On this day: 21 March
Events, births and deaths on 21 March. Every date is checked against Wikidata.
Years ago today
1 year ago2025
- Deaths · George Foreman
- Deaths · Kitty Dukakis
10 years ago2016
Nothing recorded for that year.
100 years ago1926
- Births · André Delvaux
1000 years ago1026
Within 100 years of that
- 927 · Births · Emperor Taizu of Song
- 1076 · Deaths · Robert I of Burgundy
- 1034 · Deaths · Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia
Events · 22
- 717(Julian date)Battle of Vicy — 717 battle
- 1349(Julian date)Erfurt massacre — German 14-century pogrom
- 1801Battle of Alexandria — 1801 battle during the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria
- 1861Cornerstone Speech — 1861 oration delivered by Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens in Savannah, Georgia
- 1918Spring Offensive — 1918 series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War
- 1918Operation Michael — 1918 military operation
- 1919Hungarian Soviet Republic — 1919 socialist state in Central Europe
- 1921New Economic Policy — economic policy of Soviet Russia proposed by Vladimir Lenin, who described it as a progression towards "state capitalism" within the workers' state of the USSR
- 1925Butler Act — law in Tennessee, USA between 1925–1967
- 1937Ponce massacre — 1937 police shooting in Puerto Rico
- 1945Operation Carthage — air raid on Gestapo Copenhagen 1945
- 1960Sharpeville massacre — shooting by police on 21 March 1960 in Sharpeville, South Africa
- 1968Battle of Karameh — 1968 battle between Israel and the PLO and Jordan
- 19831983 West Bank fainting epidemic — mass hysteria of fainting and dizziness in West Bank in March–April 1983
- 19841984 Taiwan presidential election — overview of presidential election of Republic of China
- 1989Transbrasil Flight 801 — Aviation accident
- 1990President of the Republic of Namibia — head of state and government of Namibia
- 2005Red Lake massacre — 2005 mass shootings in Red Lake, Minnesota, US
- 2018African Continental Free Trade Agreement — trade agreement
- 20192019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion — 21 March 2019 explosion in Chenjiagang Town, Xiangshui County, Yancheng, Jiangsu, China
- 20192019 Mosul ferry sinking — multiple-fatalities disaster on the Tigris River
- 2022China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 — aircraft crash in the People's Republic of China on March 21, 2022
Births · 60
- 927(Julian date)Emperor Taizu of Song — founding emperor of the Song Dynasty (reigned 960-976)
- 1226Charles I of Naples — King of Sicily (1226-1285)
- 1474(Julian date)Angela Merici — Foundress of the Ursulines
- 1521(Julian date)Maurice of Saxony — Duke of Saxony and later Elector of Saxony (1521–1553)
- 1626Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur — Spanish missionary and saint (1626-1667)
- 1685(Julian date)Johann Sebastian Bach — German composer (1685–1750)
- 1763Jean Paul — German Romantic writer (1763-1825)
- 1768Joseph Fourier — French mathematician and physicist (1768 – 1830)
- 1806
- 1880Broncho Billy Anderson — American actor, writer, film director, and film producer (1880–1971)
- 1884George David Birkhoff — American mathematician (1884-1944)
- 1887M. N. Roy — Indian political activist and intellectual (1887-1954)
- 1902Son House — American blues singer and guitarist (1902–1988)
- 1916Bismillah Khan — Indian shehnai player (1916–2006)
- 1920Éric Rohmer — French film director (1920-2010)
- 1922Russ Meyer — American film director and photographer (1922–2004)
- 1923Nizar Qabbani — Syrian diplomat, poet and publisher (1923-1998)
- 1923Nirmala Srivastava — Indian spiritual teacher (1923–2011)
- 1925Peter Brook — English theatre and film director (1925–2022)
- 1927Hans-Dietrich Genscher — German politician and member of the Free Democratic Party (1927-2016)
- 1927Halton Arp — astronomer from the United States (1927-2013)
- 1928Surya Bahadur Thapa — Prime Minister of Nepal (1928-2015)
- 1932Walter Gilbert — American biochemist
- 1935Brian Clough — English football player and manager (1935–2004)
- 1940Solomon Burke — American singer (1940–2010)
Deaths · 60
- 867(Julian date)Ælla — king of Northumbria in the middle of the 9th century
- 1076Robert I of Burgundy — Duke of Burgundy
- 1201(Julian date)Absalon — Archbishop, statesman (1128-1201)
- 1306(Julian date)Robert II of Burgundy — Duke of Burgundy
- 1487(Julian date)Nicholas of Flüe — hermit, ascetic, patron saint of Switzerland (1417–1487)
- 1556(Julian date)Thomas Cranmer — leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1617Pocahontas — American native woman
- 1656James Ussher — Archbishop of Armagh (1581-1656)
- 1729John Law — Scottish economist and banker (1671-1729)
- 1761Pierre Fauchard — French dentist (1679-1761)
- 1762Nicolas Louis de Lacaille — French astronomer
- 1795Giovanni Arduino — Italian geologist (1714–1795)
- 1801Andrea Luchesi — Italian composer (1741-1801)
- 1804Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien — son of Louis Henri, Prince of Condé (1772–1804)
- 1843Robert Southey — English romantic poet (1774–1843)
- 1854Pedro María de Anaya — President of Mexico (1795-1854)
- 1869Juan Almonte — Mexican general, diplomat and regent (1803-1869)
- 1891Joseph E. Johnston — Confederate general (1807-1891)
- 1892Annibale de Gasparis — Italian astronomer (1819–1892)
- 1915Frederick Winslow Taylor — American mechanical engineer (1856–1915)
- 1934Franz Schreker — Austrian composer (1878–1934)
- 1934Lilyan Tashman — American actress (1896–1934)
- 1936Alexander Glazounov — Russian composer, music teacher and conductor (1865-1936)
- 1939Evald Aav — Estonian composer and choirmaster (1900–1939)
- 1943Cornelia Fort — American aviator
Dates verified against Wikidata (CC0). Titles and descriptions come from Wikidata.