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On This Day in History — March 14
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Highlights of March 14
- 2021 — The Burmese military and police forces killed at least 65 civilians during the Hlaingthaya massacre in Yangon, including those protesting a recent coup d'état. Read more
- 1991 — Escondida, one of the most productive copper mines in the world, was officially inaugurated. Read more
- 1988 — China defeated Vietnam in a naval altercation while attempting to establish oceanographic observation posts on the Spratly Islands. Read more
- 1984 — Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by Ulster Freedom Fighters in central Belfast, Northern Ireland. Read more
- 1973 — Vietnam War: After having been captured by North Vietnamese forces five and a half years earlier, U.S. Navy pilot John McCain was released with 108 other prisoners of war. Read more
- 1972 — Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, known for his translation of Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago after it had been smuggled out of the Soviet Union, died in an explosion. Read more
- 1945 — The Royal Air Force first used the Grand Slam, a 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) earthquake bomb, on a strategic railway viaduct in Bielefeld, Germany. Read more
- 1931 — Alam Ara, the first Indian sound film, premiered at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay. Read more
- 1885 — The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed Savoy opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London. Read more
- 1885 — The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed Savoy opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London. Read more
- 1864 — The Petite messe solennelle by Gioachino Rossini was first performed in Paris, 34 years after his retirement as a composer. Read more
- 1757 — Royal Navy Admiral John Byng was executed by firing squad for failing to "do his utmost" during the Battle of Minorca at the start of the Seven Years' War. Read more
- 1593 — Japanese invasions of Korea: A force of 3,000 Korean soldiers successfully defended Haengju Fortress against 30,000 Japanese invaders. Read more
- 1489 — Catherine Cornaro (pictured), Queen of Cyprus, was forced to abdicate and sell the administration of the island to the Republic of Venice. Read more
- 1309 — On Eid al-Fitr, the citizens of Granada stormed palaces in the city, deposing Sultan Muhammad III and placing his half-brother Nasr on the throne. Read more
Events
- 2021 — Burmese security forces kill at least 65 civilians in the Hlaingthaya massacre. Read more
- 2019 — Cyclone Idai makes landfall near Beira, Mozambique, causing devastating floods and over 1,000 deaths. Read more
- 2017 — A naming ceremony for the chemical element nihonium takes place in Tokyo, with then Crown Prince Naruhito in attendance. Read more
- 2008 — A series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupt in Lhasa and subsequently spread elsewhere in Tibet. Read more
- 2007 — The Nandigram violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, results in the deaths of at least 14 people. Read more
- 2006 — The 2006 Chadian coup d'état attempt ends in failure. Read more
- 2006 — Operation Bringing Home the Goods: Israeli troops raid an American-supervised Palestinian prison in Jericho to capture six Palestinian prisoners, including PFLP chief Ahmad Sa'adat. Read more
- 1995 — Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle. Read more
- 1991 — Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert – which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine – is officially inaugurated. Read more
- 1988 — In the Johnson South Reef Skirmish Chinese forces defeat Vietnamese forces in an altercation over control of one of the Spratly Islands. Read more
- 1982 — The South African government bombs the headquarters of the African National Congress in London. Read more
- 1980 — LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, Poland, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team. Read more
- 1979 — Alia Royal Jordanian Flight 600 crashes at Doha International Airport, killing 45 people. Read more
- 1978 — The Israel Defense Forces launch Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon. Read more
- 1972 — Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashes near Kalba, United Arab Emirates while on approach to Dubai International Airport, killing 112 people. Read more
- 1967 — The body of U.S. President John F. Kennedy is moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery. Read more
- 1964 — Jack Ruby is convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin who had shot and killed John F. Kennedy the previous year. Read more
- 1961 — A USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Yuba City, California. Read more
- 1951 — Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul for the second time. Read more
- 1945 — The R.A.F. drop the Grand Slam bomb in action for the first time, on a railway viaduct near Bielefeld, Germany. Read more
- 1943 — The Holocaust: The liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto is completed. Read more
- 1942 — Anne Miller becomes the first American patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead. Read more
- 1939 — Slovakia declares independence under German pressure. Read more
- 1931 — Alam Ara, India's first talking film, is released. Read more
- 1926 — The El Virilla train accident, Costa Rica, kills 248 people and wounds another 93 when a train falls off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás. Read more
- 1923 — Charlie Daly and three other members of the Irish Republican Army are executed by Irish Free State forces. Read more
- 1921 — Six members of a group of Irish Republican Army activists known as the Forgotten Ten are hanged in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison. Read more
- 1920 — In the second of the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, about 80% of the population in Zone II votes to remain part of Weimar Germany. Read more
- 1916 — Battle of Verdun: German attack captures Côte 265 at the west end of Mort-Homme but the French 75th Infantry Brigade manages to hold Côte 295 at the east end. Read more
- 1903 — Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt. Read more
- 1901 — Utah governor Heber Manning Wells vetoes a bill that would have eased restrictions on polygamy. Read more
- 1900 — The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard. Read more
- 1885 — The Mikado, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London. Read more
- 1864 — Rossini's Petite messe solennelle is first performed, by twelve singers, two pianists and a harmonium player in a mansion in Paris. Read more
- 1794 — Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin. Read more
- 1780 — American Revolutionary War: Spanish forces capture Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans. Read more
- 1757 — Admiral Sir John Byng is executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War. Read more
- 1674 — The Third Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of Ronas Voe results in the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam being captured with a death toll of up to 300 Dutch crew and soldiers. Read more
- 1663 — According to his own account, Otto von Guericke completes his book Experimenta Nova (ut vocantur) Magdeburgica de Vacuo Spatio, detailing his experiments on vacuum and his discovery of electrostatic repulsion. Read more
- 1647 — Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm. Read more
- 1590 — Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under Charles, Duke of Mayenne, during the French Wars of Religion. Read more
- 1074 — Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. Read more
Born on March 14
- 2008 — Abby Ryder Fortson, American actress Read more
- 2001 — Nico Mannion, Italian-American basketball player Read more
- 2000 — Chrisean Rock, American rapper and reality television personality Read more
- 2000 — Jihoon, South Korean singer Read more
- 1999 — Marvin Bagley III, American basketball player Read more
- 1999 — Olivia Dean, English singer-songwriter Read more
- 1998 — Tyson Jost, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1997 — Simone Biles, American gymnast Read more
- 1996 — Batuhan Altıntaş, Turkish footballer Read more
- 1995 — Brandon Aubrey, American multi-sport athlete Read more
- 1995 — Nick Eh 30, Canadian live streamer and professional gamer Read more
- 1994 — Ansel Elgort, American actor and DJ Read more
- 1993 — Anthony Bennett, Canadian basketball player Read more
- 1993 — J. T. Miller, American ice hockey player Read more
- 1992 — Shotzi Blackheart, American wrestler Read more
- 1992 — Erik Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player Read more
- 1991 — Emir Bekrić, Serbian hurdler Read more
- 1990 — Joe Allen, Welsh footballer Read more
- 1990 — Tamás Kádár, Hungarian footballer Read more
- 1990 — Haru Kuroki, Japanese actress Read more
- 1990 — Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Icelandic footballer Read more
- 1989 — Marwin González, Venezuelan baseball player Read more
- 1989 — Kevin Lacroix, Canadian race car driver Read more
- 1989 — Patrick Patterson, American basketball player Read more
- 1988 — Stephen Curry, American basketball player Read more
- 1988 — Rico Freimuth, German decathlete Read more
- 1986 — Elton Chigumbura, Zimbabwean cricketer Read more
- 1986 — Jessica Gallagher, Australian skier and cyclist Read more
- 1986 — Andy Taylor, English footballer Read more
- 1983 — Bakhtiyar Artayev, Kazakh boxer Read more
- 1982 — Carlos Marinelli, Argentine footballer Read more
- 1982 — François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (died 2008) Read more
- 1981 — Bobby Jenks, American baseball player (died 2025) Read more
- 1981 — George Wilson, American football player Read more
- 1980 — Aaron Brown, English footballer and coach Read more
- 1980 — Ben Herring, New Zealand rugby player and coach Read more
- 1979 — Nicolas Anelka, French footballer and manager Read more
- 1979 — Dan Avidan, American musician and internet personality Read more
- 1979 — Chris Klein, American actor Read more
- 1979 — Sead Ramović, German-Bosnian footballer Read more
Died on March 14
- 2025 — Alan Simpson, United States senator from Wyoming (born 1931) Read more
- 2022 — Scott Hall, American wrestler (born 1958) Read more
- 2019 — Jake Phelps, American skateboarder and Thrasher editor-in-chief (born 1962) Read more
- 2019 — Charlie Whiting, British motorsport director (born 1952) Read more
- 2019 — Haig Young, Canadian politician (born 1928) Read more
- 2018 — Jim Bowen, English stand-up comedian and TV personality (born 1937) Read more
- 2018 — Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician and human rights activist (born 1979) Read more
- 2018 — Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (born 1942) Read more
- 2018 — Liam O'Flynn, Irish uileann piper (born 1945) Read more
- 2016 — John W. Cahn, German-American metallurgist and academic (born 1928) Read more
- 2016 — Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer and conductor (born 1934) Read more
- 2016 — Suranimala Rajapaksha, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (born 1949) Read more
- 2014 — Tony Benn, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (born 1925) Read more
- 2014 — Meir Har-Zion, Israeli commander (born 1934) Read more
- 2013 — Jack Greene, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1930) Read more
- 2013 — Aramais Sahakyan, Armenian poet and author (born 1936) Read more
- 2013 — Ieng Sary, Vietnamese-Cambodian politician, Cambodian Minister for Foreign Affairs (born 1925) Read more
- 2012 — Pierre Schoendoerffer, French director and screenwriter (born 1928) Read more
- 2012 — Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general and politician, 4th President of Malta (born 1913) Read more
- 2010 — Peter Graves, American actor (born 1926) Read more
- 2008 — Chiara Lubich, Italian activist, co-founded the Focolare Movement (born 1920) Read more
- 2007 — Lucie Aubrac, French educator and activist (born 1912) Read more
- 2006 — Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (born 1929) Read more
- 2003 — Jack Goldstein, Canadian-American painter (born 1945) Read more
- 2003 — Jean-Luc Lagardère, French engineer and businessman (born 1928) Read more
- 1999 — Kirk Alyn, American actor (born 1910) Read more
- 1999 — John Broome, American author (born 1913) Read more
- 1997 — Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director and producer (born 1907) Read more
- 1995 — William Alfred Fowler, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911) Read more
- 1994 — Sheila Humphreys, Irish Republican, political activist and Hunger Striker (born 1899) Read more
- 1991 — Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (born 1950) Read more
- 1989 — Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary (born 1892) Read more
- 1984 — Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet (born 1915) Read more
- 1980 — Mohammad Hatta, Indonesian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Indonesia (born 1902) Read more
- 1980 — Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Spanish environmentalist (born 1928) Read more
- 1979 — Frank McEncroe, Australian businessman (born 1908) Read more
- 1977 — Fannie Lou Hamer, American activist and philanthropist (born 1917) Read more
- 1976 — Busby Berkeley, American director and choreographer (born 1895) Read more
- 1975 — Susan Hayward, American actress (born 1917) Read more
- 1973 — Howard H. Aiken, American computer scientist and engineer (born 1900) Read more
Holidays & observances
Christian feast day:
Leobinus; Christian feast day:
Matilda of Ringelheim; Christian feast day:
March 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Constitution Day (Andorra); Heroes' Day (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines); Mother Tongue Day (Estonia); Nanakshahi New Year, first day of the month of Chet (Sikhism); Pi Day; Steak and Blowjob Day, a satirical unofficial holiday created in the United States as a male response to Valentine's Day; Summer Day (Albania); White Day on which men give gifts to women; complementary to Valentine's Day (Japan and other Asian nations)
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “March 14”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.