# March 14
**March 14** is the 73rd day of the year in the [Gregorian calendar](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregorian-calendar), with 292 days remaining until the year's end in a common year.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) It is best known as [Pi Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/pi-day), a celebration of the mathematical constant π whose date, written 3/14 in the US month/day format, matches the first three digits of the number, and it is also the birthday of [Albert Einstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-einstein).[2](https://www.history.com/articles/where-did-pi-day-come-from)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position in the year | 73rd day of 365 in a common year; 292 days remain[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) |
| Pi Day | Founded in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco; recognized by a US House of Representatives resolution in 2009[2](https://www.history.com/articles/where-did-pi-day-come-from) |
| Einstein's birthday | Born March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) |
| Hawking's death | Stephen Hawking died at his home in Cambridge, England, on March 14, 2018, at age 76, after living with ALS for 55 years[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) |
| Cotton gin patent | Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin on March 14, 1794[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) |
| Birmingham Six | The six men, wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1974 IRA Birmingham pub bombings, were released on March 14, 1991[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14) |
| Other observances | International Day of Mathematics, International Day of Action for Rivers, National Potato Chip Day, and Mother Tongue Day in Estonia, among others[4](https://www.thedayof.net/march-14/) • [5](https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/calendars/2026/3/14) |
## Pi Day
Pi Day lands on March 14 because the numerical date 3/14 represents the first three digits of π, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximately 3.14159.[2](https://www.history.com/articles/where-did-pi-day-come-from) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/549286e6ea0a093cbc75f3b17fdc150f) Physicist Larry Shaw organized the first celebration in 1988 at the [Exploratorium](https://www.edgepedia.org/exploratorium), a San Francisco science museum, with a circular parade and the eating of fruit pies.[2](https://www.history.com/articles/where-did-pi-day-come-from) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/549286e6ea0a093cbc75f3b17fdc150f) The holiday gained national recognition two decades later: in 2009 the US House of Representatives passed a resolution designating March 14 as National Pi Day to encourage schools to teach students about π and mathematics.[2](https://www.history.com/articles/where-did-pi-day-come-from) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/ca302b43d7f64acaf6a234f4206206a1)
The date's association with π is an artifact of US date notation. As a European, Einstein would have written his own birthday as 14/3, and the Princeton historian of science Michael Gordin, dean of the college and co-author of a short biography of Einstein, reports no known comments from Einstein about the coincidence.[8](https://www.princeton.edu/news/2022/03/14/why-einstein-wouldnt-think-march-14-pi-day-and-other-insights-his-life-and-times) The connection nonetheless helped the holiday catch the public imagination, and March 14, 2015 (3/14/15) drew particular attention.[9](https://carmamaths.org/jon/pi-monthly.pdf)
NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/jet-propulsion-laboratory) marks the day with an annual illustrated Pi Day Challenge of math problems based on real mission work, from calculating the area of the moon's shadow during a solar eclipse to navigating the Cassini spacecraft's final orbits at Saturn.[10](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resources/teachable-moment/celebrate-pi-day-like-a-nasa-rocket-scientist/) JPL engineers note that although π has been calculated to more than one trillion digits, the approximation 3.14 is often precise enough for their calculations.[10](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resources/teachable-moment/celebrate-pi-day-like-a-nasa-rocket-scientist/)
## Historical events
**Science and medicine.** On March 14, 1942, Orvan Hess and John Bumstead are generally credited with the first documented successful treatment of a dying patient with penicillin, although some accounts point to earlier trials at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary.[11](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/march/14) The same date in 1910 saw the start of the Lakeview Gusher, which released 9 million barrels of crude oil over 18 months and remains the largest accidental oil spill in history.[11](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/march/14)
**Politics and law.** Eli Whitney received his cotton gin patent in 1794, an invention that spurred a boom in cotton production and a corresponding growth in slavery.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14) In 1964 a Dallas jury found [Jack Ruby](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-ruby) guilty of murdering [Lee Harvey Oswald](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-harvey-oswald), the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death; it was the first courtroom verdict televised in US history, and both the conviction and the sentence were later overturned.