March 8 facts for kids

March 8 is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 298 days remain until the end of the year.

March 8th is a special day each year, filled with many important events and the birthdays of famous people throughout history. It's a day when we remember big moments, from ancient poems being finished to modern inventions changing our lives. It's also a day to celebrate International Women's Day around the world!

Historical Events on March 8

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 1010 – The famous poet Ferdowsi finished his epic poem, the Shahnameh. It's a very long and important story from Iran.
• 1126 – Alfonso VII became the king of León after his mother, Queen Urraca of León, passed away.
• 1262 – A battle called the Battle of Hausbergen happened between city groups and the army of the bishop of Strasbourg.
• 1558 – The city of Pori in Finland was founded by Duke John near the Gulf of Bothnia.

Big Changes: 1600s to 1900s

• 1658 – The Treaty of Roskilde was signed. This meant Frederick III, the King of Denmark–Norway, had to give a lot of his land to Sweden after a big war.
• 1702 – Queen Anne became the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She was the younger sister of the previous queen.
• 1722 – The Safavid Empire in Iran was defeated by an army from Afghanistan at the Battle of Gulnabad.
• 1736 – Nader Shah, who started the Afsharid dynasty, was crowned the Shah of Iran.
• 1775 – An unknown writer, possibly Thomas Paine, wrote an article called "African Slavery in America." This was one of the first calls in the American colonies to end slavery.
• 1782 – The Gnadenhutten massacre took place. Many Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, who had become Christians, were killed by soldiers.
• 1801 – During the War of the Second Coalition, British forces landed in Egypt at the Battle of Abukir. Their goal was to stop the French campaign in Egypt and Syria.
• 1844 – King Oscar I became the king of both Sweden and Norway.
• 1844 – The Althing, which is the parliament of Iceland, was reopened after being closed for 45 years.
• 1868 – The Sakai incident occurred in Japan. Japanese samurai killed 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai, Osaka.

Modern Times: 1900s to Today

• 1910 – French pilot Raymonde de Laroche made history by becoming the first woman to get a pilot's license.
• 1916 – During World War I, British forces tried to help their troops who were under siege in Kut (now in Iraq) but were unsuccessful in the Battle of Dujaila.
• 1917 – Protests for International Women's Day in Petrograd started the February Revolution in Russia.
• 1917 – The United States Senate voted to limit filibusters, which are long speeches meant to delay decisions.
• 1921 – Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato Iradier was assassinated on his way home from the parliament building in Madrid.
• 1924 – A terrible mine disaster near Castle Gate, Utah, killed 172 coal miners.
• 1936 – The Daytona Beach and Road Course held its very first oval stock car race.
• 1937 – The Battle of Guadalajara began during the Spanish Civil War.
• 1942 – In World War II, the Dutch East Indies surrendered Java to the Imperial Japanese Army.
• 1942 – Japanese forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British forces during World War II.
• 1950 – The famous Volkswagen Type 2 "Bus," also known as the "VW Bus," started being produced.
• 1962 – A Turkish Airlines plane crashed into a mountain in Turkey, and all 11 people on board died.
• 1963 – The Ba'ath Party took power in Syria through a coup d'état.
• 1965 – During the Vietnam War, US Marines arrived in Da Nang.
• 1966 – Nelson's Pillar, a famous monument in Dublin, Ireland, was destroyed by a bomb.
• 1979 – Philips showed the compact disc (CD) to the public for the very first time.
• 1979 – Pictures taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft proved that there are volcanoes on Io, one of Jupiter's moons.
• 1983 – During the Cold War, U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" in a speech.
• 1988 – Aeroflot Flight 3379 was hijacked by a family and diverted in the Soviet Union.
• 1994 – A collision at Indira Gandhi International Airport in India killed 9 people.
• 2004 – A new constitution was signed by Iraq's Governing Council.
• 2010 – TNA Wrestling moved its main show, TNA Impact!, to Monday nights, hoping to become more popular.
• 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying 239 people, disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Its fate is still a mystery.
• 2017 – The Azure Window, a natural rock arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapsed during a storm.
• 2018 – The first Aurat March (a social protest for women's rights) was held in Karachi, Pakistan, on International Women's Day. The slogan "Mera Jism Meri Marzi" (My body, my choice) became popular, demanding bodily autonomy for women and protesting gender-based violence.
• 2021 – International Women's Day marches in Mexico became violent, with many police officers and civilians injured in Mexico City.
• 2021 – Twenty-eight political groups in Myanmar formed the National Unity Consultative Council. This was a historic alliance of different organizations and elected leaders, created after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

Famous Birthdays on March 8

Born Before 1900

• 1495 – John of God, a Portuguese friar and saint.
• 1712 – John Fothergill, an English doctor and botanist.
• 1714 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a German pianist and composer.
• 1726 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, an English admiral and politician.
• 1746 – André Michaux, a French botanist and explorer.
• 1748 – William V, Prince of Orange.
• 1761 – Jan Potocki, a Polish writer and historian.
• 1799 – Simon Cameron, an American journalist and politician.
• 1804 – Alvan Clark, an American astronomer and expert in optics.
• 1822 – Ignacy Łukasiewicz, a Polish inventor who created the Kerosene lamp.
• 1827 – Wilhelm Bleek, a German linguist and anthropologist.
• 1830 – João de Deus, a Portuguese poet and educator.
• 1836 – Harriet Samuel, an English businesswoman who founded the jewelry store H. Samuel.
• 1841 – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., a famous American lawyer and judge.
• 1851 – Frank Avery Hutchins, an American librarian and educator.
• 1856 – Bramwell Booth, the second leader of The Salvation Army.
• 1856 – Colin Campbell Cooper, an American painter.
• 1858 – Ida Hunt Udall, an American diarist and homesteader.
• 1859 – Kenneth Grahame, a British author, known for The Wind in the Willows.
• 1865 – Frederic Goudy, an American type designer.
• 1879 – Otto Hahn, a German chemist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1886 – Edward Calvin Kendall, an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1892 – Juana de Ibarbourou, a Uruguayan poet.
• 1896 – Charlotte Whitton, a Canadian journalist and politician, and Mayor of Ottawa.

