Explore fascinating moments from history that shaped our world
A major explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, China, killed 78 people and injured 640 others.
The American soap opera Dallas aired the episode "A House Divided", which led to eight months of international speculation on "Who shot J.R.?"
War of Attrition: The Battle of Karameh took place between the Israel Defense Forces and allied troops of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Armed Forces.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California—one of the world's most notorious and best known prisons—was closed.
Police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire on a group of unarmed black demonstrators who were protesting pass laws, killing 69 people and wounding 180 others.
The Moondog Coronation Ball (poster pictured), generally considered to be the first major rock and roll concert, took place at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington, making him the first African-American player in the National Football League since 1933.
A police squad, acting under orders from Governor of Puerto Rico Blanton Winship, opened fire on demonstrators protesting the arrest of Puerto Rican Nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos, killing 21 people and injuring 235 others.
Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges (cover pictured), to a libretto by Colette, was premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
First World War: The German Army opened the Spring Offensive with Operation Michael, attempting to break through the Allied lines and to seize ports on the English Channel.
More than 360 were killed and 20,000 homes were destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.

Queen's Park defeated Clydesdale 2–0 in the final of the inaugural Scottish Cup (trophy pictured).
Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, gave an extemporaneous speech laying out the Confederacy's rationale for seceding from the United States.
During his tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstone for the Nathanael Greene Monument in Savannah, Georgia.
War of the Sixth Coalition: During their march on Paris, Coalition forces defeated Napoleon's French army on the final day of the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
A large fire destroyed 856 of the 1,100 structures in New Orleans.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, one of the founders of Anglicanism, was burnt at the stake for heresy in Oxford, England.
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing 132 people.
The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others.
The social media site Twitter (now officially named X) is founded.
Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force.
Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
Transbrasil Flight 801 crashes into a slum near São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, killing 25 people.
Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships.
Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
Cold War: American President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.
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.
Greek War of Independence: Greek revolutionaries seize Kalavryta.
Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
On the day of his execution in Oxford, former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine."
Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
Ethan Nwaneri, English footballer
Abbi Pulling, English racing driver
Jace Norman, American actor
Yoon San-ha, South Korean singer and actor
Miles Bridges, American basketball player
Nat Phillips, English footballer
Martina Stoessel, Argentine singer and actress
Aurora Mikalsen, Norwegian footballer
RJ Cyler, American actor
Nick Mullens, American football player
Mirco Müller, Swiss ice hockey player
Jasmin Savoy Brown, American actress
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
Alex Nimo, Liberian-American soccer player
Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
Nicolás Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
Takeru Satoh, Japanese actor
Solomon Alabi, Nigerian basketball player
Kateřina Čechová, Czech sprinter
Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
Eric Krüger, German sprinter
Michael Madl, Austrian footballer
Carlos Carrasco, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
Romanos Alyfantis, Greek swimmer
Scott Eastwood, American actor
Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Greek pole vaulter
Michu, Spanish footballer
Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
Sonequa Martin-Green, American actress
Adrian Peterson, American football player
Tarence Kinsey, American basketball player
Guillermo Daniel Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
Lucila Pascua, Spanish basketball player
Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
Ejegayehu Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
Aaron Hill, American baseball player
Colin Turkington, Northern Irish race car driver
Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
Germano, Brazilian footballer
Goran Bezina, Swiss ice hockey player
Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian skier
Lee Jin, South Korean singer and actress
Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Sally Barsosio, Kenyan runner
Charmaine Dragun, Australian journalist (died 2007)
Kevin Federline, American dancer and television personality
Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
Joyce Jimenez, Filipino movie and TV actress
Mohammad Rezaei, Iranian wrestler

Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
Jamie Delgado, English tennis player
Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress and singer
Bamboo Mañalac, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
Tekin Sazlog, German-Turkish footballer

Michale Graves, American singer-songwriter
Corné Krige, South African rugby player
Fabricio Oberto, Argentinian-Italian basketball player
Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player and coach
Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
Laura Allen, American actress
Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian and actor
Dejima Takeharu, Japanese sumo wrestler
Ananda Lewis, American television host
Stuart Nethercott, English footballer and manager
Large Professor, American rapper and producer
Chris Candido, American wrestler (died 2005)
Balázs Kiss, Hungarian hammer thrower
Boris Mironov, Russian ice hockey player
Derartu Tulu, Ethiopian runner
Graeme Welch, English cricketer
Zsolt Kürtösi, Hungarian decathlete

Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (died 2000)
Cenk Uygur, Turkish-American political activist
Jonah Goldberg, American journalist and author
Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
Andrew Copeland, American singer and musician
Greg Ellis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
Johan Garpenlöv, Swedish ice hockey player
Tolunay Kafkas, Turkish footballer and manager

Gary Walsh, English footballer and coach

Scott Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
Jonas Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
Carwyn Jones, Welsh lawyer and politician, First Minister of Wales
Maxim, English musician and songwriter
Mirela Rupic, American costume and fashion designer
Benito Archundia, Mexican footballer, referee, lawyer, and economist
Hauke Fuhlbrügge, German runner
Al Iafrate, American ice hockey player
Moa Matthis, Swedish author
Matthew Maynard, English cricketer and coach
DJ Premier, American DJ and producer
Xavier Bertrand, French businessman and politician, French Minister of Social Affairs
Thomas Frank, American author, historian and political analyst

Cynthia Geary, American actress
Ieuan Evans, Welsh rugby player
Jesper Skibby, Danish cyclist
Shawon Dunston, American baseball player

Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager

Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2003)
Share Pedersen, American bass player
Matthew Broderick, American actor
Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress and screenwriter

Rosie O'Donnell, American actress, producer, and talk show host
Mark Waid, American author
Kassie DePaiva, American actress
Lothar Matthäus, German footballer and manager
Gary O'Reilly, English footballer
Kim Turner, American hurdler
Benito T. de Leon, Filipino general
Marwan Farhat, Syrian actor and voice actor
Raivo Puusepp, Estonian architect
Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (died 1994)
Robert Sweet, American drummer and producer
Sarah Jane Morris, English singer-songwriter

Yuval Rotem, Israeli diplomat
Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese keyboard player and composer
Marlies Göhr, German sprinter
Brad Hall, American comedian, director, and screenwriter
Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician, and author
Dick Beardsley, American runner
Guy Chadwick, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Richard H. Kirk, English guitarist, keyboard player, composer, and producer (died 2021)
Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
Fadi Abboud, Lebanese economist and politician
Bob Bennett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian politician and retired military officer, 38th President of Brazil
Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician

Bärbel Wöckel, German sprinter
Prayut Chan-o-cha, Thai politician, Prime Minister of Thailand
Mike Dunleavy Sr., American basketball player, coach, and executive
Steve Sheppard, American basketball player
Steve Furber, English computer scientist and academic
Paul Martin Lester, American photographer, author, and educator (died 2023)
David Wisniewski, English-American author and illustrator (died 2002)
Conrad Lozano, American bass player
Russell Thompkins Jr., American singer-songwriter
Roger Hodgson, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
Sergey Lavrov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ron Oden, American minister and politician, 19th Mayor of Palm Springs
Alvin Kallicharran, Guyanese cricketer and coach
Andy Love, Scottish-English politician
Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2019)
Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher, and academic
Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist and academic
George Johnston, Scottish footballer
Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
Ray Dorset, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Japanese cardinal
Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, English lawyer
Charles Greene, American sprinter and coach (died 2022)
Rose Stone, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
Janet Daley, American-English journalist and author
Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist
Mike Jackson, English general (died 2024)
David Lindley, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2023)
István Gyulai, Hungarian sprinter and sportscaster (died 2006)
Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter (died 1995)

Françoise Dorléac, French actress (died 1967)

Amina Claudine Myers, American singer-songwriter and pianist
Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach (died 2018)
Patcha Ramachandra Rao, Indian metallurgist, educator and administrator (died 2010)
Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter (died 2010)
Andrea Elle, German bicyclist
Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
Michael Foreman, English author and illustrator
Grahame Thomas, Australian cricketer
Ann Clwyd, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales (died 2023)
Tom Flores, American football player and coach
Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat and author (died 2010)
Ed Broadbent, Canadian pilot and politician (died 2024)
Mike Westbrook, English pianist and composer
Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (died 2004)
Al Freeman, Jr., American actor and director (died 2012)
John Hall, English businessman
Michael Heseltine, Welsh businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Walter Gilbert, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (died 2015)
Clark L. Brundin, American-English engineer and academic (died 2021)
Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (died 2013)
Toyonobori, Japanese sumo wrestler (died 1998)
Al Williamson, American illustrator (died 2010)
James Coco, American actor (died 1987)

Otis Spann, American blues pianist, singer and composer (died 1970)
Maurice Catarcio, American wrestler (died 2005)
Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (died 2015)
Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (died 2013)
Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (died 2016)

André Delvaux, Belgian director and screenwriter (died 2002)
Harold Ashby, American saxophonist (died 2003)
Peter Brook, English-French director and producer (died 2022)
Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (died 1964)
Philip Abbott, American actor (died 1998)
Dov Shilansky, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and politician (died 2010)
Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, author, and academic (died 2020)
Rezső Nyers, Hungarian politician (died 2018)
Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet, publisher, and diplomat (died 1998)
Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (died 2011)

Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004)
Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and pianist (died 1986)
Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2014)

Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (died 1970)
Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (died 2010)
Douglas Warren, Australian bishop (died 2013)
Patrick Lucey, American captain and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (died 2014)
Charles Thompson, American pianist and composer (died 2016)
Frank Hardy, Australian journalist, author, and playwright (died 1994)
Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (died 2006)

Ken Wharton, English race car driver (died 1957)
Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (died 1990)
George Abecassis, English race car driver and pilot (died 1991)

Guillermo Haro, Mexican astronomer (died 1988)
André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, playwright, and politician (died 1968)
Walter Lincoln Hawkins, American scientist and inventor (died 1992)
Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (died 1993)
Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi librarian and educator (died 1978)
Harry Lane, English footballer (died 1977)
Zoltán Kemény, Hungarian sculptor (died 1965)
André Filho, Brazilian musician and songwriter (died 1974)

John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (died 1978)

Jim Thompson, American businessman (died 1967)

Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (died 1978)
Jehane Benoît, Canadian journalist and author (died 1987)
Forrest Mars, Sr., American candy maker, created M&M's and Mars bar (died 1999)
Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (died 1949)
Son House, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1988)
Karl Arnold, German businessman and politician, President of the German Bundesrat (died 1958)
Panagiotis Pipinelis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 1970)
Sim Gokkes, Dutch composer and conductor (died 1943)
Salvador Lutteroth, Mexican wrestling promoter, founded Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (died 1987)

Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (died 1959)
Hannah Ryggen, Norwegian textile artist (died 1970)
Jock Sutherland, American football player and coach (died 1948)
Clarice Beckett, Australian painter (died 1935)
Lajos Kassák, Hungarian poet, novelist and painter (died 1967)

M. N. Roy, Indian philosopher and politician (died 1954)
Walter Dray, American pole vaulter (died 1973)
Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (died 1952)

George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (died 1944)
Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (died 1963)
Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, and producer (died 1971)

Hans Hofmann, German-American painter and academic (died 1966)

Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (died 1944)
Maurice Farman, French race car driver and pilot (died 1964)

Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (died 1968)

Alfred Tysoe, English runner (died 1901)
David Robertson, Scottish-English golfer and rugby player (died 1937)
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (died 1932)

Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (died 1952)

George Owen Squier, American general and inventor of Musak (died 1934)
Daria Pratt, American golfer (died 1938)
Alice Henry, Australian journalist and activist (died 1943)
Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (died 1924)
Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (died 1881)
Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (died 1876)
Dorothea Beale, English suffragist, educational reformer and author (died 1906)
Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier and engineer (died 1890)

Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (died 1891)
Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (died 1872)
Augusta Waddington, Welsh writer and patron of the arts (died 1896)
José Bernardo de Tagle y Portocarrero, Marquis of Torre Tagle, Peruvian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Peru (died 1825)
Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (died 1830)
Jean Paul, German journalist and author (died 1825)
Mary Dixon Kies, American inventor (died 1837)
Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (died 1782)

Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (died 1803)
Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (died 1750)
Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (died 1742)
Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary (died 1667)
Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel, English countess and poet (died 1630)
John Leveson, English politician (died 1615)
Hermann Finck, German composer and educator (died 1558)
Maurice, Elector of Saxony (died 1553)
Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham, English noble (died 1558)
Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint (died 1540)
Emperor Taizu of Song (died 976)
Kitty Dukakis, American author, First Lady of Massachusetts (born 1936)
George Foreman, American boxer, actor, and businessman (born 1949)
Willis Reed, American basketball player (born 1942)
Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian secularist, feminist (born 1931)
Victor Hochhauser CBE, British music promoter (born 1923)
Gonzalo Portocarrero, Peruvian sociologist (born 1949)
Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (born 1929)

Colin Dexter, English author (born 1930)
Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (born 1950)
Mike Hall, British cyclist (born 1981)
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)
Rick Hautala, American author and screenwriter (born 1949)

Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (born 1932)
Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (born 1952)
Giancarlo Zagni, Italian director and screenwriter (born 1926)
Albrecht Dietz, German economist and businessman (born 1926)
Ron Erhardt, American football player and coach (born 1931)

Robert Fuest, English director, screenwriter, and production designer (born 1927)
Tonino Guerra, Italian poet and screenwriter (born 1920)
Irving Louis Horowitz, American sociologist, author, and academic (born 1929)
Yuri Razuvaev, Russian chess player and trainer (born 1945)
Marina Salye, Russian geologist and politician (born 1934)

