March 21
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March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). It is also the first day of the astrological year. There are 285 days remaining.
March 21 is also the usual date of the vernal equinox (first day of spring) in the Northern Hemisphere, and the autumnal equinox (first day of autumn) in the Southern Hemisphere.
In astrology, March 21 is regarded as the first full day of the sign of Aries.
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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 was crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
- 1801 - The Battle of Alexandria was fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis in Egypt.
- 1804 - Code Napoléon was adopted as French civil law.
- 1821 - First revolutionary act in Monastery of Agia Lavra, Kalavryta, Greek War of Independence.
- 1849 - the Norwegian city of Hamar is reestablished by royal decree
- 1857 - Earthquake in Tokyo, Japan kills over 100,000.
- 1844 - The Baha'i calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Baha'i calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Baha'i Faith as the Baha'i New Year or Naw-Ruz.
- 1844 - The original date predicted by William Miller for the return of Christ.
- 1871 - Otto von Bismarck is appointed Chancellor of the German Empire.
- 1871 - Journalist Henry Morton Stanley began 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 - Dachau, the first Nazi Germany concentration camp, is completed.
- 1935 - Shah Reza Pahlavi formally asked the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran, which means 'Land of the Aryans'.
- 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 was 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 in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
- 1989 - Sports Illustrated reports allegations that tie 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.
- 1999 - Roberto Benigni wins three Academy Awards for La vita è bella.
- 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)
- 1869 - Florenz Ziegfeld, theater producer (d. 1932)
- 1876 - John Tewksbury, American athlete (d. 1968)
- 1880 - Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, American actor (d. 1971)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
- 1943 - Vivian Stanshall, English musician, artist, actor, writer, Bonzo Dog Band (d. 1995)
- 1943 - István Gyulai, Hungarian General Secretary of the IAAF (d. 2006)
- 1945 - Rose Stone, American musician (Sly & the Family Stone)
- 1946 - Timothy Dalton, Welsh actor
- 1949 - Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher and cultural critic
- 1949 - Eddie Money, American musician
- 1950 - Roger Hodgson, musician, former member of Supertramp
- 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 race car driver (d. 1994)
- 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
- 1967 - Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
- 1967 - Maxim Reality, British MC (The Prodigy)
- 1968 - DJ Premier, Hip Hop Producer (Preemo)
- 1969 - Ali Daei, Iranian footballer
- 1972 - Chris Candido, Professional wrestler (d. 2005)
- 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
- 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 Catholic 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 1994 - Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1994 - Dack Rambo, American actor (b. 1941)
- 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)
- 2002 - Herman Talmadge, American politician (b. 1913)
- 2003 - Umar Wirahadikusumah, Fourth Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
- 2005 - Barney Martin, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Bobby Short, American singer (b. 1924)
[edit] Holidays and observances
- Iranian New Year's Day (Norouz): (also celebrated in many other countries of Asia) Iranian calendar.
- Harmony Day in Australia.
- Earth Day.
- China: Chunfen.
- Egypt: Mother's Day
- 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 usually occurs one day earlier.
- Astrology: First day of star sign Aries.
- The third day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva.
- New Year of the Bahá'í Calendar.
- Bahá'í Faith - End of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset.fast.
- Ostara - Neopagan festival of Ostara.
- World Poetry Day - by UNESCO.
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - by United Nations.
- World Down Syndrome Day
- Lebanon: Mother's Day
[edit] Liturgical feasts
- Saints Philemon and Domnin
- Blessed Clementia of Hohenberg
- St. Nicholas of Flue
[edit] External links
March 20 - March 22 - February 21 - April 21 -- listing of all days
