History of Today in India – 17 March

Explore the history of today 17 March in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 17 March 2026, 04:20 AM

📜 Important Events on 17 March in World History

17 Mar 2016: Rojava conflict: At a conference in Rmelan, the Movement for a Democratic Society declares the establishment of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria. Read more
17 Mar 2004: Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed. Read more
17 Mar 2003: Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council, Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Read more
17 Mar 2000: Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead. Read more
17 Mar 1992: Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242. Read more
17 Mar 1992: A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%. Read more
17 Mar 1988: A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143. Read more
17 Mar 1988: Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet. Read more
17 Mar 1985: Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the "Night Stalker", commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles murder spree. Read more
17 Mar 1979: The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers. Read more
17 Mar 1979: Aeroflot Flight 1691 crashes on approach to Vnukovo International Airport, killing 58. Read more
17 Mar 1973: The Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Read more
17 Mar 1969: Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel. Read more
17 Mar 1968: As a result of nerve gas testing by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Skull Valley, Utah, over 6,000 sheep are found dead. Read more
17 Mar 1966: Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb. Read more
17 Mar 1963: Mount Agung erupts on Bali killing more than 1,100 people. Read more
17 Mar 1960: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Read more
17 Mar 1960: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 crashes in Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana, killing 63. Read more
17 Mar 1958: The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite, which is also the first satellite to achieve a long-term orbit. Read more
17 Mar 1957: A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others. Read more
17 Mar 1950: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name "californium". Read more
17 Mar 1948: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO. Read more
17 Mar 1945: The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses, ten days after its capture. Read more
17 Mar 1942: Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland. Read more
17 Mar 1921: The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution. Read more
17 Mar 1891: SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board. Read more
17 Mar 1862: The first railway line of Finland between cities of Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, called Päärata, is officially opened. Read more
17 Mar 1861: The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed. Read more
17 Mar 1860: The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars. Read more
17 Mar 1842: The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo is formally organized with Emma Smith as president. Read more
17 Mar 1824: The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch. Read more
17 Mar 1805: The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 17 March in World History

17 Mar 2001: Pietro Pellegri, Italian footballer Pietro Pellegri is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie B club Empoli on loan from Torino. He has been capped once by the Italy national team. Read more
17 Mar 1998: Brandon Aiyuk, American football player Brandon Aiyuk is an American professional football wide receiver for the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Sierra College Wolverines and Arizona State Sun Devils and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. Read more
17 Mar 1997: Katie Ledecky, American swimmer Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky is an American competitive swimmer. She is the most decorated female swimmer in history and the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, with a total of 14 Olympic medals, including nine golds. She is regarded as the greatest female swimmer of all time. Read more
17 Mar 1997: Daniel Sprong, Dutch ice hockey player Daniel Sprong is a Dutch-Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Sprong was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 2015 NHL entry draft after playing two seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and made the Penguins immediately after being drafted, though he would return to the QMJHL and play two more seasons with the Islanders. He played parts of four seasons with Pittsburgh and their American Hockey League affiliate before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, where he spent two seasons before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2020. After his initial stint with the Kraken, he had tenures with the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks before returning to Seattle. Following the 2024-25 NHL season, Sprong moved to Russia, playing with CSKA Moscow before being traded midseason to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Read more
17 Mar 1995: Claressa Shields, American boxer and mixed martial artist Claressa Maria Shields is an American professional boxer and former professional mixed martial artist. She has held 18 major world championships spanning five weight classes, including the undisputed female light middleweight title in March 2021; the undisputed female middleweight title twice between 2019 and 2024; the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) female super middleweight titles from 2017 to 2018; the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female light heavyweight title from 2024 to 2025 and the undisputed female heavyweight title since February 2025. Shields currently holds the record for becoming a two, three, four and five division world champion in the fewest professional fights. As of August 12, 2025, she is ranked the world's best active female light heavyweight by BoxRec, as well as the best active female boxer, pound for pound, by ESPN and The Ring. Read more
17 Mar 1994: DeForest Buckner, American football player DeForest George Buckner is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. With the 49ers, Buckner made a Pro Bowl and was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2019. With the Colts, he was selected to the first-team All Pro in 2020 and made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2023. Read more
17 Mar 1994: Terry Rozier, American basketball player Terry William Rozier III, nicknamed "Scary Terry", is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played in the NBA for the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets. Read more
17 Mar 1994: Ivan Provedel, Italian footballer Ivan Provedel is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Lazio. Read more
17 Mar 1994: Marcel Sabitzer, Austrian footballer Marcel Sabitzer is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Austria national team. Predominantly a central midfielder, Sabitzer can play in a multitude of roles, including attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder, winger and second striker. Read more
17 Mar 1993: Matteo Bianchetti, Italian footballer Matteo Bianchetti is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Cremonese. Read more
17 Mar 1993: Rhys Hoskins, American baseball player Rhys Dean Hoskins is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers. Read more
17 Mar 1993: Yao Yuanjun, Chinese Border police officer (died 2011) Yao Yuanjun was a border police officer with the rank of Private who served in the People's Armed Police Border Defense Corps. Yao drowned in the Shweli river while attempting to arrest a drug trafficker on the China-Myanmar Border. Read more
17 Mar 1992: John Boyega, British actor and producer John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, known professionally as John Boyega, is an English actor and producer. He first gained recognition in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film Attack the Block (2011) before he had his international breakthrough playing Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). During his time as a cast member of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Boyega received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Read more
17 Mar 1992: Patrick Cantlay, American golfer Patrick Stephen Cantlay is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won eight tournaments. Read more
17 Mar 1992: Yeltsin Tejeda, Costa Rican footballer Yeltsin Ignacio Tejeda Valverde is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga FPD club Herediano, which he captains, and the Costa Rica national team. Read more
17 Mar 1991: Sergey Kalinin, Russian ice hockey player Sergey Pavlovich Kalinin is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who plays for CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He formerly played for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
17 Mar 1991: Cordarrelle Patterson, American football player Cordarrelle Patterson, nicknamed "Flash", is an American professional football running back. As a versatile utility player, he is also a kickoff returner and occasionally at wide receiver. Patterson played college football for the Hutchinson Blue Dragons before transferring to the Tennessee Volunteers, where he earned first-team All-SEC honors. Read more
17 Mar 1991: Thomas Robinson, American-Lebanese basketball player Thomas Earl Robinson is an American-born naturalised Lebanese professional basketball player for Capitanes de Arecibo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). A consensus All-American at the University of Kansas, Robinson was drafted fifth overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. Read more
17 Mar 1990: Hozier, Irish musician Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, known professionally as Hozier, is an Irish singer and musician. His music primarily draws from folk, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes and taking political or social justice stances. Read more
17 Mar 1990: Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was able to attain the world no. 1 ranking, thereby becoming the only female player from India and thereafter the second Indian player – after Prakash Padukone – to achieve this feat. She has represented India three times in the Olympics, winning a bronze medal in her second appearance at London 2012. Read more
17 Mar 1990: Jean Segura, Dominican baseball player Jean Carlos Enrique Segura is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins. Segura was an All-Star in 2013 and 2018, and led the National League in hits in 2016. He played for the Dominican Republic national baseball team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Read more
17 Mar 1989: Mikael Backlund, Swedish ice hockey player Mikael Backlund is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a centre and captain of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Read more
17 Mar 1989: Shinji Kagawa, Japanese footballer Shinji Kagawa is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cerezo Osaka. He is widely regarded as one of the best Japanese players of all time. Read more
17 Mar 1989: Juan Lagares, Dominican baseball player Juan Osvaldo Lagares is a Dominican former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, and in the KBO League for the SSG Landers. Known for his defensive prowess, he won the National League Gold Glove Award in 2014. Read more
17 Mar 1989: Harry Melling, English actor Harry Edward Melling is an English actor who first came to international attention for playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films (2001–2010). Since then, he has come to prominence for his well-received performances in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), The Pale Blue Eye (2022), and Pillion (2025). Read more
17 Mar 1988: Rasmus Elm, Swedish footballer Rasmus Christoffer Elm is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the assistant coach of Kalmar FF. During his career, he played for Kalmar FF in Sweden, for AZ in the Netherlands and the Russian side CSKA Moscow. Elm earned 39 caps for Sweden between 2009 and 2013 and competed at UEFA Euro 2012. He is the younger brother of Viktor and David Elm. Read more
17 Mar 1988: Fraser Forster, English footballer Fraser Gerard Forster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Bournemouth. Read more
17 Mar 1988: Grimes, Canadian musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and visual artist Claire Elise Boucher, known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her work often invokes themes of science fiction, feminism, and fantasy. She has released five studio albums. Read more
17 Mar 1988: Brent Meuleman, Belgian politician Brent C. M. Meuleman is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented East Flanders since June 2024. Read more
17 Mar 1988: Ryan White, Canadian ice hockey player Ryan White is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was selected in the third round, 66th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. White also played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild. Read more
17 Mar 1987: Federico Fazio, Argentine footballer Federico Julián Fazio is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Read more
17 Mar 1987: Rob Kardashian, American television personality Robert Arthur Kardashian is an American television personality. He is known for appearing on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, a reality television series that centers on his family, as well as its spin-offs. In 2011, Kardashian also competed in the thirteenth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, during which he placed second.
