March 21 is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 285 days remaining until the end of the year.
March 21st is occasionally the date of the March equinox (astronomically the equinox is more likely to fall on March 20 in all but the easternmost longitudes). In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries.[citation needed] It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year.
Events
- 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
- 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
- 1188 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
- 1413 – Henry V becomes King of England.
- 1556 – In Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake.
- 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
- 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
- 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis in Egypt.
- 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
- 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
- 1821 – Greek War of Independence: First revolutionary act in the monastery of Agia Lavra, Kalavryta.
- 1844 – The Bahá'í calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Bahá'í calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá'í Faith as the Bahá'í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
- 1857 – An earthquake in Tokyo, Japan kills over 100,000.
- 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed Chancellor of the German Empire.
- 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
- 1913 – Over 360 are killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
- 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
- 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
- 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of War Communism.
- 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
- 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
- 1933 – Construction of Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, is completed.
- 1935 – Shah Reza Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran, which means 'Land of the Aryans.'
- 1937 – Ponce Massacre: 18 people and a 7-year-old girl in Ponce, Puerto Rico, are gunned down by a police squad acting under orders of US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
- 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through. Von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.
- 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
- 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage – British planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also hit a school and 125 civilians are killed.
- 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of Drava concludes.
- 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in the American football since 1933.
- 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1960 – Apartheid: Massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of unarmed black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
- 1963 – Alcatraz, a federal penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay, closes.
- 1964 – In Copenhagen, Denmark, Gigliola Cinquetti wins the ninth Eurovision Song Contest for Italy singing "Non ho l'età" ("I'm not old enough").
- 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9 which is the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
- 1965 – Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between Israeli Defense Forces and Fatah.
- 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Mayor of San Francisco Joseph Alioto.
- 1980 – US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
- 1980 – On the season finale of the soap opera Dallas, the infamous character J.R. Ewing is shot by an unseen assailant, leading to the catchphrase "Who shot J.R.?"
- 1989 – Sports Illustrated reports allegations tying baseball player Pete Rose to baseball gambling.
- 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
- 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
- 2006 – Immigrant workers constructing the Burj Khalifa and a new terminal of Dubai International Airport riot causing $1M in damage.
- 2006 – Twitter is created by Jack Dorsey in San Francisco, California.
Births
- 1417 – Saint Nicholas of Flüe, patron saint of Switzerland (d. 1487)
- 1474 – Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (d. 1540)
- 1521 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
- 1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer (d. 1558)
- 1672 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and opera librettist (d. 1742)
- 1713 – Francis Lewis, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1803)
- 1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1782)
- 1763 – Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter), German writer (d. 1825)
- 1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician (d. 1830)
- 1801 – Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of Sardinia (d. 1855)
- 1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican statesman (d. 1872)
- 1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English educationalist (d. 1891)
- 1825 – Alexander F. Mozhayskiy, Russian aviation pioneer (d. 1890)
- 1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
- 1839 – Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Russian composer (d. 1881)
- 1854 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1924)
- 1857 – Alice Henry, Australian suffragist, journalist and trade unionist (d. 1943)
