Discover what happened on March 21 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

March 21

Discover what happened on March 21 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

March 21 Archives - History.com

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1965

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.leading marchers as they begin the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march from Brown's Chapel Church in Selma, Alabama. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

1960

1952

1804

1871

1918

1980

1678

1963

1778

1943

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered an entirely New World: North and South America, plus many other lands.

Exploration

Explorers

Africa

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.&nbsp;

Crime

American Revolution

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

Videos

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature, and Film History

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history">World War II</a> was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Cold War

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

February is dedicated as Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history, including the civil rights movement and their artistic, cultural and political achievements.

Black History

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Africa is a large and diverse continent that stretches from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth.&nbsp;Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

This Day In History: March 21

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

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This Day in History Video: What Happened on March 21

Massacre in Sharpeville

The Moondog Coronation Ball is history’s first rock concert

Napoleonic Code approved in France

Journalist begins search for Dr. Livingstone

Germany begins major offensive on the Western Front

President Carter announces Olympic boycott

Reward offered for identity of pamphlet author

Famous “Dallas” cliffhanger airs

Alcatraz closes its doors

Massacre at Hancock’s Bridge

Another plot to kill Hitler foiled

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