View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
1899 – The first-ever radio distress call was sent, summoning assistance to a merchant ship aground on the Goodwin Sands, Kent.
1912 – The death of Lawrence Oates, a member of Scott’s ill-fated South Pole expedition who was suffering serious frostbite and hampering the progress of his companions. He had left his tent the previous night saying ‘I am just going outside and may be some time.’ Scott recorded ‘A very gallant gentleman.’ Oates’ body was never found. Date of birth 17th March 1880 – Died 17th March 1912.
1939 – The birth of Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single handed, non stop around the world.
1951 – The comic strip character Dennis the Menace appeared in the Beano for the first time. His red and black striped jumper did not feature until a few weeks later and his pet dog Gnasher did not make an appearance until 31st August 1968.
1957 – British European Airways withdrew their Viscount 701s from service after one of them crashed at Manchester Airport 4 days previously, killing 21 people.
1968 – More than 200 people were arrested after demonstrators clashed in an anti Vietnam war protest outside the US embassy in London.
1973 – London Bridge, designed by Lord Holford, was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
1978 – The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground on the coast of Brittany. Over 220,000 tons of crude oil seeped out of the crippled ship, causing serious pollution in Britain and France.
1984 – The 130th Boat Race was postponed (for 24 hours) an hour before the start, after the Cambridge boat was in collision with a barge and sank.
1993 – The death of Charlotte Hughes, aged 115 at St David’s Nursing home in Redcar, Cleveland. At the time of her death she was not only the oldest person in Britain, but the second oldest person in the world.
1995 – Gangster Ronnie Kray died in Broadmoor hospital. He was serving a life sentence for heinous crimes after being arrested by Superintendent Leonard “Nipper” Read.
1996 – The Queen visited Dunblane – Scotland following the massacre on 13th March of 16 children and their teacher at the local school.
2013 – The last TV network news from Television Centre in west London was broadcast on BBC One. Mishal Husain presented the programme from studio N6 at 22:00 GMT, signing off nearly 45 years of bulletins after the Centre had been sold for redevelopment.
2015 – The UK’s first Bio-Bus, nicknamed ‘the poo bus’ was officially launched in Bristol as Service Number 2. Powered entirely on gas generated by human and food waste it went into regular service on 25th March.
Everyone who was born on March 17th shares the zodiac sign of Pisces.
Anyone born in March has the Aquamarine birthstone. The ancient Romans used aquamarine to protect their sailors during storms. This gem is known for calming nerves as it channels the soothing qualities of the waves of the sea.
It’s always darkest before dawn. So if you’re going to steal the neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.
Dragons must have a hard time blowing on their soup to cool it down.
The phrase “The die is cast” is from a Julius Caeser quote and refers to gaming dice.
Alanis Morissette’s’ Jagged Little Pill has sold more copies than the Beatle’s Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Most ice cream is eaten between 9:00 and 11:00 PM.
J. Peterman clothing company that Elaine Benes worked for on Seinfeld is a real company. Their clothes really do come with whimsical stories.
“The more they tried to make it just like home, the more they made everybody miss it.” – Willard in Apocalypse Now #moviequotes
If you’re debating whether or not you should go to someone’s wake/funeral, the answer is yes.
“To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!” – Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) #moviequotes
The FBI kept 2,403 pages of records on Frank Sinatra for his Mafia ties.
Karat and Carat measure two different things: a karat measures the purity of metals on a 1-24 scale, whereas a carat measures the weight of precious stones and pearls, one carat being 200 mg.
There are (13!) sequels to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum
Redondo Beach, CA adopted the Goodyear Blimp as the city’s official bird in 1983.
2018 – Xi’an, China, introduced a pedestrian lane for people who walk while looking at their phones.
1993 – The Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, fell into the sea following a landslide, making news around the world.
1805 – The first Trooping of the Colour took place on Horse Guards Parade. It was Edward VII who moved Trooping the Colour to its June date, because of the vagaries of British weather.
2015 – Archaeologists began excavating up to 3,000 skeletons from a burial ground under London’s Liverpool Street station.