Date·Lore

On This Day · The 80th day of the year

March 21

March 21's recorded history is unusually compressed, gathered within recent centuries rather than reaching into antiquity. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

♈ZodiacAries ◈BirthstoneAquamarine ❀Birth flowerDaffodil

Aries is the sign for March 21 — read more on the Aries page, or see March's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on March 21?

March 21 is the 80th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1788 and 2019. Famous people born on March 21 include Johann Sebastian Bach, Emperor Taizu of Song and Joseph Fourier.

Released on March 21

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land
  • Game Bleach: Rebirth of Souls

2024

  • TV 3 Body Problem

2023

  • Game The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Ch 2: Retribution
  • Game Tchia
  • Movie John Wick: Chapter 4

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1788

    Great New Orleans Fire (1788)

  2. 1844

    Baháʼí calendar

  3. 1861

    Alexander H. Stephens

  4. 1918

    World War I

  5. 1928

    Charles Lindbergh

  6. 1945

    World War II

  7. 1946

    Los Angeles Rams

  8. 1990

    Namibia

  9. 2000

    Pope John Paul II

  10. 2019

    2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion

Famous birthday twins

Born on March 21

Johann Sebastian Bach

b. 1685

Emperor Taizu of Song

b. 927

Joseph Fourier

b. 1768

Ayrton Senna

b. 1960

Cenk Uygur

b. 1970

Matthew Broderick

b. 1962

Lothar Matthäus

b. 1961

Ronaldinho

b. 1980

Deaths

  • 2017Martin McGuinness
  • 2013Pietro Mennea
  • 1998Galina Ulanova
  • 1945Arthur Nebe
  • 1936Alexander Glazunov
  • 1556Thomas Cranmer

Holidays & observances

  • —Arbor Day (Lesotho)
  • —Arbor Day (Portugal)
  • —Christian feast day: Augustine Zhao Rong
  • —Christian feast day: Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
  • —Christian feast day: Passing of Saint Benedict (Order of Saint Benedict, pre-1970 Calendar)
  • —Christian feast day: Birillus
  • —Christian feast day: Enda of Aran
  • —Christian feast day: Nicholas of Flüe

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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