He is the fourth and youngest child and the only son of Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner. Read more
17 Mar 1987: Carlos Lampe, Bolivian footballer Carlos Emilio Lampe Porras is a Bolivian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for División Profesional club Bolívar and the Bolivia national team. Read more
17 Mar 1987: Ryan Parent, Canadian ice hockey player Ryan Parent is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Philadelphia Flyers and the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently head coach with the Utica Comets. Read more
17 Mar 1987: Bobby Ryan, American ice hockey player Robert Shane Ryan is an American former professional ice hockey winger. He played for the Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted second overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2005 NHL entry draft. Read more
17 Mar 1987: Emmanuel Sanders, American football player Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft. Sanders won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos, and also played for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and Buffalo Bills. Read more
17 Mar 1986: Chris Davis, American baseball player Christopher Lyn Davis, nicknamed "Crush Davis", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. While primarily a first baseman throughout his career, Davis also spent time at designated hitter, third baseman, and outfielder. Read more
17 Mar 1986: Edin Džeko, Bosnian footballer Edin Džeko is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for 2. Bundesliga club Schalke 04 and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, he is the all-time top goalscorer and most capped player of the Bosnian national team. Having scored over 400 senior career goals for club and country, Džeko was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for three years in a row. He has been nicknamed "the Bosnian Diamond" or simply "Diamond" (Dijamant) by football fans and journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more
17 Mar 1986: Miles Kane, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Miles Peter Kane is an English singer and musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in August 2009. Read more
17 Mar 1986: Jeremy Pargo, American basketball player Jeremy Raymon Pargo is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. In 2011 he reached the EuroLeague Final with Maccabi Tel Aviv, earning an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in the process. He was the 2015 Israeli Basketball Premier League Assists Leader, and the 2016 Chinese Basketball Association assists leader. He is the younger brother of former NBA player Jannero Pargo. Read more
17 Mar 1986: Silke Spiegelburg, German pole vaulter Silke Spiegelburg is a former German pole vaulter. She is the younger sister of Richard Spiegelburg. She represented Germany at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012, as well as having competed at the World Championships in Athletics. She is a European silver medallist in the event both indoors and outdoors. Read more
17 Mar 1985: Tuğba Karademir, Turkish-Canadian figure skater Tuğba Karademir is a Turkish former competitive figure skater. She won silver medals at the 2008 International Challenge Cup and 2008 Ondrej Nepela Memorial. She qualified to the free skate at two Winter Olympics, two World Championships, and seven European Championships (2004–2010). She served as the flag-bearer for Turkey at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Read more
17 Mar 1985: César Valdez, Dominican baseball player César Miguel Valdez is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Angels, and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Lamigo Monkeys. Read more
17 Mar 1984: Chris Copeland, American basketball player and coach Christopher Stephen Copeland, nicknamed "the X-Factor", is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Colorado, Boulder. Read more
17 Mar 1984: Ryan Rottman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter Ryan Rottman is an American actor. Read more
17 Mar 1983: James Heath, English golfer James Joseph Heath is an English professional golfer. Read more
17 Mar 1983: Raul Meireles, Portuguese footballer Raul José Trindade Meireles is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Read more
17 Mar 1983: Attila Vajda, Hungarian sprint canoeist Attila Vajda is a Hungarian sprint canoeist who has competed since the early 2000s. Competing in three Summer Olympics he has won two medals in the C-1 1000 m event with a gold in 2008 and a bronze in 2004. Read more
17 Mar 1982: Steven Pienaar, South African footballer Steven Jerome Pienaar is a South African former professional footballer and current coach of the U14 team of Sharjah FC in the United Arab Emirates. Read more
17 Mar 1981: Aaron Baddeley, American-Australian golfer Aaron John Baddeley is an Australian professional golfer. Read more
17 Mar 1981: Servet Çetin, Turkish footballer Servet Çetin is a Turkish football manager and former player who's currently coaching Sarıyer. Çetin began his football journey in 1990 when he joined Kartalspor after a chance encounter. Initially an amateur, he progressed to professional terms with Göztepe and later Denizlispor. Read more
17 Mar 1981: Nicky Jam, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Nick Rivera Caminero, known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as "X", "Travesuras", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; the latter three are from his 2017 album Fénix. He has frequently collaborated with other Latin artists such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B and Anuel AA. While his early music exemplified traditional fast-paced reggaeton, his newer compositions place more emphasis on sung vocals and romantic lyrics. Read more
17 Mar 1981: Kyle Korver, American basketball player Kyle Elliot Korver is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays. He is regarded as one of the best three-point shooters of all-time. Read more
17 Mar 1980: Danny Califf, American soccer player Daniel Benjamin Califf is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a defender. Read more
17 Mar 1979: Stormy Daniels, American adult film actress Stephanie A. Gregory Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress, director and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves Hall of Fame, AVN Hall of Fame, XRCO Hall of Fame, and Vanity Fair Hall of Fame. In 2009, a recruitment effort led her to consider challenging incumbent David Vitter in the 2010 Senate election in her native Louisiana. Read more
17 Mar 1979: Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player Andrew James Stewart Ference is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played as a defenceman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers. In 2011, Ference helped the Bruins to their sixth Stanley Cup championship. Ference was born in Edmonton, but grew up in nearby Sherwood Park, Alberta. Read more
17 Mar 1979: Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer Stephen Kramer Glickman is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Gustavo Rocque on the Nickelodeon sitcom Big Time Rush (2009–2013), and for co-hosting the podcast The Night Time Show. Read more
17 Mar 1979: Mineko Nomachi, Japanese essayist Mineko Nomachi is a Japanese essayist, columnist, illustrator, and radio and television personality. She is best known for her blog I'm Queer but I'm an Office Lady , which was published as a book by Bungeishunjū in 2006, and for multiple radio and television programs co-hosted with writer Mitsurou Kubo. Her name is a pen name derived from a combination of the names of her paternal and maternal grandmothers. Read more
17 Mar 1979: Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler Nuufolau Joel Seanoa, better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Opps. He is a former two-time AEW World Champion and one-time AEW World Trios Champion. He is also known for his work with Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and WWE. Read more
17 Mar 1978: Zachery Kouwe, American journalist Zachery "Zach" Kouwe is a communications strategist and former financial journalist. He is known for serving as a media and strategic communications advisor to corporations and financial firms including activist shareholders and institutional investors and has worked as an advisor for the corporate whistleblower attorney Jordan A. Thomas. Read more
17 Mar 1977: Tamar Braxton, American singer and television personality Tamar Estine Braxton is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Read more
17 Mar 1976: Scott Downs, American baseball player Scott Jeremy Downs is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago White Sox. He has been a starter, reliever and closer during his baseball career. Read more
17 Mar 1976: Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (died 2009) Stephen Patrick David Gately was an Irish singer who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful internationally. With Boyzone, Gately had a record-breaking sixteen-consecutive singles enter the top five of the UK Singles Chart. He released a solo album in 2000, after the group's initial break-up, which charted in the UK top ten and yielded three UK hit singles, including the top three hit "New Beginning". Gately went on to appear in stage productions and on television programmes as well as contributing songs to various projects. In 2008, he rejoined his colleagues as Boyzone reformed for a series of concerts and recordings. Read more
17 Mar 1976: Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer Álvaro Alexánder Recoba Rivero is an Uruguayan professional football coach and former player, who played as a forward or midfielder. He is the current manager of Venezuelan club Deportivo Táchira. He is considered one of the greatest Uruguayan players of all time. Read more
17 Mar 1975: Justin Hawkins, English singer-songwriter Justin David Hawkins is an English musician, Internet personality, singer, and songwriter best known as the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness, of which his younger brother Dan is also a member. He is also the lead singer and guitarist for the band Hot Leg, formed in 2008 and now on hiatus. In 2021, Hawkins launched a YouTube channel entitled Justin Hawkins Rides Again, where he does comedic analysis on songs or artists in addition to covering news in the musical community. Hawkins has been widely praised for his musical abilities, particularly his voice which spans five octaves. Read more
17 Mar 1975: Puneeth Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer (died 2021) Puneeth Rajkumar, affectionately known as Appu, was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter and philanthropist who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of legendary actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar. He was one of the most popular actors in Kannada cinema. He appeared as a lead in 32 films. As a child, he appeared in many films. His performances as a child actor in Vasantha Geetha (1980), Bhagyavantha (1981), Chalisuva Modagalu (1982), Eradu Nakshatragalu (1983), Bhakta Prahaladha (1983), Yarivanu (1984) and Bettada Hoovu (1985) were praised. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu. He also won Karnataka State Award Best Child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu and Eradu Nakshatragalu. Puneeth's first lead role was in 2002's Appu. In a career spanning three decades, he has won one National Film Award, four Karnataka State Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South and five SIIMA awards. He was conferred with the Doctorate by Mysuru University. The Karnataka Government conferred the state's highest civilian award, Karnataka Ratna, to Puneeth Rajkumar on 1 November 2022, posthumously. Read more
17 Mar 1975: Test, Canadian-American wrestler (died 2009) Andrew James Robert Patrick Martin was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He was best known for his tenures with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE) where he competed under the ring name Test. Read more
17 Mar 1974: Mark Dolan, English comedian and television host Mark Dolan is an English presenter and comedian. He has hosted various shows on UK television, including Balls of Steel for Channel 4 2005 until 2008 and the self titled Mark Dolan Tonight and Friday Night Live with Mark Dolan for GB News between 2021 and 2024. In 2025, he joined TalkTV. Read more
17 Mar 1973: Rico Blanco, Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor Rico Rene Granados Blanco is a Filipino singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor, endorser and entrepreneur. He began his career as one of the founding members, and served as the chief songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist of the Filipino rock band Rivermaya from 1994 until 2007, and has been a solo artist since 2008. Read more
17 Mar 1973: Vance Wilson, American baseball player and manager Vance Allen Wilson is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played all or parts of eight seasons in MLB. Listed at 5'11" tall and 215 pounds, he batted and threw right-handed during his career. Read more