Born After 1900

• 1902 – Louise Beavers, an American actress and singer.
• 1902 – Jennings Randolph, an American journalist and politician.
• 1907 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, a Greek lawyer and politician who became President of Greece.
• 1909 – Beatrice Shilling, an English motorcycle racer and engineer.
• 1910 – Claire Trevor, an American actress.
• 1911 – Alan Hovhaness, an Armenian-American pianist and composer.
• 1912 – Preston Smith, an American businessman and politician, and Governor of Texas.
• 1912 – Meldrim Thomson Jr., an American publisher and politician, and Governor of New Hampshire.
• 1914 – Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, a Belarusian-Russian physicist and astronomer.
• 1918 – Eileen Herlie, a Scottish-American actress.
• 1921 – Alan Hale Jr., an American actor.
• 1922 – Ralph H. Baer, a German-American video game designer who created the Magnavox Odyssey.
• 1922 – Cyd Charisse, an American actress and dancer.
• 1922 – Carl Furillo, an American baseball player.
• 1922 – Shigeru Mizuki, a Japanese author and illustrator.
• 1924 – Anthony Caro, an English sculptor.
• 1924 – Sean McClory, an Irish-American actor.
• 1924 – Addie L. Wyatt, an American civil rights activist and labor leader.
• 1925 – Warren Bennis, an American scholar and author.
• 1926 – Francisco Rabal, a Spanish actor and director.
• 1927 – Ramon Revilla Sr., a Filipino actor and politician.
• 1930 – Bob Grim, an American baseball player.
• 1930 – Douglas Hurd, an English politician.
• 1931 – John McPhee, an American author and educator.
• 1931 – Neil Postman, an American author and social critic.
• 1931 – Gerald Potterton, an English-Canadian animator and director.
• 1934 – Marv Breeding, an American baseball player.
• 1935 – George Coleman, an American saxophonist and composer.
• 1936 – Panditrao Agashe, an Indian businessman.
• 1936 – Sue Ane Langdon, an American actress and singer.
• 1937 – Richard Fariña, an American singer-songwriter and author.
• 1937 – Juvénal Habyarimana, a Rwandan politician and President of Rwanda.
• 1939 – Jim Bouton, an American baseball player and journalist.
• 1939 – Lynn Seymour, a Canadian ballerina and choreographer.
• 1939 – Lidiya Skoblikova, a Russian speed skater.
• 1939 – Robert Tear, a Welsh tenor and conductor.
• 1941 – Norman Stone, a British historian and author.
• 1942 – Dick Allen, an American baseball player.
• 1942 – Ann Packer, an English sprinter and hurdler.
• 1943 – Susan Clark, a Canadian actress.
• 1943 – Lynn Redgrave, an English-American actress and singer.
• 1944 – Carole Bayer Sager, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1944 – Sergey Nikitin, a Russian singer-songwriter.
• 1945 – Micky Dolenz, an American singer and actor.
• 1945 – Anselm Kiefer, a German painter and sculptor.
• 1946 – Randy Meisner, an American singer-songwriter and bass player.
• 1947 – Michael S. Hart, an American author who founded Project Gutenberg.
• 1948 – Mel Galley, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1948 – Peggy March, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1948 – Jonathan Sacks, an English rabbi and philosopher.
• 1949 – Teofilo Cubillas, a Peruvian footballer.
• 1951 – Dianne Walker, an American tap dancer.
• 1953 – Jim Rice, an American baseball player.
• 1954 – Steve James, an American documentary filmmaker.
• 1954 – David Wilkie, a Sri Lankan-Scottish swimmer.
• 1956 – Laurie Cunningham, an English footballer.
• 1956 – David Malpass, an American economist.
• 1957 – Clive Burr, an English rock drummer.
• 1957 – Billy Childs, an American pianist and composer.
• 1958 – Gary Numan, an English singer-songwriter.
• 1959 – Lester Holt, an American journalist.
• 1959 – Aidan Quinn, an Irish-American actor.
• 1960 – Irek Mukhamedov, a Russian ballet dancer.
• 1960 – Buck Williams, an American basketball player.
• 1961 – Camryn Manheim, an American actress.
• 1961 – Larry Murphy, a Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1965 – Kenny Smith, an American basketball player.
• 1966 – Greg Barker, Baron Barker of Battle, an English politician.
• 1968 – Michael Bartels, a German race car driver.
• 1968 – Shawn Mullins, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1970 – Jason Elam, an American football player.
• 1970 – Andrea Parker, an American actress.
• 1972 – Lena Sundström, a Swedish journalist.
• 1973 – Boris Kodjoe, an Austrian-German actor.
• 1976 – Chris Clark, an American ice hockey player.
• 1976 – Juan Encarnación, a Dominican baseball player.
• 1976 – Freddie Prinze Jr., an American actor and producer.
• 1976 – Hines Ward, a Korean-American football player.
• 1977 – James Van Der Beek, an American actor.
• 1977 – Johann Vogel, a Swiss footballer.
• 1978 – Nick Zano, an American actor.
• 1979 – Tom Chaplin, an English singer and musician.
• 1982 – Erik Ersberg, a Swedish ice hockey player.
• 1982 – Leonidas Kampantais, a Greek footballer.
• 1982 – Keemstar, an American YouTuber.
• 1982 – Kat Von D, an American tattoo artist and model.
• 1983 – André Santos, a Brazilian footballer.
• 1983 – Mark Worrell, an American baseball player.
• 1984 – Yoshihisa Hirano, a Japanese baseball player.
• 1984 – Ross Taylor, a New Zealand cricketer.
• 1984 – Sasha Vujačić, a Slovenian basketball player.
• 1985 – Maria Ohisalo, a Finnish politician.
• 1986 – Chad Gable, an American wrestler.
• 1986 – Thomas Morstead, an American football player.
• 1987 – Milana Vayntrub, an Uzbekistani-American actress.
• 1988 – Benny Blanco, an American record producer.
• 1988 – Tommy Pham, an American baseball player.
• 1989 – Robbie Hummel, an American basketball player.
• 1990 – Kristinia DeBarge, an American singer.
• 1990 – Asier Illarramendi, a Spanish footballer.
• 1990 – Brandon Kozun, an American-Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1990 – Petra Kvitová, a Czech tennis player.
• 1990 – Kevin Zeitler, an American football player.
• 1991 – Yoon Ji-sung, a South Korean singer and actor.
• 1993 – Rui Machida, a Japanese basketball player.
• 1994 – Claire Emslie, a Scottish footballer.
• 1995 – Marko Gudurić, a Serbian basketball player.
• 1995 – Isaiah Whitehead, an American basketball player.
• 1996 – Kyle Allen, an American football player.
• 1997 – Tijana Bošković, a Serbian volleyball player.
• 2003 – Montana Jordan, an American actor.
• 2004 – Kit Connor, an English actor.

