The Ides of March has long been considered an ill-fated day. Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C. Historians note that it is likely that a soothsayer named Spurinna had warned Caesar that danger would occur by the ides of March. William Shakespeare included the phrase “Beware the ides of March” in his play Julius Caesar. The ides were the 15th days of four months (Martius, or March; Maius, or May; Quintilis, or July; and October) in the ancient Roman lunar calendar; they were the 13th in all other months (originally, Aprilis, or April; Iunius, or June; Sextilis, or August; September; November; and December. Ianuarius, or January, and Februarius, or February, were added later). The word ides comes from the Latin word idus, which is possibly derived from an Etruscan word meaning “to divide.” The ides were originally meant to mark the full Moon (the “halfway point” of a lunar month), but because the Roman calendar months and actual lunar months were of different lengths, they quickly got out of step. The ancient Romans considered the day after the calends (first of the month), nones (ninth day before the ides, inclusive), or ides of any month as unfavorable. These were called dies atri.
Every Year
- DIED : 44BC EMPEROR JULIUS CAESAR ASSASSINATED
- MAINE: ADMISSION DAY
- IDES OF MARCH
- ANDREW JACKSON DAY (TENN.)
1720s
1760s
1810s
1820s
1850s
1870s
1880s
1890s
1910s
- 1913: WOODROW WILSON HELD THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER BEING IN OFFICE FOR ONLY 11 DAYS
- BORN 1916: HARRY JAMES (TRUMPET PLAYER)
- 1916: U.S. TROOPS ENTERED MEXICO IN FUTILE SEARCH FOR REVOLUTIONARY BANDIT PANCHO VILLA
- 1919: THE AMERICAN LEGION FOUNDED BY WAR VETERANS IN PARIS
1920s
1930s
1940s
- 1940: THE FIRST MOTION PICTURE, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, FEATURING BOTH MAE WEST AND W.C. FIELDS, WAS RELEASED
- BORN 1941: PHIL LESH (ROCK BASS GUITARIST)
- BORN 1941: MIKE LOVE (SINGER)
- BORN 1944: SLY STONE (MUSICIAN)
- 1945: THE KING COLE TRIO LED BY NAT KING COLE HAD THE FIRST #1 LP ON THE FIRST BILLBOARD MAGAZINE TOP-SELLING RECORD ALBUM CHART
- BORN 1947: RY COODER (GUITARIST & COMPOSER)
1950s
1960s
- 1960: POLICE IN ORANGEBURG, SC, ARRESTED MORE THAN 350 AFRICAN AMERICANS AS SIT-IN DEMONSTRATIONS AND SPORADIC RACIAL VIOLENCE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH
- 1962: BASKETBALL STAR WILT CHAMBERLAIN SCORED HIS 4,000TH POINT OF THE SEASON, AVERAGING 50.4 POINTS PER GAME
- 1964: ACTRESS ELIZABETH TAYLOR MARRIED RICHARD BURTON (FOR THE FIRST TIME) ON THE 8TH FLOOR OF THE RITZ-CARLTON IN MONTREAL
1970s
- 1971: U.S. GOVERNMENT EASED RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL TO CHINA BY U.S. CITIZENS50 Years Ago
- 1972: THE FILM THE GODFATHER PREMIERED IN NEW YORK CITY
- BORN 1975: EVA LONGORIA (ACTRESS)
- DIED 1975: ARISTOTLE ONASSIS (SHIPPING MAGNATE)
- 1977: THE FAMILY DRAMA EIGHT IS ENOUGH PREMIERED
- BORN 1979: KEVIN YOUKILIS (BASEBALL PLAYER)
1980s
1990s
- 1994: MARTIN BUSER CAPTURED HIS SECOND IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE IN THE RECORD TIME OF 10 DAYS, 13 HOURS, 2 MINUTES AND 39 SECONDS
- 1994: HIGHWAY LINE PAINTING APPARATUS PATENTED
- DIED 1998: DR. BENJAMIN SPOCK (PEDIATRICIAN)
2000s
- DIED 2002: SYLVESTER “PAT” WEAVER (CREATOR OF NBC’S TODAY AND TONIGHT SHOWS)
- DIED 2009: RON SILVER (ACTOR)
2010s
COURTESY www.almanac.com
