March 21
1556 - The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was burned at the stake as a heretic.
1685 - Composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany.
1790 - Thomas Jefferson took office as America's first secretary of state.
1804 - The French civil code, the Code Napoleon, was officially put forth.
1871 - Journalist Henry M. Stanley began his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
1918 - Germany launched the Somme offensive during World War I, hoping to break through the Allied line before American reinforcements could arrive.
1935 - Persia officially changes its name to Iran.
1945 - During World War II, Allied bombers began four days of raids over Germany.
1960 - Police fired on demonstrators in Sharpeville, South Africa, after which the African National Congress was banned. Twenty-five years later, a march marking the anniversary of this event, was also disrupted by police fire.
1963 - Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay, a harsh maximum security prison which once housed gangster Al Capone, closed.
1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. led the start of a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
1972 - The Supreme Court, in Dunn v. Blumstein, ruled that states may not require at least a year’s residency for voting eligibility.
1981 - Michael Donald, a Black teenager in Mobile, Alabama, was abducted, tortured and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. (A lawsuit brought by Donald’s mother, Beulah Mae Donald, later resulted in a landmark judgment that bankrupted one Klan organization.)
1985 - Police in Langa, South Africa, opened fire on blacks marching to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville shootings, killing at least 21 demonstrators.
1990 - Namibia became an independent nation as the former colony marked the end of 75 years of South African rule.
1997 - President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin wrapped up their summit in Helsinki, Finland, still deadlocked over NATO expansion, but able to agree on slashing nuclear weapons arsenals.
2000 - A divided Supreme Court ruled the government lacked authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug.
2006 - The social media website Twitter launched with the first tweet by co-founder Jack Dorsey, who wrote "just setting up my twttr".
2010 - The House of Representatives passes a bill that will overhaul the American health care system. The bill, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was sent to President Barack Obama to sign into law.
2016 - Laying bare a half-century of tensions, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro prodded each other over human rights and the longstanding U.S. economic embargo during an unprecedented joint news conference in Havana.
2019 - President Donald Trump abruptly declared that the U.S. would recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy.
2020 - During a White House briefing, President Donald Trump doubled down on his support for the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the coronavirus, while Dr. Anthony Fauci said the evidence was “anecdotal.”
Birthdays
27 - Jasmin Savoy Brown (actress)
29 - Karolina Pliskova (tennis player)
32 - Rochelle Humes (singer)
35 - Scott Eastwood (actor)
36 - Adrian Peterson (football player)
36 - Sonequa Martin-Green (actress)
43 - Kevin Federline (reality star)
43 - Rani Mukerji (actress)
47 - Laura Allen (actress)
56 - Cynthia Geary (actress)
59 - Rosie O'Donnell (actress/TV host)
59 - Matthew Broderick (actor)
60 - Kassie Depaiva (actress)
63 - Gary Oldman (actor)
63 - Sabrina LeBeauf (actress)
75 - Timothy Dalton (actor)
82 - Kathleen Widdoes (actress)
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Today in Sports History - March 21
1946 - The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington. Washington was the first black player to join a National Football League team since 1933.
1953 - The Boston Celtics beat Syracuse Nationals (111-105) in four overtimes to eliminate them from the Eastern Division Semifinals. A total of seven players (both teams combined) fouled out of the game.
1959 - California defeats West Virginia 71-70 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1964 - UCLA defeats Duke 98-83 wins the NCAA Tournament and finishes the season undefeated at 30-0.
1968 - The new American League baseball franchise in Kansas City, Missouri selected the nickname "Royals".
1970 - UCLA defeats Jacksonville 80-69 to win a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
1973 - Frank Mohovlich (Montreal Canadiens) became the 5th NHL player to score 500 career goals.
1984 - NFL owners passed the infamous anti-celebrating rule.
1994 - Wayne Gretzky tied Gordie Howe's NHL record of 801 goals.
1994 - Basketball star Michael Jordan is cut from the Chicago White Sox roster and sent to their minor league team.
2004 - The NHL suspended Calgary Flames coach-general manager Darryl Sutter and forward Krzysztof Oliwa. Sutter was suspended for two games for player selection and team conduct in the final 2.5 seconds of the game. Oliwa was suspended for his conduct after being given a penalty for physical abuse of officials. The Flames lost to the Nashville Predators 3-1.
2004 - Mark Messier (New York Rangers) was ejected after he spearing Martin Strbak (Pittsburgh Penguins). Messier was later suspended for two games by the NHL.
2019 - Japanese baseball right-fielder Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners finishes his career with a record 4,367 base hits (NBP + MLB).
