Discover what happened on March 15 in history, along with notable celebrity birthdays and fun Days of the Year to celebrate.
What Happened on March 15 in History?
Important events on this day include the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, Christopher Columbus returning to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas, and Michigan becoming the first state to tax property to support a university.
MARCH 15 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
44 BC – Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.
1493 – Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
1820 – Maine became the 23rd U.S. state.
1867 – Michigan became the first state to tax property to support a university.
1875 – The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, NY, John McCloskey, was named the first American cardinal.
1887 – William Alden Smith, of Grand Rapids, was hired to be the first paid Game and Fish Warden in the United States. His salary was $1,200 a year.
1892 – New York State unveiled the new automatic ballot voting machine.
1892 – Jesse W. Reno patented the Reno Inclined Elevator. It was the first escalator.
1906 – Rolls-Royce Limited was incorporated.
1913 – President Woodrow Wilson held the first open Presidential news conference.
1934 – Henry Ford restored the $5 a day wage.
1937 – At the Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL, the first blood bank that would preserve blood for transfusion by refrigeration was established.
1938 – Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1945 – “Billboard” magazine began listing a top albums chart. The first #1 artist was “The Nat King Cole Trio.”
1954 – CBS television debuted their “Morning Show.”
1955 – The U.S. Air Force unveiled a self-guided missile.
1960 – The first underwater park was established as Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve.
1968 – The U.S. mint halted the practice of buying and selling gold.
1971 – CBS television announced the cancellation of “The Ed Sullivan Show”.
1972 – The movie “The Godfather” , starring Marlon Brando, opened in theaters.
1972 – Fred Bear became the first person in the Archery Hall of Fame.
1977 – The first episode of the television show “Eight is Enough” and “Three’s Company” aired on ABC.
1977 – The U.S. House of Representatives began a 90-day test to determine the feasibility of showing its sessions on television.
1978 – The movie “American Hot Wax” premiered in theaters.
1985 – The first internet domain name is registered to symbolics.com.
1989 – The U.S. Food and Drug administration decided to impound all fruit imported from Chili after two cyanide-tainted grapes were found in Philadelphia, PA.
1989 – The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs became the 14th Department in the President’s Cabinet.
1990 – The Ford Explorer was introduced to the public.
1995 – Biggby’s founded in East Lansing, MI.
1998 – On the CBS television news magazine “60 Minutes”, former White House employee Kathleen Willey stated in an interview that President Bill Clinton made unwelcome sexual advances toward her in the Oval Office in 1993.
1999 – Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Dusty Springfield were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2002 – The animated movie “Ice Age” premiered in theaters.
2002 – In the U.S., Burger King began selling a veggie burger. It was the first veggie burger to be sold nationally by a fast food chain.
2002 – In Texas, Andrea Yates received a life sentence for drowning her five children in a bathtub on June 20, 2001.
2003 – A mysterious viral illness spread across Asia. The World Health Organization names it Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.
2005 – After a very lengthy trial in Los Angeles, CA, Robert Blake, once the star of the TV show “Baretta”, was found not guilty of killing his wife Bonny Lee Bakley.
2009 – Researchers announced that the germiest object in our life is the cell phone, beating out the former computer keyboard for the germiest item.
2010 – At the institution’s 25th annual ceremony, Genesis, ABBA, The Hollies, The Stooges and Jimmy Cliff were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2018 – Toys R Us announced it would close all of their stores after filing for bankruptcy.
2019 – Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries went on strike to protest climate change.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON MARCH 15:
Judd Hirsch – 91 years old (1935) – Actor
Ted Kaufman – 87 years old (1939) – Politician
Mike Love – 85 years old (1941) – Singer-songwriter and musician
Ry Cooder – 79 years old (1947) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kate Bornstein – 78 years old (1948) – Author and activist
Frances Conroy – 73 years old (1953) – Actress
Henry Marsh – 72 years old (1954) – Runner and businessman
Craig Wasson – 72 years old (1954) – Actor
Mickey Hatcher – 71 years old (1955) – Baseball player and coach
Dee Snider – 71 years old (1955) – Singer-songwriter
Joaquim de Almeida – 69 years old (1957) – Portuguese-American actor
Park Overall – 69 years old (1957) – Actress and activist
Steve Witkoff – 69 years old (1957) – Real estate investor, former lawyer, and diplomat
Harold Baines – 67 years old (1959) – Baseball player
Fabio Lanzoni – 67 years old (1959) – Italian-American model and actor
Eliot Teltscher – 67 years old (1959) – Tennis player
Mike Pagliarulo – 66 years old (1960) – Baseball player
Terry Cummings – 65 years old (1961) – Basketball player
Terence Trent D'Arby – 64 years old (1962) – Singer-songwriter
Bret Michaels – 63 years old (1963) – Singer-songwriter, musician, and television personality
Rockwell – 62 years old (1964) – Singer-songwriter and musician
Chris Bruno – 60 years old (1966) – Actor
Mark McGrath – 58 years old (1968) – Singer-songwriter
Kim Raver – 57 years old (1969) – Actress
Derek Parra – 56 years old (1970) – Speed skater
Mark Hoppus – 54 years old (1972) – Singer-songwriter and musician
Mike Tomlin – 54 years old (1972) – Football player and coach
Robert Fick – 52 years old (1974) – Baseball player
Eva Longoria – 51 years old (1975) – Actress
will.i.am – 51 years old (1975) – Rapper, producer, and actor
Joe Hahn – 49 years old (1977) – Musician, DJ, director, and visual artist
Brian Tee – 49 years old (1977) – Japanese-American actor
Kevin Youkilis – 47 years old (1979) – Baseball player
Freddie Bynum – 46 years old (1980) – Baseball player
Young Buck – 45 years old (1981) – Rapper
Eva Amurri – 41 years old (1985) – Actress
Jon Jay – 41 years old (1985) – Baseball player and coach
Kellan Lutz – 41 years old (1985) – Actor and model
Eric Decker – 39 years old (1987) – Football player
Lil Dicky – 38 years old (1988) – Rapper, comedian, and actor
Gil Roberts – 37 years old (1989) – Sprinter
Caitlin Wachs – 37 years old (1989) – Actress
Nick Ahmed – 36 years old (1990) – Baseball player
Tavon Austin – 36 years old (1990) – Football player
Xavier Henry – 35 years old (1991) – Basketball player
Trayce Thompson – 35 years old (1991) – Baseball player
Devonta Freeman – 34 years old (1992) – Football player
Michael Fulmer – 33 years old (1993) – Baseball player
Taylor Heinicke – 33 years old (1993) – Football player
Matt Gay – 32 years old (1994) – Football player
Scott Seiss – 32 years old (1994) – Comedian
Jabari Parker – 31 years old (1995) – Basketball player
Maxwell Jacob Friedman – 30 years old (1996) – Professional wrestler
Quinn Ewers – 23 years old (2003) – Football player
Isaiah Bond – 22 years old (2004) – Football player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR MARCH 15:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
