March 31

Events

307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian.

627 – Battle of the Trench: Muhammad undergoes a 14-day siege at Medina (Saudi Arabia) by Meccan forces under Abu Sufyan.

1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.

1492 – Queen Isabella of Castille issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.

1561 – The city of San Cristóbal, Táchira is founded.

1717 – A sermon on "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ" by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, provokes the Bangorian Controversy.

1774 – American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.

1822 – The massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following an attempted rebellion, depicted by the French artist Eugène Delacroix.

1854 – Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.

1885 – The United Kingdom establishes the Bechuanaland Protectorate.

1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.

1899 – Malolos, capital of the First Philippine Republic, is captured by American forces.

1906 – The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for college sports in the United States.

1909 – Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1913 – The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of modernist music by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Anton von Webern, causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the Skandalkonzert.

1917 – The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.

1918 – Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis is committed by allied armed groups of Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims are killed.

1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.

1921 – The Royal Australian Air Force is formed.

1930 – The Motion Picture Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.

1931 – An earthquake destroys Managua, Nicaragua, killing 2,000.

1931 – TWA Flight 599 crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.

1933 – The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the United States.

1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Christmas Island, then a British possession.

1945 – World War II: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.

1949 – The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.

1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

1957 – Elections to the Territorial Assembly of the French colony Upper Volta are held. After the elections PDU and MDV form a government.

1958 – In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.

1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.

1964 – A coup d'état in Brazil establishes a military government, under the aegis of general Castelo Branco.

1966 – The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.

1970 – Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.

1979 – The last British soldier leaves the Maltese islands; Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).

1980 – The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.

1985 – The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1990 – Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.

1991 – Georgian independence referendum, 1991: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country's independence from the Soviet Union.

1992 – The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.

1998 – Netscape releases Mozilla source code under an open source license.

2004 – Iraq War in Anbar Province: In Fallujah, Iraq, four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed after being ambushed.

2016 – Occupy movement known as Nuit debout begins in France, spreading within days to Belgium, Germany, and Spain.

Births

250 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman emperor (d. 306)

397 – K'uk B'alam I, king of Palenque

822 – Al-Mutawakkil, Abbasid caliph (d. 861)

1347 – Frederick III, Duke of Austria, second son of Duke Albert II of Austria (d. 1362)

1360 – Philippa of Lancaster (d. 1415)

1425 – Bianca Maria Visconti, Duchess of Milan (d. 1468)

1499 – Pope Pius IV (d. 1565)

1504 – Guru Angad, Indian religious leader (d. 1552)

1519 – Henry II of France (d. 1559)

1536 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shogun (d. 1565)

1596 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1650)

1621 – Andrew Marvell, English poet and politician (d. 1678)

1644 – Henry Winstanley, English painter and engineer (d. 1703)

1651 – Charles II, Elector Palatine, German husband of Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark (d. 1685)

1675 – Pope Benedict XIV (d. 1758)

1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (d. 1750)

1718 – Mariana Victoria of Spain (d. 1781)

1723 – Frederick V of Denmark (d. 1766)

1730 – Étienne Bézout, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1783)

1732 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1809)

1740 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (d. 1849)

1747 – Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, German pianist and composer (d. 1800)

1777 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (d. 1859)

1778 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist and ornithologist (d. 1858)

1794 – Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1852)

1809 – Edward FitzGerald, English poet and translator (d. 1883)

1809 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (d. 1852)

1809 – Otto Lindblad, Swedish composer (d. 1864)

1819 – Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (d. 1901)

1823 – Mary Boykin Chesnut, American author (d. 1886)

1847 – Hermann de Pourtalès, Swiss sailor (d. 1904)

1847 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1878)

1851 – Francis Bell, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)

1855 – Alfred E. Hunt, American businessman (d. 1899)

1859 – Emil Fenyvessy, Hungarian actor and screenwriter (d. 1924)

1865 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, Indian physician (d. 1887)

