Today March 21st in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
630 – Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem.
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 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.
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.
1857 – An earthquake in Tokyo, Japan kills over 100,000.
1859 – Zoological Society of Philadelphia, 1st in US, incorporated
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: Second Battle of the Somme begins.
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.
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.
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.
1997 – In a Tel Aviv, Israel coffee shop, a suicide bomber kills 3 and injures 49.
1998 – Good Friday Agreement signed in Northern Ireland.
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 Heathside School in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.
2004 – In Malaysia, the 11th Federal and State elections are held, returning the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional to power with an increased majority.
2006 – Immigrant workers constructing the Burj Dubayy in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates and a new terminal of Dubai International Airport join together and riot, causing $1M in damage.
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)
1801 – Maria Theresa of Tuscany, Queen of Sardinia (d. 1855)
1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican statesman and national hero (d. 1872)
1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English educationalist (d. 1891)
1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
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)
1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician and nationalist (d. 1963)
1885 – Pierre Renoir, French stage and film actor and director (d. 1952)
1895 – Zlatko Balokovic, 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
1910 – M S Khan, Bangladeshi intellectual (d. 1978)
1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver (d. 1991)
1913 – Heinz Pritzl Bär, German fighter pilot (d. 1957)
1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist (d. 1990)
1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian author (d. 1994)
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)
1923 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
1923 – Shri Mataji Nirmala Srivastava, Founder of Sahaja Yogav
1925 – Peter Brook, British film director and producer
1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician
1929 – Maurice Catarcio, wrestler
1930 – James Coco, actor (d. 1987)
1932 – Walter Gilbert, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor
1933 – Michael Heseltine, English 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
1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer
1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian General Secretary of the IAAF (d. 2006)
1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English musician, artist, actor, writer, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (d. 1995)
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, English musician, former member of Supertramp
1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr, American singer (The Stylistics)
1956 – Guy Chadwick, English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter (The House of Love)
1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
1958 – Sabrina Le Beauf, American actress
1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor
1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English Singer
1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese composer
1960 – Benito de Leon, Filipino military officer
1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver and three-time F1 World Champion (d. 1994)
1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer
1961 – Shawn Lane, American guitar virtuoso (d. 2003)
1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer
1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress
1962 – Rosie O Donnell, American comedian, actress, talk show host, and publisher
1962 – Mark Waid, American comic book writer
1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and football manager
1964 – Ahmed Radhi, Iraqi international football star
1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish professional cyclist
1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French politician
1967 – Jonas Joker Berggren, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
1967 – Adrian Chiles, British television and radio presenter
1967 – Maxim Reality, British MC (The Prodigy)
1968 – DJ Premier (Preemo), hip hop producer
1969 – Ali Daei, Iranian footballer
1972 – Large Professor, hip hop artist
1972 – Chris Candido, professional wrestler (d. 2005)
1973 – Ananda Lewis, American model and television personality
1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer
1973 – Jerry Supiran, American actor
1974 – Laura Allen, American actress
1974 – Jose Clayton, Tunisian footballer
1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand Comedian
1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentine basketball player
1975 – Justin Pierce, British actor (d. 2000)
1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian news anchor (d. 2007)
1978 – Kevin Federline, American dancer/hip hop artist
1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
1978 – Rani Mukherjee, Indian actress
1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier
1980 – Ronaldinho Gaucho, Brazilian international footballer
1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian guitarist and singer (Sum41)
1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
1982 – Colin Turkington, British racing driver
1985 – Ryan Callahan, American hockey player
1985 – Adrian Peterson, American Football player
1988 – Lee Cattermole, English footballer
1990 – Mandy Capristo, German Singer (Monrose)
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, 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 (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)
1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (b. 1865)
1945 – Artur 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)
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)
1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American composer (b. 1930)
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-yung, Korean industrialist (b. 1915)
2001 – Norma MacMillan, Canadian 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 – Drew Hayes, American writer & graphic artist (b. 1969)
2007 – Sven O. Høiby, the father of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (b. 1936)
2007 – Kevin Whitrick, first British man to commit suicide on a live chatroom (b. 1964)
Holidays and observances
Astrology: First day of star sign Aries. (International Astrology Day)
Traditional date of vernal equinox, used for reckoning Easter. The real equinox varies between years.
Persian (Iranian) New Year s Day (Nowruz): (also celebrated in many other countries of Asia) Iranian calendar
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 fast
Bahá í calendar- The first day of the first month, the month of Splendor
Japan: Vernal Equinox Day (public holiday)
China: Chunfen
Namibia: Independence Day
Australia: Harmony Day
Poland: Truant s Day
South Africa: Human Rights Day
Benito Juárez Day, a Fiesta Patria in Mexico
The third day of Quinquatria in ancient Rome, held in honor of Minerva
Ostara – Neopagan festival of Ostara.
World Poetry Day – UNESCO
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – United Nations
World Down Syndrome Day
Mother s Day in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
St. Nicholas of Flue