17 Mar 1972: Torquil Campbell, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor Torquil Campbell is the co-lead singer and a songwriter for the Montreal-based indie rock band Stars. In addition to singing, he also plays the melodica, trumpet, synthesizer, and tambourine. Campbell is also an actor and playwright, most recently co-creating and starring in the play True Crime, produced by Crow's Theatre in Toronto. Read more
17 Mar 1971: Bill Mueller, American baseball player and coach William Richard Mueller is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Mueller's MLB playing career was spent with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs (2001–2002), Boston Red Sox (2003–2005), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2006). Read more
17 Mar 1970: Patrick Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player Patrick Mikael Lebeau is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He represented Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal. He has played professionally in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He is the younger brother of Stéphan Lebeau. Read more
17 Mar 1970: Gene Ween, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Aaron Freeman, better known by his stage name Gene Ween, is an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the experimental alternative rock group Ween. Freeman, along with childhood friend Mickey Melchiondo, started the group in the mid-1980s. Ween would expand to five members and perform together until May 2012 when Freeman abruptly quit the band due to his desire to move forward with a solo career, as well as his intention to remain sober. Over the next few years, Freeman would briefly abandon the Gene Ween name and lead a new five-piece band called Freeman. Shortly after reviving the Gene Ween name as a solo act, to perform a series of Billy Joel tribute performances, Ween reunited in February 2016 for three concerts in Broomfield, Colorado. The band continued to perform and tour until going on an indefinite hiatus in August 2024. Read more
17 Mar 1969: Edgar Grospiron, French skier Edgar Grospiron is a French freestyle skier and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. He received a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. At the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics he was Chef de mission for the French Team. He was in charge of the Annecy bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. This bid secured seven votes, behind Munich with 25 and the winner Pyeongchang with 63 votes. Grospiron serves as the president of the organizing committee for the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. The organising committee has been plagued with infighting, with the Games' director general, chief operating officer, communications director, and chief of the remuneration committee resigning between 2025 and 2026. Read more
17 Mar 1969: Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founded eponymous brand (died 2010) Lee Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the Year awards, as well as the Council of Fashion Designers of America International Designer of the Year award in 2003. McQueen died by suicide in 2010 at the age of 40, at his home in Mayfair, London, shortly after the death of his mother. Read more
17 Mar 1968: Eri Nitta, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress Eri Nitta is a Japanese singer, actress, lyricist, and tarento. She made her professional debut as the fourth member of the all-female singing group Onyanko Club in 1985. She made her solo debut with the hit song Winter Opera Glasses on January 1, 1986. Nitta performed the opening and ending theme songs for the first 14 episodes of the Little Women anime television series from Nippon Animation. Read more
17 Mar 1967: Barry Minkow, American pastor and businessman Barry Jay Minkow is a former American businessman, pastor, and a repeat convicted felon. While still in high school, Minkow founded ZZZZ Best, which appeared to be an immensely successful carpet-cleaning and restoration company. However, it was actually a front to attract investment for a massive Ponzi scheme. ZZZZ Best collapsed in 1987, costing investors and lenders $100 million in one of the largest investment frauds ever perpetrated by a single person, as well as one of the largest accounting frauds in history. The scheme is often used as a case study of accounting fraud. Read more
17 Mar 1966: Andrew Rosindell, English journalist and politician Andrew Richard Rosindell is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romford since 2001. He was elected as a Conservative MP before his defection to Reform UK on 18 January 2026. Read more
17 Mar 1965: Andrew Hudson, South African cricketer Andrew Charles Hudson is a former South African Test and ODI cricketer. The right-handed batsman played 35 Tests and 89 One Day Internationals for South Africa in the 1990s. Read more
17 Mar 1964: Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (died 2013) Stefano Borgonovo was an Italian footballer and manager, who played as a striker. An opportunistic striker, Borgonovo played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, and came to prominence while playing alongside Roberto Baggio with Fiorentina during the 1988–89 season, on loan from Milan. His prolific performances with Fiorentina earned him a permanent move to Milan, where he contributed to the club's European Cup victory in 1990, despite struggling with injuries. Read more
17 Mar 1964: Lee Dixon, English footballer and journalist Lee Michael Dixon is an English pundit and retired professional footballer who played as a right-back. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England. Read more
17 Mar 1964: Rob Lowe, American actor Robert Hepler Lowe is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in The Outsiders (1983), Class (1983), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Oxford Blues (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), About Last Night… (1986), and Masquerade (1988). Lowe was involved in a sex tape scandal in 1988, which stymied his career for many years afterward. His notable credits during this time were supporting roles in comedy films such as Wayne's World (1992), Tommy Boy (1995), and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Read more
17 Mar 1964: Jacques Songo'o, Cameroonian footballer and coach Jacques Celestin Songo'o is a Cameroonian former professional football goalkeeper who is the current goalkeeping coach of the Cameroon national team. Read more
17 Mar 1963: Roger Harper, Guyanese cricketer and coach Roger Andrew Harper is a Guyanese former cricketer turned coach, who played both Test and One Day International cricket for the West Indies cricket team. His international career lasted 13 years, from 1983 to 1996, and he was later described as a "fabulous" fielder. Read more
17 Mar 1962: Carsten Almqvist, Swedish business executive
Casten Åke Loritz Almqvist is a Swedish executive. He was the Swedish CEO for TV4 Media 2011–2022. December 2019–2022 he was also part of Telia Company's group executive management team leading the business area TV/Media. Read more
17 Mar 1962: Ank Bijleveld, Dutch politician Anna Theodora Bernardina "Ank" Bijleveld-Schouten is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). She served as Minister of Defence in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte from 26 October 2017 to 17 September 2021. Read more
17 Mar 1962: Janet Gardner, American singer and guitarist Janet Patricia Gardner is an American rock singer. She is best known as the former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the all-female glam metal band Vixen joining in 1983. She was the band's longest serving vocalist having performed on three of the band's four studio albums. When Vixen broke up in 1992 she took a hiatus from singing to pursue personal endeavors. She briefly unofficially reformed Vixen in 1997 with drummer Roxy Petrucci. She returned to Vixen in 2001, later studying to become a dental hygienist. In 2004 she took part in a Vixen reunion for a one-night-only gig as part of VH1's Bands Reunited TV show. She returned to Vixen full-time in 2012. Read more
17 Mar 1962: Clare Grogan, Scottish singer and actress Claire Patricia Grogan, known professionally as Clare Grogan or sometimes as C. P. Grogan, is a Scottish singer and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the 1980s new wave music group Altered Images, as well as for supporting roles in the 1981 film Gregory's Girl and the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf as the first incarnation of Kristine Kochanski. Read more
17 Mar 1962: Rob Sitch, Australian actor, director, and producer Robert Ian Sitch is an Australian filmmaker, actor and comedian. He directed and co-wrote the comedy films The Castle (1997) and The Dish (2000); the former of which is often considered one of the greatest Australian films ever made. On television, he is known for the 1990s comedy series Frontline and the long-running comedy series Utopia (2014–present). Read more
17 Mar 1961: Sam Bowie, American basketball player Samuel Paul Bowie is an American former professional basketball player. A national sensation in high school and outstanding collegian and Olympic team member, Bowie's professional promise was undermined by repeated injuries to his legs and feet. In spite of the setbacks, the 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) and 235 lb (107 kg) center played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Read more
17 Mar 1961: Dana Reeve, American actress, singer, and activist (died 2006) Dana Charles Reeve was an American actress and singer. She was the wife of actor Christopher Reeve and mother of television reporter and anchor Will Reeve. Read more
17 Mar 1959: Danny Ainge, American baseball and basketball player Daniel Ray Ainge is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his 18-year career as general manager for the Boston Celtics, Ainge was known for making bold moves to help the team rebuild, and clearing cap space. He served as the Celtics' president of basketball operations from 2003 until his retirement in 2021. Read more
17 Mar 1959: Paul Black, American singer-songwriter and drummer Paul Mars Black is an American singer and drummer. He is most notable for his time as lead vocalist in L.A. Guns, with whom he wrote most of their self-titled debut album. Read more
17 Mar 1957: Michael Kelly, American journalist and author (died 2003) Michael Thomas Kelly was an American journalist for The New York Times, a columnist for The Washington Post and The New Yorker, and a magazine editor for The New Republic, National Journal, and The Atlantic. He came to prominence through his reporting on the 1990–1991 Gulf War, and was well known for his political profiles and commentary. He suffered professional embarrassment for his role as senior editor in the Stephen Glass scandal at The New Republic. Kelly was killed in 2003 while covering the invasion of Iraq; he was the first United States journalist to die during the war. Read more
17 Mar 1956: Patrick McDonnell, American author and illustrator Patrick McDonnell is a cartoonist, author, and playwright. He is the creator of the daily comic strip Mutts, which follows the adventures of a dog and a cat, that has been syndicated since 1994. Prior to creating Mutts, he was a prolific magazine illustrator, and would frequently include a dog in the backgrounds of his drawings. Read more
17 Mar 1956: Rory McGrath, British comedian, television personality, and writer Patrick Rory McGrath is a British comedian, television personality, and writer. He came to prominence in the comedy show Who Dares Wins and was a regular panellist on the game show They Think It's All Over for many years. He acted in the sitcom Chelmsford 123 and appeared in the ITV reality show Sugar Free Farm. Read more
17 Mar 1955: Cynthia McKinney, American activist and politician Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former American politician. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman elected to represent Georgia in the House. She left the Democratic Party and ran in 2008 as the presidential nominee of the Green Party. She ran for vice president in 2020 after the Green Party of Alaska formally nominated her and draft-nominated Jesse Ventura for president. Read more
17 Mar 1953: Filemon Lagman, Filipino activist (died 2001) Filemon Castelar Lagman, also known by the aliases Ka Popoy and Carlos Forte, was a Filipino revolutionary socialist and labor leader who supported Marxism-Leninism. He split with the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1991 due to ideological disagreements to form the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and Sanlakas. He was assassinated in 2001 at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City while working for the launch of the electoral party Partido ng Manggagawa. Read more
17 Mar 1953: Chuck Muncie, American football player (died 2013) Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie was an American professional football player who was a running back for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1984. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and tied the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns in 1981. Read more
