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March 21st
1556 - Died this day, Thomas Cranmer, first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, was condemned as a heretic under Catholic queen Mary I and burned at the stake in Oxford. 1685 - Born this day, Johann Sebastian Bach, composer. 1806 - Born this day, Benito Juarez, was Mexico's national hero and its first president of Indian descent. During his years in government he succeeded in undermining the power of the Roman Catholic church and the wealthy landlords in order to make Mexico a constitutional democracy. Juarez was born in Oaxaca on 21 March 1806. He received his degree in law in 1831. He served in both state and national legislatures. In 1841 he became a judge and served as governor of his state. When liberals defeated conservatives in the elections of 1855, Juarez became minister of justice and public instruction and created a new, liberal constitution. In 1857 Juarez was chosen to preside over the Supreme Court and served as vice-president. During a conservative revolt from 1858 to 1860, he acted as president. He was forced to flee Mexico City but held the government together. 1829 - The 60-year-old Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, fought a duel with the Earl of Winchelsea over the Duke's support for catholic emancipation. 1918 - The last major German offensive of the First World (WWI) war began on the Somme. 1923 - French scientists in Paris proposed that smoking is beneficial to health because nicotine works against bacteria. 1930 - Born this day, Otis Spann, blues pianist, in Jackson, Mississippi. He did, Keep Your Hand Out Of My Pocket and The Blues Don't Like Nobody. Blues Foundation's Hall Of Fame Inductee. Died 25 April 1970 from cancer. 1933 - The first parliament of Nazi Germany was proclaimed, with Hitler as chancellor, at the Garrison Church in Potsdam. 1933 - Born this day, Michael Heseltine, former deputy Prime Minister, Ex-Conservative MP. 1935 - Born this day, Brian Clough, former footballer and Ex-Notts Forest manager. 1940 - Born this day, Solomon Burke, US singer, 1961 US No.24 single Just Out Of Reach Of My Open Arms, 1963 US No.1 R&B hit Got To Get You Off My Mind. 1941 - The South-East of England was hit by the Luftwaffe's new Spring bombing blitz. But a deliberate attempt to destroy Buckingham Palace failed. The Germans began the attack by dropping incendiary flares. They followed with flying bomb runs but the palace escaped a direct hit. 1943 - Born this day, Viv Stanshall, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, 1968 UK No.5 single I'm The Urban Spaceman. Died 5 March 1995 in a house fire. 1945 - Born this day, Rosemary Stone, Sly & The Family Stone, 1971 US No.1 and 1972 UK No.15 single Family Affair. 1946 - Born this day, Timothy Dalton, actor. 1946 - Born this day, Ray Dorset, Mungo Jerry, 1970 UK No.1 and US No.3 single In The Summertime. 1946 - Aneurin Bevan announced proposals for a National Health Service (NHS). Doctors, fearing lost earnings, immediately resolved to oppose it. 1949 - Born this day, Eddie Money [Edward Mahoney], US singer, 1978 US No.11 single Baby Hold On. 1950 - Born this day, Roger Hodgson, guitar, Supertramp, 1979 US No.6 and UK No.7 single The Logical Song. 1951 - Born this day, Conrad Lozano, Los Lobos, 1987 UK and US No.1 single La Bamba. 1951 - Born this day, Russell Thompkins Jr, vocals, The Stylistics, 1975 US No.1 single You Make Me Feel Brand New, 1975 UK No.1 single Can't Give You Anything But My Love, plus 15 other UK top 40 singles. 1952 - Legendary DJ Alan Freed hosted his first Moondog Ball in Cleveland. 1953 - Born this day, Robert Johnson, KC & The Sunshine Band, 1975 US No.1 single That's The Way, I Like It, 1983 UK No.1 single Give It Up. 1956 - Gene Vincent opened for Carl Perkins at a Norfolk, Virginia concert. 1957 - Born this day, John Reddington, King Kurt, 1983 UK No.36 single Destination Zululand. 1958 - The London Planetarium was opened. 1958 - Born this day, Gary Oldman, actor. 1960 - Fifty-six Africans died and 162 were injured when police opened fire in the black township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal. It came on the first day of a campaign against South African pass-laws. A crowd of 15,000 converged on the police station to be met by 75 armed police. Carnage swiftly followed. 1961 - The Beatles debut at the Cavern Club as guests of The Bluegenes. 
