Harry Houdini (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was born as Erik Weisz, a Hungarian Jew. He was an illusionist and stunt performer most noted for his amazing escape acts. He became popular in the vaudeville entertainment circuit and toured Europe, escaping from police as he challenged them to lock him up. He could hold his breath for an exceptionally long time, making escapes from underwater and was even buried alive. He died of peritonitis following a ruptured appendix, an expected outcome in the days before antibiotics.

Erich Fromm (March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was German/American social psychologist. He was born in Frankfurt in the German Empire and had to flee his country as Jewish persecution rose under Hitler. He settled in the US. The publication of his first major work in 1941, Escape from Freedom, laid the groundwork for his lifelong exploration into the workings of the human mind and the resulting behavioral effects. He was one of the founders of The William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Psychology in New York City.

Louis L’Amour (March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. He called his works “frontier stories” although they are generally listed as in the Western genre. He also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, and non-fiction as well as some poetry. At his death, he still had 89 novels and 14 short story collections as well as two full length non-fiction book in print. He was considered to be one of the world’s most popular authors.

Timothy Dalton (March 21, 1946) is a British actor best known for playing James Bond, Mr. Rochester, and Rhett Butler. Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett was born in North Wales but by age four, the family had moved back to England. He began his acting career in the theater and only moved to the big screen after several years on stage. Although considered for the role of James Bond in the seventies, he was not offered the role until 1986.

Ovid (March 20, 43 BC – year 17/18 AD) was a Roman poet. His Latin name, Publius Ovidius Naso has been Anglicized to Ovid. He lived during the reign of Augustus and was a contemporary of Virgil and Horace. These three men were the canonical poets of Latin literature. However, one of his poems was apparently an affront to the emperor and he was banished in exile. He is best known today for Metamorphoses, a 15-book mythological tale written in the meter of epic poetry, dactylic hexameter.

David Livingstone (March 19, 1813 – May 1, 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and Christian missionary. He worked with and through the London Missionary Society and proselytized and explored in Africa. He became one of the most popular heroes of the Victorian era. He was obsessed with finding the source of the Nile River and hoped that the fame that achievement would bring would help him end the East Africa Arab Swahili slave trade.

Ernest Gallo (March 18, 1909 – March 6, 2007) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He founded, along with his brother Julio, the E & J Gallo Winery located in Modesto, California. His parents had immigrated from Italy and his father ran a bar until Prohibition made him change careers to farming. He purchased a 120 acre ranch/vineyard. On June 21, 1933, the senior Gallo shot and killed his wife and then shot himself. Ernest formed the eponymous business after the repeal of Prohibition and the death of his parents using money borrowed from his mother-in-law.

Walter Rudolf Hess (March 17, 1881 – August 12, 1972) was a Swiss physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949. He was given the honor for having worked on mapping the areas of the brain and connecting them to control over internal organs. He shared the Nobel Prize with Egas Moniz. He was also the recipient of the Marcel Benoist Prize in 1932.

James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, one of the Founding Fathers, and the fourth President of the United States. He was a lawyer, diplomat, philosopher, and is sometimes called the Father of the Constitution due to his contributions on that document and the added Bill of Rights. He co-authored The Federalist Papers and co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party. He was the Secretary of State from 1801 to 1809 and then assumed the role of President from 1809 until 1817.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 15, 1933) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court since taking office on August 10, 1993. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton. She is the second of four women who have served in the highest court in the land. She has spent much of her career advocating for women’s rights and gender equality. She is generally viewed as being part of the liberal wing of the Court.