17 Mar 1952: Barry Horne, English activist (died 2001) Barry Horne was an English animal rights activist. He became known around the world in December 1998 when he engaged in a 68-day hunger strike in an effort to persuade the government to hold a public inquiry into animal testing, something the Labour Party had said it would do before it came to power in 1997. The hunger strike took place while Horne was serving an 18-year sentence for planting incendiary devices in stores that sold fur coats and leather products, the longest sentence handed down to any animal rights activist by a British court. Read more
17 Mar 1951: Scott Gorham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist William Scott Gorham is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership after passing an audition in 1974, joining the band at a time when the band's future was in doubt after the departures of original guitarist Eric Bell and his brief replacement Gary Moore. Gorham remained with Thin Lizzy until the band's breakup in 1983. He and guitarist Brian Robertson, both hired at the same time, marked the beginning of the band's most critically successful period, and together developed Thin Lizzy's twin lead guitar style while contributing dual backing vocals as well. Gorham is the band member with the longest membership after founders Brian Downey (drummer) and frontman and bass guitarist, Phil Lynott. Read more
17 Mar 1951: Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach Craig Edward Ramsay is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the NHL from 1971 to 1985 for the Buffalo Sabres, notably featuring in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres. After his playing career, he became a coach with the Sabres and later served as the final head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. From 2017 to 2025, he was the head coach of the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team. Read more
17 Mar 1949: Pat Rice, Irish footballer and coach Patrick James Rice, MBE is a Northern Irish former football player and coach. As a player, he made nearly 400 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Double, and later made a hundred more appearances for Watford. He also won 49 caps for Northern Ireland. After retirement from playing professionally he was at the helm of Arsenal's academy teams, before serving as caretaker manager and then assistant manager, a position he held since the appointment of Arsène Wenger in 1996. Rice helped the club to two more Doubles, amongst other silverware, in that time. He announced his retirement from the post on 10 May 2012. Read more
17 Mar 1949: Stuart Rose, English businessman Stuart Alan Ransom Rose, Baron Rose of Monewden, is a British businessman and life peer, who was the executive chairman of Marks & Spencer until 2010, remaining as chairman until early 2011. He was knighted in 2008 for his services to the retail industry and created a Conservative life peer on 17 September 2014, taking the title Baron Rose of Monewden, of Monewden in the County of Suffolk. Read more
17 Mar 1948: William Gibson, American-Canadian author and screenwriter William Ford Gibson is a speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk, a category from which he has repeatedly distanced himself. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his early works were noir, near-future stories that explored the effects of technology, cybernetics, and computer networks on humans, a "combination of lowlife and high tech"—and helped to create an iconography for the Information Age before the ubiquity of the Internet in the 1990s. Gibson coined the term "cyberspace" for "widespread, interconnected digital technology" in his short story "Burning Chrome" (1982), and later popularized the concept, along with his usage of the matrix, in his acclaimed debut novel Neuromancer (1984). These early works of Gibson's have been credited with "renovating" science fiction literature in the 1980s. Read more
17 Mar 1948: Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and manager Alexander MacDonald is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. MacDonald played for St Johnstone, Rangers and Hearts. He also played in one full international match for Scotland, in 1976. Towards the end of his playing career, MacDonald became player/manager of Hearts. He led the team as they won promotion in 1983, then narrowly missed out on winning the Scottish league championship in 1986. MacDonald then managed Airdrieonians for most of the 1990s, leading the team to Scottish Cup finals in 1992 and 1995. Read more
17 Mar 1947: Dennis Bond, English footballer (died 2025) Dennis Joseph Thomas Bond was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Watford, Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic and represented England at School and Youth level. Read more
17 Mar 1947: Yury Chernavsky, Russian-American songwriter and producer (died 2025) Yury Alexandrovich Chernavsky was a Russian producer, composer and songwriter. Chernavsky was a member of performance rights organisations such as GEMA, BMI, and RAO, and had also been recognized as an Honored Artist of the RSFSR. Read more
17 Mar 1945: Michael Hayden, American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Vincent Hayden is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He currently works as a visiting professor at the George Mason University – Schar School of Policy and Government and co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center's Electric Grid Cyber Security Initiative. Read more
17 Mar 1944: Pattie Boyd, English model, author, and photographer Patricia Anne Boyd is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harrison in 1966, experiencing the height of the Beatles' popularity and sharing their embrace of Indian spirituality. She divorced Harrison in 1977 and married mutual friend Eric Clapton in 1979; they divorced in 1989. Boyd inspired Harrison's songs "I Need You", "If I Needed Someone", "Something", and "For You Blue", and Clapton's songs "Layla", "Bell Bottom Blues", and "Wonderful Tonight". Read more
17 Mar 1944: Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager Clarence Edwin "Cito" Gaston is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and manager. His major league career as a player lasted from 1967 to 1978, most notably with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. He spent his entire managerial career with the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball history to win a World Series title. Read more
17 Mar 1943: Jeff Banks, Welsh fashion designer Jeff Banks PPCSD is a Welsh fashion designer of men's and women's clothing, jewellery, and home furnishings. Born in Ebbw Vale, Wales, Banks co-founded the fashion chain Warehouse in the late 1970s. He later created and presented the television programme The Clothes Show, broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000. Read more
17 Mar 1943: Andrew Brook, Canadian philosopher, author, and academic Andrew Brook is a Canadian philosopher, author and academic particularly known for his writings on Immanuel Kant and the interplay between philosophy and cognitive science. Brook is Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at Carleton University, former President of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society, and former President of the Canadian Philosophical Association. Read more
17 Mar 1942: John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and rapist (died 1994) John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 in Norwood Park Township, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He became known as the "Killer Clown" due to his public performances as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes. Read more
17 Mar 1942: Yoko Yamamoto, Japanese actress (died 2024) Yoko Yamamoto was a Japanese actress represented by Kabushikigaisha Sanyō Kikaku. Yamamoto was born on March 17, 1942, and died on February 20, 2024, at the age of 81. Read more
17 Mar 1941: Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese soldier and politician Wang Jin-pyng is a Taiwanese politician. He served as President of the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2016, which makes him Taiwan's longest-serving legislative speaker. Once a leading figure of the Kuomintang (KMT), Wang brokered deals between the KMT and opposition DPP. He was replaced by Democratic Progressive Party's Su Jia-chyuan as president of the Legislative Yuan after a decisive victory for the DPP in the 2016 election. Read more
17 Mar 1941: Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2016) Paul Lorin Kantner was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and a secondary vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He continued these roles as a member of Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Airplane's successor band. Read more
17 Mar 1941: Max Stafford-Clark, English director and academic Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark is a British theatre director. Read more
17 Mar 1940: Mark White, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas (died 2017) Mark Wells White Jr. was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 43rd governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 74th secretary of state of Texas from 1973 to 1977 and as the 46th attorney general of Texas from 1979 to 1983. Read more
17 Mar 1939: Jim Gary, American sculptor (died 2006) Jim Gary was an American sculptor popularly known for his large, colorful creations of dinosaurs made from discarded automobile parts. These sculptures were typically finished with automobile paint although some were left to develop a natural patina during display outdoors. Read more
17 Mar 1939: Bill Graham, Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2022) William Carvel Graham was a Canadian lawyer, academic and politician. Graham served as the minister of foreign affairs, minister of national defence, leader of the opposition and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. After leaving politics, he was the chancellor of Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Read more
17 Mar 1939: Robin Knox-Johnston, English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston CBE RD* is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won in 1994 the second Jules Verne Trophy, for which they were also given the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards. In 2007, at the age of 67, he set a record as the oldest yachtsman to complete a round the world solo voyage in the Velux 5 Oceans Race. Read more
17 Mar 1939: Giovanni Trapattoni, Italian footballer and manager Giovanni Trapattoni, popularly nicknamed "Trap", is an Italian former football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a player he spent almost his entire club career with AC Milan, where he won two Serie A league titles, and two European Cups, in 1962–63 and 1968–69. Internationally, he played for Italy, earning 17 caps and being part of the squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile. Read more
17 Mar 1938: Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (died 1993) Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of the 20th century, as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time. Read more
17 Mar 1938: Keith O'Brien, Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal (died 2018) Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien was a senior-ranking Catholic prelate in Scotland. He was the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 to 2013. Read more
17 Mar 1938: Zola Taylor, American singer (died 2007) Zoletta Lynn Taylor was an American singer and musician. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, Taylor was the original female member of the American vocal group The Platters from 1954 until 1962, when the group produced most of their popular singles. Read more
17 Mar 1937: Galina Samsova, Russian ballerina (died 2021) Galina Samsova was a Russian ballet dancer and company director. Read more
17 Mar 1936: Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (died 2019) Ida Kleijnen was a Dutch Michelin-starred chef. Read more
17 Mar 1936: Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor (died 2016) Ladislav Kupkovič was a Slovak composer and conductor. Read more
17 Mar 1936: Ken Mattingly, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (died 2023) Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II was an American aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, rear admiral in the United States Navy, and astronaut who orbited the Moon on Apollo 16 and flew on the Space Shuttle STS-4 and STS-51-C missions. Read more
17 Mar 1935: Fred T. Mackenzie, American biologist and academic (died 2024) Frederick T. Mackenzie was an American sedimentary and global biogeochemist. Mackenzie applied experimental and field data coupled to a sound theoretical framework to the solution of geological, geochemical, and oceanographic problems at various time and space scales. Read more
17 Mar 1935: Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor (died 2022) Patrick Henry "Adam" Wade was an American singer, musician, and actor. Read more
