March 15 facts for kids

March 15th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history! From important political changes to exciting discoveries, let's explore some of the things that have happened on this date.

March 15 is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 291 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Important Moments in History

• 44 BC – The famous Roman leader Julius Caesar was assassinated. This event is known as the Ides of March.
• 493 – Odoacer, the first barbarian king of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, was killed by Theodoric the Great, the king of the Ostrogoths.
• 856 – Michael III, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, took control from his mother, Empress Theodora, with the help of important Byzantine families.
• 933 – After a ten-year peace agreement, German King Henry the Fowler defeated a Hungarian army in the Battle of Riade.
• 1311 – In the Battle of Halmyros, a group called the Catalan Company defeated Walter V, Count of Brienne. This allowed them to take control of the Duchy of Athens, which was a Crusader state in Greece.
• 1564 – The Mughal Emperor Akbar stopped a tax called jizya that was placed on people who were not Muslim.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1672 – King Charles II of England issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence. This gave some religious freedom to all Christians.
• 1783 – In a powerful speech, George Washington convinced his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. This stopped a planned military takeover.
• 1820 – Maine officially became the twenty-third U.S. state.
• 1848 – A revolution started in Hungary. This forced the Habsburg rulers to agree to the demands of the reform party.
• 1877 – The First ever official cricket test match is played: Australia played against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia.
• 1888 – The Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888 began.

The 1900s and Today

• 1907 – The first parliamentary elections were held in Finland, which was then called the Grand Duchy of Finland.
• 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia gave up his throne. This ended the 304-year rule of the Romanov family in Russia.
• 1918 – The Finnish Civil War saw the start of the battle of Tampere.
• 1921 – Talaat Pasha, a former leader of the Ottoman Empire, was assassinated in Berlin by a young Armenian man named Soghomon Tehlirian.
• 1922 – After Egypt became independent from the United Kingdom, Fuad I became the King of Egypt.
• 1927 – The first Women's Boat Race took place between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge on The Isis river in Oxford.
• 1939 – Germany occupied Czechoslovakia.
• 1943 – During World War II, in the Third Battle of Kharkiv, German forces took back the city of Kharkiv from the Soviet armies.
• 1951 – The oil industry in Iran was taken over by the government.
• 1961 – South Africa announced it would leave the Commonwealth when its new constitution came into effect.
• 1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson told the U.S. Congress "We shall overcome" while supporting the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This was in response to the civil rights crisis in Selma, Alabama.
• 1978 – Somalia and Ethiopia signed a truce to end the Ethio-Somali War.
• 1986 – Thirty-three people died when the Hotel New World in Singapore collapsed. This event is known as the Collapse of Hotel New World.
• 1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev was elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.
• 1991 – The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany came into effect. This gave full independence to the Federal Republic of Germany after the Cold War.
• 2011 – The Syrian Civil War began.
• 2019 – The 2019–20 Hong Kong protests started.
• 2019 – About 1.4 million young people in 123 countries participated in a strike to protest climate change.
• 2022 – The 2022 Sri Lankan protests began during Sri Lanka's economic problems.

Famous Birthdays

People Born Long Ago

• 1493 – Anne de Montmorency, a French captain and diplomat.
• 1591 – Alexandre de Rhodes, a French missionary.
• 1638 – Shunzhi Emperor of China.
• 1666 – George Bähr, a German architect who designed the Dresden Frauenkirche.
• 1767 – Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States.
• 1779 – William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, a British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1809 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the 1st President of Liberia.
• 1813 – John Snow, an English physician and epidemiologist.
• 1830 – Paul Heyse, a German author and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1854 – Emil von Behring, a German physiologist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1857 – Christian Michelsen, the 1st Prime Minister of Norway.
• 1868 – Grace Chisholm Young, an English mathematician.
• 1878 – Reza Shah, the Shah of Iran.

People Born in the 1900s and Today

• 1907 – Zarah Leander, a Swedish actress and singer.
• 1912 – Lightnin' Hopkins, an American blues singer and guitarist.
• 1916 – Harry James, an American trumpet player and bandleader.
• 1920 – E. Donnall Thomas, an American physician and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1930 – Zhores Alferov, a Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1932 – Alan Bean, an American astronaut.
• 1933 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an American lawyer and judge.
• 1935 – Judd Hirsch, an American actor.
• 1941 – Mike Love, an American singer and musician.
• 1943 – David Cronenberg, a Canadian director.
• 1947 – Ry Cooder, an American singer and guitarist.
• 1953 – Frances Conroy, an American actress.
• 1955 – Dee Snider, an American singer.
• 1959 – Renny Harlin, a Finnish director and producer.
• 1963 – Bret Michaels, an American singer and television personality.
• 1967 – Naoko Takeuchi, a Japanese manga artist and creator of Sailor Moon.
• 1972 – Mark Hoppus, an American singer and musician.
• 1975 – Eva Longoria, an American actress.
• 1975 – will.i.am, an American rapper, producer, and actor.
• 1977 – Joe Hahn, an American musician and director.
• 1983 – Paul Pogba, a French footballer.
• 1985 – Kellan Lutz, an American actor and model.
• 1988 – Lil Dicky, an American rapper and comedian.
• 1993 – Alia Bhatt, a British actress.

People Who Passed Away

Historical Figures

• 44 BC – Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman.
• 220 – Cao Cao, a Chinese general and statesman.
• 493 – Odoacer, the first king of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
• 1190 – Isabella of Hainault, queen of Philip II of France.
• 1311 – Walter V, Count of Brienne.
• 1536 – Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, a powerful Ottoman politician.
• 1820 – Clement Mary Hofbauer, an Austrian priest and saint.
• 1842 – Luigi Cherubini, an Italian composer.
• 1898 – Henry Bessemer, an English engineer and businessman.

Notable Deaths in Recent Times

• 1921 – Talaat Pasha, a former leader of the Ottoman Empire.
• 1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, an American writer.
• 1959 – Lester Young, an American saxophonist.
• 1962 – Arthur Compton, an American physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1975 – Aristotle Onassis, a Greek-Argentinian businessman.
• 1983 – Rebecca West, an English author.
• 1998 – Benjamin Spock, an American pediatrician and author.
• 2001 – Ann Sothern, an American actress and singer.
• 2004 – John Pople, an English-American chemist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 2009 – Ron Silver, an American actor.
• 2011 – Nate Dogg, an American rapper.
• 2014 – David Brenner, an American comedian.
• 2016 – Sylvia Anderson, an English voice actress and producer.
• 2022 – Barbara Maier Gustern, an American vocal coach.

Special Days and Holidays

• Ancient Roman religious observance:
  • Ides of March
• Christian feast day:
  • Clement Mary Hofbauer
  • Louise de Marillac
• Constitution Day (Belarus)
• International Day To Combat Islamophobia
• Joseph Jenkins Roberts' Birthday (Liberia)
• National Day, celebrating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (Hungary)
• World Consumer Rights Day (International)
• Youth Day (Palau)

See also

In Spanish: 15 de marzo para niños