Events

• 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
• 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus.
• 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
• 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
• 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilisation and its wealth.
• 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
• 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
• 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
• 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
• 1814 – War of 1812: Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
• 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted (refer to American Civil War).
• 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
• 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
• 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
• 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
• 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins.
  • It ends on 06 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
• 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the US Army Air Force begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
• 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre, unloading 76 tons of grenades and munitions, explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
• 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
• 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament (refer to The Troubles).
• 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
• 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
• 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
  • Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
• 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.

People (Births)

• 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694).
• 1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779).
• 1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849).
• 1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875).
• 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856).
• 1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863).
• 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940).
• 1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, American Army officer (d. 1955).
• 1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961).
• 1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965).
• 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939).
• 1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945).
• 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force) (d. 1986).
• 1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998).
• 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973).
• 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991).
• 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969).
• 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000).
• 1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977).
• 1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and racing driver (d. 2018).
• 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho.
• 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general.
• 1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician.
• 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001).
• 1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994).
• 1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces.
• 1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist.
• 1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist.
• 1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner.
• 2001 – Freya Anderson, English freestyle swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656).
• 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776).
• 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794).
• 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831).
• 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856).
• 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury, English cyclist (b. 1882).
• 1960 – Herbert O’Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896).
• 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894).
• 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English naval lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912).
• 1981 – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900).
• 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929).
• 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honour recipient (b. 1919).
• 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901).
• 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953).
• 2015 – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932).