1962 - Born this day, Matthew Broderick, actor. 1962 - Born this day, Rosie O'Donnell, actress. 1963 - The first automatic tube trains ran on the London underground. 1963 - On this date in 1963, Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closed down after 104 years use and transferred its last prisoners. At its peak period of use during the 1950s, over 200 inmates were housed at the maximum-security facility, also known as The Rock and America's Devil Island. Alcatraz remains notorious for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable. The 12-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, Cailfornia, featured the most advanced security of the time. Some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates serving time there and nearly complete silence was mandated at all times. Juan Manuel de Ayala first explored Alcatraz in 1775, calling it Isla de los Alcatraces (Pelican Island) because of all the birds that lived there. It was taken over in 1849 by the US government. The first lighthouse in California was on Alcatraz. It became a Civil War fort and then a military prison in 1907. The end of its prison days in 1963 did not end the Alcatraz saga. In March 1964, a group of Sioux Indians claimed that the island belonged to them due to a 100-year-old treaty. Their claims were ignored until November 1969, when a group of 89 Native Americans representing the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied the island illegally. They stayed there until 1971, when AIM was finally forced off the island by federal authorities. The following year, Alcatraz was added to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is now open for tourism. 1963 - Elliot Gould and Barbra Streisand got married. 1964 - After I Want To Hold Your Hand had held the No.1 position on the US singles chart for seven weeks, The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 with She Loves You. 1964 - Born this day, Ieuan Evans, Rugby player. 1964 - Lobster Quadrille, Honor Blackman's last episode on The Avengers, aired in the UK. 1965 - On this date in 1965, in Selma, Alabama, a five-day civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, the Alabama state capital, was begun by some 3,200 marchers led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize for Peace. Alabama was a centre of the African-American civil rights movement, and, in early 1965, King's civil rights organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), planned a march from Selma to the state capitol to protest racial violence in Alabama. A first attempt was made on 7 March, but the march ended on the outskirts of Selma when mounted police using tear gas and clubs attacked and arrested the demonstrators. Two days later, another attempt was made, but the marchers were again blocked by the police. The same evening, Reverend James Reeb, a white minister, was fatally beaten by a group of Selma whites, leading to a national outcry and widespread publicity of the planned march. Under pressure from US President Lyndon B. Johnson, an Alabama court finally gave the marchers permission to proceed. On 21 March, the march began, and ended after minimal violence on 26 March in Montgomery, where King and his marchers were joined by some 20,000 demonstrators in front of the Alabama state capitol building. Soon after, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which gave federal agencies the right to enforce equal voting rights in the South. 1966 - The US Supreme Court decided that John Cleland's book Fanny Hill was not obscene. 1966 - Born this day, Matthew Maynard, cricketer. 1967 - Thoroughly Modern Millie with Mary Tyler Moore was released. 1967 - Born this day, Jonas Berggren, Ace Of Base, 1993 UK No.1 single All That She Wants, 1994 US No.1 single The Sign. 1967 - Born this day, Keith Palmer, vocals, Prodigy, 1996 UK No.1 and US No.30 single Firestarter. 1997 UK and US No.1 album The Fat Of The Land. 1967 - Born this day, Sean Dickson, The Soup Dragons, 1990 UK No.5 single I'm Free. 1968 - Dyan Cannon and Cary Grant got divorced after less than three years of marriage. 1970 - Born this day, Jon Carter, BBC Radio 1 DJ. 1972 - Six people died and 146 were injured in an explosion in a major shopping street in Belfast, NI. 1973 - The BBC banned all teenybopper acts appearing on UK TV show, Top Of The Pops, after a riot following a David Cassidy performance. 1975 - Born this day, Mark Williams, snooker player. 1976 - Iggy Pop and David Bowie were involved in a drug bust at their hotel room in Rochester, New York. 1977 - Born this day, Mark Hamilton, Ash, 1995 UK No.11 single Girl From Mars. 1979 - Born this day, Simon, Blue, 2001 UK No.1 single Too Close. 1980 - Born this day, Deryck 'Bizzy D' Whibley, Sum 41, 2001 UK No 13 single In Too Deep. 1980 - Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers was sent to Pentonville Prison after losing his appeal against a drugs conviction. 1981 - REO Speedwagon went to No.1 on the US singles chart with Keep On Loving You, the groups first top 40 hit and first No.1. It was a No.7 hit in the UK. 1981 - Tom Baker made his final TV appearance as Doctor Who. 1984 - Strawberry Fields, an area in Central Park bought by Yoko Ono in memory of her late husband John Lennon, was opened. 1987 - Club Nouveau started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with their version of Bill Withers Lean On Me, it was a No.3 hit in the UK. 1987 - U2 scored their third UK No.1 album with The Joshua Tree, featuring the singles Where The Streets Have No Name, and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. The album became the fastest selling in UK history, and was also a US No.1. 1987 - Died this day, Dean Martin Jr., (Dino of Dino, Desi & Billy-'I'm A Fool'), in a plane crash while in the Air National Guard. 1989 - Dick Clark retired from American Bandstand. 1991 - Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine ditched the poll tax and replaced it with a new property tax. 1991 - Died this day, Clarence Leo Fender, the inventor of The Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars. 1992 - Former nude model Vanessa Williams started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Save The Best To Last. It was a No.3 hit in the UK. 1993 - The IRA said it carried out two bomb attacks in Warrington which killed a four-year-old child. 1994 - Bruce Springsteen won the Best Original Song Academy Award for Streets Of Philadelphia from the movie Philadelphia. 1996 - Guitarist with The Stone Roses John Squire quit the band, he broke the news to the other three members over the phone. 1998 - Run D.M.C. VS Jason Nevins started a six week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with It's Like That. 1999 - B*Witched scored their fourth consecutive UK No.1 single with Blame It On The Weatherman. 1999 - Blur went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 13, the bands fourth consecutive No.1. Making them only the third act to have four No.1's in the 90's, Simply Red and REM being the other two. 2000 - Rover cars began cutting production at two of its main factories after the decision by German owners BMW to sell the loss-making subsidiary. 2001 - Eminem was ordered to pay £280,000 as part of his divorce agreement with his ex-wife Kim. Also as part of the agreement, Eminem would keep the US mansion and they would share custody of their five-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade. 2001 - Michael Jackson's interior decorator told The Times that the singer keeps 17 life size dolls, adult and child sizes, all fully dressed in his bedroom for 'company'. 2002 - Thousands of prisoners will be let out of jail early to ease the prisons crisis, the Home Secretary announced. 2003 - The US launched its 'shock and awe' bombing campaign with a massive attack on the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. |
Trivia
Trivia - petty details or considerations, matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
Trivial - of very little importance or value; insignificant: "Don't bother me with trivial matters." Trivially - unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling.