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On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius, who believed that his death would lead to the restoration of the Roman Republic.- On March 16, 1751, James Madison, author of the Federalist Papers and fourth president of the United States, is born in Virginia. Madison is best remembered for his critical role in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he oversaw the drafting of the final Constitution.
- On March 17, 1776, British forces are forced to evacuate Boston following Gen. George Washington’s successful placement of fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights. Realizing their position was now indefensible, 11,000 British troops sailed to the safety of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- On March 14, 1919, Max Brand, perhaps the most prolific writer of Western stories, publishes his first novel, “The Untamed.” Max Brand was one of 21 pen names used by author Frederick Faust. Unlike many Western authors, Faust made no pretense to historical accuracy in his works.
- On March 13, 1969, “The Love Bug,” a movie about the adventures of a Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie, opens in theaters. The Walt Disney film, based on the 1961 book “Car, Boy, Girl” by Gordon Buford, spawned four spinoffs.
- On March 12, 1972, the last remnants of the First Australian Task Force withdraw from Vietnam. The Australian government had first sent troops to Vietnam in 1964 and by 1969, their forces totaled an estimated 6,600 personnel.
- On March 11, 1990, Lithuania becomes the first Soviet republic to proclaim its independence from the USSR. The Soviet government responded by imposing an oil embargo and economic blockade against the Baltic republic, and later sent troops. Lithuania would gain its independence in September 1991.
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