Loleatta Holloway, American singer-songwriter (born 1946)
Gerd Klier, German footballer (born 1944)
Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (born 1931)
Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (born 1913)

Wolfgang Wagner, German director and manager (born 1919)
Mohit Sharma, Indian army officer (born 1978)
Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1960)

Denis Cosgrove, English-American geographer and academic (born 1948)
Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect and academic (born 1931)

John List, American murderer (born 1925)

Drew Hayes, American author and illustrator (born 1969)

Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian hurdler and journalist (born 1936)
Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (born 1923)
Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (born 1924)
Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress, dancer, and choreographer (born 1924)

Shivani, Indian author (born 1923)
Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian general and politician, 4th Vice President of Indonesia (born 1924)
Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (born 1913)
Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (born 1915)
Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (born 1920)
Jean Guitton, French philosopher and author (born 1905)

Ernie Wise, English comedian and actor (born 1925)
Galina Ulanova, Russian ballerina (born 1910)
Wilbert Awdry, English cleric and author, created The Railway Series, the basis for Thomas the Tank Engine (born 1911)
Macdonald Carey, American actor (born 1913)

Lili Damita, French-American actress and singer (born 1904)

Aleksandrs Laime, Latvian-born explorer (born 1911)
John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (born 1914)
Natalie Sleeth, American pianist and composer (born 1930)

Vedat Dalokay, Turkish architect and politician, Mayor of Ankara (born 1927)

Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (born 1909)

Walter L. Gordon, Canadian accountant, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Finance (born 1906)
Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (born 1918)
Michael Redgrave, English actor, director, and manager (born 1908)
Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (born 1888)
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, President of Ireland (born 1911)
Joe Medwick, American baseball player and coach (born 1911)

Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (born 1920)

Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (born 1923)

Hatı Çırpan, Turkish politician (born 1890)
Ed Voss, American basketball player (born 1922)
Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor and composer (born 1871)
Henry Hanna, Irish Judge, photographer and author (born 1871)
Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (born 1894)
Cornelia Fort, American soldier and pilot (born 1919)
Evald Aav, Estonian composer and conductor (born 1900)

Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, Turkish general and politician (born 1877)
Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor (born 1865)
Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (born 1878)
Lilyan Tashman, American actress (born 1896)

Enrico D'Ovidio, Italian mathematician (born 1842)
Thomas Oikonomou, Greek actor (born 1864)
Evelina Haverfield, British suffragette and aid worker (born 1867)
Frederick Winslow Taylor, American golfer, tennis player, and engineer (born 1856)
Annibale de Gasparis, Italian astronomer (born 1819)[citation needed]
Joseph E. Johnston, American general (born 1807)
Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (born 1819)
Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (born 1803)
Edwin Vose Sumner, American general (born 1797)
Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (born 1795)
Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and translator (born 1774)
Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general and politician, 1st President of Mexico (born 1786)
Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (born 1772)
Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer and educator (born 1741)
Giovanni Arduino, Italian miner and geologist (born 1714)
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French geographer and cartographer (born 1703)
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French priest, astronomer, and academic (born 1713)
Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (born 1698)
Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (born 1706)
Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian and author (born 1679)
John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (born 1671)
Elżbieta Sieniawska, politically influential Polish magnate (born 1669)
Henri Sauval, French historian and author (born 1623)
James Ussher, Irish archbishop (born 1581)
Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Albanian politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
Pocahontas, Algonquian Indigenous woman (born c. 1595)
Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (born 1517)
Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (born 1489)
John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, English peer and courtier (born c. 1482)

Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (born 1417)
Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden
Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (born 1248)

Absalon, Danish archbishop (born c. 1128)

Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (born 1011)
Richeza of Lotharingia (born 995)
Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (born 955)
Ælla, king of Northumbria
Osberht, king of Northumbria
Arbor Day (Lesotho)
Arbor Day (Portugal)
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
Christian feast day: Serapion of Thmuis
Christian feast day: Thomas Cranmer (Anglicanism)
Christian feast day: March 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Early music
Education Freedom Day
Harmony Day (Australia)
Human Rights Day (South Africa)
Independence Day (Namibia)
International Colour Day (International)
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
International Day of Forests (International), by proclamation of the United Nations General Assembly
Mother's Day (most of the Arab world)
Natalicio de Benito Juárez, one of Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
Oltenia Day (Romania)
Rosie the Riveter Day (United States)
Truant's Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
Vernal equinox related observances (see also March 20)
World Day for Glaciers (International)
World Down Syndrome Day (International)
World Poetry Day (International)
World Puppetry Day (International)
Youth Day (Tunisia)