March 22 facts for kids

March 22 is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 284 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

• 238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperors.
• 1508 - Ferdinand II of Aragon commissions Amerigo Vespucci chief navigator of the Spanish Empire.
• 1621 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.
• 1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquian Native Americans kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony's population.
• 1630 – Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables.
• 1638 – Anne Hutchinson is expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious dissent.
• 1713 - The Tuscacora War comes to an end with the fall of Fort Neoheroka, effectively opening up the interior of North Carolina to European colonization.
• 1739 - Nadir Shah occupies Delhi and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.
• 1765 – The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act, the first direct tax levied from England on the American colonies.
• 1784 - The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.
• 1809 – Charles XIII succeeds Gustav IV Adolf to the Swedish throne.
• 1829 - The three protecting powers (United Kingdom, France, Russia) create the borders of Greece.
• 1849 - The Austrians defeat the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara.
• 1871 – In North Carolina, William Woods Holden becomes the first governor of a U.S. state to be removed from office by impeachment.
• 1872 - Illinois becomes the first US state to require Sexual Equality in employment.
• 1873 - A law is approved by the Spanish National Assembly in Puerto Rico to abolish slavery.
• 1884 - Ecuador introduces the Sucre as its national currency.
• 1888 – The Football League is formed.
• 1894 – The first playoff game for the Stanley Cup starts.
• 1895 – First display (a private screening) of movies by Auguste and Louis Lumière.

1901 – 2000

• 1906 - The first England v France rugby union game is played at Parc des Princes in Paris.
• 1912 - The Indian state of Bihar is formed out of the state of Bengal.
• 1916 - The last Emperor of China, Yuan Shikai, abdicates the throne and the Republic of China is restored.
• 1920 – Azeri and Turkish army soldiers with participation of Kurdish gangs attacked the Armenian inhabitants of Shushi (Nagorno Karabakh).
• 1923 - Foster Hewitt makes the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game.
• 1933 - US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs into law a bill legalizing the sale of beer and wine.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany takes Memel from Lithuania.
• 1941 – Washington's Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity.
• 1942 – World War II: In the Mediterranean Sea, Regia Marina defeats Royal Navy in the Second Battle of Sirte.
• 1943 - World War II: The entire population of Khatyn, Belarus, is burned alive by German occupation forces.
• 1944 - World War II: A bombing raid on Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, kills 1,001 people.
• 1945 – The Arab League is founded when a charter is adopted in Cairo, Egypt.
• 1946 - The United Kingdom grants independence to Trans-Jordan.
• 1954 – Closed since 1939, the London gold market reopens.
• 1958 – Faisal becomes King of Saudi Arabia.
• 1960 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
• 1963 – Please Please Me becomes the first Beatles album released in the UK.
• 1965 – Bob Dylan "goes electric," releasing his first album featuring electric instruments, Bringing It All Back Home.
• 1972 - The United States Congress sends the Equal Rights Amendment to the states for ratification (meaning confirmation).
• 1975 – A fire at the Brown's Ferry nuclear reactor in Decatur, Alabama, causes dangerous lowering of cooling water levels.
• 1975 – In Stockholm, Sweden, Teach-In wins the twentieth Eurovision Song Contest for the Netherlands singing "Ding-a-dong."
• 1978 – Karl Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• 1982 - NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on its third mission, STS-3.
• 1989 – Fawn Hall, Oliver North's former secretary, begins two days of testimony at North's Iran-Contra trial in Washington.
• 1992 - USAir Flight 405 crashes shortly after take-off from New York City's LaGuardia Airport, killing 27 people.
• 1993 – Intel ships the first Pentium chips (80586), featuring a 60 MHz clock speed, 100+ MIPS, and a 64-bit data path.
• 1995 – Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns after setting a record for 438 days in space.
• 1997 – Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion of the women's world figure skating competition.
• 1997 - Comet Hale-Bopp has his closest approach to Earth.