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14) In 1990 the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies elected [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://www.edgepedia.org/mikhail-gorbachev) to the newly strengthened presidency of the Soviet Union, and in 2013 Xi Jinping was elected president of the People's Republic of China at the 12th National People's Congress.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) The FBI debuted its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on March 14, 1950.[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14)
**Other events.** In 1967 President Kennedy's body was moved to a permanent memorial site at [Arlington National Cemetery](https://www.edgepedia.org/arlington-national-cemetery). In 1973 [John McCain](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-mccain) was released after more than five years as a prisoner of war in [North Vietnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-vietnam), and in 1995 astronaut Norman Thagard became the first American to enter space aboard a Russian rocket, launching toward the Mir space station.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) In 1958 the Recording Industry Association of America awarded its first Gold Record, to Perry Como for "Catch a Falling Star," and in 1979 Judy Chicago's feminist installation "The Dinner Party" opened at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14)
## Births and deaths
The date's most famous birth is Albert Einstein, born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) Other people born on March 14 include the composer [Georg Philipp Telemann](https://www.edgepedia.org/georg-philipp-telemann) (1681), the physician and Nobel laureate [Paul Ehrlich](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-ehrlich) (1854), the actor [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine) (1933), the comedian Billy Crystal (1948), NBA star Stephen Curry (1988), and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles (1997), whose 11 Olympic medals include seven golds.[11](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/march/14) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14)
Notable deaths on the date include the philosopher [Karl Marx](https://www.edgepedia.org/karl-marx) (1883), Indonesian vice president Mohammad Hatta (1980), English politician Tony Benn (2014), and Stephen Hawking (2018), who died at 76 after living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for 55 years.[11](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/march/14) • [1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef) The coincidence that Hawking, a cosmologist, died on Einstein's birthday and Pi Day is frequently noted.[1](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef)
## Observances
Beyond Pi Day, calendars list a range of observances on March 14. The United Nations-style International Day of Mathematics falls on the date, as does the International Day of Action for Rivers.[4](https://www.thedayof.net/march-14/) • [5](https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/calendars/2026/3/14) Lighter observances include National Potato Chip Day, National Children's Craft Day, and Learn About Butterflies Day.[4](https://www.thedayof.net/march-14/) • [12](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/march-14.html) Estonia marks Mother Tongue Day, Andorra observes Constitution Day, commemorating the assent given to its 1993 constitution on March 14, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines observes Heroes' Day.[5](https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/calendars/2026/3/14) • [13](https://anydayguide.com/calendar/14-03-2026) • [14](https://thisday.info/events/march/14)
## References
1. [Today in History: March 14, Albert Einstein is born, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/5681781f5a9c6fe1f4993c2e8dc6e8ef)
2. [What Is Pi Day?, HISTORY](https://www.history.com/articles/where-did-pi-day-come-from)
3. [What Happened on March 14, HISTORY](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-14)
4. [March 14 national days 2026, TheDayOf](https://www.thedayof.net/march-14/)
5. [Day Guide for Saturday March 14th 2026, There Is a Day for That](https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/calendars/2026/3/14)
6. [From rockets to cancer research, here's how the number pi is embedded in our lives, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/549286e6ea0a093cbc75f3b17fdc150f)
7. [What's Pi Day all about? Math, science, pies and more, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/ca302b43d7f64acaf6a234f4206206a1)
8. [Why Einstein wouldn't think of March 14 as Pi Day, Princeton University](https://www.princeton.edu/news/2022/03/14/why-einstein-wouldnt-think-march-14-pi-day-and-other-insights-his-life-and-times)
9. [Pi Monthly, carmamaths.org](https://carmamaths.org/jon/pi-monthly.pdf)
10. [Celebrate Pi Day Like a NASA Rocket Scientist, NASA JPL Education](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resources/teachable-moment/celebrate-pi-day-like-a-nasa-rocket-scientist/)
11. [On This Day in History – March 14, timeanddate.com](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/march/14)
12. [March 14 Holidays and Observances, holidays-and-observances.com](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/march-14.html)
13. [Holidays Calendar for March 14, 2026, AnydayGuide](https://anydayguide.com/calendar/14-03-2026)
14. [March 14 in History, thisday.info](https://thisday.info/events/march/14)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › General historical chronologies › Month and day chronicle pages › January to March*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license