- 1865 – George Owen Squier, American inventor (d. 1934)
- 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, American theater producer (d. 1932)
- 1876 – Walter Tewksbury, American athlete (d. 1968)
- 1877 – Maurice Farman, French motor racing champion and aircraft manufacturer (d. 1964)
- 1880 – Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician and nationalist (d. 1963)
- 1882 – Bascom Lamar Lunsford, American lawyer, folklorist, and folk musician (d. 1973)
- 1885 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (d. 1952)
- 1889 – John B. "Jock" Sutherland, American football coach (d. 1948)
- 1891 – Jonathan Hale, Canadian film and television actor (d. 1966)
- 1895 – Zlatko Baloković, Croatian violinist (d. 1955)
- 1901 – Karl Arnold, German politician (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Son House, American musician (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Jehane Benoît, Canadian culinary author (d. 1987)
- 1904 – Forrest Mars Sr., American candymaker (d. 1999)
- 1904 – Nikos Skalkottas, Greek composer (d. 1949)
- 1905 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (d. 1978)
- 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978)
- 1906 – Jim Thompson, American designer and businessman (d. 1967)
- 1910 – Julio Gallo, American vintner (d. 1993)
- 1910 – Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi intellectual (d. 1978)
- 1912 – André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, politician and playwright (d. 1968)
- 1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist (d. 1990)
- 1916 – Ustad Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai maestro (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian author (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archeologist and politician (d. 1984)
- 1918 – Patrick J. Lucey, American politician
- 1920 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek bouzouki player and songwriter (d. 1970)
- 1920 – Georg Ots, Estonian opera singer (d. 1975)
- 1921 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and Pianist (d. 1986)
- 1921 – Joe Sutter, American engineer
- 1922 – Russ Meyer, American film director and producer (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, professor, and author
- 1923 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian diplomat, poet, and publisher (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious figure (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Dov Shilansky, Israeli politician (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Peter Brook, British stage director and producer
- 1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
- 1926 – André Delvaux, Belgian film director (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician
- 1929 – Maurice Catarcio, American professional wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1930 – James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1932 – Walter Gilbert, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor
- 1933 – Michael Heseltine, British politician
- 1934 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor
- 1935 – Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager (d. 2004)
- 1936 – Ed Broadbent, Canadian politician
- 1936 – Mike Westbrook, British jazz composer, bandleader and pianist
- 1937 – Tom Flores, American Football player
- 1937 – Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat, novelist and essayist (d. 2010)
- 1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
- 1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
- 1942 – Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian sports executive (d. 2006)
- 1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
- 1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English musician (Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) (d. 1995)
- 1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
- 1944 – Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist (Flower Travellin' Band)
- 1945 – Rose Stone, American musician (Sly & the Family Stone)
- 1946 – Timothy Dalton, British actor
- 1946 – Ray Dorset, English musician (Mungo Jerry)
- 1948 – Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist
- 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist and cultural critic
- 1950 – Roger Hodgson, English musician (Supertramp)
- 1950 – Ron Oden, American politician
- 1951 – Conrad Lozano, American musician (Los Lobos)
- 1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr., American singer (The Stylistics)
- 1953 – Paul Martin Lester, American educator, author, and photographer
- 1955 – Bob Bennett, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter
- 1955 – Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician
- 1956 – Guy Chadwick, English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter (The House of Love)
- 1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
- 1958 – Brad Hall, American actor and writer
- 1958 – Sabrina Le Beauf, American actress
- 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor
- 1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English singer
- 1959 – Yuval Rotem, Israeli ambassador
- 1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese video game composer
- 1960 – Benito de Leon, Filipino military officer
- 1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
- 1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer (Stryper, King James, and Blissed)