From 2001

• 2003 - Protests take place worldwide against the Iraq War, which began two days earlier.
• 2005 – Pat Summitt, coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols (women's college basketball), becomes the all-time leader in victories for both men's and women's college basketball, getting her 880th win as coach of the team.
• 2006 - Basque separatist organization ETA announces a permanent ceasefire.
• 2009 – The Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska erupts.
• 2012 - The Government of Mali is toppled in a military coup.
• 2013 - Over 37 people are killed after a fire destroys a camp containing Burmese refugees near Ban Mae, Thailand.
• 2014 - Over 251 people are killed when a boat capsizes in Lake Albert in East Africa.
• 2014 - 2014 Oso mudslide: A massive mudslide in Oso, Washington kills 43 people.
• 2016 - 2016 Brussels bombings: Bomb attacks strike Brussels' International Airport and the Metro, killing at least 34 people.

Births

Up to 1900

• 875 - William I, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 918)
• 924 - Dinh Bo Linh, first Emperor of Vietnam (d. 979)
• 1212 - Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (d. 1235)
• 1394 - Ulugh Beg, Persian astronomer (d. 1449)
• 1459 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1519)
• 1503 - Antonio Francesco Grazzini, Italian writer (d. 1583)
• 1517 - Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian music theorist and composer (d. 1590)
• 1599 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter (d. 1641)
• 1609 – John II Casimir of Poland (d. 1672)
• 1720 - Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect (d. 1799)
• 1728 - Anton Raphael Mengs, German painter (d. 1779)
• 1759 - Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden and Norway (d. 1818)
• 1785 - Adam Sedgwick, English geologist (d. 1873)
• 1797 – Wilhelm I of Germany (d. 1888)
• 1808 - David Swinson Maynard, American frontiersman and physician (d. 1873)
• 1814 - Thomas Crawford, American sculptor (d. 1857)
• 1817 – Bahá'u'lláh, Persian prophet of the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1892)
• 1817 - Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (d. 1876)
• 1818 - John Ainsworth Horrocks, English explorer of South Australia (d. 1846)
• 1837 - Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, Italian aristocrat (d. 1899)
• 1842 - Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian pianist, composer and conductor (d. 1912)
• 1852 - Otakar Sevcik, Czech violinist and violin teacher (d. 1934)
• 1857 – Paul Doumer, President of France (d. 1932)
• 1860 - Alfred Ploetz, German physician (d. 1940)
• 1868 – Robert Millikan, American physicist (d. 1953)
• 1869 – Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Philippines (d. 1964)
• 1878 - Marcel Théato, Luxembourgish-French runner (d. 1919)
• 1880 - Ernie Quigley, Canadian-American sports official (d. 1960)
• 1884 - Arthur Vandenberg, United States Senator for Michigan (d. 1961)
• 1885 - Aryeh Levin, Lithuanian rabbi (d. 1969)
• 1886 - August Rei, Estonian politician (d. 1963)
• 1887 – Chico Marx, American comedian and actor (d. 1961)
• 1892 - Johannes Semper, Estonian writer, translator and politician (d. 1970)
• 1896 - He Long, Chinese military leader (d. 1969)
• 1896 - Joseph Schildkraut, Austrian-born American actor (d. 1964)
• 1897 - Ferruccio Novo, Italian football manager (d. 1974)
• 1899 - Ruth Page, American ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)

