15th March: Beware the Ides of March!

The Ides of March is the first day of Spring and also New Year in the Roman calendar. Most people know that Julius Caesar was stabbed by Marcus Brutus on the Ides of March in 44 BC having been warned by soothsayers to "beware of the Ides of March". Here are 10 other things that have happened on the fateful day through the ages:

Julius Caesar

1. 1767 Andrew Jackson, “Old Hickory” 7th president of the US, was born.
2. 1964 Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton for the first time at the Ritz Carlton in Montreal.
3. 1820 Maine was admitted as the 23rd US State.
4. 1907 Finland became the first European country to give women the right to vote.
5. 1945 Billboard published its first album chart (King Cole Trio was the first number 1).
6. 1951 Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley created Californium, a radioactive element.
7. 1965 T.G.I. Friday's first restaurant opened in New York.
8. 1969 Swindon Town beat Arsenal 3-1 in the League cup final at Wembley.
9. 1909 Harry Selfridge opened Britain's first department store in Oxford Street, London.
10. 2000 Sir Paul McCartney confirmed that he and former model Heather Mills were 'an item'.