March 21
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March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (81st in leap years). There are 285 days remaining.
In astrology, March 21 is often the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year; International Astrology Day is also often celebrated on this day, though it is celebrated depending on the exact day that the Equinox actually occurs, which varies from year to year between March 19-21, depending on geographic location, time zone, and astronomical considerations, though it usually falls on March 20.
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[edit] Events
- 717 - Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
- 1188 - Accession to the throne of Japan by emperor Antoku.
- 1413 - Henry V becomes King of England.
- 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 - 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.
- 1821 - First revolutionary act in Monastery of Agia Lavra, Kalavryta, Greek War of Independence.
- 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.
- 1844 - The original date predicted by William Miller for the return of Christ.
- 1849 - The Norwegian city of Hamar is reestablished by royal decree.
- 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.
- 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Somme begins.
- 1919 - The Chinese High School is established in Singapore by Tan Kah Kee.
- 1928 - Charles Lindbergh is presented the Medal of Honor for his first trans-Atlantic flight.
- 1933 - Construction of Dachau, the first Nazi Germany 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-yr-old girl in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by a police squad acting under orders of US-appointed PR Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
- 1940 - Paul Reynaud becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1943 - Massacre of the town of Kalavryta, Greece by German Nazi troops.
- 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: 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 San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto.
- 1970 - Vinko Bogataj crashes during a ski-jumping championship in Germany; his image becomes that of the "agony of defeat guy" in the opening credits of ABC's Wide World of Sports.
- 1970 - In Amsterdam, Netherlands, Dana wins the fifteenth Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland singing "All Kinds of Everything".
- 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 JR?"
- 1985 - Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2002 - British schoolgirl Amanda Dowler is abducted in broad daylight on her way home from school in Surrey.
- 2004 - In Malaysia, the 11th Federal and State elections are held, returning the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional to power with an increased majority.
- 2005 - In Red Lake, Minnesota, 10 are killed in a school shooting, the worst since the Columbine High School massacre.
[edit] Births
- 1521 - Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
- 1527 - Hermann Finck, German composer (d. 1558)
- 1685 - Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (d. 1750)
- 1713 - Francis Lewis, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1803)
- 1763 - Jean Paul, German writer (d. 1825)
- 1768 - Joseph Fourier, French mathematician (d. 1830)
- 1806 - Benito Juárez, Mexican statesman and national hero (d. 1872)
- 1839 - Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Russian composer (d. 1881)
- 1854 - Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer (d. 1924)
- 1863 - George Owen Squier, American inventor and Major General in U.S. Signal Corp(d.1934)
- 1869 - Florenz Ziegfeld, theater producer (d. 1932)
- 1876 - John Tewksbury, American athlete (d. 1968)
- 1880 - Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1885 - Pierre Renoir, French stage and film actor and director (d. 1952)
- 1895 - Zlatko Baloković, Croatian violinist (d. 1955)
- 1901 - Karl Arnold, German politician (d. 1958)
- 1902 - Son House, American musician (d. 1988)
- 1904 - Forrest Mars Sr., American candymaker (d. 1999)
- 1904 - Nikolaos Skalkottas, Greek composer (d. 1949)
- 1906 - Jim Thompson, American designer and businessman
- 1913 - George Abecassis, English race car driver (d. 1991)
- 1914 - Paul Tortelier, French cellist (d. 1990)
- 1920 - Georg Ots, Estonian singer (d. 1975)
- 1920 - Manolis Chiotis, Greek bouzouki virtuoso and song writer (d. 1970)
- 1921 - Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist (d. 1986)
- 1922 - Russ Meyer, American film director and producer (d. 2004)
- 1922 - Mujibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
- 1923 - Shri Mataji Nirmala Srivastava, Indian founder of Sahaja Yoga
- 1923 - Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1925 - Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
- 1925 - Peter Brook, British film director and producer
- 1927 - Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician
- 1932 - Walter Gilbert, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 - Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor
- 1930 - James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
- 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
- 1940 - Solomon Burke, American singer
- 1942 - Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
- 1943 - Vivian Stanshall, English musician, artist, actor, writer, Bonzo Dog Band (d. 1995)
- 1943 - István Gyulai, Hungarian General Secretary of the IAAF (d. 2006)
- 1944 - Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
