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On this day in history - March 21

What Happened On This Day – March 21

  • 2006 Jack Dorsey sends the world's first Twitter message, or tweet

    The microblogging service revolutionized the communication and social networking landscape. In 2012, about 340 million tweets were posted per day.

  • 1985 South African Police kill at least 21 black people commemorating a similar mass shooting 25 years before

    The Sharpeville massacre in 1985 had left 69 unarmed people dead. It was a turning-point in the history of South Africa.

  • 1970 Earth Day is celebrated for the first time

    The first edition was limited to some cities in the United States. Today, Earth Day is observed by about 1 billion people around the world.

  • 1952 The world's first rock and roll concert is held in Cleveland, Ohio

    DJ Alan Freed presented the concert, which was closed down after only one song because of over-crowding.

  • 1943 A plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bomb fails

    German Wehrmacht officer, Rudolf von Gersdorff, failed to blow up the dictator but managed to defuse his bombs just before they went off and avoid suspicion.

Illustration of stork, signifying birth

Births On This Day,
March 21

  • 1980 Ronaldinho

    Brazilian footballer

  • 1978 Rani Mukerji

    Indian actress

  • 1960 Ayrton Senna

    Brazilian race car driver

  • 1940 Solomon Burke

    American singer-songwriter

  • 1806 Benito Juárez

    Mexican lawyer, politician, 25th President of Mexico

Illustration of tombstone, signifying death

Deaths On This Day,
March 21

  • 2013 Chinua Achebe

    Nigerian author, poet, academic

  • 2008 Klaus Dinger

    German guitarist, songwriter

  • 1843 Guadalupe Victoria

    Mexican politician, 1st President of Mexico

  • 1656 James Ussher

    Irish archbishop

  • 1556 Thomas Cranmer

    English Archbishop of Canterbury