March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 296 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Sunday or Monday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Wednesday or Friday (56).
241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa against the Berbers, and makes a triumphal entry into Carthage.
1607 – Susenyos I defeats the combined armies of Yaqob and Abuna Petros II at the Battle of Gol in Gojjam, making him Emperor of Ethiopia.
1629 – Charles I of England dissolves Parliament, beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule.
1735 – An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from Baku.
1762 – French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.
1804 – Louisiana Purchase: In St. Louis, Missouri, a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States.
1814 – Napoleon I of France is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.
1816 – Crossing of the Andes: A group of royalist scouts are captured during the Action of Juncalito.
1830 – The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created.
1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War.
1861 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali.
1876 – The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell.
1891 – Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
1906 – The Courrières mine disaster, Europe's worst ever, kills 1099 miners in northern France.
1909 – By signing the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, Thailand relinquishes its sovereignty over the Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu, which become British protectorates.
1915 – The Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins. This is the first large-scale operation by the British Army in WWI.
1917 – Some provinces and cities in the Philippines are incorporated due to the ratification of Act No. 2711 or the Administrative Code of the Philippines.
1922 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation.
1933 – The 6.4 Mw Long Beach earthquake affects the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 115–120 people dead, and causing an estimated $40 million in damage.
1944 – Greek Civil War: The Political Committee of National Liberation is established in Greece by the National Liberation Front.
1945 – The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.
1952 – Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba and appoints himself as the "provisional president".
1959 – Tibetan uprising: Fearing an abduction attempt by China, thousands of Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama's palace to prevent his removal.
1966 – Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Lima Site 85, concluding the 11th with largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during that war.
1969 – In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
1970 – Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged by the U.S. military with My Lai war crimes.
1975 – Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.
1977 – Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus.
1990 – In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup.
2000 – The Nasdaq Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom.
2006 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
2017 – The impeachment of President Park Geun-hye of South Korea in response to a major political scandal is unanimously upheld by the country's Constitutional Court, ending her presidency.
Births
852 – Qian Liu, Chinese warlord and king (d. 932)
1415 – Vasily II of Moscow (d. 1462)
1430 – Oliviero Carafa, Catholic cardinal (d. 1511)
1452 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (d. 1516)
1503 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1564)
1536 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (d. 1572)
1604 – Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch alchemist and chemist (d. 1670)
1628 – François Girardon, French sculptor (d. 1715)
1628 – Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician and biologist (d. 1694)
1652 – Giacomo Serpotta, Italian Rococo sculptor (d. 1732)
1709 – Georg Wilhelm Steller, German botanist, zoologist, physician, and explorer (d. 1746)
1745 – John Gunby, American general (d. 1807)
1749 – Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian-American priest and poet (d. 1838)
1769 – Joseph Williamson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1840)
1772 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1829)
1777 – Louis Hersent, French painter (d. 1860)
1787 – Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Berdejo, Spanish playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1862)
1787 – William Etty, English painter and academic (d. 1849)
1788 – Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, German author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1857)
1788 – Edward Hodges Baily, RA, FRS, English sculptor (d. 1867)
1795 – Joseph Légaré, Canadian painter and glazier, artist, seigneur and political figure (d. 1855)
1810 – Samuel Ferguson, Irish poet and lawyer (d. 1886)
1844 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (d. 1908)
1844 – Marie Euphrosyne Spartali, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (d. 1927)
1845 – Alexander III of Russia (d. 1894)
1846 – Edward Baker Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1850)
