1931 – US Ladies’ Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
1939 – Nazi Germany demands the return of Danzig (Gdańsk) from Poland
1958 – Dr. Ernest Lawrence, nuclear scientist and Nobel laureate, receives first West Point Sylvanus Thayer Award, presented to an outstanding US citizen whose service in the national interest exemplifies devotion to ideals of West Point motto: “Duty, Honor, Country”
1978 – San Francisco passes the most comprehensive homosexual rights bill in US history
1995 – NYC agrees to sell its 2 owned radio stations (WNYC AM and FM)
2012 – Sergio Agüero and Samir Nasri score to give Manchester City 2-1 win over Chelsea at City of Manchester Stadium; EPL record 20th consecutive home win; streak ends with 3-3 draw v Sunderland 31/3
2018 – English TV presenter Ant McPartlin charged with drink driving following an accident in London
2019 – Emilia Clarke reveals she suffered two brain aneurysms while filming “Games of Thrones” in an article for “The New Yorker”
Author: gil7
Today in History for 21st March 2026
Historical Events
1925 – Tennessee Governor Austin Peay passes the “Butler Act,” making Tennessee the first state to outlaw teaching the theory of evolution (repealed in 1967)
1934 – Fire destroys Hakodate, Japan, killing about 1,500
1948 – “Stop the Music” with Bert Parks premieres on ABC radio
1953 – NBA record 106 fouls and 12 players foul out (Boston-Syracuse)
1985 – Canadian Rick Hansen sets off on his ‘Man in Motion’ world tour in his wheelchair raising money for spinal research, from Oakridge Mall, Vancouver (successfully completes May 1987)
Famous Birthdays
927 – Taizu [Zhao Kuangyin], Founder and 1st Emperor of the Song Dynasty (960-976) who reunified most of China by conquering the states of Southern Tang, Later Shu, Southern Han and Jingnan, born in Luoyang, Henan, China (d. 976)
1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician (mathematical theory of heat conduction) and Egyptologist, born in Auxerre, France (d. 1830)
1887 – Edwin Scharff, German sculptor, and educator, deemed “entartete” (degenerate) by Nazi regime, born in Neu-Ulm, Gemrany (d. 1955)
1915 – Dude Martin [John Stephen McSwain], American country and Western swing singer, bandleader, radio and early television personality, born in Plainsburg, California (d. 1991) [Note: some sources cite date as 11, and some as 15]
1939 – Tommy Davis, American baseball utility (3 x MLB All Star; World Series 1963; NL batting champion 1962, 63 LA Dodgers), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2022)
Famous Deaths
1801 – Andrea Lucchesi, Italian organist, composer, and Kapellmeister for the Court of Bonn (1774-94), dies at 59
1864 – Luke Howard, British manufacturing chemist and meteorologist (nomenclature system for clouds), dies at 91
2014 – Jack Fleck, American golfer (US Open 1955), dies at 92
2017 – Chuck Barris, american TV game show producer and host (Gong Show), dies at 87
2024 – Ron Harper, American actor (Planet of the Apes (TV series); Wendy and Me), dies at 91
Famous Deaths for 20th March 2026
1501 – Jean Carondelet, lawyer/chancellor of Burgundy (1480-96), dies at 72
1848 – Abraham des Amorie van der Hoeven, Dutch theologist/poet, dies at 27
1873 – Adolphe Fétis, Belgian-French pianist and composer, dies at 52
1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (first law of thermodynamics), dies at 63
1953 – Graciliano Ramos, Brazilian author (Vidas Secas), dies at 60
1987 – Rita Streich, Russian-German soprano, dies at 66
1993 – Polykarp Kusch, American nuclear physicist (1955 Nobel Prize for Physics – for determining the magnetic moment of the electron), dies at 82
1997 – V. S. Pritchett, British literary critic and writer (Myth Makers), dies at 96
2016 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (1972-3, 75-82), dies at 93
2018 – Bobby Mitchell, American golfer (US Masters runner-up 1972), dies of a heart attack at 75
Historical Events for 20th March 2026
1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is published in Boston
1937 – Franco’s Republican army launch their (eventually successful) counter-offensive against Italian International Brigades fighting for the Nationalists at the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain
1951 – Indonesian army offensive against Darul Islam on Java
1952 – Final ratification of peace treaty restoring sovereignty to Japan by US Senate
1987 – Yvonne van Gennip skates ladies’ world record 5 km (7:20.36)
1989 – Major League Baseball announces Reds manager Pete Rose is under investigation
1994 – “Flowering Peach” opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 41 performances
2016 – Barack Obama becomes the first US President to visit Cuba since 1928, arriving for a three-day tour with First Lady Michelle
Today in History for 20th March 2026
Historical Events
1934 – Rudolf Kuhnold demonstrates radar in Kiel Germany
1937 – England beats Scotland, 6-3 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh to clinch the Home Nations Rugby Championship and Triple Crown
1942 – Convoy PQ13 departs Reykjavik Iceland to Russia
1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded
1973 – NBC TV premiere of pilot episode of “Police Story”, based on Los Angeles Police Dept. Joseph Wambaugh’s writings
Famous Birthdays
1823 – Ned Buntline [Edward Judson Sr.], American publisher, journalist, and writer, born in Harpersfield, New York (d. 1886)
1833 – Henry Southwick Perkins, American composer, educator, and founder of Music Teachers’ National Association, born in Stockbridge, Vermont (d. 1914)
1940 – Gianpiero Moretti, steering wheel designer (Momo), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2012)
1951 – Curt Smith, American author, media host, speech writer for President George H. W. Bush, and authority on baseball broadcasting (The History of Baseball and the White House), born in Caledonia, New York
