March 15th

Julius Caesar is stabbed to death by Brutus, Cassius and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March in Rome.

Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius.

Liu Bei, a Chinese warlord and member of the Han royal house, declares himself Emperor of Shu-Han, claiming legitimate succession to the Han Dynasty.

A construction crane toppled in New York City, killing seven people.

Scientists reported the discovery of Sedna, the most distant object in the solar system.

The World Health Organization issued a worldwide health alert for the respiratory illness SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes President of the Soviet Union. His economic and political reforms, as well as his advocacy of free speech, strengthened pro-democracy movements in other Eastern European countries and ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

The first Internet domain name, symbolics.com, was registered by the Symbolics Computer Corp. of Massachusetts.

Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, the husband of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, died at age 69.

'The Godfather', Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster movie based on the Mario Puzo novel and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premiered in New York.

Addressing a joint session of Congress, President Lyndon B. Johnson called for new legislation to guarantee every American's right to vote.

Five research groups announce the discovery of anti-matter.

The Lerner and Loewe musical "My Fair Lady" opened on Broadway.

The first hospital blood bank in the United States was established, in Chicago, at Cook County Hospital.

The American Legion was founded in Paris.

Nicholas II, the last Russian Tsar abdicates and nominates his brother Grand Duke Michael to succeed him [OS Mar 2].

President Woodrow Wilson met with about 100 reporters for the first formal presidential press conference.

Enrico Caruso makes his stage debut. The Italian tenor is arguably the most famous opera singer of all time.

Maine became the 23rd state.

In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d'etat never takes place.

Christopher Columbus returned to Spain, concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.