Historical Calendar - March

The British Library Calendar of Events is here to help you find that telling image for notable events and anniversaries. You'll find historical anniversaries as well as contemporary events - each date or event is represented by an image - simply click on the links to view what we hold.

Historic events for March

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St. Davids Day The feast day of Saint David, the patron Saint of Wales.	1717 The first ballet in England is performed.	1845 Florida becomes the 27th US sate.	1215 King John pledges oath to the Pope to be a crusader.	1512 Geradus Mercator, Flemish cartographer, born.	1475 Michelangelo, Italian artist and sculptor (d.1564), born.	1530 Henry VIII declares himself supreme head of the church in England, having had his divorce request refused by the pope.
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1894 The state of New York enacts the nation's first dog-licensing law.	1562 Kissing in public banned in Naples.	1804 The Louisiana purchase, United States of America purchased French claim to Louisiana for 60 million francs ($11,250,000) plus cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs ($3,750,000).	Romeo & Juliet's wedding day. According to William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet were married on this day.	1784 William Buckland, English pioneer geologist and minister, born.	1815 Napoleon declared an outlaw.	1925 John Wain, English poet, novelist, and critic, born.
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44BC Julius Caesar murdered by members of the senate.	1819 The first clinical description of the allergy - hay fever - was delivered by Dr John Bostock to a meeting of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in London.	St. Patricks Day Named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland. It is a public holiday in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat.	1745 Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford and British Prime Minister (1721 - 1742), born.	1853 The Taiping reform movement occupies and makes Nanjing its capital until 1864.	Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest. Celebrated on the Friday before Easter.	1826 Beethoven's Quartet No.13 premiers in Vienna.
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1455 The first printed book, the Guttenberg Bible is published.	1889 The free Woolwich Ferry officially opens in east London.	1938 Ian Hamilton, British literary critic, reviewer, biographer, poet, magazine editor and publisher, born.	1807 The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.	1856 William Caxton printed his translation of Æsop's Fables.	1625 Charles I ascends the throne to become King of England, Scotland and Ireland.	1797 Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patents a washing machine.
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1833 Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act.	1533 Thomas Cranmer becomes archbishop of Canterbury.	1922 Lionel Davidson, English novelist who wrote a number of acclaimed spy thrillers, born.