| 1 March 834 | Carolingian Empire [political events] | Louis I the Pious is restored as Frankish emperor by his eldest son, Lothair I, after he quarrels with his brothers, Louis the German and Pepin. |
| 1 March 1146 | France [Crusades (1095–1272)] | Pope Eugenius III proclaims the Second Crusade on God's behalf. The response is disappointing until the French Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux begins preaching the crusade. |
| 1 March 1260 | Syria, Ayyubid Sultanate, Mongol Empire [Mongol conquests (1206–1405)] | The city of Damascus surrenders to the Mongols, who now occupy all Syria, extinguishing the Ayyubid Sultanate. The Mongol leader Hulagu is soon forced to withdraw most of his forces because of a succession dispute. |
| 1 March 1562 | France [French Wars of Religion (1562–80)] | A congregation of 1,200 Huguenots (French Protestants) is massacred by the Guise army marching on Paris at Vassy, provoking the First War of Religion in France. |
| 1 March 1810 | France, Poland [births and deaths] | Frédéric Chopin, French composer known for his works for piano, born in Zelazowa, Poland (–1849). |
| 1 March 1815 | France [Napoleonic Wars (1803–15)] | Napoleon I, having escaped from the island of Elba, lands in the south of France at Cannes and marches on the capital, Paris, with growing support. |
| 1–30 March 1882 | USA [natural disasters] | Floods along the Mississippi River in the USA leave about 85,000 people homeless. |
| 1 March 1896 | Ethiopia, Italy [wars] | The Ethiopians under King Menelek II defeat the attacking Italian force at Adowa, Ethiopia, forcing Italy to sue for peace. |
| 1 March 1917 | USA, Mexico, Germany [World War I (1914–18)] | The publication in the USA of the ‘Zimmermann telegram’ causes outrage. The telegram is a message from the German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador in Mexico City, Mexico, which states that if war breaks out between Germany and the USA, the ambassador is to propose an alliance with Mexico and support Mexico's reacquisition of territory lost to the USA in 1848. |
| 1 March 1920 | Hungary [law and government] | The military commander in chief Admiral Nikolaus Horthy is elected regent of Hungary, pending a possible restoration of the Habsburg monarchy. |
| 1 March 1931 | United Kingdom [political parties] | The former Labour Party member Oswald Mosley launches the New Party in Britain; the party is modelled on European authoritarian movements and advocates a much greater government role in job creation through reinflationary policies. |
| 1 March 1932 | United Kingdom [legislation] | The Import Duties Act comes into force in Britain, effectively ending 80 years of free trade. |
| 1 March 1935 | Greece [revolution] | The former Greek prime minister Eleutherios Venizelos leads a rebel group attempting to prevent the restoration of the monarchy. The attempt fails and he flees to France. |
| 1 March 1935 | Germany [political events] | The district of Saarland, administered by the French under the League of Nations since 1919, is restored to Germany. |
| 1 March 1950 | West Germany [food and drink] | The rationing of all foods except sugar ends in West Germany. |
| 1 March 1966 | USSR [space exploration] | Soviet probe Venera 3 (launched 16 November 1965) crash-lands on Venus, the first artificial object to land on another planet. |
| 1 March 1979 | UK [law and government] | Referendums are held in Britain on devolution in Scotland and Wales.Devolution is approved in Scotland by 51.6% of the voters, but this falls short of the required 40% of the electorate. Devolution is rejected in Wales by 79.8% of the voters. |
| 1 March 1983 | UK, France, West Germany, Netherlands [consumer products] | A group of companies, including Sony and Philips, launches compact disc players in Britain, France, West Germany, and the Netherlands. Around 200 discs are available, costing between £9 and £12. |
| 1 March 1988 | England [computing] | The English company Tome Associates demonstrates the first desktop computer that responds to voice commands, developed from research by the British Library and London University. |
| 1 March 1998 | Serbia [political events] | Serbia sends troops into the southern province of Kosovo to flush out ethnic Albanian secessionist paramilitaries. Hundreds of men, women, and children are killed over the next few weeks. It is the worst bloodshed to date in Kosovo's nine-year campaign by its Albanian majority to regain their autonomy. |
| 1 March 1999 | Switzerland [weapons] | An international treaty banning the use of antipersonnel land mines, signed by 133 countries, comes into effect, marked by a ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. |
| 1 March 2002 | [banking and finance] | In the 12 European Union member states that make up the euro zone, all remaining national banknotes and coins cease to be legal tender as the transition to the single European currency is completed. |
| 1 March 2002 | French Guiana [space exploration] | The European Space Agency's environmental satellite Envisat, the most sophisticated environmental laboratory ever put into space, is launched into orbit successfully from French Guiana in South America. |