Notable People Who Passed Away on March 8

Before 1900

• 1126 – Urraca of León and Castile, Queen of León and Castile.
• 1137 – Adela of Normandy, a countess.
• 1144 – Pope Celestine II.
• 1403 – Bayezid I, an Ottoman sultan.
• 1466 – Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan.
• 1550 – John of God, a Portuguese friar and saint.
• 1619 – Veit Bach, a German baker.
• 1641 – Xu Xiake, a Chinese geographer and explorer.
• 1702 – William III of England, King of England.
• 1717 – Abraham Darby I, an English blacksmith.
• 1723 – Povel Juel, a Norwegian civil servant.
• 1723 – Christopher Wren, a famous English architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral.
• 1844 – Charles XIV John of Sweden, King of Sweden and Norway.
• 1869 – Hector Berlioz, a French composer and conductor.
• 1872 – Priscilla Susan Bury, a British botanist.
• 1872 – Cornelius Krieghoff, a Dutch-Canadian painter.
• 1874 – Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States.
• 1887 – Henry Ward Beecher, an American minister and activist.
• 1887 – James Buchanan Eads, an American engineer who designed the Eads Bridge.
• 1889 – John Ericsson, a Swedish-American engineer.

After 1900

• 1917 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a German general and businessman known for airships.
• 1923 – Johannes Diderik van der Waals, a Dutch physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1930 – William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States.
• 1930 – Edward Terry Sanford, an American judge.
• 1932 – Minna Craucher, a Finnish socialite and spy.
• 1937 – Howie Morenz, a Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1941 – Sherwood Anderson, an American novelist.
• 1942 – José Raúl Capablanca, a Cuban chess player.
• 1943 – Cipto Mangunkusumo, an Indonesian independence leader.
• 1944 – Fredy Hirsch, a German Jewish athlete who helped many children during the Holocaust.
• 1948 – Hulusi Behçet, a Turkish dermatologist and scientist.
• 1957 – Othmar Schoeck, a Swiss composer.
• 1961 – Thomas Beecham, an English conductor.
• 1971 – Harold Lloyd, an American actor and producer.
• 1973 – Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, an American keyboard player and songwriter.
• 1975 – George Stevens, an American director and producer.
• 1982 – Hatem Ali Jamadar, a Bengali politician.
• 1983 – Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, an English politician.
• 1983 – William Walton, an English composer.
• 1993 – Billy Eckstine, an American jazz singer.
• 1996 – Jack Churchill, a British colonel.
• 1998 – Ray Nitschke, an American football player.
• 1999 – Adolfo Bioy Casares, an Argentinian journalist and author.
• 1999 – Peggy Cass, an American actress and comedian.
• 1999 – Joe DiMaggio, a famous American baseball player.
• 2003 – Adam Faith, an English singer.
• 2003 – Karen Morley, an American actress.
• 2004 – Muhammad Zaidan, a Syrian terrorist.
• 2005 – César Lattes, a Brazilian physicist.
• 2005 – Aslan Maskhadov, a Chechen commander and politician.
• 2007 – John Inman, an English actor.
• 2007 – John Vukovich, an American baseball player and coach.
• 2009 – Hank Locklin, an American singer-songwriter.
• 2012 – Simin Daneshvar, an Iranian author.
• 2013 – John O'Connell, an Irish politician.
• 2013 – Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, a German soldier and publisher.
• 2014 – Leo Bretholz, an Austrian-American Holocaust survivor and author.
• 2014 – William Guarnere, an American sergeant.
• 2015 – Sam Simon, an American director and producer.
• 2016 – George Martin, an English composer and producer, known for working with The Beatles.
• 2018 – Kate Wilhelm, an American author.
• 2019 – Marshall Brodien, an American actor.
• 2019 – Cedrick Hardman, an American football player and actor.
• 2020 – Max von Sydow, a Swedish actor.

Holidays and Celebrations

• Christian feast day:
  • Edward King (Church of England)
  • Felix of Burgundy
  • John of God
  • Philemon the actor
  • March 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• International Women's Day, and its related observances:
  • International Women's Collaboration Brew Day

See also

In Spanish: 8 de marzo para niños