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Martin Luther King Jr. begins the march from Selma to Montgomery

Born on This Day

Gary Oldman

1958 -

Oscar-winning British actor who disappears into roles like Sid Vicious in "Sid & Nancy" and Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour."

Rosie O'Donnell

1962 -

Comedian, actress and gay-rights advocate best known for her long-running daytime talk show.

Ronaldinho

1980 -

Brazilian soccer legend dubbed "O Bruxo" ("The Wizard") for his flair on the field.

Gary OldmanFilmMagic

Rosie O'DonnellDisney General Entertainment Con

RonaldinhoAFP via Getty Images

1963

MAR21

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closes after 29 years—not because of the famous escapes, but because the isolated island lockup was too expensive to operate. Nearly a million gallons of water alone had to be barged to the island each week.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on March 21st

Reward offered for identity of pamphlet author

The London Gazette offers a reward to anyone revealing the author of a pamphlet called An Account of the Growth of Popery. The pamphlet, it was later revealed, had been published anonymously by Andrew Marvell in 1677. Although today Marvell is best remembered as the gifted metaphysical poet who composed witty works like To His […]

Massacre at Hancock’s Bridge

On March 21, 1778, just three days after British Loyalists and Hessian mercenary forces assault the local New Jersey militia at Quinton’s Bridge, three miles from Salem, New Jersey, the same contingent surprises the colonial militia at Hancock’s Bridge, five miles from Salem. In what amounted to a civil war for New Jersey, Colonel Charles […]

Napoleonic Code approved in France

After four years of debate and planning, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte enacts a new legal framework for France, known as the “Napoleonic Code.” The civil code gave post-revolutionary France its first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family and individual rights. In 1804, General Napoleon Bonaparte, as the new emperor of France, […]

Journalist begins search for Dr. Livingstone

Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his famous search through Africa for the missing British explorer Dr. David Livingstone. In the late 19th century, Europeans and Americans were fascinated by the continent of Africa. Few did more to increase Africa’s fame than Livingstone, one of the United Kingdom’s most famous explorers. In August 1865, he set […]

Germany begins major offensive on the Western Front

On March 21, 1918, near the Somme River in France, the German army launches its first major offensive on the Western Front in two years. At the beginning of 1918, Germany’s position on the battlefields of Europe looked extremely strong. German armies occupied virtually all of Belgium and much of northern France. With Romania, Russia […]

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Another plot to kill Hitler foiled

On March 21, 1943, the second military conspiracy plan to assassinate Hitler in a week fails. Back in the summer of 1941, Maj. Gen. Henning von Tresckow, a member of Gen. Fedor von Bock’s Army Group Center, was the leader of one of many conspiracies against Adolf Hitler. Along with his staff officer, Lt. Fabian […]

President Truman orders loyalty checks of federal employees

In response to fears and Congressional investigations into communism in the United States, President Harry S. Truman issues an executive decree establishing a sweeping loyalty investigation of federal employees. As the Cold War began to develop after World War II, fears concerning communist activity in the United States, particularly in the federal government, increased. Congress […]

The Moondog Coronation Ball is history’s first rock concert

On March 21, 1952, Cleveland hosts an event now recognized as history’s first major rock-and-roll show: the Moondog Coronation Ball. Breathless promotion on the local radio station. Tickets selling out in a single day. Thousands of teenagers, hours before show time, lining up outside the biggest venue in town. The scene outside the Cleveland Arena […]

James Wong Howe becomes first Asian American to win an Academy Award

Noted for his innovative use of wide-angle shots, low-key lighting and deep focus, cinematographer James Wong Howe becomes the first Asian American to win an Academy Award on March 21, 1956. Receiving the Oscar for Best Cinematography for The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster, Howe had a knack for making “old stars […]

Massacre in Sharpeville

In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators, killing 69 people and wounding 180 in a hail of submachine-gun fire. The demonstrators were protesting against the South African government’s restriction of nonwhite travel. In the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, […]

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Alcatraz closes its doors

Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco‘s Bay closes down and transfers its last prisoners. At its peak period of use in 1950s, “The Rock,” or “America’s Devil Island,” housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable. The twelve-acre rocky island, […]

President Carter announces Olympic boycott

On March 21, 1980, President Jimmy Carter announces that the U.S. will boycott the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer. The announcement came after the Soviet Union failed to comply with Carter’s February 20, 1980, deadline to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The Soviet military invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to reinforce […]

Famous “Dallas” cliffhanger airs

On March 21, 1980, J.R. Ewing, the character millions love to hate on television’s popular prime-time drama “Dallas,” is shot by an unknown assailant. The shooting made the season-ending episode one of TV’s most famous cliffhangers, inspired widespread media coverage and left America wondering “Who shot J.R.?” for the next eight months. On November 21, […]

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