1871 – Arthur Griffith, Irish journalist and politician, 3rd President of Dáil Éireann (d. 1922)

1872 – Sergei Diaghilev, Russian ballet manager and critic, founded the Ballets Russes (d. 1929)

1874 – Benjamín G. Hill, Mexican revolutionary general, governor of Sonora (d. 1920)

1876 – Borisav Stanković, Serbian author (d. 1927)

1878 – Jack Johnson, American boxer (d. 1946)

1884 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (d. 1946)

1885 – Pascin, Bulgarian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1930)

1890 – Ben Adams, American jumper (d. 1961)

1890 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)

1891 – Victor Varconi, Hungarian-American actor and director (d. 1976)

1893 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1954)

1893 – Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt, German physician and historian (d. 1982)

1895 – Vardis Fisher, American author and academic (d. 1968)

1900 – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (d. 1974)

1905 – Robert Stevenson, English director and screenwriter (d. 1986)

1905 – George Treweek, Australian rugby league player (d. 1991)

1906 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)

1908 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (d. 1999)

1911 – Freddie Green, American guitarist (d. 1987)

1911 – Elisabeth Grümmer, German soprano (d. 1986)

1912 – William Lederer, American soldier and author (d. 2009)

1913 – Etta Baker, American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)

1914 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)

1914 – Dagmar Lange, Swedish author (d. 1991)

1915 – Albert Hourani, English historian and author (d. 1993)

1915 – Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese sergeant (d. 1997)

1916 – Lucille Bliss, American voice actress (d. 2012)

1916 – Tommy Bolt, American golfer (d. 2008)

1916 – John H. Wood, Jr., American lawyer and judge (d. 1979)

1917 – Dorothy DeLay, American violinist and educator (d. 2002)

1918 – Ted Post, American director (d. 2013)

1919 – Frank Akins, American football player (d. 1993)

1920 – Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, British aristocrat, socialite and author (d. 2014)

1921 – Peggy Rea, American actress and casting director (d. 2011)

1922 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (d. 1999)

1923 – François Sermon, Belgian footballer (d. 2013)

1924 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and academic (d. 1998)

1924 – Charles Guggenheim, American director and producer (d. 2002)

1925 – Jean Coutu, Canadian actor and director (d. 1999)

1926 – John Fowles, English novelist (d. 2005)

1926 – Beni Montresor, Italian director, set designer, author, and illustrator (d. 2001)

1926 – Rocco Petrone, American colonel and engineer (d. 2006)

1927 – Cesar Chavez, American labor union leader and activist (d. 1993)

1927 – William Daniels, American actor

1927 – Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Spanish cardinal

1927 – Vladimir Ilyushin, Russian pilot (d. 2010)

1927 – Elmer Diedtrich, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)

1927 – Bud MacPherson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1988)

1928 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)

1928 – Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)

1929 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-American fashion designer, founded Liz Claiborne Inc. (d. 2007)

1929 – Bert Fields, American lawyer and author

1930 – Yehuda Nir, Polish-Israeli psychiatrist (d. 2014)

1930 – Jim Mutscheller, American football player and coach (d. 2015)

1931 – Miller Barber, American golfer (d. 2013)

1931 – Tamara Tyshkevich, Belarusian shot putter (d. 1997)

1932 – John Jakes, American author

1932 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 2013)

1933 – Anita Carter, American singer-songwriter and bassist (d. 1999)

1933 – Nichita Stănescu, Romanian poet (d. 1983)

1934 – Richard Chamberlain, American actor

1934 – Shirley Jones, American actress and singer

1934 – John D. Loudermilk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)

1934 – Carlo Rubbia, Italian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1934 – Kamala Surayya, Indian poet and author (d. 2009)

1935 – Herb Alpert, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer

1935 – Judith Rossner, American author (d. 2005)