- 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer
- 1961 – Slim Jim Phantom (James McDonnell), American musician (Stray Cats, Phantom, Rocker & Slick, Dead Men Walking, and The Head Cat)
- 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
- 1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress
- 1962 – Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian and actress
- 1962 – Mark Waid, American comic book writer
- 1963 – Shawn Lane, American musician (Black Oak Arkansas) (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
- 1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1964 – Ahmed Radhi, Iraqi football player and politician
- 1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish professional cyclist
- 1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French politician
- 1966 – DJ Premier (Christopher Edward Martin), American record producer and DJ (Gang Starr)
- 1967 – Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
- 1967 – Adrian Chiles, British television and radio presenter
- 1967 – Maxim Reality (Keith Andrew Palmer), English singer-songwriter (The Prodigy)
- 1968 – Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
- 1968 – Andrew Copeland, American singer and guitar (Sister Hazel)
- 1968 – Jaye Davidson, American actor
- 1968 – Samantha Dorman, American model
- 1968 – Greg Ellis, English actor
- 1968 – Shin Seung Hun, South Korean singer
- 1968 – Scott Williams, American basketball player
- 1969 – Ali Daei, Iranian footballer
- 1969 – Jonah Goldberg, American author
- 1970 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (d. 2000)
- 1970 – Cenk Uygur, American radio talk show host
- 1972 – Chris Candido, American professional wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1973 – Vanessa Branch, British-American actress and model
- 1973 – Ananda Lewis, American model and television personality
- 1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer
- 1973 – Large Professor (William Paul Mitchell), American hip hop artist and producer (Main Source)
- 1973 – Jerry Supiran, American actor
- 1974 – Laura Allen, American actress
- 1974 – Jose Clayton, Tunisian footballer
- 1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian
- 1974 – Edsel Dope (Brian Charles Ebejer), American singer (Dope)
- 1975 – Yacoub Al-Mohana, Kuwaiti film director
- 1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentine basketball player
- 1975 – Justin Pierce, British actor (d. 2000)
- 1975 – Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player
- 1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
- 1976 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress
- 1976 – Tekin Sazlog, Turkish footballer
- 1977 – Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Nick Baines, English keyboardist (Kaiser Chiefs)
- 1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian news anchor (d. 2007)
- 1978 – Kevin Federline, American dancer, actor, and rapper
- 1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
- 1978 – Rani Mukherjee, Indian actress
- 1978 – Young Noble (Rufus Cooper III), American rapper (Outlawz)
- 1979 – Jimenez Lai, American architect
- 1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1980 – Ronaldinho Gaucho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira), Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer and guitarist (Sum41)
- 1980 – Lee Jin, South Korean actress
- 1981 – Germano Borovicz Cardozo Schweger, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
- 1982 – Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
- 1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
- 1982 – Jocie Kwok, Chinese-Singaporean singer
- 1982 – Colin Turkington, British racing driver
- 1983 – Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
- 1984 – Tiago dos Santos Roberto, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Adrian Peterson, American football player
- 1986 – Miguel Pérez Cuesta, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Lee Cattermole, English footballer
- 1988 – Kateřina Čechová, Czech athlete
- 1988 – Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
- 1989 – Nicolas Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
- 1989 – Takeru Satoh, Japanese actor
- 1989 – Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Rochelle Wiseman, English singer (The Saturdays and S Club 8)
- 1990 – Mandy Capristo, German singer (Monrose)
- 1990 – Ryann Krais, American athlete
- 1991 – Luke Chapman, English footballer
- 1992 – Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player
- 1992 – Kristýna Plíšková, Czech tennis player
- 1993 – Jake Bidwell, English footballer
- 1995 – Diggy Simmons, American rapper (All City Chess Club)
- 2004 – Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg
Deaths
- 1063 – Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia, venerated in Roman Catholicism, wife of King Mieszko II of Poland
- 1076 – Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
- 1181 – Taira Kiyomori, Japanese Feudal general (b. 1118)
- 1306 – Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1248)
- 1487 – Nicholas of Flue, Swiss hermit and saint (b. 1417)
- 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (burned at the stake) (b. 1489)
- 1617 – Pocahontas, Algonquian princess (b. c.1595)
- 1656 – James Ussher, Irish Anglican archbishop (b. 1581)
- 1676 – Henri Sauval, French historian (b. 1623)
- 1729 – John Law, Scottish economist (b. 1671)
- 1734 – Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian (b. 1679)
