2,070 years ago today
Julius Caesar Assassinated on the Ides of March
On March 15, 44 BC — the Ides of March in the Roman calendar — Julius Caesar, dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death in the Theatre of Pompey by a conspiracy of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Caesar received 23 stab wounds, though according to the physician Antistius, only one was fatal. The conspirators believed they were saving the Republic from tyranny, but the assassination instead plunged Rome into nearly two decades of brutal civil wars that ultimately ended the Republic and gave rise to the Roman Empire under Caesar's adopted son Augustus. The Ides of March has resonated through history as a symbol of political betrayal and the fragility of power.
Andrew Jackson
7th President of the United States
Andrew Jackson rose from a hardscrabble frontier childhood to become a war hero and the 7th President of the United States. His presidency (1829–1837) was defined by fierce populism, the forcible removal of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears, and a war on the Second Bank of the United States.
Julius Caesar
Roman dictator, general, and statesman
Julius Caesar was Rome's most brilliant military commander and a masterful politician who transformed the Roman Republic into a personal autocracy. His conquest of Gaul, crossing of the Rubicon, and sweeping domestic reforms set the stage for the Roman Empire — and his assassination on this day in 44 BC became one of history's most consequential moments.
Lightnin' Hopkins
American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter
Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the most prolific and influential Texas blues guitarists, recording hundreds of songs over more than five decades. His raw, spontaneous style was a direct link from early country blues to the rock and roll era.
Emil von Behring
German physician, first Nobel Prize in Physiology laureate
Emil von Behring pioneered the development of serum therapy, discovering that blood serum from animals recovering from diphtheria and tetanus could protect others from those diseases. He was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901 for this work.
Lady Gregory
Irish playwright and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre
Augusta, Lady Gregory was a central figure of the Irish Literary Revival who co-founded the Abbey Theatre in Dublin with W.B. Yeats and J.M. Synge. Her plays, drawing on Irish folklore and peasant speech, helped define a distinctly Irish theatrical tradition.
Rome Declares War on Philip V of Macedon
The Roman Republic declares war on Philip V of Macedon, starting the Second Macedonian War. Rome's eventual victory would extend its power into the Greek East and begin the transformation of the Mediterranean into a Roman lake.
Washington Defuses Newburgh Conspiracy with an Emotional Speech
In an emotional address to his officers at Newburgh, New York, General George Washington appeals to their patriotism and loyalty, successfully preventing a threatened military coup against the Continental Congress. He famously put on reading glasses, saying he had grown both gray and nearly blind in the service of his country.
Maine Admitted as the 23rd U.S. State
Maine is admitted to the Union as the 23rd state as part of the Missouri Compromise, which simultaneously admitted Missouri as a slave state to maintain the balance between free and slave states in the Senate.
Tsar Nicholas II Abdicates, Ending the Romanov Dynasty
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia signs his abdication, ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty and the imperial system that had governed Russia since the 16th century. His abdication came amid massive popular protests, military mutiny, and the strains of World War I, setting the stage for the Bolshevik Revolution eight months later.
Germany Occupies the Rest of Czechoslovakia
German forces march into and occupy Bohemia and Moravia, formally ending Czechoslovakia's independence just six months after the Munich Agreement had supposedly guaranteed its security. The occupation demolished any remaining illusions about Hitler's intentions and doomed the policy of appeasement.
'We Shall Overcome': Johnson Appeals to Congress on Voting Rights
President Lyndon B. Johnson addresses Congress in the wake of the Selma crisis, declaring 'We shall overcome' and calling for passage of the Voting Rights Act. The speech is considered one of the most powerful presidential addresses in American history.
Gorbachev Elected President of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first and only President of the Soviet Union by the Congress of People's Deputies, a newly created post that represented the last attempt to modernize the Soviet system before its dissolution in 1991.
Syrian Civil War Begins
Protests erupt across Syria against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, beginning the Syrian revolution that would escalate into a devastating civil war killing hundreds of thousands and displacing millions across the region.
Christchurch Mosque Shootings Kill 51 in New Zealand
A white supremacist gunman attacks two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday prayers, killing 51 worshippers and wounding dozens more. The attack, livestreamed on social media, prompted New Zealand to ban assault weapons within weeks.
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Dictator of the Roman Republic
Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times on the floor of the Theatre of Pompey by a conspiracy of senators, including his trusted friend Marcus Junius Brutus. His death, intended to save the Roman Republic, instead destroyed it, unleashing the civil wars that gave birth to the Roman Empire.
H.P. Lovecraft
American horror and science fiction writer
H.P. Lovecraft died in Providence, Rhode Island, in obscurity and poverty. He had spent his life crafting tales of cosmic horror centred on the fictional Cthulhu Mythos. Decades after his death, his influence on horror, fantasy, and science fiction proved enormous.
Tam Dalyell
Scottish politician and Father of the House of Commons
Tam Dalyell was one of Britain's most dogged parliamentary inquisitors, best known for persistently questioning the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano during the Falklands War and for formulating the 'West Lothian question' about Scottish MPs voting on English matters.
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