On March 15, 44  B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.  In 45 B.C., Caesar was made dictator for life. As sole Roman ruler, Caesar launched ambitious programs of reform within the empire. The most lasting of these was his establishment of the Julian calendar, which, with the exception of a slight modification and adjustment in the 16th century, remains in use today. He also planned new imperial expansions in central Europe and to the east. In the midst of these vast designs, he was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C., by a group of conspirators who believed that his death would lead to the restoration of the Roman Republic. However, the result of the “Ides of March” was to plunge Rome into a fresh round of civil wars, out of which Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew, would emerge as Augustus, the first Roman emperor, destroying the republic forever. Find Caesar at the library,  in hoopla and on OverDrive.

Tenor saxman Lester Young, 49, dies, March 15, 1959. Nicknamed ‘Prez’, Young also played clarinet, trumpet, violin, and drums. Coming to prominence with the Count Basie, Young is remembered as one of the finest, most influential players on his instrument, playing with a cool tone and sophisticated harmonies. Find the Prez  at the library, on hoopla and in Freegal.