1901 – 1950

• 1902 – Madeleine Milhaud, French actress (d. 2008)
• 1902 - Johannes Brinkman, Dutch architect (d. 1949)
• 1907 - Roger Blin, French actor and movie director (d. 1984)
• 1907 - James M. Gavin, American lieutenant general (d. 1990)
• 1907 - Lucia Santos, Portuguese nun (d. 2005)
• 1908 – Louis L'Amour, American writer (d. 1988)
• 1908 - Jack Crawford, Australian tennis player (d. 1991)
• 1909 - Nathan Rosen, American-Israeli physicist (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Karl Malden, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1913 – Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish combat pilot (d. 2001)
• 1913 - Tom McCall, 30th Governor of Oregon (d. 1983)
• 1913 - Lew Wasserman, American movie studio executive (d. 2002)
• 1915 - Georgiy Zhzhonov, Russian actor and writer (d. 2005)
• 1915 - John McConnell, American peace activist and environmentalist (d. 2012)
• 1917 - Paul Rogers, British stage actor
• 1917 – Virginia Grey, American actress (d. 2004)
• 1918 – Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (d. 1997)
• 1920 - Werner Klemperer, German actor and musician (d. 2000)
• 1920 - Ross Martin, American actor (d. 1981)
• 1921 - Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (d. 2004)
• 1922 - John J. Gilligan, 62nd Governor of Ohio (d. 2013)
• 1922 - Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Marcel Marceau, French mime artist (d. 2007)
• 1924 - Paul Fussell, American writer, historian, writer and professor (d. 2012)
• 1924 - Al Neuharth, American businessman, writer and columnist (d. 2013)
• 1926 - Franca Falcucci, Italian politician (d. 2014)
• 1929 - Sergio Cervato, Italian footballer (d. 2005)
• 1930 - Lynden Pindling, Prime Minister of the Bahamas (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Pat Robertson, American televangelist
• 1930 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist
• 1931 – Burton Richter, American physicist
• 1931 – William Shatner, Canadian actor
• 1931 - Leslie Thomas, Welsh author (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Larry Evans, American chess player (d. 2010)
• 1932 - Els Borst, Dutch politician (d. 2014)
• 1933 - Michel Hidalgo, French footballer and coach
• 1933 - Abulhassan Banisadr, former President of Iran
• 1934 - Bola Ajibola, Nigerian politician and jurist
• 1934 - Orrin Hatch, United States Senator for Utah
• 1936 – Roger Whittaker, British singer
• 1936 - Erol Büyükburç, Turkish singer, composer and actor (d. 2015)
• 1937 - Angelo Badalamenti, American composer
• 1937 - Armin Hary, German athlete
• 1940 - Fausto Bertinotti, Italian Communist politician
• 1941 – Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor
• 1941 - Cassam Uteem, 2nd President of Mauritius
• 1942 – Bernd Herzsprung, German actor
• 1943 - George Benson, American jazz and fusion guitarist and singer
• 1943 - Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 1976)
• 1945 - Paul Schockemoehle, German equestrian showjumper
• 1946 - Don Chaney, American basketball player and coach
• 1946 - Rudy Rucker, American mathematician and computer scientist
• 1946 - Harry Vanda, Dutch-Australian singer and musician
• 1947 - James Patterson, American writer
• 1948 – Bernard Dietz, German footballer
• 1948 – Andrew Lloyd Webber, English theatre composer
• 1948 - Wolf Blitzer, American journalist
• 1949 - Fanny Ardant, French actress
• 1949 – John Toshack, Welsh footballer and manager
• 1949 - Brian Hanrahan, English journalist and broadcaster (d. 2010)
• 1950 - Jocky Wilson, Scottish darts player (d. 2012)
• 1950 - Mary Tamm, English actress (d. 2012)

1951 – 1975

• 1952 - Des Browne, Scottish politician
• 1953 - Vladimir Trofimenko, Russian athlete
• 1955 – Lena Olin, Swedish actress
• 1955 - Pete Sessions, American politician
• 1955 – Valdis Zatlers, former President of Latvia
• 1956 - Maria Teresa, Cuban-born Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
• 1958 - Laurie David, American blogger, activist and producer
• 1958 - Pete Wylie, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1959 - Matthew Modine, American actor, screenwriter, director and producer
• 1963 – Giuseppe Galderisi, Italian footballer and manager
• 1965 - John Kordic, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1992)
• 1965 – Emma Wray, British actress
• 1966 - Brian Shaw, American basketball player
• 1967 - Mario Cipollini, Italian cyclist
• 1968 - Euronymous, Norwegian guitarist and producer (d. 1993)
• 1970 - Leontien van Moorsel, Dutch cyclist
• 1970 - Hwang Young-cho, South Korean marathon runner
• 1971 - Keegan Michael Key, American actor
• 1972 – Shawn Bradley, American basketball player
• 1972 – Elvis Stojko, Canadian figure skater
• 1972 - Cory Lidle, American baseball player (d. 2006)
• 1973 – Beverley Knight, British singer
• 1974 – Philippe Clement, Belgian footballer
• 1974 - Marcus Camby, American basketball player
• 1974 - Kidada Jones, American actress
• 1975 - Jiri Novak, Czech ice hockey player
• 1975 - Anne Dudek, American actress

From 1976

• 1976 – Reese Witherspoon, American actress
• 1976 - Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player
• 1977 - John Otto, American musician
• 1981 - Mirel Radoi, Romanian footballer
• 1984 – Piotr Trochowski, German footballer
• 1985 – Mayola Biboko, Belgian footballer
• 1985 – Jakob Fuglsang, Danish cyclist
• 1988 – Tania Raymonde, American actress
• 1989 - Eva Pereira, Cape Verdean middle-distance runner
• 1989 - Ruben Popa, Romanian footballer
• 1990 - Lisa Mitchell, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1994 - Kolohe Andino, American surfer