1850 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (d. 1906)
1853 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1864 – Ādams Alksnis, Latvian painter (d. 1897)
1867 – Hector Guimard, French-American architect, designed the La Bluette (d. 1942)
1867 – Lillian Wald, American nurse, humanitarian, and author, founded the Henry Street Settlement (d. 1940)
1870 – David Riazanov, Russian theorist and politician (d. 1938)
1873 – Jakob Wassermann, German-Austrian soldier and author (d. 1934)
1876 – Edvard Eriksen, Danish-Icelandic sculptor and woodcarver (d. 1959)
1881 – Jessie Boswell, English painter (d. 1956)
1881 – Thomas Quinlan, English businessman (d. 1951)
1885 – Tamara Karsavina, Russian-English ballerina and educator (d. 1978)
1888 – Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (d. 1961)
1889 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial artist and educator (d. 1972)
1890 – Gakuryō Nakamura, Japanese painter and designer (d. 1969)
1891 – Sam Jaffe, American actor and engineer (d. 1984)
1892 – Arthur Honegger, French-Swiss composer and educator (d. 1955)
1892 – Gregory La Cava, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1952)
1896 – Frederick Coulton Waugh, British cartoonist, painter, teacher and author (d. 1973)
1900 – Pandelis Pouliopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician (d. 1943)
1901 – Michel Seuphor, Belgian painter (d. 1999)
1903 – Bix Beiderbecke, American cornet player, pianist, and composer (d. 1931)
1903 – Clare Boothe Luce, American playwright, journalist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (d. 1987)
1908 – Kristjan Palusalu, Estonian wrestler, trainer, and referee (d. 1987)
1911 – Warner Anderson, American actor (d. 1976)
1914 – Chandler Harper, American golfer (d. 2004)
1914 – K. P. Ratnam, Sri Lankan academic and politician (d. 2010)
1915 – Harry Bertoia, Italian-American sculptor and furniture designer (d. 1978)
1915 – Charles Groves, English conductor and director (d. 1992)
1916 – Davie Fulton, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 2000)
1917 – David Hare, American Surrealist artist, sculptor, photographer and painter (d. 1992)
1917 – Frank Perconte, American soldier (d. 2013)
1918 – Günther Rall, German general and pilot (d. 2009)
1919 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
1920 – Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns, American country musician, comedian, and mandolin player (d. 1989)
1920 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American businessman, founded Peet's Coffee & Tea (d. 2007)
1920 – Boris Vian, French author and playwright (d. 1959)
1922 – Kiyoshi Yamashita, Japanese painter (d. 1971)
1923 – Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
1925 – Manolis Anagnostakis, Greek poet and critic (d. 2005)
1925 – Bob Lanier, American lawyer, banker, and politician, 58th Mayor of Houston (d. 2014)
1926 – Marques Haynes, American basketball player (d. 2015)
1927 – Claude Laydu, Belgian-French actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1927 – Paul Wunderlich, German painter, sculptor and graphic artist (d. 2010)
1928 – Sara Montiel, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
1928 – James Earl Ray, American criminal; assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (d. 1999)
1929 – Sam Steiger, American journalist and politician (d. 2012)
1930 – Sándor Iharos, Hungarian runner (d. 1996)
1931 – Georges Dor, Canadian author, playwright, and composer (d. 2001)
1932 – Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender, English politician
1932 – Udupi Ramachandra Rao, Indian physicist and engineer
1933 – Ralph Emery, American radio and television host
1933 – Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell, Argentinian poet and translator (d. 2004)
1934 – Gergely Kulcsár, Hungarian javelin thrower and coach
1935 – Graham Farmer, Australian footballer and coach
1936 – Sepp Blatter, Swiss businessman
1936 – Alfredo Zitarrosa, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 1989)
1938 – Norman Blake, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1938 – Ieronymos II of Athens, Greek archbishop
1939 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian activist and author (d. 2013)
1939 – Hugh Johnson, English author and critic
1939 – Irina Press, Ukrainian-Russian hurdler and pentathlete (d. 2004)
1940 – Chuck Norris, American actor, producer, and martial artist
1940 – David Rabe, American playwright and screenwriter
1940 – Dean Torrence, American singer-songwriter
1943 – Peter Berresford Ellis, English historian and author
1945 – Katharine Houghton, American actress and playwright
1945 – Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Railways (d. 2001)
1946 – Gérard Garouste, French contemporary artist
1946 – Mike Hollands, Australian animator and director, founded Act3animation
1946 – Jim Valvano, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
1947 – Kim Campbell, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Canada
1948 – Austin Carr, American basketball player and sportscaster
1949 – Bill Buxton, Canadian computer scientist and academic
1949 – Barbara Corcoran, American businesswoman and television personality
1952 – Johanna Lindsey, German-American author
1952 – Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
1953 – Paul Haggis, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Didier Barbelivien, French singer-songwriter