17 Mar 1933: Myrlie Evers-Williams, American journalist and activist Myrlie Louise Evers-Williams is an American civil rights activist and journalist who worked for over three decades to seek justice for the 1963 murder of her husband Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist. She also served as chairwoman of the NAACP, and has published several books on topics related to civil rights and her husband's legacy. On January 21, 2013, she delivered the invocation at the second inauguration of Barack Obama. Read more
17 Mar 1933: Penelope Lively, English author Dame Penelope Margaret Lively is a British writer of fiction for both children and adults. Lively has won both the Booker Prize and the Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Read more
17 Mar 1932: Dick Curless, American country music singer (died 1995) Dick Curless was an American-Canadian country music singer and guitarist known for his extensive vocal range, trademark eye patch, and songs about life on the road. Rising to fame with the 1965 hit "A Tombstone Every Mile," Curless built a loyal following with his blend of truck-driving country, folk ballads, and gospel music. Read more
17 Mar 1931: Patricia Breslin, American actress (died 2011) Patricia Rose Breslin was an American actress and philanthropist. She had a prominent career in television, which included recurring roles as Amanda Miller on The People's Choice (1955–58), and as Laura Harrington Brooks on Peyton Place (1964–65). She also appeared in Go, Man, Go! (1954), and the William Castle horror films Homicidal (1961) and I Saw What You Did (1965). Read more
17 Mar 1931: David Peakall, English-American chemist and toxicologist (died 2001)

David Beaumont Peakall was an internationally recognised toxicologist. His research into the effects of DDE and DDT on eggshells contributed to the ban on DDT in the United States. He proved that the chemicals caused thinning of eggshells, leading to a reduction in the population of various bird species. He also pioneered research on the effects of PCBs on birds. Read more
17 Mar 1930: Paul Horn, American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (died 2014) Paul Horn was an American flautist, saxophonist, composer and producer. He became a pioneer of world and new age music with his 1969 album Inside. He received five Grammy nominations between 1965 and 1999, including three nominations in 1965. Read more
17 Mar 1930: James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 1991) James Benson Irwin was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing. He was the eighth person to walk on the Moon. Read more
17 Mar 1928: William John McKeag, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (died 2007) William John McKeag, was a Manitoba politician and office-holder. He served as the province's 17th Lieutenant Governor between 1970 and 1976. Read more
17 Mar 1927: Betty Allen, American soprano and educator (died 2009) Betty Allen was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international singing career during the 1950s through the 1970s. In the latter part of her career her voice acquired a contralto-like darkening, which can be heard on her recording of Sergei Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with conductor Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. She was known for her collaborations with American composers, such as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, David Diamond, Ned Rorem, and Virgil Thomson among others. Read more
17 Mar 1926: Siegfried Lenz, Polish-German author and playwright (died 2014) Siegfried Lenz was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. He won the 2010 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Read more
17 Mar 1925: Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (died 2015) Gabriele Ferzetti was an Italian actor with more than 160 credits across film, television and stage. His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Read more
17 Mar 1924: Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (died 2013)
Stephen Cuthbert Vivian Dodgson was a British composer and broadcaster. Dodgson's prolific musical output covered most genres, ranging from opera and large-scale orchestral music to chamber and instrumental music, as well as choral works and song. Three instruments to which he dedicated particular attention were the guitar, harpsichord and recorder. He wrote in a mainly tonal, although sometimes unconventional, idiom. Some of his works use unusual combinations of instruments. Read more
17 Mar 1922: Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (died 2014) Patrick Colonel Suppes was an American philosopher who made significant contributions to philosophy of science, the theory of measurement, the foundations of quantum mechanics, decision theory, psychology and educational technology. He was the Lucie Stern Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Stanford University and until January 2010 was the Director of the Education Program for Gifted Youth also at Stanford. Read more
17 Mar 1921: Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (died 2009) Meir Amit was an Israeli politician and cabinet minister. He served as the Chief Director and the head of global operations for Mossad from 1963 to 1968, before entering into politics and holding two ministerial positions. Read more
17 Mar 1920: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (died 1975) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist and diarist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he led the country as its president and prime minister from 1972 until his assassination in a coup d'état in 1975. Read more
17 Mar 1919: Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (died 1965) Nathaniel Adams Coles, known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. Read more
17 Mar 1919: Mad Mike Hoare, British-Irish military officer and mercenary (died 2020) Thomas Michael "Mad Mike" Hoare was a British-Irish military officer and mercenary who fought during the Simba rebellion and was involved in carrying out the 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt. Read more
17 Mar 1917: Hank Sauer, American baseball player (died 2001) Henry John “Hank” Sauer was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He appeared in 1,399 games, primarily as a left fielder, in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs (1949–1955), St. Louis Cardinals (1956), and New York / San Francisco Giants (1957–1959). A popular player with the Cubs where he had his peak seasons, he was known as "the Mayor of Wrigley Field". Read more
17 Mar 1916: Ray Ellington, English drummer and bandleader (died 1985) Henry Pitts Brown, better known by his stage name Ray Ellington, was an English jazz musician and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on The Goon Show from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet had a regular musical segment on the show, and Ellington also had a small speaking role in many episodes, often as a parodic African, Native American or Arab chieftain. Read more
17 Mar 1915: Robert S. Arbib Jr., American ornithologist, writer and conservationist (died 1987)
Robert Simeon Arbib Jr. was an American ornithologist, writer and conservationist. From 1970 to 1984 he was editor of American Birds, the magazine of the National Audubon Society, and was the author of several books on birds and nature, including The Lord's Woods: The Passing of an American Woodland, which was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for the best American nature book of 1972. Read more
17 Mar 1915: Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider (died 2011) James William George Roycroft, OBE was an Australian Olympic equestrian champion. He grew up on a dairy farm and learnt to ride horses there. After serving in the army in World War II, he moved with his family to a soldier's block in western Victoria near Camperdown, where he raised his three sons, all of whom went on to compete alongside their father in the Olympics. At his first Olympics, the 1960 Rome Games, he played a key role on the final day of the team three-day event, despite being thrown off his horse the day before, allowing Australia to win the gold medal in the competition. He went on to compete in four more Olympics from 1964 to 1976, winning bronze medals in team eventing at the 1968 Mexico City and 1976 Montreal Games. He later served as coach of the Australian eventing team. Read more
17 Mar 1914: Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (died 2008) Samuel Adrian Baugh was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). Baugh also played safety on defense and was the team's punter. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he was a two time All-American prior to being selected by the Redskins in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft. With the Redskins, Baugh won NFL Championships in 1937 and 1942 and led the NFL in completion percentage eight times, passing yards four times, and passing touchdowns twice. In addition to being an outstanding quarterback, he led the NFL in punting average five times and in defensive interceptions with 11 in 1943. Read more
17 Mar 1912: Bayard Rustin, American activist (died 1987) Bayard Rustin was an American political activist and prominent leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin was the principal organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Read more
17 Mar 1910: Sonny Werblin, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1991) David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets and served as chairman of Madison Square Garden, and who built and managed the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Read more
17 Mar 1908: Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (died 1996) Brigitte Helm was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double named Futura, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, Metropolis. Read more
17 Mar 1907: Takeo Miki, Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (died 1988) Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976. Read more
17 Mar 1907: Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (died 1991) Jean Marie Joseph "Jan", Baron Van Houtte was a Belgian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 1952 to 1954. Read more
17 Mar 1905: Lillian Yarbo, American comedienne, dancer, and singer (died 1996) Lillian "Billie" Yarbo was an American stage and screen actress, dancer, and singer. Read more
17 Mar 1904: Chaim Gross, Austrian-American sculptor and educator (died 1991) Chaim Gross was an American sculptor and educator of Hungarian Jewish origin. Gross studied and taught at the Educational Alliance Art School in New York City’s Lower Manhattan. Read more
17 Mar 1903: Elli Stenberg, Finnish politician (died 1987) Ellen Aleksandra Stenberg was a Finnish politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature of Finland. A member of the Communist Party of Finland (SKP) and the Finnish People's Democratic League (SKDL), she represented Häme Province North between April 1945 and April 1966. Prior to being elected, she was imprisoned for twelve years for political reasons. Read more
17 Mar 1902: Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (died 1971) Robert Tyre Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world. Read more
17 Mar 1900: Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (died 1970) Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Academy Awards and was nominated 45 times, contributing to the extended Newman family being the most Academy Award-nominated family with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories. Read more
17 Mar 1895: Lloyd Rees, Australian painter (died 1988) Lloyd Frederic Rees was an Australian landscape painter who twice won the Wynne Prize for his landscape paintings. Read more
17 Mar 1894: Paul Green, American playwright and academic (died 1981) Paul Eliot Green was an American playwright whose work includes historical dramas of life in North Carolina during the first decades of the twentieth century. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1927 play, In Abraham's Bosom, which was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1926-1927. Read more
17 Mar 1892: Floyd B. Barnum, American college football coach (died 1965) Floyd Bates Barnum was American football coach He was the fourth head football coach at Jamestown College—now known as the University of Jamestown—in Jamestown, North Dakota, serving for one season, in 1921, and compiling a record of 1–3–1. Read more
17 Mar 1892: Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (died 1923) Sayed Darwish was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of Egypt's greatest musicians and seen by some as its single greatest composer. Read more
17 Mar 1891: Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (died 1962) Sir Duncan Ross McLarty, was an Australian politician and the 17th Premier of Western Australia. Read more
17 Mar 1889: Harry Clarke, Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (died 1931) Henry Patrick Clarke was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts movement. Read more
17 Mar 1888: Paul Ramadier, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1961) Paul Ramadier was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France in 1947. Read more
