On This Day - What Happened On March 21 - Encyclopedia Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos A Britannica Newsletter Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP ADD TO YOUR INBOX Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! By clicking "Add To Your Inbox"tapping "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Home On This Day TODAY IN HISTORY March 21 What Happened On Your Bday? Go to Today's Date

Featured Event

1963 Closing of Alcatraz prison The U.S. federal prison on San Francisco Bay's Alcatraz Island, which had held some of the most dangerous civilian prisoners—including Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz”—was closed this day in 1963. © Fabio Formaggio/Dreamstime.com

Featured Biography

St. Angela Merici Roman Catholic saint bornMarch 21, 1474Desenzano, ItalydiedJanuary 27, 1540 (aged 65)Brescia, Italy© Gianni Dagli Orti/Shutterstock.com 1985 Adrian Peterson American football player 1962 Rosie O’Donnell American entertainer 1961 Lothar Matthäus German football player 1958 Gary Oldman British actor 1949 Slavoj Žižek Slovene philosopher and cultural theorist See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2017 Irish politician Martin McGuinness—who, as a member of Sinn Féin, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), played an influential role in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement) of 1998—died at age 66. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous EuropeansBruno Vincent/Getty Images 2006 Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey sent the first public tweet, which read “just setting up my twttr.” Test your knowledge of tech companiesJose Luis Magana—AP/Shutterstock.com 1990 After 106 years of German and South African rule, Namibia became independent. Sort fact from fiction in our Africa quizEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1980 In one of the most famous cliff-hangers in American television, season 3 of Dallas ended with the shooting of J.R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman); the phrase “Who shot J.R.?” entered the lexicon of American popular culture. How much do you know about pop culture?© Columbia Broadcasting System 1980 U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States was boycotting the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Take our Olympic history quizCourtesy: Jimmy Carter Library 1965 American civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr., began a protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Learn about 10 milestones in civil rights historyPeter Pettus/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-08102) 1960 About 70 Black African demonstrators were killed by police in Sharpeville, Gauteng province, during a protest against South Africa's pass laws. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about South AfricaCentral Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1925 The Butler Act, which outlawed the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools, was signed into law; the legislation was at the centre of the Scopes Trial, and it was not repealed until 1967. Sort fact from fiction in our history quizLibrary of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1918 The Second Battle of the Somme began during World War I. Take our history of war quizEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1880 German painter Hans Hofmann, an influential art teacher and a pioneer in the use of improvisatory techniques whose work paved the way for American painters to develop Abstract Expressionism, was born. Test your knowledge of artistic styles and techniques© Arnold Newman 1806 Mexican national hero Benito Juárez was born in San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca. How much do you know about Latin American history?Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (2005683081) 1768 French mathematician Joseph Fourier, who exerted strong influence on mathematical physics through his The Analytical Theory of Heat (1822), was born in Auxerre. Sort fact from fiction in our mathematics quizGiraudon/Art Resource, New York 1685 German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, who is generally considered the greatest composer of all time, was born. Discover how well you know classical composers© Photos.com/Getty Images 1556 Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, was burned at the stake for violating heresy laws revised under the Roman Catholic queen Mary I, known as Bloody Mary. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about notable EnglishmenCourtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.