1756 – Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).

1780 – American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.

1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King.

1845 – The rubber band is patented.

1861 – The Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) is proclaimed.

1941 – In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1942 – Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lviv Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp (eastern Poland).

1958 – The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.

1960 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family.

1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the “Night Stalker,” commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California murder spree.

2008 – Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer resigns after a scandal involving a high-end prostitute. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson becomes New York State governor. (I’m still impressed this made it to wikipedia)

As always, thanks Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_17