17 Mar 1886: Princess Patricia of Connaught (died 1974) Princess Patricia of Connaught was member of the British royal family and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was the third and youngest child and the second daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. She was also the only one of her father's children to outlive him: her siblings, Margaret and Arthur, both died before their father. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British princess and the style of Royal Highness and assumed the style Lady Patricia Ramsay. Read more
17 Mar 1885: Ralph Rose, American track and field athlete (died 1913) Ralph Waldo Rose was an American track and field athlete. He was born in Healdsburg, California. Read more
17 Mar 1884: Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (died 1934) Alcide Patrick Nunez, also known as Yellow Nunez and Al Nunez, was an American jazz clarinetist. He was one of the first musicians of New Orleans to make audio recordings. Read more
17 Mar 1881: Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973) Walter Rudolf Hess was a Swiss physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 for mapping the areas of the brain involved in the control of internal organs. He shared the prize with Egas Moniz. Read more
17 Mar 1880: Patrick Hastings, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (died 1952) Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings was an English barrister and politician noted for his long and highly successful career as a barrister and his short stint as Attorney General. He was educated at Charterhouse School until 1896, when his family moved to continental Europe. There he learnt to shoot and ride horses, allowing him to join the Suffolk Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Boer War. After demobilisation he worked briefly as an apprentice to an engineer in Wales before moving to London to become a barrister. Hastings joined the Middle Temple as a student on 4 November 1901, and after two years of saving money for the call to the bar he qualified as a barrister on 15 June 1904. Read more
17 Mar 1880: Lawrence Oates, English lieutenant and explorer (died 1912) Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates was a British army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died from hypothermia during the Terra Nova Expedition when he walked from his tent into a freezing blizzard. His death, which occurred on his 32nd birthday, is seen as an act of self-sacrifice when, aware that the gangrene and frostbite from which he was suffering was compromising his three companions' chances of survival, he chose certain death for himself to relieve them of the burden of caring for him. Read more
17 Mar 1877: Edith New, English militant suffragette (died 1951) Edith Bessie New was an English suffragette who was one of the first two suffragettes to use vandalism as a tactic. She and Mary Leigh were surprised to find their destruction was celebrated, and they were pulled triumphantly by lines of suffragettes on their release from prison in 1908. Read more
17 Mar 1877: Otto Gross, Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (died 1920) Otto Hans Adolf Gross was an Austrian psychoanalyst. A maverick early disciple of Sigmund Freud, he later became an anarchist and joined the utopian Ascona community. Read more
17 Mar 1877: Ville Kiviniemi, Finnish politician (died 1951) Vilhelm Kiviniemi was a Finnish farmer, politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, the national legislature. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he represented Lapland between November 1917 and September 1918. He was amongst dozens of social democrat MPs who were persecuted for political reasons by the victorious Whites following end of the Finnish Civil War in 1918. Kiviniemi was sentenced to death for treason but this was later commuted to life imprisonment. He received a presidential pardon in 1922. Read more
17 Mar 1867: Patrice Contamine de Latour, Spanish poet (died 1926) Patrice Contamine de Latour, born in Tarragona as José Maria Vicente Ferrer Francisco de Paola Patricio Manuel Contamine and published as J. P. Contamine de Latour, was a Spanish poet who lived in Paris. Read more
17 Mar 1866: Pierce Butler, American lawyer and jurist (died 1939) Pierce Butler was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1923 until his death in 1939. He is notable for being the first Supreme Court justice from Minnesota, and for being a Democrat appointed by a Republican president. He was a staunch conservative and was regarded as a part of the Four Horsemen, the conservative bloc that dominated the Supreme Court during the 1930s. A devout Catholic, he was also the sole dissenter in the case Buck v. Bell, though he did not write an opinion. Read more
17 Mar 1864: Joseph Baptista, Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (died 1930) Joseph "Kaka" Baptista was an Indian politician and activist from Bombay, closely associated with the Lokmanya Tilak and the Home Rule Movement. He was the first president of Indian Home Rule League established in 1916. He was elected as the mayor of Bombay in 1925. He was given the title Kaka that means "uncle". Read more
17 Mar 1862: Martha P. Falconer, American social reformer (died 1941) Martha Platt Falconer was a pioneer social reformer. Read more
17 Mar 1862: Silvio Gesell, Belgian merchant and economist (died 1930) Johann Silvio Gesell was a German-Argentine economist, entrepreneur, and social reformer. He was the founder of Freiwirtschaft, an economic model for market socialism. In 1900, he founded the magazine Money and Land Reform, but it soon closed for financial reasons. During his time in Oranienburg, Gesell started the magazine Der Physiokrat together with George Heinrich Blumenthal. In 1914, it closed due to censorship. In 1916, he published his most famous work, The Natural Economic Order. Read more
17 Mar 1856: Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (died 1910) Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel was a Russian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. A prolific and innovative master in various media such as painting, drawing, decorative sculpture, and theatrical art, Vrubel is generally characterized as one of the most important artists in Russian symbolist tradition and a pioneering figure of Modernist art. Read more
17 Mar 1849: Charles F. Brush, American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (died 1929) Charles Francis Brush was an American engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Read more
17 Mar 1849: Cornelia Clapp, American marine biologist (died 1934) Cornelia Maria Clapp was an American educator and zoologist, specializing in marine biology. She earned the first Ph.D. in biology awarded to a woman in the United States from Syracuse University in 1889, and she would earn a second doctoral degree from the University of Chicago in 1896. Clapp was the first female researcher employed at the Marine Biological Laboratory, as well as its only female trustee during the first half of the 20th century. She was rated one of the top 150 zoologists in the United States in 1903, and her name was starred in the first five editions of American Men of Science. Read more
17 Mar 1848: Ernesta Forti, Italian anarchist and dairy worker Ernesta Forti,, was an Italian and French dairy worker and anarchist. She is best known for the Parisian dairy shop she ran with her partner, Constant Martin, in the 1880s and 1890s. This shop served as a gathering place for a number of anarchists in France during that period. Read more
17 Mar 1846: Kate Greenaway, English author and illustrator (died 1901) Catherine Greenaway was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her
children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of Art, the South Kensington School of Art, the Heatherley School of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. She began her career designing for the burgeoning greetings card market, producing Christmas and Valentine's cards. In 1879 wood-block engraver and printer Edmund Evans printed Under the Window, an instant best-seller, which established her reputation. Her collaboration with Evans continued throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Read more
17 Mar 1842: Rosina Heikel, Finnish physician (died 1929) Emma Rosina Heikel was a Finnish medical doctor and feminist. In 1878, she became the first female physician in Finland, and specialised in gynaecology and paediatrics. Read more
17 Mar 1839: Josef Rheinberger, Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (died 1901) Josef Gabriel Rheinberger was an composer and organist from Liechtenstein, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. As court conductor in Munich, he was responsible for the music in the royal chapel. He is known for sacred music, works for organ and vocal works, such as masses, a Christmas cantata and the motet Abendlied; he also composed two operas and three singspiele, incidental music, secular choral music, two symphonies and other instrumental works, chamber music, and works for organ. Read more
17 Mar 1834: Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (died 1900) Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development. He invented the high-speed liquid petroleum-fueled engine. Read more
17 Mar 1820: Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (died 1897) Jean Ingelow was an English poet and novelist, who gained sudden fame in 1863. She also wrote several stories for children. Read more
17 Mar 1806: Norbert Rillieux, African American inventor and chemical engineer (died 1894) Norbert Rillieux was a Louisiana Creole inventor who was widely considered one of the earliest chemical engineers and noted for his pioneering invention of the multiple-effect evaporator. This invention was an important development in the growth of the sugar industry. Rillieux, a French-speaking Creole, was a cousin of the painter Edgar Degas. Read more
17 Mar 1804: Jim Bridger, American fur trader and explorer (died 1881) James Felix Bridger was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was known as Old Gabe in his later years. He was from the Bridger family of Virginia, English settlers who had arrived in North America in the early colonial period. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 17 March in World History

17 Mar 2025: John Hemingway, Irish fighter pilot (born 1919) Group Captain John Allman Hemingway, DFC, AE, known as Paddy Hemingway, was an Irish fighter pilot who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War in the Battle of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Allied invasion of Italy and the Invasion of Normandy. He was shot down four times during the war. Hemingway was the last surviving airman of the Battle of Britain. Read more
17 Mar 2025: Lee Shau-kee, Hong Kong real estate billionaire (born 1928) Lee Shau-kee was a Hong Kong business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He was a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with interests in property, hotels, restaurants and internet services in Hong Kong and other countries. In 2019, aged 91, Lee stepped down as chairman and managing director of the company, in favour of two of his sons, Peter and Martin Lee. He retained a role as an executive director. Read more
17 Mar 2023: Lance Reddick, American actor (born 1962) Lance Solomon Reddick was an American actor. He portrayed Cedric Daniels in The Wire (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in Fringe (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in Bosch (2014–2020). In film, he played Charon in the John Wick franchise (2014–2025) and General Caulfield in White House Down (2013). Read more
17 Mar 2021: John Magufuli, the fifth President of Tanzania (born 1959) John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was a Tanzanian politician who served as the country's fifth president, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020. Read more
17 Mar 2018: Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian (born 1954) Michael Allan MacDonald was a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor. He wrote and appeared in several films, including Mr. Nice Guy. He appeared in such television shows as the Late Show with David Letterman and The Arsenio Hall Show. Read more
17 Mar 2018: Phan Văn Khải, the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam (born 1933) Phan Văn Khải was a Vietnamese politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam from 25 September 1997 until his resignation on 27 June 2006. He was considered to be a technocratic, innovative and benevolent leader. Read more
17 Mar 2016: Meir Dagan, Israeli general (born 1945) Aluf Meir Dagan was an Israel Defense Forces major general (reserve) and director of the Mossad. Read more
17 Mar 2016: Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1960) Zoltán Kamondi was a Hungarian film director, actor, screenwriter and producer. He was born in 1960 in Budapest, Hungary. Read more
17 Mar 2015: Frank Perris, Canadian motorcycle racer (born 1931) Frank Perris was a Canadian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and TT rider from Toronto. Perris was noticed by the Suzuki team after his third-place in the 1961 500 cc World Championship, becoming a contracted-rider from 1962 until 1966. His best season was in 1965 when he won two 125cc Grand Prix races aboard a Suzuki two-stroke, and finished the year in second place in the 125cc world championship behind Hugh Anderson. Read more