1556 - The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was burned at the stake as a heretic.
1685 - Composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany.
1790 - Thomas Jefferson took office as America's first secretary of state.
1804 - The French civil code, the Code Napoleon, was officially put forth.
1871 - Journalist Henry M. Stanley began his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
1918 - Germany launched the Somme offensive during World War I, hoping to break through the Allied line before American reinforcements could arrive.
1935 - Persia officially changes its name to Iran.
1945 - During World War II, Allied bombers began four days of raids over Germany.
1960 - Police fired on demonstrators in Sharpeville, South Africa, after which the African National Congress was banned. Twenty-five years later, a march marking the anniversary of this event, was also disrupted by police fire.
1963 - Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay, a harsh maximum security prison which once housed gangster Al Capone, closed.
1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. led the start of a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
1972 - The Supreme Court, in Dunn v. Blumstein, ruled that states may not require at least a year’s residency for voting eligibility.
1981 - Michael Donald, a Black teenager in Mobile, Alabama, was abducted, tortured and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. (A lawsuit brought by Donald’s mother, Beulah Mae Donald, later resulted in a landmark judgment that bankrupted one Klan organization.)
1985 - Police in Langa, South Africa, opened fire on blacks marching to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville shootings, killing at least 21 demonstrators.
1990 - Namibia became an independent nation as the former colony marked the end of 75 years of South African rule.
1997 - President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin wrapped up their summit in Helsinki, Finland, still deadlocked over NATO expansion, but able to agree on slashing nuclear weapons arsenals.
2000 - A divided Supreme Court ruled the government lacked authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug.
2006 - The social media website Twitter launched with the first tweet by co-founder Jack Dorsey, who wrote "just setting up my twttr".
2010 - The House of Representatives passes a bill that will overhaul the American health care system. The bill, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was sent to President Barack Obama to sign into law.
2016 - Laying bare a half-century of tensions, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro prodded each other over human rights and the longstanding U.S. economic embargo during an unprecedented joint news conference in Havana.
2019 - President Donald Trump abruptly declared that the U.S. would recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy.
2020 - During a White House briefing, President Donald Trump doubled down on his support for the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the coronavirus, while Dr. Anthony Fauci said the evidence was “anecdotal.”
Birthdays
27 - Jasmin Savoy Brown (actress)
29 - Karolina Pliskova (tennis player)
32 - Rochelle Humes (singer)
35 - Scott Eastwood (actor)
36 - Adrian Peterson (football player)
36 - Sonequa Martin-Green (actress)
43 - Kevin Federline (reality star)
43 - Rani Mukerji (actress)
47 - Laura Allen (actress)
56 - Cynthia Geary (actress)
59 - Rosie O'Donnell (actress/TV host)
59 - Matthew Broderick (actor)
60 - Kassie Depaiva (actress)
63 - Gary Oldman (actor)
63 - Sabrina LeBeauf (actress)
75 - Timothy Dalton (actor)
82 - Kathleen Widdoes (actress)
============================================
Today in Sports History - March 21
1946 - The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington. Washington was the first black player to join a National Football League team since 1933.
1953 - The Boston Celtics beat Syracuse Nationals (111-105) in four overtimes to eliminate them from the Eastern Division Semifinals. A total of seven players (both teams combined) fouled out of the game.
1959 - California defeats West Virginia 71-70 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1964 - UCLA defeats Duke 98-83 wins the NCAA Tournament and finishes the season undefeated at 30-0.
1968 - The new American League baseball franchise in Kansas City, Missouri selected the nickname "Royals".
1970 - UCLA defeats Jacksonville 80-69 to win a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
1973 - Frank Mohovlich (Montreal Canadiens) became the 5th NHL player to score 500 career goals.
1984 - NFL owners passed the infamous anti-celebrating rule.
1994 - Wayne Gretzky tied Gordie Howe's NHL record of 801 goals.
1994 - Basketball star Michael Jordan is cut from the Chicago White Sox roster and sent to their minor league team.
2004 - The NHL suspended Calgary Flames coach-general manager Darryl Sutter and forward Krzysztof Oliwa. Sutter was suspended for two games for player selection and team conduct in the final 2.5 seconds of the game. Oliwa was suspended for his conduct after being given a penalty for physical abuse of officials. The Flames lost to the Nashville Predators 3-1.
2004 - Mark Messier (New York Rangers) was ejected after he spearing Martin Strbak (Pittsburgh Penguins). Messier was later suspended for two games by the NHL.
2019 - Japanese baseball right-fielder Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners finishes his career with a record 4,367 base hits (NBP + MLB).