Deaths

Up to 1900

• 1081 - Boleslaw the Generous, King of Poland (b. 1042)
• 1322 - Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster (b. 1278)
• 1418 - Dietrich of Nieheim, German bishop and historian (b. 1345)
• 1421 - Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence (b. 1388)
• 1471 - George Podebrady, King of Bohemia (b. 1420)
• 1544 - Johannes Magnus, last Roman Catholic Archbishop in Sweden (b. 1488)
• 1602 – Agostino Carracci, Italian composer (b. 1557)
• 1685 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (b. 1638)
• 1687 – Jean Baptiste Lully, Italian-French composer (b. 1632)
• 1772 - John Canton, English physicist (b. 1718)
• 1820 - Stephen Decatur, American naval officer (b. 1779)
• 1832 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer (b. 1749)
• 1840 - Etienne Bobillier, French mathematician (b. 1798)
• 1844 - William Carroll, Governor of Tennessee (b. 1788)
• 1851 - Isaac Hill, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1789)
• 1863 - Opothleyahola, principal Native American chief of the Creek Nation (b. 1796)
• 1896 - Thomas Hughes, English novelist (b. 1822)

1901 – 2000

• 1913 - Sung Chiao-jen, Chinese nationalist leader (b. 1882)
• 1914 - Theodor Borrer, Swiss aviation pioneer (b. 1894)
• 1917 - Yi-junyong, one of the Korean Joseon Dynasty's politicians (b. 1870)
• 1942 - Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (b. 1875)
• 1942 - William Donne, English cricketer (b. 1875)
• 1946 - Clemens August Graf von Galen, German Resistance activist (b. 1878)
• 1952 - Uncle Dave Macon, American musician (b. 1870)
• 1955 - Ivan Subasic, Croatian-Yugoslavian politician (b. 1892)
• 1958 – Mike Todd, American movie producer (b. 1909)
• 1960 - Jose Antonio Aguirre, Basque politician (b. 1904)
• 1977 - A.K. Gopalan, Indian Communist leader (b. 1904)
• 1978 – Karl Wallenda, German acrobat (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Odysseas Angelis, Greek military officer (b. 1912)
• 1993 – Steve Olin, American baseball player (b. 1965)
• 1994 – Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (b. 1900)
• 1994 - Dan Hartman, American singer, songwriter and record producer (b. 1950)
• 1996 - Robert F. Overmyer, American test pilot and astronaut (b. 1936)
• 1996 - Billy Williamson, American musician (b. 1925)
• 2000 - Carlo Parola, Italian footballer (b. 1921)

From 2001

• 2001 – Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish combat pilot (b. 1913)
• 2001 – William Hanna, American animator and studio founder (b. 1910)
• 2002 - Rudolf Baumgartner, Swiss conductor and violinist (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Ahmed Yassin, Palestinian co-founder of Hamas (b. 1936)
• 2006 - Lawrence Stephen, Nauruan politician (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Jade Goody, British television personality (b. 1981)
• 2010 – Valentina Tolkunova, Russian singer (b. 1946)
• 2010 – James W. Black, Scottish Nobel Prize-winning doctor and medical researcher (b. 1924)
• 2013 - Bebo Valdes, Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer (b. 1918)
• 2014 - Mickey Duff, Polish-born British boxing trainer and promoter (b. 1929)
• 2014 - Patrice Wymore, American actress (b. 1926)
• 2014 - Yashwant Vithoba Chittal, Indian author (b. 1928)
• 2014 - Yngve A. A. Larsson, Swedish medicine professor and diabetologist (b. 1917)
• 2014 - Riina Gerretz, Estonian pianist (b. 1939)
• 2015 - Arkady Arkanov, Russian writer and satirist (b. 1933)
• 2015 - Norman Scribner, American choral conductor (b. 1936)
• 2016 - Rob Ford, Canadian politician, former Mayor of Toronto (b. 1969)
• 2016 - Rita Gam, American actress (b. 1927)

Observances

• World Day for Water
• Emancipation Day (Puerto Rico)
• Earliest date on which Easter can fall, last in 1818, next in 2285 (April 25 is latest Easter date)
• Day of the People's Party (Laos)