17 Mar 2014: Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (born 1974) Marek Galiński was a Polish professional mountain biker and road racing cyclist. During his sporting career, he won nine Polish national championship titles and a silver medal in men's cross-country racing at the 2003 UCI World Cup series in Sankt Wendel, Germany. Galinski also represented his nation Poland in four editions of the Olympic Games, where he competed in men's mountain biking from the time that it officially became an Olympic sport in 1996. Galinski raced professionally for more than five seasons on the JBG2 Professional MTB Team. After his retirement from the sport in 2011, Galinski worked as an assistant coach of both Polish and Russian mountain bike national teams. Upon his return from a training camp in Cyprus on 17 March 2014, Galinski was suddenly killed in a car accident near Jędrzejów. Read more
17 Mar 2014: Joseph Kerman, American musicologist and critic (born 1924) Joseph Wilfred Kerman was an American musicologist and music critic. Among the leading musicologists of his generation, his 1985 book Contemplating Music: Challenges to Musicology was described by Philip Brett in The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as "a defining moment in the field". He was Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the University of California, Berkeley. Read more
17 Mar 2014: Rachel Lambert Mellon, American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (born 1910) Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon was an American horticulturalist, gardener, philanthropist, and art collector. She designed and planted a number of significant gardens, including the White House Rose Garden, and assembled one of the largest collections of rare horticultural books. Mellon was the second wife of philanthropist and horse breeder Paul Mellon. Read more
17 Mar 2013: William B. Caldwell III, American general (born 1925) William Burns Caldwell III was a United States Army general who retired as the Fifth United States Army commanding general at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. A combat veteran of wars in Korea and Vietnam, he was awarded the Silver Star on three separate occasions. Read more
17 Mar 2013: Lawrence Fuchs, American scholar and academic (born 1927) Lawrence Howard Fuchs was an American academic and author. He was a scholar of American studies and an expert on immigration policy who founded the American studies department at Brandeis University, where he was the Meyer and Walter Jaffe Professor of American Civilization and Politics. Read more
17 Mar 2013: A.B.C. Whipple, American journalist and historian (born 1918) Addison Beecher Colvin ("Cal") Whipple was an American journalist, editor, historian and author. He was born in Glens Falls, New York, on July 15, 1918, and spent most of his childhood in Suffield, Connecticut. He graduated from the Loomis School, from Yale University in 1940 and received an M.A. from Harvard University before being hired by Life Magazine. He had many positions at Time/Life and wrote a number of books about maritime history. Read more
17 Mar 2012: Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria (born 1923) Pope Shenouda III was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His papacy lasted 40 years, 4 months, and 4 days, from 14 November 1971 until his death in 2012. Read more
17 Mar 2012: Margaret Whitlam, Australian swimmer and author (born 1919) Margaret Elaine Whitlam AO was an Australian social campaigner, author, and athlete. She was a representative of Australia in swimming at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney. Her husband was Gough Whitlam, the 21st prime minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975. Read more
17 Mar 2011: Michael Gough, English actor (born 1916) Francis Michael Gough was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer horror films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthur Holmwood in Dracula, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth from 1989 to 1997 in the four Batman films directed by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher. He appeared in three more Burton films: Sleepy Hollow, voicing Elder Gutknecht in Corpse Bride and the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland. Read more
17 Mar 2011: Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (born 1925) Ferlin Eugene Husky was an American country music singer who was equally adept at honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, rockabilly and pop tunes. Read more
17 Mar 2010: Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1950) William Alexander Chilton was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was not matched by similar chart success in his later work with Big Star and in his subsequent solo career on independent record labels. However, he built a devoted following among indie and alternative musicians, and has been frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands. Read more
17 Mar 2010: Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (born 1920) Albert Sidney Fleischman was an American author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and nonfiction books about stage magic. His works for children are known for their humor, imagery, zesty plotting, and exploration of the byways of American history. He won the Newbery Medal in 1987 for The Whipping Boy and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 1979 for Humbug Mountain. For his career contribution as a children's writer he was U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1994. In 2003, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators inaugurated the Sid Fleischman Humor Award in his honor, and made him the first recipient. The Award annually recognizes a writer of humorous fiction for children or young adults. He told his own tale in The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life (1996). Read more
17 Mar 2009: Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian television host and politician (born 1937) Clodovil Hernandes was a Brazilian fashion designer, television presenter, and politician. Read more
17 Mar 2008: Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (born 1939) Roland E. Arnall was an American businessman and diplomat. As the owner of ACC Capital Holdings, he became a billionaire with Ameriquest Mortgage. Additionally he funded, financed and was the visionary and co-founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and from 2006 until shortly before his death he was the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands. He was the originator of stated income loans, better known as sub-prime loans. Read more
17 Mar 2007: John Backus, American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (born 1924) John Warner Backus was an American computer scientist. He led the team that invented and implemented FORTRAN, the first widely used high-level programming language, and was the inventor of the Backus–Naur form (BNF), a widely used notation to define syntaxes of formal languages. He also contributed to the design of ALGOL, and later researched the function-level programming paradigm, presenting his findings in his influential 1977 Turing Award lecture "Can Programming Be Liberated from the von Neumann Style?" Read more
17 Mar 2006: Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (born 1913) Oleg Cassini was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after launching his career as a designer in Rome, and quickly secured a position with Paramount Pictures. Cassini established his reputation by designing for films. Read more
17 Mar 2006: Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (born 1913) Raymond Joseph Meyer was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record. Read more
17 Mar 2006: İstemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and educator (born 1945) İstemihan Taviloğlu was a Turkish composer and a music educator. He's most known piece is the Clarinet Concerto which happens to be the first ever Clarinet Concerto composition from a Turkish composer. He is also the co-founder of the Musicology department in Ankara State Conservatory. He is also known as the teacher of all the musicians that came from conservatories in Turkey. Read more
17 Mar 2005: Royce Frith, Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (born 1923) Royce Herbert Frith, was a Canadian diplomat, public servant, lawyer, broadcaster, and politician. Read more
17 Mar 2005: George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (born 1904) George Frost Kennan was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly histories of the relations between the USSR and the United States. He was also one of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men". Read more
17 Mar 2005: Andre Norton, American author (born 1912) Andre Alice Norton was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name Andre Norton, but also under Andrew North and Allen Weston. She was the first woman to be Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy, to be SFWA Grand Master, and to be inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Read more
17 Mar 2002: Rosetta LeNoire, American actress and producer (born 1911) Rosetta LeNoire was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as Gimme a Break! and Amen ; she is particularly known for her role as Estelle "Mother" Winslow on Family Matters, which aired from 1989 to 1998. In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Read more
17 Mar 2002: Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (born 1917) Văn Tiến Dũng was a Vietnamese general in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), PAVN chief of staff (1954–1974); PAVN commander in chief (1975–1980); member of the Central Military–Party Committee (CMPC) (1984–1986) and Socialist Republic of Vietnam defense minister (1980–1987). Read more
17 Mar 2002: Sylvester "Pat" Weaver, American television broadcaster and producer (born 1908) Sylvester Laflin "Pat" Weaver Jr. was an American broadcasting executive who was president of NBC between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping the format and philosophy of commercial broadcasting as radio gave way to television as America's dominant home entertainment medium. Actress Sigourney Weaver is his daughter. Read more
17 Mar 2001: Anthony Storr, English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author (born 1920) Anthony Storr was an English psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and author. Read more
17 Mar 1999: Ernest Gold, Austrian-American composer (born 1921) Ernst Sigmund Goldner, known professionally as Ernest Gold, was an Austrian-born American composer. He is most noted for his work on Exodus, a 1960 film. Read more
17 Mar 1999: Jean Pierre-Bloch, French activist (born 1905) Jean Pierre-Bloch was a French Resistant of the Second World War as an activist, being a former president of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism. Read more
17 Mar 1997: Jermaine Stewart, American singer-songwriter and dancer (born 1957) William Jermaine Stewart was an American R&B singer, best known for his 1986 hit single "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. His 1987 song "Say It Again" reached number seven in the United Kingdom. Read more
17 Mar 1996: René Clément, French director and screenwriter (born 1913) René Clément was a French film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films The Battle of the Rails (1946), Forbidden Games (1952), Gervaise (1956), Purple Noon (1960), and Is Paris Burning (1966). He received numerous accolades including five prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and the Honorary César in 1984. Read more
17 Mar 1996: Terry Stafford, American singer-songwriter (born 1941) Terry LaVerne Stafford was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1964 US top-10 hit "Suspicion" and the 1973 country music hit "Amarillo by Morning". Stafford was also known for his Elvis Presley sound-alike voice. Read more
17 Mar 1995: Sunnyland Slim, American blues pianist (born 1906) Albert Luandrew, known as Sunnyland Slim, was an American blues pianist born in the Mississippi Delta and moved to Chicago, helping to make that city a center of postwar blues. Read more
17 Mar 1994: Charlotte Auerbach, German-Jewish Scottish folklorist, geneticist, and zoologist (born 1899) Charlotte "Lotte" Auerbach FRS FRSE was a German geneticist who contributed to founding the science of mutagenesis. She became well known after 1942 when she discovered, with A. J. Clark and J. M. Robson, that mustard gas could cause mutations in fruit flies. She wrote 91 scientific papers, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Society of London. Read more
17 Mar 1994: Mai Zetterling, Swedish-English actress and director (born 1925) Mai Elisabeth Zetterling was a Swedish film director, novelist and actress. Read more
17 Mar 1993: Helen Hayes, American actress (born 1900) Helen Hayes MacArthur was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win the EGOT, and the first person to win the Triple Crown of Acting. Hayes also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, from President Ronald Reagan in 1986. In 1988, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Read more
