March 21 facts for kids

March 21 is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 285 days remain until the end of the year.

March 21st is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from ancient times to today. It's a day when leaders were crowned, new laws were made, and significant steps were taken in science, sports, and human rights. Many famous people were also born or passed away on this date, leaving their mark on the world.

Historical Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 537 – During the Siege of Rome, King Vitiges tried to attack the city walls. However, the Byzantine defenders, led by generals Bessas and Peranius, successfully pushed back the attack.
• 630 – Emperor Heraclius brought back the True Cross, a very important Christian relic, to Jerusalem.
• 1152 – The marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was officially ended.
• 1180 – Emperor Antoku became the ruler of Japan.
• 1556 – In Oxford, Thomas Cranmer, a former archbishop of Canterbury, spoke out against the Pope just before his execution.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1788 – A large fire in New Orleans destroyed most of the town.
• 1800 – Pope Pius VII was crowned Pope in Venice with a special temporary crown made of paper. This happened because the church leaders had been forced out of Rome.
• 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria took place in Egypt between British and French armies.
• 1804 – The Napoleonic Code, a new set of laws, was adopted as the official civil law in France.
• 1814 – During the Napoleonic Wars, Austrian forces successfully pushed back French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
• 1821 – In the Greek War of Independence, Greek revolutionaries took control of Kalavryta.
• 1844 – The Baháʼí calendar began. This day is celebrated every year by followers of the Baháʼí Faith as their New Year, called Náw-Rúz.
• 1871 – Otto von Bismarck was named the first Chancellor of the new German Empire.
• 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley started his journey to find the famous explorer David Livingstone.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1918 – During World War I, the German army launched a major attack called Operation Michael.
• 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic was formed, becoming the first Communist government in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
• 1925 – The Butler Act in Tennessee made it illegal to teach about human evolution in schools.
• 1928 – Charles Lindbergh received the Medal of Honor for being the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1935 – The Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, asked the world to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
• 1937 – In the Ponce massacre in Ponce, Puerto Rico, police attacked unarmed civilians.
• 1943 – A German officer, Rudolf von Gersdorff, planned to assassinate Adolf Hitler, but the plan did not happen.
• 1945 – During World War II, British troops freed Mandalay in Burma.
• 1945 – In Operation Carthage, Royal Air Force planes bombed the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sadly, they also accidentally hit a school.
• 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
• 1952 – Alan Freed hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio, which is considered the first rock and roll concert.
• 1963 – The famous prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, closed its doors.
• 1965 – NASA launched Ranger 9, the last uncrewed space probe in the Ranger program, to the Moon.
• 1965 – Martin Luther King Jr. led 3,200 people on the third and successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
• 1970 – The first Earth Day was officially announced by Joseph Alioto, the Mayor of San Francisco.
• 1970 – San Diego Comic-Con, a huge festival for pop culture, held its very first event.
• 1980 – During the Cold War, American President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet–Afghan War.
• 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic began. People thought it was poison gas, but it was later found to be mostly stress-related.
• 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships.
• 1990 – Namibia gained its independence after 75 years of rule by South Africa.
• 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an important agreement about climate, came into effect.
• 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first people to fly around the Earth in a hot air balloon.
• 2000 – Pope John Paul II made his first official visit to Israel.
• 2006 – The social media site X (formerly Twitter) was created.

Famous Births

Born Before 1900

• 927 – Emperor Taizu of Song, who founded the Song Dynasty in China.
• 1474 – Angela Merici, an Italian educator and saint.
• 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, a very famous German composer and musician.
• 1768 – Joseph Fourier, a French mathematician and physicist.
• 1806 – Benito Juárez, a Mexican lawyer and politician who became the 25th President of Mexico.
• 1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, a well-known Russian pianist and composer.
• 1857 – Alice Henry, an Australian journalist and activist.
• 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., an American director and producer known for his Broadway shows.
• 1880 – Broncho Billy Anderson, an American actor, director, and producer, known for early Western films.
• 1887 – Lajos Kassák, a Hungarian poet, novelist, and painter.
• 1897 – Salvador Lutteroth, a Mexican wrestling promoter who founded a major wrestling company.

