What are the important events that happened on March 21? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

March 21: Facts & Myths About This Day

March 21 is the 81^st day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 285 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is March 8, 2024 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 28,516,320 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘octacontahenagon’ day.

Aries is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Aquamarine is the modern birthstone for this month. Jade is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 314 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,108 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

March 21: This Day In History

March 21st is the common date of the March equinox (although astronomically the equinox is more likely to fall on March 20 in all but the most easterly longitudes). In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year.

March 21 Historical Events

• 1788 –
  A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
• 1801 –
  The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis in Egypt.
• 1937 –
  Ponce Massacre: 18 people and a 7-year-old girl in Ponce, Puerto Rico, are gunned down by a police squad acting under orders of US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
• 1945 –
  World War II: Operation Carthage – British planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also hit a school and 125 civilians are killed.
• 1952 –
  Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
• 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 –
  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.
• 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 J.R.?”
• 1980 –
  US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
• 1994 –
  The last episode of the Australian TV series Mother and Son was broadcast.

Who were born on March 21?

• 1825 –
  Alexander F. Mozhayskiy, Russian aviation pioneer (d. 1890)
• 1921 –
  Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist (d. 1986)
• 1925 –
  Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
• 1927 –
  Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician
• 1929 –
  Maurice Catarcio, American professional wrestler (d. 2005)
• 1930 –
  James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
• 1937 –
  Tom Flores, American Football player
• 1959 –
  Yuval Rotem, Israeli Ambassador
• 1962 –
  Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress
• 1978 –
  Kevin Federline, American dancer; ex-husband of Britney Spears

Who died on March 21?

• 1801 –
  Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer (b. 1741)
• 1958 –
  Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (b. 1923)
• 1970 –
  Manolis Chiotis, Greek songwriter and musician (b. 1920)
• 1975 –
  Joe Medwick, baseball player (b. 1911)
• 1992 –
  John Ireland, Canadian film actor and director (b. 1914)
• 1994 –
  Lili Damita, French actress (b. 1904)
• 1994 –
  Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
• 2007 –
  Sven O. Høiby, the father of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (b. 1936)
• 2010 –
  Wolfgang Wagner, German opera director (b. 1919)
• 2011 –
  Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer (b. 1931)