March 17
March 17 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 289 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Pisces.
Day of year
77
Days remaining
289
ISO week
11
Zodiac
Pisces
Season
Winter
Sun declination
-1.6°
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Wikipedia: this day →Britannica: this day →LoC: Today in History →History.com: this day →On-This-Day.com →BBC: On This Day →NYT: this day →Time and Date →NASA APOD archive →U.S. Naval Observatory →Wolfram|Alpha →Wikidata →Google Books →JSTOR →Internet Archive →
— ad slot (replace with AdSense ins tag) —
Astronomy
Computed via Cooper's formula. Positive declination = Sun north of the celestial equator (Northern Hemisphere summer).
On March 17 the Sun's declination is approximately -1.6°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a March 17.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- St Patrick's Day (Ireland and Irish diaspora)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
- 180 — Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius died at Vindobona (Vienna). ↗(1846 years ago)
- 1776 — American Revolutionary War: British forces evacuated Boston, ending the siege. ↗(250 years ago)
- 1958 — The U.S. launched Vanguard 1, the world's oldest still-orbiting artificial satellite. ↗(68 years ago)
- 1969 — Golda Meir became the first female Prime Minister of Israel. ↗(57 years ago)
Notable births
Notable deaths
- 180 — Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher. ↗(1846 years ago)
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (77) | 7 × 11 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (289) | 17^2 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 17032026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -1.61° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 88 days |