March 14 in History

Burmese security forces kill at least 65 civilians in the Hlaingthaya massacre.

Cyclone Idai makes landfall near Beira, Mozambique, causing devastating floods and over 1,000 deaths.

A naming ceremony for the chemical element nihonium takes place in Tokyo, with then Crown Prince Naruhito in attendance.

A series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupt in Lhasa and subsequently spread elsewhere in Tibet.

The Nandigram violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, results in the deaths of at least 14 people.

The 2006 Chadian coup d'état attempt ends in failure.

Operation Bringing Home the Goods: Israeli troops raid an American-supervised Palestinian prison in Jericho to capture six Palestinian prisoners, including PFLP chief Ahmad Sa'adat.

Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle.

Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert – which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine – is officially inaugurated.

In the Johnson South Reef Skirmish Chinese forces defeat Vietnamese forces in an altercation over control of one of the Spratly Islands.

The South African government bombs the headquarters of the African National Congress in London.

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, Poland, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.

Alia Royal Jordanian Flight 600 crashes at Doha International Airport, killing 45 people.

The Israel Defense Forces launch Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon.

Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashes near Kalba, United Arab Emirates while on approach to Dubai International Airport, killing 112 people.

The body of U.S. President John F. Kennedy is moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery.

Jack Ruby is convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin who had shot and killed John F. Kennedy the previous year.

A USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Yuba City, California.

Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul for the second time.

The R.A.F. drop the Grand Slam bomb in action for the first time, on a railway viaduct near Bielefeld, Germany.

The Holocaust: The liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto is completed.

Anne Miller becomes the first American patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead.

Slovakia declares independence under German pressure.

Alam Ara, India's first talking film, is released.

The El Virilla train accident, Costa Rica, kills 248 people and wounds another 93 when a train falls off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás.

Charlie Daly and three other members of the Irish Republican Army are executed by Irish Free State forces.

Six members of a group of Irish Republican Army activists known as the Forgotten Ten are hanged in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison.

In the second of the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, about 80% of the population in Zone II votes to remain part of Weimar Germany.

Battle of Verdun: German attack captures Côte 265 at the west end of Mort-Homme but the French 75th Infantry Brigade manages to hold Côte 295 at the east end.

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Utah governor Heber Manning Wells vetoes a bill that would have eased restrictions on polygamy.

The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.

The Mikado, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London.

Rossini's Petite messe solennelle is first performed, by twelve singers, two pianists and a harmonium player in a mansion in Paris.

Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin.

American Revolutionary War: Spanish forces capture Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans.

Admiral Sir John Byng is executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War.

The Third Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of Ronas Voe results in the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam being captured with a death toll of up to 300 Dutch crew and soldiers.

According to his own account, Otto von Guericke completes his book Experimenta Nova (ut vocantur) Magdeburgica de Vacuo Spatio, detailing his experiments on vacuum and his discovery of electrostatic repulsion.

Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.

Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under Charles, Duke of Mayenne, during the French Wars of Religion.

Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland.

Abby Ryder Fortson, American actress

Nico Mannion, Italian-American basketball player

Chrisean Rock, American rapper and reality television personality

Jihoon, South Korean singer

Marvin Bagley III, American basketball player

Olivia Dean, English singer-songwriter

Tyson Jost, Canadian ice hockey player

Simone Biles, American gymnast

Batuhan Altıntaş, Turkish footballer

Brandon Aubrey, American multi-sport athlete

Nick Eh 30, Canadian live streamer and professional gamer

Ansel Elgort, American actor and DJ

Anthony Bennett, Canadian basketball player

J. T. Miller, American ice hockey player

Shotzi Blackheart, American wrestler

Erik Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player

Emir Bekrić, Serbian hurdler

Joe Allen, Welsh footballer

Tamás Kádár, Hungarian footballer

Haru Kuroki, Japanese actress

Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Icelandic footballer

Marwin González, Venezuelan baseball player

Kevin Lacroix, Canadian race car driver

Patrick Patterson, American basketball player

Stephen Curry, American basketball player

Rico Freimuth, German decathlete

Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwean cricketer

Jessica Gallagher, Australian skier and cyclist

Andy Taylor, English footballer

Bakhtiyar Artayev, Kazakh boxer

Carlos Marinelli, Argentine footballer

François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (died 2008)

Bobby Jenks, American baseball player (died 2025)

George Wilson, American football player

Aaron Brown, English footballer and coach

Ben Herring, New Zealand rugby player and coach

Nicolas Anelka, French footballer and manager

Dan Avidan, American musician and internet personality

Chris Klein, American actor

Sead Ramović, German-Bosnian footballer

Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer

Viesturs Kleinbergs, Latvian politician

Vadims Fjodorovs, Latvian footballer and coach

Naoki Matsuda, Japanese footballer (died 2011)

Jeremy Paul, New Zealand-Australian rugby player

Brian Quinn, American improvisational comedian and actor

Phil Vickery, English rugby player and sportscaster

Steve Harper, English footballer and referee

Dmitri Markov, Belarusian-Australian pole vaulter

Santino Marella, Canadian wrestler

Patrick Traverse, Canadian ice hockey player

Rohit Shetty, Indian film director and producer

Irom Chanu Sharmila, Indian poet and activist

Kristian Bush, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Larry Johnson, American basketball player and actor

Megan Follows, Canadian-American actress

Magnús Árni Magnússon, Icelandic politician

Jonas Elmer, Danish actor, director, and screenwriter

Elise Neal, American actress and producer

Kevin Brown, American baseball player and coach

Aamir Khan, Indian film actor, producer, and director

Billy Sherwood, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Kevin Williamson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Chris Johns, Australian rugby league player and administrator

Bruce Reid, Australian cricketer and coach

Mike Lazaridis, Greek–Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded BlackBerry Limited

Heidi Hammel, American astronomer and academic

Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (died 2006)

Laila Robins, American actress

Tamara Tunie, American actress

Albert II, Prince of Monaco

Tad Williams, American author

Indu Malhotra, Judge of the Supreme Court of India

Butch Wynegar, American baseball player and coach

Jonathan Kaufer, American director and screenwriter (died 2013)

Brian Smith, Australian rugby league player and coach

Nick Keir, Scottish singer-songwriter (died 2013)

Jerry Greenfield, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Ben & Jerry's

Rick Dees, American actor and radio host

Tom Coburn, American physician and politician (died 2020)

Billy Crystal, American actor, comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter

Theo Jansen, Dutch sculptor

Roy Budd, English pianist and composer (died 1993)

William J. Jefferson, American lawyer and politician

Jona Lewie, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Wes Unseld, American basketball player, coach, and manager (died 2020)

Jasper Carrott, English comedian, actor, and game show host

Michael Martin Murphey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Walter Parazaider, American saxophonist

Boris Brott, Canadian composer and conductor (died 2022)

Clyde Lee, American basketball player

Václav Nedomanský, Czech ice hockey player and manager

Bobby Smith, English footballer and manager

Tom Stannage, Australian historian and academic (died 2012)

Anita Morris, American actress and singer (died 1994)

Rita Tushingham, English actress

Wolfgang Petersen, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2022)

Raymond J. Barry, American actor

Bertrand Blier, French director and screenwriter (died 2025)

Yves Boisset, French director and screenwriter (died 2025)

Eleanor Bron, English actress and screenwriter

Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (died 2016)

John Gleeson, Australian cricketer (died 2016)

Árpád Orbán, Hungarian footballer (died 2008)

Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (died 2013)

Bob Charles, New Zealand golfer

Eugene Cernan, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (died 2017)

Paul Rader, American 15th General of The Salvation Army (died 2025)

Michael Caine, English actor

Quincy Jones, American producer (died 2024)

Mark Murphy, American singer-songwriter and actor (died 2015)

Naina Yeltsina, Russian wife of Boris Yeltsin, First Lady of Russia

Bob Goalby, American golfer (died 2022)

Frank Borman, American astronaut (died 2023)

Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Spanish environmentalist (died 1980)

Chuck Share, American basketball player (died 2012)

François Morel, Canadian pianist, composer, conductor, and educator (died 2018)

William Clay Ford Sr., American businessman (died 2014)

Francis A. Marzen, Roman Catholic priest (died 2004)

Joseph A. Unanue, American sergeant and businessman (died 2013)

Diane Arbus, American photographer (died 1971)

Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (died 1996)

S. Truett Cathy, American businessman, founded Chick-fil-A (died 2014)

Ada Louise Huxtable, American author and critic (died 2013)

Hank Ketcham, American author and cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (died 2001)

Dorothy Tyler-Odam, English high jumper (died 2014)

Max Shulman, American author and screenwriter (died 1988)

Zoia Horn, American librarian (died 2014)

Alan Smith, English lieutenant and pilot (died 2013)

Horton Foote, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 2009)

Alexander Brott, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (died 2005)

Lee Hays, American singer-songwriter (died 1981)

Bill Owen, English actor and songwriter (died 1999)

Lee Petty, American race car driver and businessman, founded Petty Enterprises (died 2000)

Dominik Tatarka, Slovak writer (died 1989)

Cliff Bastin, English footballer (died 1991)

Les Brown, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (died 2001)

W. Graham Claytor Jr. American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1994)

W. Willard Wirtz, American lawyer and politician, 10th United States Secretary of Labor (died 2010)

Akira Yoshizawa, Japanese origamist (died 2005)

Ed Heinemann, American designer of military aircraft (died 1991)

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher and academic (died 1961)

Phil Vincent, English engineer and businessman, founded Vincent Motorcycles (died 1979)

Koča Popović, Yugoslav politician and Divisional Commander of the First Proletarian Division of the Yugoslav Partisans (died 1992)

Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Turkish composer and educator (died 1972)

Raymond Aron, French journalist, sociologist, and philosopher (died 1983)

Doris Eaton Travis, American actress and dancer (died 2010)

Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (died 1974)

Sid Atkinson, South African hurdler and long jumper (died 1977)

K. C. Irving, Canadian businessman, founded Irving Oil (died 1992)

Reginald Marsh, French-American painter and illustrator (died 1954)

Sylvia Beach, American-French bookseller and publisher, who founded Shakespeare and Company (died 1962)

Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (died 1964)

Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (died 1918)

Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician and academic (died 1969)

Albert Einstein, German-American physicist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate (died 1955)

Anton Philips, Dutch businessman, co-founded Philips Electronics (died 1951)

Algernon Blackwood, English author and playwright (died 1951)

Emily Murphy, Canadian jurist, author, and activist (died 1933)

Casey Jones, American engineer (died 1900)

Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (died 1951)

Paul Ehrlich, German physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1915)

John Lane, English publisher, co-founded The Bodley Head (died 1925)

Alexandru Macedonski, Romanian author and poet (died 1920)

Thomas R. Marshall, American lawyer and politician, 28th Vice President of the United States of America (died 1925)

Ferdinand Hodler, Swiss painter (died 1918)

Castro Alves, Brazilian poet and playwright (died 1871)

Umberto I of Italy (died 1900)

Arthur O'Shaughnessy, English poet and herpetologist (died 1881)

Charles Ammi Cutter, American librarian (died 1903)

Isabella Beeton, English author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (died 1865)

Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (died 1910)

Frederic Shields, English painter and illustrator (died 1911)

Lucy Hobbs Taylor, American dentist and educator (died 1910)

Théodore de Banville, French poet and critic (died 1891)

Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies (died 1889)

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (died 1878)

Joseph P. Bradley, American lawyer and jurist (died 1892)

Johann Strauss I, Austrian composer and conductor (died 1849)

Kristjan Jaak Peterson, Estonian poet (died 1822)

James Bogardus, American inventor and architect (died 1874)

Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (died 1863)

José Núñez de Cáceres, Dominican politician and writer. He was the leader of the Independence movement of the Dominican Republic against Spain in 1821 (died 1846)

Ioan Nicolidi of Pindus, Aromanian physician and noble (died 1828)

Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic (died 1710)

Uljay Qutlugh Khatun, Mongol empress consort of the Ilkhanate.