17 Mar 1992: Grace Stafford, American actress (born 1903) Grace Lantz, also known by her stage name Grace Stafford, was an American actress and the wife of animation producer Walter Lantz. Stafford is best known for providing the voice of Woody Woodpecker, a creation of Lantz's, from 1950 to 1991. Read more
17 Mar 1990: Capucine, French model and actress (born 1928) Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre, known by her mononym stage name Capucine, was a French fashion model and actress known for her comedic roles in The Pink Panther (1963) and What's New Pussycat? (1965). She appeared in 36 films and 17 television productions between 1948 and 1990. Read more
17 Mar 1990: Dinkar G. Kelkar, Indian art collector (born 1896) Dinkar Gangadhar Kelkar was an Indian writer, editor, art collector and historian. He is best remembered for establishing the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Pune. Read more
17 Mar 1986: Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (born 1923) Clarence D. "Lucky" Lester was an American fighter pilot who served in the 332nd Fighter Group, commonly known as the Tuskegee Airmen, during World War II. He was one of the first African-American military aviators in the United States Army Air Corps, the United States Army Air Forces and later the United States Air Force. Read more
17 Mar 1983: Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903) Haldan Keffer Hartline was an American physiologist who was a co-recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in analyzing the neurophysiological mechanisms of vision. Read more
17 Mar 1983: Louisa E. Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (born 1891) Louisa Ella Rhine was an American doctor of botany and is known for her work in parapsychology. At the time of her death, she was recognized as the foremost researcher of spontaneous psychic experiences, and has been referred to as the "first lady of parapsychology." Read more
17 Mar 1981: Paul Dean, American baseball player (born 1913) Paul Dee Dean, nicknamed "Daffy", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Born in Lucas, Arkansas, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1934–1939), the New York Giants (1940–1941), and the St. Louis Browns (1943). Read more
17 Mar 1976: Luchino Visconti, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1906) Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of cinematic neorealism, but later moved towards luxurious, sweeping epics dealing with themes of beauty, decadence, death, and European history, especially the decay of the nobility and the bourgeoisie. Critic Jonathan Jones wrote that “no one did as much to shape Italian cinema as Luchino Visconti.” Read more
17 Mar 1974: Louis Kahn, American architect and academic, designed Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (born 1901) Louis Isadore Kahn was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. While continuing his private practice, he served as a design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. From 1957 until his death, he was a professor of architecture at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Read more
17 Mar 1965: Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football player and coach (born 1862) Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He introduced many innovations to American football. Stagg served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (1890–1891), the University of Chicago (1892–1932), and the College of the Pacific (1933–1946), compiling a career college football record of 314–199–35 (.605). His undefeated Chicago Maroons teams of 1905 and 1913 were recognized as national champions. He was also the head basketball coach for one season at Chicago (1920–1921), and the Maroons' head baseball coach for twenty seasons. Read more
17 Mar 1961: Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (born 1860) Susanna Madora Salter was an American politician and activist. From 1887 to 1888, she was mayor of Argonia, Kansas, becoming the first woman to serve in that role in the United States and one of the earliest in any U.S. political office. Read more
17 Mar 1958: John Pius Boland, Irish tennis player and politician (born 1870) John Mary Pius Boland was an Irish Nationalist politician, and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for South Kerry from 1900 to 1918. He was also noteworthy as a gold medallist tennis player at the first modern Olympics. Read more
17 Mar 1958: Bertha De Vriese, Belgian physician (born 1877) Bertha De Vriese was a Belgian physician. When she earned her degree as a doctor of medicine at Ghent University, where she was the first woman to conduct research and the first woman physician to graduate from the school. Although she was not allowed to pursue an academic career, De Vriese opened a private pediatric clinic and served as the director of the Children's Ward at the Bijloke Hospital in Ghent. In 1914, she married Josef Vercouillie, also a physician. Read more
17 Mar 1957: Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino captain and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (born 1907) Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. was the seventh president of the Philippines, serving from 1953 until his death in 1957. An automobile mechanic by profession, Magsaysay was appointed military governor of Zambales after his outstanding service as a guerrilla leader during the Pacific War. He then served two terms as Liberal Party congressman for Zambales's at-large district before being appointed Secretary of National Defense by President Elpidio Quirino. He was eventually elected as president under the banner of the Nacionalista Party, the youngest to be elected to the position, and second youngest overall. He was the first Philippine president born in the 20th century and the first to be born after the Spanish colonial era. Magsaysay died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957, in Cebu. His successor, Carlos P. Garcia, assumed the presidency. He is the most recent Philippine president to have died in office. Read more
17 Mar 1956: Fred Allen, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author (born 1894) John Florence Sullivan, known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program The Fred Allen Show (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American radio. Read more
17 Mar 1956: Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897) Irène Joliot-Curie was a French chemist and physicist who received the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, for their discovery of induced radioactivity. They were the second married couple, after her parents, to win the Nobel Prize, adding to the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. This made the Curies the family with the most Nobel laureates to date. Read more
17 Mar 1949: Aleksandra Ekster, Russian-French painter and set designer (born 1882) Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster, also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. Read more
17 Mar 1947: Mike, American Wyandotte chicken, lived 18 months following decapitation (h. 1945) Mike the Headless Chicken was a male Wyandotte chicken that lived for 18 months after he was beheaded, surviving because most of his brain stem remained intact, and a blood clot prevented him from bleeding to death. After the beheading, Mike achieved national fame; he died in March 1947. In his hometown, Fruita, Colorado, U.S., an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" is held in May. Mike has the record for the longest surviving chicken without a head in Guinness World Records. Read more
17 Mar 1946: Dai Li, Chinese general (born 1897) Dai Li, courtesy name Yunong, was a Chinese lieutenant general and spymaster. Dai was born in Jiangshan, Zhejiang and later studied at the Whampoa Military Academy, where Chiang Kai-shek served as Chief Commandant, and later became head of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS) within the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC). Read more
17 Mar 1942: Nada Dimić, People's Hero of Yugoslavia, victim of Genocide of Serbs (born 1923) Nada Dimić was a Yugoslav Partisan who died in World War II and was proclaimed a People's Hero of Yugoslavia. Read more
17 Mar 1940: Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (born 1854) Philomène Belliveau was a Canadian artist of Acadian descent. Read more
17 Mar 1934: Bede Jarrett, English Dominican priest (born 1881) Bede Jarrett OP was an English Dominican friar and Catholic priest who was also a noted historian and author. Known for works including Mediæval Socialism and The Emperor Charles IV, Jarrett also founded Blackfriars Priory at the University of Oxford in 1921, formally reinstating the Dominican Order at that university for the first time since the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. Read more
17 Mar 1926: Aleksei Brusilov, Georgian-Russian general (born 1853) Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov was a Russian and later Soviet general most noted for the development of new offensive tactics used in the 1916 Brusilov offensive, which was his greatest achievement. Read more
17 Mar 1917: Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (born 1838) Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano was a German philosopher and psychologist. His 1874 Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint, considered his magnum opus, is credited with having reintroduced the medieval scholastic concept of intentionality into contemporary philosophy. Read more
17 Mar 1902: John Houlding, English businessman, founded Liverpool Football Club (born 1833) John Houlding was an English businessman and local politician, most notable for being, the founder of Liverpool Football Club and later Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Formerly he was Everton FC Club President and member. Read more
17 Mar 1893: Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (born 1832) Jules François Camille Ferry was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He was a promoter of laicism and colonial expansion. Under the Third Republic, Ferry made primary education free and compulsory through several new laws. However, he was forced to resign following the Sino-French War in 1885 due to his unpopularity and public opinion against the war. Read more
17 Mar 1875: Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (born 1832) Ferdinand Laub was a Czech violinist and composer. Read more
17 Mar 1871: Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (born 1802) Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, geologist, evolutionary thinker, author and journal editor who, like his elder brother and business partner William Chambers, was highly influential in mid-19th-century scientific and political circles. Read more
17 Mar 1853: Christian Doppler, Austrian physicist and mathematician (born 1803) Christian Andreas Doppler was an Austrian mathematician and physicist. He formulated the principle – now known as the Doppler effect – that the observed frequency of a wave depends on the relative speed of the source and the observer. Read more
17 Mar 1849: William II, Dutch sovereign prince and king (born 1792) William II was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. He reigned for nearly nine years, making him the shortest-reigning monarch in Dutch history. Read more
17 Mar 1846: Friedrich Bessel, German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (born 1784) Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel was a German astronomer, mathematician, physicist, and geodesist. He was the first astronomer who determined reliable values for the distance from the Sun to another star by the method of parallax. Certain important mathematical functions were first studied systematically by Bessel and were named Bessel functions in his honour. Read more
17 Mar 1830: Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician (born 1764) Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was a made a Marshal of the Empire in 1812 by Emperor Napoleon, who regarded him as his finest general in defensive warfare. Read more
17 Mar 1829: Sophia Albertina, princess-abbess of Quedlinburg (born 1753) Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden was the last Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg Abbey, and as such reigned as vassal monarch of the Holy Roman Empire. Read more
17 Mar 1828: James Edward Smith, English botanist and entomologist (born 1759) Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Read more

Why is 17 March Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 17 March, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

👉 View complete History of Today archive

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 17 March in World history?

On 17 March, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

Is History of Today important for competitive exams?

Yes, History of Today is frequently asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, and State PSC exams as part of static GK and current awareness sections.