Born After 1900

• 1904 – Forrest Mars, Sr., the American candy maker who created M&M's and the Mars bar.
• 1916 – Bismillah Khan, a famous Indian shehnai player.
• 1920 – Éric Rohmer, a French director and film critic.
• 1925 – Peter Brook, an English-French director and producer.
• 1932 – Walter Gilbert, an American physicist and chemist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1935 – Brian Clough, a famous English footballer and manager.
• 1940 – Solomon Burke, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1946 – Timothy Dalton, a Welsh-English actor.
• 1949 – Eddie Money, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1950 – Sergey Lavrov, a Russian politician and diplomat.
• 1955 – Jair Bolsonaro, a Brazilian politician who became the 38th President of Brazil.
• 1958 – Gary Oldman, a well-known English actor and filmmaker.
• 1960 – Ayrton Senna, a legendary Brazilian race car driver.
• 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, a famous German footballer and manager.
• 1962 – Matthew Broderick, an American actor.
• 1962 – Rosie O'Donnell, an American actress and talk show host.
• 1980 – Ronaldinho, a world-famous Brazilian footballer.
• 1985 – Adrian Peterson, an American football player.
• 1986 – Scott Eastwood, an American actor.
• 1989 – Jordi Alba, a Spanish footballer.
• 1991 – Antoine Griezmann, a French footballer.
• 1992 – Karolína Plíšková and Kristýna Plíšková, Czech tennis players.
• 2000 – Jace Norman, an American actor.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before 1900

• 543 or 547 – Benedict of Nursia, an Italian saint.
• 867 – Ælla and Osberht, kings of Northumbria.
• 1487 – Nicholas of Flüe, a Swiss monk and saint.
• 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, an English archbishop.
• 1617 – Pocahontas, a famous Algonquian Indigenous woman.
• 1656 – James Ussher, an Irish archbishop.
• 1729 – John Law, a Scottish-French economist and politician.
• 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, a French astronomer.
• 1843 – Robert Southey, an English poet and historian.
• 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.
• 1891 – Joseph E. Johnston, an American general.

Passed Away After 1900

• 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, an American engineer known for his work in management.
• 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, a Russian composer and conductor.
• 1945 – Arthur Nebe, a German SS officer.
• 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, a Dutch conductor.
• 1975 – Joe Medwick, an American baseball player.
• 1987 – Robert Preston, an American actor and singer.
• 1991 – Leo Fender, an American businessman who founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, famous for guitars.
• 1997 – Wilbert Awdry, an English cleric and author who created The Railway Series, which inspired Thomas the Tank Engine.
• 1999 – Ernie Wise, a popular English comedian and actor.
• 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, a South Korean businessman who founded Hyundai.
• 2013 – Chinua Achebe, a famous Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic.
• 2017 – Chuck Barris, an American game show host and producer.
• 2017 – Colin Dexter, an English author.
• 2017 – Martin McGuinness, an Irish republican and politician.
• 2023 – Willis Reed, an American basketball player.

Special Days and Celebrations

• Arbor Day (in Portugal)
• Birth of Benito Juárez (a national holiday in Mexico)
• Human Rights Day (in South Africa)
• Independence Day (celebrates Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1990)
• International Colour Day
• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• International Day of Forests (declared by the United Nations General Assembly)
• Mother's Day (celebrated in most of the Arab world)
• National Tree Planting Day (in Lesotho)
• Newroz (celebrated in Iran, Kurdistan, and Mesopotamia)
• Rosie the Riveter Day (in the United States)
• Truant's Day (in Poland and the Faroe Islands)
• World Down Syndrome Day
• World Poetry Day
• World Puppetry Day
• Youth Day (in Tunisia)

See also

In Spanish: 21 de marzo para niños