- 1751 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (b. 1706)
- 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French astronomer (b. 1713)
- 1772 – Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French cartographer (b. 1703)
- 1795 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian geologist (b. 1714)
- 1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer (b. 1741)
- 1804 – Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé (executed) (b. 1772)
- 1843 – Robert Southey, English poet (b. 1774)
- 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, first President of Mexico (b. 1786)
- 1850 – Miguel Pedrorena, American settler
- 1863 – Edwin Vose Sumner, American Civil War general (b. 1797)
- 1881 – Samuel Courtauld, American-born textile magnate (b. 1793)
- 1884 – Ezra Abbot, American bible scholar (b. 1819)
- 1910 – Nadar, French photographer (b. 1820)
- 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American inventor (b. 1856)
- 1920 – Evelina Haverfield British suffragette (b. 1867)
- 1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
- 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (b. 1865)
- 1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (b. 1894)
- 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)
- 1958 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (b. 1923)
- 1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek songwriter and musician (b. 1920)
- 1973 – Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu, Turkish minstrel (b. 1894)
- 1975 – Joe Medwick, baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1978 – Louis Cottrell, Jr., American jazz musician (b. 1911)
- 1980 – Angelo Bruno, American mobster (b. 1910)
- 1980 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician, astronomer and Christian apologist (b. 1888)
- 1984 – Shauna Grant, American pornographic actress (suicide) (b. 1963)
- 1985 – Sir Michael Redgrave, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Walter L. Gordon, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1906)
- 1987 – Dean Paul Martin, American tennis player, singer, actor, and military pilot (b. 1951)
- 1987 – Robert Preston, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1991 – Leo Fender, American guitar manufacturer (b. 1909)
- 1992 – John Ireland, Canadian actor and director (b. 1914)
- 1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American composer (b. 1930)
- 1994 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Lili Damita, French actress (b. 1904)
- 1994 – Dack Rambo, American actor (b. 1941)
- 1997 – W. V. Awdry, English author (b. 1911)
- 1998 – Galina Sergeyevna Ulánova, Russian prima ballerina assoluta (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Jean Guitton, French philosopher, author and theologian (b. 1905)
- 1999 – Ernie Wise, British comedian (b. 1925)
- 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, Korean industrialist (b. 1915)
- 2001 – Anthony Steel, English actor (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Herman Talmadge, American politician (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian politician, Fourth Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
- 2004 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French ballet dancer and actress (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Barney Martin, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Drew Hayes, American writer and graphic artist (b. 1969)
- 2007 – Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian journalist and father of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (b. 1936)
- 2007 – Kevin Whitrick, British electrical engineer (b. 1964)
- 2008 – Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1960)
- 2010 – Wolfgang Wagner, German opera director (b. 1919)
- 2011 – Loleatta Holloway, American singer (The Caravans) (b. 1946)
- 2011 – Gerd Klier, German footballer (b. 1944)
- 2011 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer (b. 1931)
- 2011 – Pinetop Perkins, American pianist (b. 1913)
Holidays and observances
- World Puppetry Day (International)
- Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Commemoration of Thomas Cranmer, Translator and Reviser of the Liturgy, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1556 (Anglicani Communion)
- Earliest day on which Holy Saturday can fall, while April 24 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday before Easter. (Christianity)
- Harmony Day (Australia)
- Human Rights Day (South Africa)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Namibia from South African mandate in 1990.
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
- Mother's Day (most of the Arab World)
- Nowrouz (lit. "New Day" in Persian) : the Persian New Year; the first day of the Persian calendar, i.e. 1st of Farvardin, is observed on the Vernal Equinox and usually coincides with March 21st, except for leap years when it coincides with March 20th.
- The first day of Bahá, the first month in Bahá'í calendar (Bahá'í Faith)
- Truant's Day (Poland)
- Vernal Equinox Day
- World Down Syndrome Day (International)
- World Poetry Day (International)
- Youth Day (Tunisia)
- Earth Day (International)
- Rituals of the Salii (Ancient Rome)
External links
Months and days of the year
|
|
January |
|
|
February |
|
|
March |
|
|
April |
|
|
May |
|
|
June |
|
|
July |
|
|
August |
|
|
September |
|
|
October |
|
|
November |
|
|
December |
|
|
Related dates |
|
|