What Happened in March 1998
Publish date: 2024-09-25
Historical Events
- Mar 1 Mark Martin drives his Ford Taurus to victory in the inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Martin finishes 1.6 seconds ahead of teammate Jeff Burton
- Mar 1 Miami's Pat Riley becomes the 5th head coach to record 900 NBA career wins with Heat's 85-84 win over the New Jersey Nets
Film & TV History
Mar 1 Yasmina Reza's French stage comedy "Art", starring Alan Alda, Victor Garber, and Alfred Molina opens at Royale Theater, NYC; runs for 600 performances
- Mar 2 Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice
Event of Interest
Mar 3 Bill Gates testifies at Senate Judiciary Committee about Microsoft's dominant position in the software industry
- Mar 4 Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
Event of Interest
Mar 6 British Union Flag begins to be flown full-mast over Buckingham Palace whenever British monarch not in residence, following change of protocol after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
- Mar 6 Matt Beck, an angry lottery accountant kills 4 at Connecticut state lottery
- Mar 7 19th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Connecticut beats Syracuse, 69-64
- Mar 8 39th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats South Carolina, 86-56
- Mar 8 45th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #4 North Carolina beats #1 Duke, 83-68
Film & TV History
Mar 8 The Screen Actors Guild award Gloria Stuart (Old Rose in "Titanic") with their Founders Award
- Mar 12 "The Sound of Music" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
- Mar 15 An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hits southeastern Iran
John Paul II Asks for Forgiveness
Mar 16 Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust
- Mar 22 18th Golden Raspberry Awards: The Postman wins
- Mar 24 A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India killing 250 people and injuring 3000 others.
- Mar 24 Jonesboro massacre: Two students, ages 11 and 13, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are dead and ten are wounded.
- Mar 26 Oued Bouaicha massacre in Algeria; 52 people killed with axes and knives, 32 of them babies under the age of 2.
- Mar 27 Chicago Bulls - Atlanta Hawks matchup at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, draws a crowd of 62,046, largest in any game in NBA history; Bulls win, 89-74
The Capeman
Mar 28 Paul Simon and Derek Walcott's musical "The Capeman", about a 1959 gang murder, starring Marc Anthony and Ruben Blades, closes at the Marquis Theatre, NYC, after 68 performances
- Mar 29 17th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Louisiana Tech, 93-75; Volunteers' 3-peat, completing undefeated season (39–0)
- Mar 29 Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Pat Hurst wins her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Helen Dobson after sinking a 5-foot birdie putt at the final green
- Mar 29 Vasco da Gama Road bridge opens in Lisbon, Portugal as the longest bridge in Europe
- Mar 30 60th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Utah, 78-69; Wildcats' 2nd title in 3 seasons and 7th overall
- Mar 31 Expansion clubs, Tampa Bay and Arizona both suffer bad losses in their MLB debuts; Devil Rays lose, 11-6 to the Detroit Tigers and the Diamondbacks fall, 9-2 to Colorado Rockies
- Mar 31 Milwaukee becomes first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch MLB leagues; Brewers lose first NL game, 2-1 to the Braves in Atlanta
Famous Birthdays
- Mar 4 Obi Toppin, American basketball power forward (NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion 2022; NY Knicks, Indiana Pacers), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Mar 10 Justin Herbert, American NFL player (LA Chargers), born in Eugene, Oregon
- Mar 18 Miltiadis Tentoglou, Greek athlete (Olympic gold long jump 2020), born in Grevena, Greece
- Mar 20 Allisen Corpuz, American golfer (US Open 2023), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Mar 24 Damar Hamlin, American NFL player (Buffalo Bulls), born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
- Mar 24 Ethel Cain [Hayden Silas Anhedönia], American singer-songwriter ("Preacher's Daughter"), born in Tallahassee, Florida
- Mar 26 Omar Ayuso, Spanish actor (Elite), born in Madrid, Spain
Famous Weddings
Famous Divorces
Famous Deaths
- Mar 2 Henry Steele Commager, American historian (Atlas of Civil War), dies at 95
- Mar 3 Fred W. Friendly, American journalist and broadcast executive, dies at 82
- Mar 5 Donald Woods, Canadian actor (True Grit, Craig Kennedy; Criminologist), dies at 91
- Mar 6 Adem Jasari, Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leader, killed
- Mar 6 Frank Barrett, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- Mar 7 Leopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek, Austrian dramatic soprano (Vienna State Opera 1954-96; Metropolitan Opera, 1959-96), dies of bone cancer at 71
- Mar 9 Alfred Pugsley, English civil engineer (R101 airship), dies at 94
- Mar 10 Lloyd Bridges, American actor (Sea Hunt, Roots, Airplane!), dies of natural causes at 85
- Mar 11 Jean Shiley, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 86
- Mar 12 Beatrice Wood, American artist, ceramist and editor (The Blind Man, inspiration for Titanic film character Rose), dies at 105
- Mar 12 Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (The Shop on Main Street), dies at 74
- Mar 12 Judge Dread [Alexander Hughes] English reggae musician, dies from a heart attack at 52
- Mar 13 Bill Reid, Canadian artist (b. 1920)
- Mar 13 Hans von Ohain, German-American aerospace engineer, developed 1st turbojet engine, dies at 86 [1]
- Mar 15 (Robert) "Jheri" Redding, American hairdresser, businessman, and National Cosmetology Foundation's Hall of Fame member (created the Jheri curl and hair conditioner), dies at 91
- Mar 15 (Sebastião) "Tim" Maia, Brazilian rock, soul, sambalanço, and funk singer-songwriter, and musician, dies at 55
- Mar 16 Derek Barton, British organic chemist ( Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1969), dies at 79 [1]
- Mar 16 Esther Bubley, American photographer, dies at 77
- Mar 17 Bernarr Rainbow, English historian of music education, organist, and choir master, dies at 83
- Mar 20 Beverley Cross, English playwright and screenwriter (Strip the Willow; Half a Sixpence), dies at 66
- Mar 20 George Howard, American smooth jazz saxophonist (Dream Ride), dies of colon cancer at 41
- Mar 21 Galina Ulanova, Russian ballet dancer considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century (Bolshoi Theatre), dies at 88
- Mar 23 Gerald Stano, American serial killer (confessed to killing 41 people), dies at 46
- Mar 25 Daniel Massey, English actor (Vault of Horror), dies at 64
- Mar 25 Max Green, Australian lawyer (b. 1952)
- Mar 25 Steve Schiff, American politician (Rep-R-New Mexico 1989-98), dies of cancer at 51
- Mar 27 David McClelland, American psychologist (b. 1917)
- Mar 27 Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile pioneer (Porsche AG), dies at 88
- Mar 29 Dudley Wysong, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1966 runner-up), dies of an aneurysm at 58
- Mar 30 Ramsay Ames [Phillips], American actress, model and dancer (The Mummy's Ghost; Ali Baba & the 40 Thieves), dies of lung cancer at 79
- Mar 31 Bella Abzug "Battling Bella", American politician, feminist and activist (Rep-D-NY, 1970-74), dies at 77
- Mar 31 Tim Flock, American auto racer (Winston Cup 1952, 55), dies of liver and throat cancer at 73
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