St. Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.
Long before the shamrock became associated with St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), the four-leaf clover was regarded by ancient Celts as a charm against evil spirits.
In the early 1900s, O. H. Benson, an Iowa school superintendent, came up with the idea of using a clover as the emblem for a newly founded agricultural club for children in his area. In 1911, the four-leaf clover was chosen as the emblem for the national club program, later named 4-H.
If you’re inclined toward the legend, lore, and festivities of the saint and how the Irish honor him, check out this St. Patrick’s Day site where you’ll find everything from parades to recipes.
Daily Calendar for Monday, March 17, 2025
On March 26, 1776, a British fleet of 125 transports and warships left Boston Harbor bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Aboard were General William Howe, some 9,000 officers and men, and more than 1,000 Loyalists and their families. For nine months, the British had been unable to venture beyond the city of Boston, which was surrounded by colonial troops. The Continental Army had recently taken Dorchester Heights overlooking the harbor, which they fortified with cannons and mortars captured at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. However, in return for a promise by General Howe that Boston would not be burned, the British fleet left the harbor unmolested. The anniversary of this date is conveniently celebrated by the Irish American (and other) residents of Boston and Suffolk County on March 17.
Born
- Anders Dahl (botanist; dahlia named for him) –
- Robert B. Taney (Supreme Court justice) –
- Ella Winter (Australian-born journalist) –
- Bobby Jones (American golfer) –
- Nat "King" Cole (entertainer) –
- James Irwin (astronaut) –
- Rudolfh Nureyev (ballet dancer) –
- John Sebastian (singer) –
- Patrick Duffy (actor) –
- Kurt Russell (actor) –
- Gary Sinise (actor) –
- Rob Lowe (actor) –
- Bill Mueller (baseball player) –
- Mia Hamm (soccer player, Olympic gold medalist) –
Died
- Helen Hayes (actress) –
- J. J. Jackson (one of the five original MTV video jockeys) –
- Andre Norton (science fiction/fantasy writer) –
- Oleg Cassini (fashion designer who created the Jackie look, the signature wardrobe created for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the early 1960s) –
Events
- On this day, St. Patrick died. As a boy, Patrick was captured and carried off from Britain to Ireland tend sheep. After six years, he escaped. Later, he to Ireland and spread the word of Christianity. –
- The Transylvania Land Company bought what became the state of Kentucky for $50,000, from a Cherokee Indian chief –
- British Army evacuated Boston –
- The rubber band was patented by Stephen Perry –
- John Phillip Holland launched first modern submarine off Staten Island, NY –
- Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt were married –
- Camp Fire Girls established –
- The National Gallery of Art was dedicated in Washington, D.C. –
- Gen. MacArthur arrived in Australia to assume supreme command of the Allied forces (WW II) –
- Battle of Iwo Jima ended with U.S. victory (WW II) –
- The University of California (Berkeley) announced the development of californium, a new element with the atomic number 98 –
- Vanguard I spacecraft launched by U.S. at Cape Canaveral –
- USS Skate first submarine to surface at North Pole –
- UN conference of the Law of the Sea opened at Geneva, Switzerland –
- Paroxysmal eruption of Mt. Agung in Bali –
- A Milwaukee, Wisconsin, high school teacher, Golda Meir, took office as Israel’s 4th Prime Minister –
- One of the worst oil spills in history occured when supertanker Amoco Cadiz broke in two off the Brittany coast in France, dumping more than 223,000 tons of crude oil into the sea –
- Julie Croteau first woman to play NCAA baseball –
- 1,263 people dressed as leprechauns (in Bandon, Ireland), setting a world record –
Weather
- Snowstorm central and SW Tennessee; Memphis got 18.5 inches –
- Fifty degrees below zero F, Snake River, Wyoming –
