March 21
March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). There are 285 days remaining.
Events
- 1556 - In Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake.
- 1788 - A fire destroys 856 buildings in New Orleans and leaves most of the town in ruins.
- 1800 - Pius VII becomes Pope
- 1804 - Code Napoléon adopted as French civil law
- 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Somme begins
- 1928 - Charles Lindbergh is presented the Congressional Medal of Honor for his first trans-Atlantic flight.
- 1935 - Persia is renamed Iran
- 1940 - Paul Reynaud becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1945 - World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma
- 1952 - Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio
- 1960 - Apartheid: Massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa: Afrikaner 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.
- 1965 - Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9 which is the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
- 1980 - 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 JR?"
- 1989 - Sports Illustrated reports allegations that tie 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.
- 2002 - In Pakistan, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh along with three other suspects are charged with murder for their part in the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
- 2004 - In Malaysia, The 11th Federal and State elections are held, returning the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional to power with an increased majority.
Births
- 1685 - Johann Sebastian Bach, composer, (d. 1750)
- 1763 - Jean Paul, poet and publicist, (d. 1825)
- 1768 - Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, French mathematician, (d. 1830)
- 1806 - Benito Juárez, Mexican statesman and national hero, (d. 1872)
- 1839 - Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Russian composer, (d. 1881)
- 1869 - Florenz Ziegfeld, theatrical producer, (d. 1932)
- 1876 - John Tewksbury, American athlete
- 1882 - Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, actor, (d. 1971)
- 1895 - Zlatko Baloković, Croatian violinist, (d. 1955)
- 1901 - Karl Arnold, politician, (d. 1958)
- 1902 - Son House, blues musician, (d. 1988)
- 1922 - Russ Meyer, pornographic film director, producer
- 1927 - Hans-Dietrich Genscher, politician
- 1946 - Timothy Dalton, Shakespearean actor, James Bond actor
- 1958 - Gary Oldman, actor
- 1960 - Ayrton Senna, automobile racer, (d. 1994)
- 1961 - Lothar Matthäus, soccer player
- 1962 - Rosie O'Donnell, comedienne, actress, talk show host, publisher (A League of Their Own, Harriet the Spy)
- 1962 - Matthew Broderick, actor (WarGames, Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Deaths
- 1076 - Robert I, Duke of Burgundy
- 1306 - Robert II, Duke of Burgundy
- 1556 - Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, (b. 1489)
- 1795 - Giovanni Arduino, geologist, (b. 1714)
- 1884 - Ezra Abbot, american bible scholar, (b. 1819)
- 1958 - Cyril M. Kornbluth, science fiction writer, (b. 1923)
- 1984 - Sir Michael Redgrave, actor, (b. 1908)
- 1987 - Robert Preston, actor (b. 1918)
- 1997 - The Reverend W. V. Awdry, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, (b. 1911)
- 2001 - Norma Macmillan, cartoon voice actress, (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Wolfgang Kartte, politician
Holidays and observances
- South Africa: Human Rights Day
- Traditional date of vernal equinox, used for reckoning Easter. The real equinox usually occurs one day earlier.
- The third day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva.
- New Year of Iranian Calendar: Norouz occurs on the vernal equinox
- Bahá'í Faith: Naw Rúz (Norouz)
- Bahá'í Faith - End of the fast (end of the 19 day sunrise to sunset fast)
- Ostara - Neopagan festival of Ostara
- World Day Of Sleep- by World Health Organization
- World Poetry Day - by Unesco
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - by United Nations
March 20 - March 22 - February 21 - April 21 -- listing of all days