Portal:Biography/Selected anniversaries/March 31

Births

 * 1596 - René Descartes, French philosopher (d. 1650) (pictured)
 * 1732 - Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1809)
 * 1914 - Octavio Paz, Mexican diplomat and writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
 * 1929 - Liz Claiborne, Belgian fashion designer (d. 2007)
 * 1943 - Christopher Walken, American actor
 * 1971 - Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor

Deaths

 * 1631 - John Donne, English writer and prelate (b. 1572)
 * 1727 - Sir Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1643)
 * 1855 - Charlotte Brontë, English author (b. 1816)
 * 1945 - Anne Frank, German-born diarist (b. 1929)
 * 1980 - Jesse Owens,American athlete (b.1913)