March 21 in history — What Happened Today in History

The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.

San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop and culture festival in the world, hosts its inaugural event.

Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO.

Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of uncrewed lunar space probes.

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.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closes.

Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.

Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.

World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.

World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians.

World 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.

Wehrmacht 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.

Ponce 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.

Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.

The landmark Australian Eastern Mission led by John Latham departs on its three-month tour of East and South-East Asia.

Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.

The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.

Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges, to a libretto by Colette, is premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.

The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.

World War I: The first phase of the German spring offensive, Operation Michael, begins.

Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.

Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.

Alexander H. Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.

The 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.

The Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place in London involving the Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington.

Sven Andrighetto, Swiss ice hockey player

Jake Bidwell, English footballer

Jesse Joronen, Finnish footballer

Frankie Montas, Dominican baseball player

Lehlogonolo Masalesa, South African footballer

Chiney Ogwumike, American basketball player

Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player

Kristýna Plíšková, Czech tennis player

Luke Chapman, English footballer

Antoine Griezmann, French footballer

Mandy Capristo, German singer-songwriter and dancer

Ryann Krais, American runner and heptathlete

Darius Miller, American basketball player

Ishaya Bakut, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Benue State (born 1947)

Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (born 1925)

James C. Binnicker, American sergeant (born 1938)

Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (born 1909)

Jørgen Ingmann, Danish singer and guitarist (born 1925)

Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (born 1955)

Qoriniasi Bale, Fijian lawyer and politician, 25th Attorney-General of Fiji (born 1929)

Bill Boedeker, American football player and soldier (born 1924)

Jack Fleck, American golfer (born 1921)

Simeon Oduoye, Nigerian police officer and politician (born 1945)

James Rebhorn, American actor (born 1948)

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (born 1933)

Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (born 1930)