – Brian Anderson, American baseball player
- 1982 – Thora Birch, American actress, producer, and director
- 1983 – Lukáš Krajíček, Czech ice hockey player
- 1984 – Rob Brown, American actor
- 1985 – Paul Bissonnette, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Daniel Vázquez Evuy, Equatoguinean footballer
- 1985 – Cassandra Fairbanks, American journalist and activist
- 1985 – Stelios Malezas, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Greg Olsen, American football player and commentator
- 1985 – Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Dario Cologna, Swiss skier
- 1987 – Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Tanel Kangert, Estonian cyclist
- 1987 – Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper
- 1988 – Pedro Báez, Dominican baseball player
- 1988 – Fábio Coentrão, Portuguese footballer
- 1988 – Cecil Lolo, South African footballer (died 2015)
- 1989 – Malcolm Delaney, American basketball player
- 1989 – Orlando Johnson, American basketball player
- 1989 – Anton Yelchin, Russian-American actor (died 2016)
- 1990 – Ayumi Morita, Japanese tennis player
- 1992 – Austin Swift, American producer and actor
- 1993 – Jodie Comer, English actress
- 1993 – Anthony Davis, American basketball player
- 1994 – Andy Robertson, Scottish footballer
- 1996 – Conor Garland, American ice hockey player
- 1997 – Travis Konecny, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Ray Spalding, American basketball player
- 2003 – Tristan Vukčević, Serbian-Swedish basketball player
- 2004 – Margarita Kolosov, German rhythmic gymnast
Deaths 75
- 222 – Elagabalus, Roman emperor (born 203)
- 638 – Sophronius of Jerusalem (born 560)
- 1198 – Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (born 1145)
- 1486 – Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (born 1414)
- 1575 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (born 1520)
- 1576 – Juan de Salcedo, Spanish conquistador (born 1549)
- 1602 – Emilio de' Cavalieri, Italian organist and composer (born 1550)
- 1607 – Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer and educator (born 1543)
- 1665 – Clemente Tabone, Maltese landowner and militia member (born c. 1575)
- 1689 – Sambhaji, second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (born 1657)
- 1722 – John Toland, Irish philosopher and theorist (born 1670)
- 1759 – John Forbes, Scottish general (born 1707)
- 1820 – Benjamin West, American-English painter and academic (born 1738)
- 1851 – Marie-Louise Coidavid, Queen of Haiti (born 1778)
- 1851 – George McDuffie, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of South Carolina (born 1790)
- 1863 – Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (born 1803)
- 1869 – Vladimir Odoyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (born 1803)
- 1870 – Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (born 1786)
- 1874 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (born 1811)
- 1898 – William Rosecrans, American general and politician (born 1819)
- 1907 – Jean Casimir-Perier, French lawyer and politician, 6th President of France (born 1847)
- 1908 – Edmondo De Amicis, Italian journalist and author (born 1846)
- 1908 – Benjamin Waugh, English minister and activist (born 1839)
- 1915 – Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (born 1826)
- 1931 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1888)
- 1937 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American businessman, co-founded Texaco (born 1860)
- 1944 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American journalist and historian (born 1882)
- 1944 – Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (born 1891)
- 1949 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (born 1879)
- 1952 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (born 1885)
- 1955 – Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1881)
- 1955 – Oscar F. Mayer, German-American businessman, founded Oscar Mayer (born 1859)
- 1956 – Aleksanteri Aava, Finnish poet (born 1883)
- 1957 – Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and explorer (born 1888)
- 1959 – Lester Dent, American author (born 1904)
- 1960 – Roy Chapman Andrews, American paleontologist and explorer (born 1884)
- 1967 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (born 1882)
- 1969 – John Wyndham, English author (born 1903)
- 1970 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (born 1889)
- 1971 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor, developer of the first all electronic television system (born 1906)
- 1971 – Whitney Young, American activist (born 1921)
- 1978 – Claude François, French entertainer (born 1939)
- 1982 – Edmund Cooper, English poet and author (born 1926)
- 1982 – Horace Gregory, American poet, translator, and academic (born 1898)
- 1986 – Sonny Terry, American singer and harmonica player (born 1911)
- 1989 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (born 1917)
- 1989 – John J. McCloy, American lawyer and diplomat (born 1895)
- 1992 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1912)
- 1995 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress and singer (born 1945)
- 1996 – Vince Edwards, American actor and director (born 1928)
- 1999 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist, anatomist, and neurologist (born 1906)
- 1999 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (born 1922)
- 2002 – James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
- 2006 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1931)
- 2006 – Slobodan Milošević, Serbian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1941)
- 2010 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (born 1931)
- 2012 – James B. Morehead, American colonel and pilot (born 1916)
- 2013 – Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (born 1930)
- 2013 – Simón Alberto Consalvi, Venezuelan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela (born 1927)
- 2014 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (born 1967)
- 2014 – Joel Brinkley, American journalist and academic (born 1952)
- 2015 – Walter Burkert, German philologist and scholar (born 1931)
- 2015 – Jimmy Greenspoon, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (born 1948)
- 2016 – Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper (born 1936)
- 2016 – Doreen Massey, English geographer and political activist (born 1944)
- 2018 – Ken Dodd, English comedian and singer (born 1927)
- 2018 – Siegfried Rauch, German actor (born 1932)
- 2018 – Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (born 1936)
- 2018 – Mary Rosenblum, American science fiction and mystery author (born 1952)
- 2021 – Ray Campi, American singer and musician (born 1934)
- 2021 – Takis Mousafiris, Greek composer and songwriter (born 1936)
- 2022 – Rupiah Banda, President of Zambia (born 1937)
- 2024 – Paul Alexander, Polio survivor (born 1946)
- 2025 – Junior Bridgeman, American basketball player and businessman (born 1953)
- 2025 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor and singer (born 1930)
Holidays and observances 9
- Christian feast day: Alberta of Agen Constantine Óengus of Tallaght Sophronius of Jerusalem Vindicianus
- Alberta of Agen
- Constantine
- Óengus of Tallaght
- Sophronius of Jerusalem
- Vindicianus
- Day of Restoration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 (Lithuania)
- Moshoeshoe Day (Lesotho)
- Saudi Flag Day