- 1945 - Rose Stone, American musician (Sly & the Family Stone)
- 1946 - Timothy Dalton, British actor
- 1949 - Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher and cultural critic
- 1949 - Eddie Money, American musician
- 1950 - Roger Hodgson, musician, former member of Supertramp
- 1951 - Russell Thompkins Jr, American singer (The Stylistics)
- 1956 - Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
- 1958 - Sabrina Le Beauf, American actress
- 1958 - Gary Oldman, English actor
- 1959 - Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese composer
- 1960 - Ayrton Senna, Brazilian 3-time Formula 1 World Champion (d. 1994)
- 1960 - Robert Sweet, American drummer
- 1961 - Lothar Matthäus, German footballer
- 1961 - Shawn Lane, American guitar virtuoso
- 1962 - Mark Waid, American comic book writer
- 1962 - Matthew Broderick, American actor
- 1962 - Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian, actress, talk show host, and publisher
- 1963 - Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and football manager
- 1963 - Shawon Dunston, baseball player
- 1964 - Jesper Skibby, Danish professional cyclist
- 1964 - Ahmed Radhi, Iraqi international football star
- 1965 - Xavier Bertrand, French politician
- 1967 - Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
- 1967 - Maxim Reality, British MC (The Prodigy)
- 1968 - DJ Premier (Preemo), hip hop producer
- 1969 - Ali Daei, Iranian footballer, Highest International Goal Scorer
- 1972 - Chris Candido, professional wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1973 - Ananda Lewis, American model and television personality
- 1975 - Justin Pierce, British actor (d. 2000)
- 1975 - Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
- 1975 - Fabricio Oberto, Argentine basketball player, playing for San Antonio Spurs
- 1976 - Liza Harper, French actress
- 1978 - Kevin Federline, American dancer/hip hop artist
- 1978 - Rani Mukherjee, Bollywood actress of Indian origin
- 1978 - Cristian Guzmán, baseball player
- 1980 - Ronaldinho Gaucho, Brazilian current international footballer (Ranked best Brazilian Footballer)
- 1980 - Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1980 - Deryck Whibley, Canadian guitarist and singer (Sum41)
- 1982 - Aaron Hill, American baseball player
[edit] Deaths
- 1076 - Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
- 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, Native American, daughter of Powhatan (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, duc d'Enghien (executed) (b. 1772)
- 1843 - Robert Southey, English poet (b. 1774)
- 1843 - Guadalupe Victoria, first President of Mexico (b. 1786)
- 1850 - Miguel Pedrorena, American settler
- 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)
- 1934 - Franz Schreker, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
- 1936 - Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (b. 1865)
- 1951 - Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)
- 1958 - Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (b. 1923)
- 1975 - Joe Medwick, baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1980 - Peter Stoner, American mathematician, astronomer and Christian apologist (b. 1888)
- 1984 - Shauna Grant, American actress (suicide) (b. 1963)
- 1985 - Sir Michael Redgrave, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1987 - Dean Paul Martin, American musician (b. 1951)
- 1987 - Robert Preston, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1991 - Leo Fender, American guitar manufacturer (b. 1909)
- 1992 - John Ireland, Canadian film actor and director (b. 1914)
- 1994 - Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1994 - Dack Rambo, American actor (b. 1941)
- 1994 - Lili Damita, French actress (b. 1904)
- 1997 - W. V. Awdry, English children's writer (b. 1911)
- 1998 - Galina Ulanova, Russian prima ballerina assoluta (b. 1910)
- 1999 - Ernie Wise, British comedian (b. 1925)
- 2001 - Chung Ju-young, Korean industrialist (b. 1915)
- 2001 - Norma Macmillan, voice actress (b. 1921)
- 2001 - Anthony Steel, English actor (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Herman Talmadge, American politician (b. 1913)
- 2003 - Umar Wirahadikusumah, 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 (b. 1924)
- 2007 - Sven O. Høiby, the father of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (b. 1936)
[edit] Holidays and observances
- Persian(Iranian) New Year's Day (Norouz): (also celebrated in many other countries of Asia) Iranian calendar
- Harmony Day in Australia
- Earth Day
- China: Chunfen
- Japan: Vernal Equinox Day (public holiday)
- Namibia: Independence Day
- Benito Juárez Day, a Fiesta Patria in Mexico
- Poland: Truant's Day
- South Africa: Human Rights Day
- Traditional date of vernal equinox, used for reckoning Easter. The real equinox varies between years.
- Astrology: First day of star sign Aries. (International Astrology Day)
- The third day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva
- Naw-Rúz - Holy day for adherents of the Bahá'í Faith and first day of the Bahá'í calendar.
- Bahá'í Faith - End of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset
- Ostara - Neopagan festival of Ostara.
- World Poetry Day - UNESCO
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - United Nations
- World Down Syndrome Day
- Youths Day (Jum iż-Żgħażagħ) in Malta
- Lebanon: Mother's Day
- Jordan: Mother's Day
- Syria: Mother's Day
[edit] Liturgical feasts
- Saints Philemon and Domnin
- Blessed Clementia of Hohenberg
- St. Nicholas of Flue
The Passing of Our Holy Father, St. Benedict (Benedictine)
