Vintage News · Odd history for March 21

What Happened On March 21

Q: What happened on March 21?

2000: Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel. 1999: Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon. 1871: Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire. 1829: The Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place in London involving the Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington. 1983: In the West Bank, a number of Palestinian girls complained of breathing difficulties due to strange odors, leading to accusations of poison gas. 537: Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius. 2006: Jack Dorsey sent the first message on the social-media network Twitter. 1952: The Moondog Coronation Ball, generally considered to be the first major rock and roll concert, took place at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. 1946: The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington, making him the first African-American player in the National Football League since 1933. 1918: First World War: The German Army opened the Spring Offensive with Operation Michael, attempting to break through the Allied lines and to seize ports on the English Channel.

54 events and 293 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 21 March →

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10 odd things that happened on March 21

2000 First ever
Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1999 First ever
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1871 First ever
Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1829 Oddly true
The Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place in London involving the Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1983 Weird
In the West Bank, a number of Palestinian girls complained of breathing difficulties due to strange odors, leading to accusations of poison gas.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
537 Oddly true
Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2006 First ever
Jack Dorsey sent the first message on the social-media network Twitter.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1952 First ever
The Moondog Coronation Ball, generally considered to be the first major rock and roll concert, took place at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1946 First ever
The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington, making him the first African-American player in the National Football League since 1933.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1918 First ever
First World War: The German Army opened the Spring Offensive with Operation Michael, attempting to break through the Allied lines and to seize ports on the English Channel.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2022China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing 132 people. Wikipedia →
2019The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others. Wikipedia →
2006The social media site Twitter (now officially named X) is founded. Wikipedia →
2000Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel. Wikipedia →
1999Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon. Wikipedia →
1994The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force. Wikipedia →
1990Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule. Wikipedia →
1989Transbrasil Flight 801 crashes into a slum near São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, killing 25 people. Wikipedia →
1986Debi Thomas becomes the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships. Wikipedia →
1985Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research. Wikipedia →
1983The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic. Wikipedia →
1980Cold War: American President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War. Wikipedia →
1970The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco. Wikipedia →
1970San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop and culture festival in the world, hosts its inaugural event. Wikipedia →
1968Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO. Wikipedia →
1965Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of uncrewed lunar space probes. Wikipedia →
1965Martin Luther King Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Wikipedia →
1963Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closes. Wikipedia →
1960Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180. Wikipedia →
1952Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio. Wikipedia →
1946The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes. Wikipedia →
1943Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion. Wikipedia →
1937Ponce massacre: Nineteen unarmed civilians in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police in a terrorist attack ordered by the US-appointed Governor, Blanton Winship. Wikipedia →
1935Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran. Wikipedia →
1934The landmark Australian Eastern Mission led by John Latham departs on its three-month tour of East and South-East Asia. Wikipedia →
1928Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight. Wikipedia →
1925The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee. Wikipedia →
1925Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Wikipedia →
1925Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges, to a libretto by Colette, is premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Wikipedia →
1921The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism. Wikipedia →
1919The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia. Wikipedia →
1918World War I: The first phase of the German spring offensive, Operation Michael, begins. Wikipedia →
1871Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire. Wikipedia →
1871Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone. Wikipedia →
1861Alexander H. Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech. Wikipedia →
1844The Baháʼí calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Baháʼí calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Baháʼí Faith as the Baháʼí New Year or Náw-Rúz. Wikipedia →
1829The Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place in London involving the Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington. Wikipedia →
1821Greek War of Independence: Greek revolutionaries seize Kalavryta. Wikipedia →
1814Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube. Wikipedia →
1804Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law. Wikipedia →
1801The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt. Wikipedia →
1800With 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. Wikipedia →
1788A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins. Wikipedia →
1556On the day of his execution in Oxford, former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." Wikipedia →
1349Erfurt massacre: Outbreak of an antisemitic pogrom in Erfurt, Germany, during which between 100 and up to 3000 Jews were killed by Christians after being accused of causing the Black Death. Wikipedia →
1180Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan. Wikipedia →
1152Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Wikipedia →
867An army of the Kingdom of Northumbria attempts to recapture York from the Great Heathen Army but is defeated in the battle of York. Wikipedia →
717Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid. Wikipedia →
630Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem. Wikipedia →
537Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2025The Guardian
Falconer ‘extremely close’ to catching hawk attacking Hertfordshire villagers
Bird of prey’s violent reign in Flamstead could soon come to an end, according to parish council
Read on The Guardian →
2023The Guardian
Fertility apps collect unnecessary personal data and could sell it to third parties – study
Apps in Australia gathered information about finances and housing which could be sold to advertisers, research by UNS…
Read on The Guardian →
1948The New York Times · Front page
KENTUCKY TOPPLES HOLY CROSS, 60-52, FOR FIRST IN EAST
A Kentucky quintet that never stopped driving until the final two minutes, when victory was clinched, rode over scrap…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.