1974 – Andrzej Pilipiuk, Polish humoristic fantasy and science fiction writer (Pan Samochodzik series, Ivanov the Wizard), born in Warsaw, Poland
Famous Deaths
457 – Siyah Chan K’awil, 11th ruler of the Maya city of Tikal, dies
1866 – Rikard Nordraak, Norwegian composer, dies at 23
1963 – Karl Otten, German Expressionist writer, dies at 73
1990 – Maurice Cloche, French film director and screenwriter, dies at 82
2020 – Borislav Stanković, Serbian Basketball Hall of Fame administrator (International Basketball Federation secretary general 1976-2002), dies at 94
Famous Deaths for 19th March 2026
1816 – Philip Mazzei, Italian physician, philosopher, and friend of Thomas Jefferson, dies at 85
1900 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French composer and piano pedagogue (The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises), dies at 80
1916 – Vasily Surikov, Russian history painter (The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak Timofeyevich), dies at 68
1940 – Gustaaf Sap, Belgian minister of Economic Affairs, dies at 54
1969 – Theodor Schaefer, Czech composer, dies at 65
1974 – Hertha Kuusinen, Finnish communist politician (daughter of Otto Ville Kuusinen), dies at 70
1999 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, former Prime Minister of Samoa (b. 1924)
1999 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet (Tarumba, Maltiempes), dies at 72
2007 – Luther Ingram, American RandB singer-songwriter (“(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”; “I’ll Be Your Shelter”), dies of diabetes related heart failure at 69
2018 – Irwin Hoffman, American conductor, dies at 93
Historical Events for 19th March 2026
1808 – Charles IV, king of Spain, abdicates after riots and a popular revolt at the winter palace Aranjuez. His son, Ferdinand VII, takes the throne
1962 – Columbia Records releases the self-titled debut album of American folk singer Bob Dylan; quickly recorded collection of mostly cover tunes, with two original songs is largely ignored
1969 – Chicago 8 indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic convention
1974 – Jefferson Starship begins their 1st tour
1985 – US Senate votes 55-45 to authorize production of the MX “Peacekeeper” intercontinental ballistic missile
1995 – Revival of Brien Friel’s stage drama “Translations”, starring Brian Dennehy, opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 25 performances
2001 – 16th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Aerosmith; Solomon Burke; The Flamingos; Michael Jackson; Queen; Paul Simon; Steely Dan; Ritchie Valens; James Burton; Johnnie Johnson; and Chris Blackwell
2003 – Airstrikes by an American and British-led coalition signal the beginning of the invasion of Iraq without United Nations support and in defiance of world opinion
Today in History for 19th March 2026
Historical Events
1914 – Stanley Cup, Arena Gardens, Toronto ON: Toronto HC (NHA) defeat Victoria Aristocrats (PCHA), 2-1 for a 3-0 series sweep; final series of the “challenge” era
1956 – Biggest NBA margin of victory – Minn Lakers-133, St Louis Hawks-75
1984 – STS 41-C vehicle moves to launch pad
1995 – Arizona begins using new telephone area code 520, outside of Phoenix
1995 – Finnish Social Democratic Party wins parliamentary election
Famous Birthdays
1914 – Fred Clark, American actor (Burns and Allen, Auntie Mame, Hazard), born in Lincoln, California (d. 1968)
1933 – Renee Taylor [Wexler], American actress (Jack Paar Show; The Nanny – “Sylvia”), born in New York City
1953 – Lord Blair of Boughton [Ian Blair], British police officer who was Metropolitan police commissioner during the 7/7 London terror attacks, born in Chester, England (d. 2025)
1971 – Dalton James, American actor (My Father, The Hero; Beverly Hills 90201 – “Mark”), born in Sacramento, California
1983 – Matt Sydal [Matthew Korklan], American professional wrestler (WWE Raw, AEW Dark), born in St. Louis, Missouri
Famous Deaths
1263 – Hugo of St-Cher/a S Caro, French cardinal, dies
1623 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1556)
1717 – John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, Scottish royalist
1969 – Theodor Schaefer, Czech composer, dies at 65
2003 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator, dies at 76
Famous Deaths for 18th March 2026
1689 – John Dixwell, English judge (b. 1607)
1768 – Lawrence Sterne, Irish writer (Tristram Shandy, Sentimental Journey France and Italy), dies at 54
1835 – Christian Gunther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian statesman and diplomat, dies at 65
1907 – Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist (Thomsen–Berthelot principle of thermochemistry), dies at 79
1937 – Charles Haslewood Shannon, English lithographer and painter, dies at 73
1968 – Manuel Gómez Carrillo, Argentine composer, dies at 85
1974 – David Imboden, American silent film actor (King of Kings), muralist, and theater director, dies at 87
1983 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (b. 1910)
2017 – Don Hunstein, American photographer of musicians, dies at 88
2024 – Ron Baynham, English soccer goalkeeper who played 3 internationals and 388 games for Luton Town, dies at 94
Historical Events for 18th March 2026
1859 – Vera Cruz besieged by Miramon (Cons) in Mexican War of Reform
1891 – Britain is linked to the continent by Telephone
1900 – Japan uses its influence over Korea to deny Russia’s efforts to obtain a naval station at Korean Port of Masampo, the lead up to the Russo-Japanese war
1902 – Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso becomes the first well-known performer to make a record
1948 – Philips begin experimental TV broadcasting
1950 – CCNY beats Bradley 69-61 for the NIT championship
1982 – 8th People’s Choice Awards: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jane Fonda win (Motion Picture) and Alan Alda and Barbara Mandrell win (TV)
2005 – Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband