1554 – Johann Friedrich, the Generous, Elector of Saxony (1532-47) and Head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany (the Schmalkaldic League), dies at 50
1768 – Nicola Antonio Porpora, Italian composer, and voice teacher, dies at 81
1878 – Joseph Bonomi the Younger, English artist and Egyptologist, dies at 81
1908 – Karl Josef Rudolph Cornely, German Jesuit biblical scholar, dies at 77
1942 – Amedeo, Italian Duke of Aosta, military officer and Viceroy and Governor-General of Italian East-Africa (1937-43), dies while a prisoner of war at 43
1994 – Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Polish-Israeli composer and music editor, dies at 75
2003 – Luis Marden, American photojournalist (b. 1913)
2003 – Peter Smithson, English architect, dies at 79
2023 – Robert Chase, English businessman (majority shareholder, chairman Norwich City FC 1985-96), dies at 85
2024 – Roberto Fleitas, Uruguayan soccer coach (Uruguay: Copa América 1987; Nacional FC: Copa Libertadores and South American Coach of the Year 1988), dies at 91
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 3rd March 2026
493 – Ostrogoten King Theodorik the Great beats Odoaker
1845 – US Congress authorizes ocean mail contracts for foreign mail delivery
1863 – Free city delivery replaces zone postage; 449 letter carriers hired
1883 – Congress authorizes the 1st steel vessels in US navy
1915 – US National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) created, the predecessor of NASA
1959 – The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts opens in Yerevan, Armenia, with a collection of over 23,000 manuscripts
1966 – Kwame Nkrumah flees Ghana to exile in Conakry, Guinea
1987 – Ray Dandridge, third baseman in Negro Leagues, eleected to Hall of Fame
Today in History for 3rd March 2026
Historical Events
1838 – Rebellion at Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada
1851 – Congress authorizes smallest US silver coin (3 cent piece)
1863 – Free city delivery replaces zone postage; 449 letter carriers hired
1939 – Mahatma Gandhi begins a fast in Bombay to protest against autocratic rule in India
2020 – World Bank pledges $12 billion in emergency aid for developing countries dealing with COVID-19
Famous Birthdays
1838 – George William Hill, American astronomer (calculated Moon’s orbit) and considered to be the greatest master of celestial mechanics of his time, born in New York (d. 1914)
1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author (The Murderess), born in Skiathos, Greece (d. 1911)
1911 – Jean Harlow [Harlean Carpentier], American actress and 1930s’ sex goddess (Dinner at 8; Bombshell), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1937)
1923 – (Arthel) “Doc” Watson, American Grammy Award-winning bluegrass, folk, and blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer, born in Deep Gap, North Carolina (d. 2012)
1929 – Jim Tunney, American football official (Super Bowl VI, XI, XII; record 29 post-season assignments), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2024)
Famous Deaths
1806 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author and editor, dies at 61
1926 – Cyril Metodej Hrazdira, Czech composer and conductor, dies at 58
1994 – Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Polish-Israeli composer and music editor, dies at 75
2008 – Norman “Hurricane” Smith, British sound engineer (The Beatles, 1962-65), producer (Pink Floyd; The Pretty Things), and musician (“Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?”; “Don’t Let It Die”), dies at 85
2014 – William R. Pogue, American astronaut, dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 2nd March 2026
1758 – Johann Baptist Zimmermann, German painter and stucco worker, buried at 78
1787 – Jean Allamand, Swiss-Dutch natural philosopher, dies at 73
1880 – Sir John MacNeill, Irish civil engineer (b. 1790)
1971 – Charles W Engelhard, US silver multi-millionaire, dies at 54
1999 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter (American Gothic), dies of lung cancer at 62
2005 – Ivan Parik, Czech classical and electro-acoustic composer (Quadrophony), dies at 68
2009 – Ernest Ashworth, American country music singer (“Talk Back Trembling Lips”, “You Can’t Pick a Rose in December”), and broadcaster, dies at 80
2022 – Tony Walton, British Tony, Oscar, and Emmy Award-winning set and costume designer (Pippin; Mary Poppins; All That Jazz), dies from stroke complications at 87
2023 – Mary Bauermeister, German artist, dies at 88
2023 – Wayne Shorter, American jazz saxophonist and composer (Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers; Miles Davis; Weather Report), dies at 89
Historical Events for 2nd March 2026
1866 – 1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated in Connecticut
1893 – 1st US federal railroad legislation passed; required safety features
1895 – US Congress renames the Office of Immigration as the Bureau of Immigration
1942 – 14th Academy Awards: “How Green was My Valley”, Gary Cooper, and Joan Fontaine win
1967 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1968 – Ice Pairs Championship at Geneva won by Belousova and Protopopov of the Soviet Union
2012 – New fiscal compact to prevent excessive debt is signed by 25 out of 27 European Union members
2021 – Governors of Texas and Mississippi both announce they are lifting mask mandates and COVID-19 health measures despite CDC warnings of complacency
Today in History for 2nd March 2026
Historical Events
1121 – Dirk VI becomes count of Holland
1968 – USSR launches space probe Zond 4; fails to leave Earth orbit
1988 – The flaming basketball is adopted as NBA franchise Miami Heat’s official logo from over 13,000 entries; Mark Henderson submits the winning entry
1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice
2024 – Brit Music Awards: Raye wins a record six Brits, including album and song of the year, with Kylie Minogue awarded Global Icon
Famous Birthdays
1927 – John Romanides, Greek Eastern Orthodox priest and professor, born in Piraeus, Greece (d. 2001)
1929 – Sir Donald Gosling, British entrepreneur (Central Car Parks; National Car Parks), yachtsman, and WWII Royal Navy veteran, born in South London, England (d. 2019)
1941 – John Cornell, Australian screenwriter (Paul Hogan Show; Crocodile Dundee), and director (Crocodile Dundee II), born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia (d. 2021)
1956 – Eusebio Pedroza, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight champion 1978-85), born in Panama City, Panama (d. 2019)
1962 – Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese science fiction writer, born in Kobe, Japan
Famous Deaths
1074 – Yorimichi Fujiwara, Japanese imperial courtier and regent for three emperors (1016-68), dies at about 82 (b. 992)
1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, conspirator and supporter of the Mexican War of Independence (b. 1768)
1921 – Champ Clark, American politician (b. 1850)
1974 – Salvador Puig Antich, Spanish anarchist (b. 1948)
1981 – Tony Gulotta, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1927 3rd), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 1st March 2026
1546 – George Wishart, Scottish religious reformer, martyred at 33
1940 – Josef Swickard, German actor (The Wizard of Oz; Lost City; A Tale of Two Cities), dies at 73
1982 – Charlie Spivak, Ukrainian-American big band trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 75
1994 – Walter Kent, American composer (I’ll Be Home for Christmas), dies at 82
1994 – Manmohan Desai, Indian filmmaker (Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag), dies at 57
1994 – Sandro Fuga, Italian composer and pianist, dies at 87
1995 – Earl Blackwell, American society impresario (Celebrity Register), dies at 85
1995 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish soccer forward (12 caps; Barcelona) and manager (Zaragoza, Barcelona), dies at 74
2017 – Paula Fox, American writer (The Slave Dancer), dies at 92
2021 – Vladimír Heger, Czech basketball coach (Czechoslovakia 1965-69, 72-76; Netherlands 1983-85), dies at 89
Historical Events for 1st March 2026
1815 – Sunday observance in Netherlands regulated by law
1913 – David Beatty becomes Rear-Admiral Commanding the Royal Navy’s 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
1941 – German troops invade Bulgaria
1976 – 11th Academy of Country Music Awards: Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn win
1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
1993 – New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is reinstated as general partner of the team; banned because of his relationship with convicted gambler Howie Spira
1997 – “Mandy Patinkin in Concert” opens at Lyceum Theater, NYC; runs for limited run of 16 performances
2016 – MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sends a strong message on the issue of domestic violence; issues a 30-game suspension to NY Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman
Today in History for 1st March 2026
Historical Events
1859 – Present seal of San Francisco adopted (its 2nd)
1903 – Major League Baseball Rules Committee rule that pitcher’s mound must not be more than 15 inches higher than the baselines or home plate
1970 – Kreisky’s Social Democrats win Austrian parliamentary election
1995 – 37th Grammy Awards: “All I Want to Do” by Sheryl Crow; “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen win
1999 – Daryll Cullinan scores South African cricket record 275no in the drawn 1st Test against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland; Gary Kirsten 128
Famous Birthdays
1835 – Matthias Joseph Scheeben, German theologist (Natur und Gnade), born in Meckenheim (d. 1888)
1923 – Péter Kuczka, Hungarian writer, poet, and editor of science fiction, born in Székesfehérvár, Hungary (d. 1999)
1944 – Mike D’Abo, British rock vocalist (Manfred Mann – “Mighty Quinn”; Jesus Christ Superstar – “Herod”), and songwriter (“Handbags and Gladrags”), born in Betchworth, Surrey, England
1970 – Yolanda Griffith, American Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame center (Olympic gold 2000, 04; WNBA Finals MVP 2005, Sacramento Monarchs; 8 × WNBA All-Star), born in Chicago, Illinois
1977 – Esther Cañadas, Spanish supermodel who has worked with Donna Karen and Balenciaga, born in Alicante, Spain
Famous Deaths
1898 – George Bruce Malleson, English officer in India and author, dies at 72
1950 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American scientist and philosopher, dies at 70
1952 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican novelist (The Flies, The Bosses), dies at 79
1972 – Violet Trefusis, English writer and socialite who had a famous affair with writer Vita Sackville-West, dies at 77
2019 – Eusebio Pedroza, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight champion 1978-85), dies of pancreatic cancer at 62
Famous Deaths for 28th February 2026
1788 – Thomas Cushing, American statesman, Continental Congressman, acting Governor of Massachusetts (1785) and dangerous radical, dies at 62
1965 – Adolf Schärf, Austrian politician (President of Austria, 1957-65; Vice-Chancellor, 1945-57), dies at 74
1986 – Laura Z. Hobson, American TV writer and panelist (I’ve Got a Secret), dies at 85
1989 – Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, Indian yoga instructor and scholar known as “The Father of Modern Yoga”, dies at 101
1994 – G. O. Sayles, English historian, dies at 92
1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (Father Ted Crilly-Father Ted), dies of a heart attack at 45
2006 – John La Rose, Trinidadian-British activist, trade unionist, publisher and poet (Eyelets of Truth Within Me), dies at 78
2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (Cool Hand Luke, Airport films; Naked Gun films;, Dallas), dies at 91
2017 – Claude Rene Georges Pascal, French composer, dies at 96
2020 – Johnny Antonelli, American baseball pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series, NL ERA leader 1954; NY Giants), dies from colon cancer at 89