1936 – Marge Piercy, American poet and novelist

1936 – Bob Pulford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

1938 – Patrick Bateson, English biologist and academic

1938 – Sheila Dikshit, Indian politician, 22nd Governor of Kerala

1938 – Antje Gleichfeld, German runner

1938 – Bill Hicke, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2005)

1938 – Tõnno Lepmets, Estonian basketball player (d. 2005)

1938 – Arthur B. Rubinstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor

1938 – David Steel, Scottish academic and politician

1939 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Georgian anthropologist and politician, 1st President of Georgia (d. 1993)

1939 – Israel Horovitz, American actor, director, and screenwriter

1939 – Walker David Miller, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)

1939 – Volker Schlöndorff, German director and producer

1939 – Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, German footballer

1940 – Brian Ackland-Snow, English production designer and art director (d. 2013)

1940 – Barney Frank, American lawyer and politician

1940 – Patrick Leahy, American lawyer and politician

1941 – Franco Bonvicini, Italian author and illustrator (d. 1995)

1941 – Faith Leech, Australian swimmer (d. 2013)

1942 – Ulla Hoffmann, Swedish politician

1942 – Hugh McCracken, American guitarist and producer (d. 2013)

1942 – Michael Savage, American radio host and author

1943 – Roy Andersson, Swedish director and screenwriter

1943 – Deirdre Clancy, English costume designer

1943 – Christopher Walken, American actor

1944 – Pascal Danel, French singer-songwriter

1944 – Angus King, American politician

1944 – Mick Ralphs, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

1945 – Edwin Catmull, American computer scientist and engineer

1945 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress (d. 1995)

1946 – Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1984)

1946 – Bob Russell, English politician

1947 – Augustin Banyaga, Rwandan-American mathematician and academic

1947 – Wendy Overton, American tennis player

1947 – Kristian Blak, Danish-Faroese pianist, composer, and producer

1947 – Don Foster, English academic and politician

1947 – César Gaviria, Colombian economist and politician, 36th President of Colombia

1947 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and economist (d. 2011)

1948 – Gary Doer, Canadian politician and diplomat, 20th Premier of Manitoba

1948 – Al Gore, American soldier and politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate

1948 – Rhea Perlman, American actress

1948 – Gustaaf Van Cauter, Belgian cyclist

1949 – Gilles Gilbert, Canadian ice hockey player

1950 – András Adorján, Hungarian chess player and author

1950 – Ed Marinaro, American football player and actor

1950 – Sandra Morgen, American anthropologist and academic

1953 – Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (d. 2014)

1955 – Svetozar Marović, President of Serbia and Montenegro

1955 – Angus Young, Scottish-Australian guitarist and songwriter

1957 – Alan Duncan, English businessman and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

1957 – Terry Klassen, Canadian voice actor, writer and voice director

1959 – Markus Hediger, Swiss poet and translator

1961 – Ron Brown, American sprinter and football player

1961 – Howard Gordon, American screenwriter and producer

1962 – Olli Rehn, Finnish footballer and politician

1964 – Mark Hoban, English accountant and politician

1965 – Tom Barrasso, American ice hockey player and coach

1965 – Patty Fendick, American tennis player and coach

1965 – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer (d. 2006)

1965 – William McNamara, American actor and producer

1965 – Steven T. Seagle, American author and screenwriter

1966 – Roger Black, English runner and journalist

1966 – Nick Firestone, American race car driver

1968 – Kimmo Kinnunen, Finnish javelin thrower

1968 – J. R. Reid, American basketball player and coach

1969 – Nyamko Sabuni, Burundian-Swedish politician

1969 – Steve Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster

1970 – Alenka Bratušek, Slovenian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Slovenia

1970 – Samantha Brown, American television host

1970 – Damon Herriman, Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1971 – Demetris Assiotis, Cypriot footballer

1971 – Martin Atkinson, English footballer and referee

1971 – Pavel Bure, Russian ice hockey player

1971 – Paul Grayson, English cricketer

1971 – Craig McCracken, American animator, producer, and screenwriter

1971 – Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor

1972 – Alejandro Amenábar, Chilean-Spanish director and screenwriter

1972 – Andrew Bowen, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

1972 – Luca Gentili, Italian footballer and coach

1972 – Hristos Polihroniou, Greek hammer thrower

1972 – Evan Williams, American businessman, co-founded Twitter and Pyra Labs

1973 – Christopher Hampson, English ballet dancer and choreographer

1974 – Benjamin Eicher, German director, producer, and screenwriter

1974 – Stefan Olsdal, Swedish bass player

1974 – Jani Sievinen, Finnish swimmer

1975 – Adam Green, American director, producer, and screenwriter

1975 – Nathan Grey, Australian rugby player and coach

1975 – Cameron Murray, Scottish rugby player

1975 – Ryan Rupe, American baseball player

1976 – Howard Frier, American basketball player

1976 – Igors Sļesarčuks, Latvian-Russian footballer

1976 – Graeme Smith, Scottish swimmer

1977 – Toshiya, Japanese bass player, songwriter, and producer

1977 – Rich Clementi, American mixed martial artist

1977 – Garth Tander, Australian race car driver

1978 – Michael Clark, Australian cricketer and footballer

1978 – Stephen Clemence, English footballer and coach

1978 – Jarrod Cooper, American football player

1978 – Jérôme Rothen, French footballer

1979 – Omri Afek, Israeli footballer

1979 – Euan Burton, Scottish martial artist and coach

1979 – Alexis Ferrero, Argentinian footballer

1979 – Josh Kinney, American baseball player

1979 – Charlie Manning, American baseball player

1979 – Danny Invincibile, Australian footballer

1979 – Jonna Mendes, American skier

1980 – Martin Albrechtsen, Danish footballer

1980 – Karolina Lassbo, Swedish lawyer and blogger

1980 – Matias Concha, Swedish footballer

1980 – Riccardo Corallo, Italian footballer

1980 – Dean Clark, English footballer

1980 – Kate Micucci, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress

1980 – Michael Ryder, Canadian ice hockey player

1980 – Maaya Sakamoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress

1980 – Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese baseball player

1981 – Ryan Bingham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1981 – Thomas Chatelle, Belgian footballer