Alan Simpson, United States senator from Wyoming (born 1931)

Scott Hall, American wrestler (born 1958)

Jake Phelps, American skateboarder and Thrasher editor-in-chief (born 1962)

Charlie Whiting, British motorsport director (born 1952)

Haig Young, Canadian politician (born 1928)

Jim Bowen, English stand-up comedian and TV personality (born 1937)

Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician and human rights activist (born 1979)

Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (born 1942)

Liam O'Flynn, Irish uileann piper (born 1945)

John W. Cahn, German-American metallurgist and academic (born 1928)

Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer and conductor (born 1934)

Suranimala Rajapaksha, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (born 1949)

Tony Benn, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (born 1925)

Meir Har-Zion, Israeli commander (born 1934)

Jack Greene, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1930)

Aramais Sahakyan, Armenian poet and author (born 1936)

Ieng Sary, Vietnamese-Cambodian politician, Cambodian Minister for Foreign Affairs (born 1925)

Pierre Schoendoerffer, French director and screenwriter (born 1928)

Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general and politician, 4th President of Malta (born 1913)

Peter Graves, American actor (born 1926)

Chiara Lubich, Italian activist, co-founded the Focolare Movement (born 1920)

Lucie Aubrac, French educator and activist (born 1912)

Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (born 1929)

Jack Goldstein, Canadian-American painter (born 1945)

Jean-Luc Lagardère, French engineer and businessman (born 1928)

Kirk Alyn, American actor (born 1910)

John Broome, American author (born 1913)

Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director and producer (born 1907)

William Alfred Fowler, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)

Sheila Humphreys, Irish Republican, political activist and Hunger Striker (born 1899)

Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (born 1950)

Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (born 1892)

Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet (born 1915)

Mohammad Hatta, Indonesian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Indonesia (born 1902)

Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Spanish environmentalist (born 1928)

Frank McEncroe, Australian businessman (born 1908)

Fannie Lou Hamer, American activist and philanthropist (born 1917)

Busby Berkeley, American director and choreographer (born 1895)

Susan Hayward, American actress (born 1917)

Howard H. Aiken, American computer scientist and engineer (born 1900)

Chic Young, American cartoonist (born 1901)

Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-American painter, illustrator, and educator (born 1898)

Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (born 1892)

Marion Jones Farquhar, American tennis player (born 1879)

Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot activist (born 1938)

Klement Gottwald, Czechoslovak Communist politician and 4th President of Czechoslovakia (born 1896)

C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, English historian (born 1887)

Lars Edvard Phragmén, Swedish mathematician (born 1863)

George Eastman, American inventor and businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (born 1854)

Frederick Jackson Turner, American historian (born 1861)

A. A. Kannisto, Finnish politician (born 1876)

Charlie Daly and three other Irish Republicans are executed by Irish Free State forces (born 1896)

Bernard Ryan executed Irish republican (born 1901)

Quintino Sella, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finances (born 1827)

Karl Marx, German philosopher and theorist (born 1818)

Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian general and politician, 17th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (born 1793)

Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (born 1802)

Charles François Dumouriez, French general and politician, French Minister of War (born 1739)

Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1735)

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (born 1724)

Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and critic (born 1725)

John Byng, British admiral and politician, 11th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (born 1704)

George Wade, Irish field marshal and politician (born 1673)

Claes Rålamb, Swedish statesman (born 1622)

Jean Domat, French lawyer and jurist (born 1625)

Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (born 1584)

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (born 1584)

John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford (born 1485)

Thomas Malory, English writer, the author of Le Morte d'Arthur

Matilda of Ringelheim, Saxon queen (born c. 896)

Einhard, Frankish scholar