1955 – Gary Louris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Toshio Suzuki, Japanese race car driver
1956 – Helmut Lang, Austrian artist
1956 – Robert Llewellyn, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Larry Myricks, American long jumper and sprinter
1957 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda (d. 2011)
1958 – Garth Crooks, English footballer and sportscaster
1958 – Steve Howe, American baseball player (d. 2006)
1958 – Sharon Stone, American actress and producer
1960 – Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, German-American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1961 – Laurel Clark, American captain, physician, and astronaut (d. 2003)
1961 – Bobby Petrino, American football player and coach
1961 – Usune Masatoshi, Japanese manga artist
1962 – Jasmine Guy, American actress, singer, and director
1962 – Seiko Matsuda, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1963 – Jeff Ament, American bass player and songwriter
1963 – Felipe Ramos, Mexican footballer and referee
1963 – Rick Rubin, American record producer, founded Def Jam Recordings
1964 – Neneh Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
1964 – Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
1964 – Jojo Lastimosa, Filipino basketball player and coach
1964 – Nikola Mladenov, Macedonian journalist (d. 2013)
1965 – Jillian Richardson, Canadian sprinter
1965 – Rod Woodson, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
1966 – Edie Brickell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1966 – Mike Timlin, American baseball player
1967 – Omer Tarin, Pakistani-English poet and scholar
1968 – Thio Li-ann, Singaporean lawyer and academic
1968 – Pavel Srníček, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
1969 – Paget Brewster, American actress
1969 – Walter Schreifels, American singer-songwriter and producer
1970 – Matt Barlow, American singer-songwriter
1971 – Ryu Fujisaki, Japanese manga artist
1971 – Jon Hamm, American actor and director
1972 – Timbaland, American rapper and producer
1973 – Jason Croker, Australian rugby league player and coach
1973 – Chris Sutton, English footballer and manager
1973 – Mauricio Taricco, Argentinian footballer and manager
1974 – Cristián de la Fuente, Chilean-American model, actor, and producer
1974 – Biz Stone, American businessman, co-founded Twitter
1975 – Jamie Arnold, American-Israeli basketball player and coach
1975 – Håvard Wiik, Norwegian pianist and composer
1976 – Kisaki, Japanese bass player, songwriter, and producer
1976 – Barbara Schett, Austrian tennis player and sportscaster
1977 – Robin Thicke, American singer
1978 – Camille, French singer-songwriter and actress
1978 – Neil Alexander, Scottish footballer
1978 – Benjamin Burnley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Ashley Callus, Australian swimmer
1980 – Lars Horntveth, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
1981 – Samuel Eto'o, Cameroonian footballer and manager
1981 – Ángel López, Spanish footballer
1981 – Steven Reid, English-Irish footballer and manager
1982 – Kwame Brown, American basketball player
1982 – Keke Wyatt, American singer-songwriter and actress
1983 – Étienne Boulay, Canadian football player
1983 – Rafe Spall, English actor
1983 – Janet Mock, American journalist, author, and activist
1983 – Carrie Underwood, American singer-songwriter and actress
1984 – Ben May, English footballer
1984 – Olivia Wilde, American actress and producer
1985 – Lassana Diarra, French footballer
1985 – Casey Dienel, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1985 – Morgan Uceny, American runner
1987 – Martellus Bennett, American football player
1987 – Greg Eastwood, New Zealand rugby league player
1987 – Ebba Jungmark, Swedish high jumper
1987 – Tuukka Rask, Finnish ice hockey player
1987 – Emeli Sandé, English-Scottish singer-songwriter
1987 – Liu Shishi, Chinese actress and ballerina
1988 – Josh Hoffman, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
1990 – Inna Deriglazova, Russian fencer
1992 – Neeskens Kebano, French footballer
1993 – Jack Butland, English footballer
1993 – Alfred Duncan, Ghanaian footballer
1995 – Zach LaVine, American basketball player
1995 – Sergey Mozgov, Russian ice dancer
1997 – Julia Barretto, Filipino actress and singer
1997 – Belinda Bencic, Swiss tennis player
Deaths
483 – Pope Simplicius
948 – Liu Zhiyuan, Shatuo founder of the Later Han dynasty (b. 895)
1039 – Eudes, Duke of Gascony
1222 – Johan Sverkersson, king of Sweden since 1216 (b. 1201)
1391 – Tvrtko I of Bosnia (b. 1338)
1476 – Richard West, 7th Baron De La Warr (b. 1430)
1510 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss priest and theologian (b. 1445)
1513 – John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1443)
1585 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1517)
1588 – Theodor Zwinger, Swiss physician and scholar (b. 1533)
1670 – Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch chemist and engineer (b. 1604)
1724 – Urban Hjärne, Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (b. 1641)
1776 – Élie Catherine Fréron, French author and critic (b. 1719)
1792 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1713)
1823 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1746)
1832 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1752)