1981 – Pa Dembo Touray, Gambian footballer

1981 – Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch swimmer

1982 – Bam Childress, American football player

1982 – Audrey Kawasaki, American painter

1983 – Hashim Amla, South African cricketer

1983 – Thierry Issiémou, Gabonese footballer

1983 – Jeff Mathis, American baseball player

1983 – Vlasios Maras, Greek gymnast

1983 – Nigel Plum, Australian rugby player

1984 – David Clarkson, Canadian ice hockey player

1984 – James Jones, American football player

1984 – Martins Dukurs, Latvian sled racer

1984 – Kaie Kand, Estonian heptathlete

1984 – Alberto Junior Rodríguez, Peruvian footballer

1984 – Ed Williamson, English rugby player

1985 – Steve Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player

1985 – Jo-Lonn Dunbar, American football player

1985 – Jesper Hansen, Danish footballer

1985 – Ivan Mishyn, Ukrainian race car driver

1985 – Kory Sheets, American football player

1985 – Jalmar Sjöberg, Swedish wrestler

1986 – Matthew Collins, Welsh footballer

1986 – Andreas Dober, Austrian footballer

1986 – James King, Scottish rugby player

1986 – Paulo Machado, Portuguese footballer

1987 – Nordin Amrabat, Dutch footballer

1987 – Hugo Ayala, Mexican footballer

1987 – Vojislava Lukić, Serbian tennis player

1987 – Wang Yue, Chinese chess player

1987 – Bozhidar Mitrev, Bulgarian footballer

1987 – Amaury Bischoff, Portuguese footballer

1987 – Justin Braun, American soccer player

1987 – Carl Dickinson, English footballer

1987 – Humpy Koneru, Indian chess player

1987 – Eros Pisano, Italian footballer

1987 – Aridane Santana, Spanish footballer

1987 – Kirill Starkov, Danish ice hockey player

1987 – Winston Venable, American football player

1987 – Nelli Zhiganshina, Russian figure skater

1988 – Thomas De Corte, Belgian footballer

1988 – Dorin Dickerson, American football player

1988 – DeAndre Liggins, American basketball player

1989 – Alberto Martín Romo García Adámez, Spanish footballer

1989 – Alfredo Marte, Dominican baseball player

1989 – Josmil Pinto, Venezuelan baseball player

1989 – Nejc Vidmar, Slovenian footballer

1989 – Liu Zige, Chinese swimmer

1990 – George Iloka, American football player

1990 – Sandra Roma, Swedish tennis player

1991 – Milan Milanović, Serbian footballer

1991 – Lukas Rotpuller, Austrian footballer

1991 – Jan Šebek, Czech footballer

1991 – Rodney Sneijder, Dutch footballer

1992 – Stijn de Looijer, Dutch footballer

1992 – Henri Laaksonen, Swiss-Finnish tennis player

1992 – Beatričė Rožinskaitė, Lithuanian figure skater

1992 – Adam Zampa, Australian cricketer

1993 – Jonatan Isenia, Dutch baseball player

1993 – Mikael Ishak, Swedish footballer

1998 – Valeria Gorlats, Estonian tennis player

1998 – Jakob Chychrun, American-born Canadian ice hockey player

1998 – Anna Seidel, German short track speed skater

Deaths

32 BC – Titus Pomponius Atticus, Roman nobleman of the Equestrian order (b. 109 BC)

528 – Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 510)

1251 – William of Modena, Bishop of Modena

1340 – Ivan I of Moscow (b. 1288)

1462 – Isidore II of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

1547 – Francis I of France (b. 1494)

1567 – Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1504)

1621 – Philip III of Spain (b. 1578)

1631 – John Donne, English lawyer and poet (b. 1572)

1703 – Johann Christoph Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1642)

1723 – Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, English soldier and politician, 14th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1661)

1741 – Pieter Burman the Elder, Dutch scholar and author (b. 1668)

1797 – Olaudah Equiano, Nigerian merchant, author, and activist (b.1745)

1837 – John Constable, English painter and educator (b. 1776)

1850 – John C. Calhoun, American lawyer and politician, 7th Vice President of the United States (b. 1782)

1855 – Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1816)

1877 – Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1801)

1880 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1835)

1885 – Franz Abt, German composer and conductor (b. 1819)

1913 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier (b. 1837)

1915 – Wyndham Halswelle, English-Scottish runner and captain (b. 1882)

1917 – Emil von Behring, German physiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)

1924 – George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (b. 1855)

1930 – Ludwig Schüler, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1836)

1931 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (b. 1888)

1935 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman and diplomat, founded Prince Matchabelli perfume (b. 1885)

1939 – Ioannis Tsangaridis, Greek general (b. 1887)

1944 – Mineichi Koga, Japanese admiral (b. 1885)

1945 – Frank Findlay, New Zealand banker and politician (b. 1884)

1945 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)

1950 – Robert Natus, Estonian architect (b. 1890)

1952 – Wallace H. White, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1877)

1956 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-American race car driver and actor (b. 1884)

1968 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (b. 1885)

1975 – Percy Alliss, English golfer (b. 1897)

1976 – Paul Strand, American photographer and director (b. 1890)

1978 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (b. 1899)

1980 – Vladimír Holan, Czech poet and author (b. 1905)

1980 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (b. 1913)

1981 – Enid Bagnold, English author and playwright (b. 1889)

1983 – Christina Stead, Australian author and academic (b. 1902)

1988 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908)

1993 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1965)

1993 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (b. 1900)

1995 – Selena, American singer-songwriter (b. 1971)

1996 – Dante Giacosa, Italian automobile designer and engineer (b. 1905)

1996 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)

1998 – Bella Abzug, American lawyer, activist, and politician (b. 1920)

1998 – Tim Flock, American race car driver (b. 1924)

1998 – Joel Ryce-Menuhin, American pianist (b. 1933)

1999 – Yuri Knorozov, Russian linguist and ethnographer (b. 1922)

2000 – Giani Chet Singh, Indian scholar (b. 1902)

2001 – David Rocastle, English footballer (b. 1967)

2001 – Clifford Shull, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)

2002 – Barry Took, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1928)

2002 – Moturu Udayam, Indian activist and politician (b. 1924)

2003 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1907)

2003 – Anne Gwynne, American actress (b. 1918)

2003 – Tommy Seebach, Danish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1949)

2004 – Scott Helvenston, American soldier (b. 1965)

2005 – Stanley J. Korsmeyer, American oncologist and academic (b. 1951)

2005 – Justiniano Montano, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1905)

2005 – Frank Perdue, American businessman (b. 1920)

2006 – Jackie McLean, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1931)

2007 – Paul Watzlawick, Austrian-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1921)

2008 – Jules Dassin, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1911)

2008 – Bill Keightley, American equipment manager (b. 1926)

2009 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (b. 1927)

2009 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (b. 1911)

2010 – Syed Qasim Mahmood, Pakistani journalist, lexicographer, and author (b. 1928)

2011 – Tony Barrell, English-Australian journalist and broadcaster (b. 1940)

2011 – Gil Clancy, American boxer and trainer (b. 1922)

2011 – Alan Fitzgerald, Australian journalist and author (b. 1935)

2011 – Oddvar Hansen, Norwegian footballer and coach (b. 1921)

2011 – Ishbel MacAskill, Scottish singer and actress (b. 1941)

2011 – Henry Taub, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1927)

2012 – Judith Adams, New Zealand-Australian nurse and politician (b. 1943)

2012 – Dale R. Corson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)

2012 – Bernard O. Gruenke, American stained glass artist (b. 1914)

2012 – Jerry Lynch, American baseball player (b. 1930)

2012 – Alberto Sughi, Italian painter (b. 1928)

2012 – Halbert White, American economist and academic (b. 1950)

2013 – Charles Amarin Brand, French archbishop (b. 1920)

2013 – Ernie Bridge, Australian singer and politician (b. 1936)

2013 – Helena Carroll, Scottish-American actress (b. 1928)

2013 – Bob Clarke, American illustrator (b. 1926)

2013 – Ahmad Sayyed Javadi, Iranian lawyer and politician, Iranian Minister of Interior (b. 1917)

2013 – Dmitri Uchaykin, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1980)

2014 – Gonzalo Anes, Spanish economist, historian, and academic (b. 1931)

2014 – Charles Keating, American lawyer, businessman, and criminal (b. 1923)

2014 – Roger Somville, Belgian painter (b. 1923)

2015 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (b. 1931)

2015 – Cocoa Fujiwara, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1983)

2015 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)

2015 – Riccardo Ingram, American baseball player and coach (b. 1966)

2015 – Dalibor Vesely, Czech-English historian, author, and academic (b. 1934)

2016 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)

2016 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician (b. 1927)

2016 – Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (b. 1950)

2016 – Imre Kertész, Hungarian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)

2016 – Denise Robertson, British writer and television broadcaster (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

Cesar Chavez Day (United States)

Christian feast day

Abdas of Susa

Acathius of Melitene (Eastern Orthodox Church)

Anesius and companions

Benjamin

Balbina

John Donne (Anglican Communion, Lutheran)

March 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijan)

Freedom Day (Malta)

International Transgender Day of Visibility

King Nangklao Memorial Day (Thailand)

Thomas Mundy Peterson Day (New Jersey, United States)

Transfer Day (US Virgin Islands)

World Backup Day