March 21 Fun Facts, Trivia and HistoryTable of Contents |
March 21 History Highlights |
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Selma to Montgomery March |
On March 25, 1965, Martin Luther King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after a 5-day, 54-mile march from Selma, Alabama, where local African Americans, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) had been campaigning for voting rights. Reverend King told the assembled crowd: “There never was a moment in American history more honorable and more inspiring than the pilgrimage of clergymen and laymen of every race and faith pouring into Selma to face danger at the side of its embattled Negroes.” |
March 21 is… |
| Common Courtesy Day Day of Forests French Bread Day Memory Day Teenager Day UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination World Down Syndrome Day World Poetry Day |
March 21 Birthday Quotes |
“When a man forgets himself, he usually does something everybody else remembers.” “The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it-every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.” “Real courage is knowing what faces you and knowing how to face it.” “Half of the great comedians I’ve had in my shows and that I paid a lot of money to and who made my customers shriek were not only not funny to me, but I couldn’t understand why they were funny to anybody.” “In the long run, the quality of your work is all that matters. That is your only resumé. Be professional. Make sure your editor or publisher can always reach you. Do what’s asked of you if your conscience can bear it.” |
March 21 Birthdays |
| 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (died in 1750) 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (died in 1932) 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (died in 1978) 1910 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (died in 1993) 1922 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died in 2004) 1930 – James Coco, American character actor (died in 1987) 1931 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (died in 2010) 1946 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter (died in 2019) 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress and talk show host 1962 – Mark Waid, American comic book author 2000 – Jace Norman, American actor |
March 21 History |
| 1617 – Pocahontas (Rebecca Rolfe) died of either smallpox or pneumonia while in England with her husband, John Rolfe. 1788 – The Great New Orleans Fire destroyed 80% of the city. 1859 – The first Zoological Society was incorporated in Philadelphia. PA, today simply called ‘The Philadelphia Zoo.’ 1871 – Otto von Bismarck was appointed Chancellor of the German Empire. 1925 – Butler Act became a state law in Tennessee that prohibited “The teaching of the Evolution Theory in all the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of Tennessee, which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, and to provide penalties for the violations thereof that it shall be unlawful to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” It was repealed on May 17, 1967. 1942 – A report was submitted suggesting the name “plutonium” for artificial element 94 since it followed neptunium and uranium (elements 93 and 92). 1952 – Hosted by Alan Freed, the first major rock-and-roll show, the Moondog Coronation Ball, was held in Cleveland, Ohio. 1953 – #1 Hit March 21, 1953 – May 15, 1953: Patti Page – The Doggie In The Window 1963 – Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closed and transferred its remaining prisoners. 1965 – Martin Luther King Jr., and 3200 civil rights demonstrators began a historic March from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol at Montgomery. 1980 – “Who shot J.R.?” On the season finale of Dallas, J. R. Ewing was shot by an unseen assailant. The following season we found out that it was Kristin Shepard, J.R.’s mistress 1980 – President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer. 1981 – #1 Hit March 21, 1981 – March 27, 1981: REO Speedwagon – Keep On Loving You 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships. 1987 – #1 Hit March 21, 1987 – April 3, 1987: Club Nouveau – Lean On Me 1989 – Sports Illustrated reported allegations tying baseball player Pete Rose to baseball gambling. 1992 – #1 Hit March 21, 1992 – April 24, 1992: Vanessa Williams – Save the Best for Last 1999 – The first around-the-world balloon flight took place between March 1 and March 21st with Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. 2006 – Twitter was founded. March 21, 2007 – The Apple TV (1st generation) was released. |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
| “When I’m around you, I kind of feel like I’m on drugs. Not that I do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in which case I do them all the time. All of them.” – Scott Pilgrim: The Capital of Tuvalu is Vaiaku village, Funafuti province A group of Midwives is an Expectation. If a zombie apocalypse becomes a reality, most people would get infected quickly due to the fact that nobody would really believe that a zombie apocalypse was really happening. #notme #beprepared Machetes in English-Speaking Caribbean countries are referred to as a “Cutlass”. Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. Darth Vader would be the worst at hide and seek. “You are like a hurricane, there’s calm in your eye” #songlyrics A group of Oarsmen is called a Row. Snow White in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ was inspired by actress Marge Champion. “No one is normal. Everyone is just pretending to be normal.” – Alessandra Torre People used to think sparrows hibernate at the bottom of lakes during the winter. I don’t know about being crazy, but my pile of clay eyebrows is getting larger every day. You can hold a note forever inside your head. Try it. Michael Caine – Real Name: Maurice Micklewhite |
More Pop Culture History Resources |
