March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of seven months that are 31 days long. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20th or 21st marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere for March.
March symbols: The birthstones of March are aquamarine and bloodstone. These stones symbolize courage. Its birth flower is the daffodil. The zodiac signs for the month of March are Pisces (until March 20) and Aries (March 21 onwards).
Historical Events for March, 2002
Day of Week 1st » War in Afghanistan (2001–present) known as U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
1st » The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit convert 800 km mi sp=us above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload (air and space craft) payload to date at 8500 kilograms (8.5 tons).
1st » The Spanish peseta called peseta is discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced by the euro (€).
Day of Week 2nd » War in Afghanistan (2001–present) named U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
Day of Week 4th » War in Afghanistan (2001–present) known as Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to Battle of Takur Ghar called infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helico
Day of Week 19th » Zimbabwe is List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations Former members or suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations known as Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election.
Day of Week 27th » Passover massacre: A Palestinian people e.g Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people partaking of the Passover Seder named Passover meal in Netanya, Israel.
27th » Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors and the injury of 19 others.
Day of Week 29th » In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian political violence called Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Famous Deaths for March 2002
1st » C. Farris Bryant, American politician, 34th List of Governors of Florida named Governor of Florida (b. 1914)
3rd » Harlan Howard, American songwriter (b. 1927)
3rd » G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1951)
4th » Eric Flynn, Chinese-Welsh actor and singer (b. 1939)
4th » Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
4th » Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (b. 1913)
4th » Margarete Neumann, German author and poet (b. 1917)
4th » Shirley Ann Russell, English costume designer (b. 1935)
4th » Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
6th » Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1969)
11th » James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences named Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
12th » Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot politician, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932)
12th » Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
13th » Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher (b. 1900)
13th » Eugen Sacharias, German-Estonian architect (b. 1906)
14th » Cherry Wilder, New Zealand author (b. 1930)
17th » Rosetta LeNoire, American actress and producer (b. 1911)
17th » Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence (Vietnam) named Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1917)
17th » Sylvester Weaver (executive) named Sylvester Weaver, American broadcaster, created the 'Today (U.S. TV program) e.g Today Show' and 'The Tonight Show' (b. 1908)