March 21st archived daily history

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