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What happened on March 21

On March 21, 537: 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.

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Featured moment · 537

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.

The siege of Rome of 537–538 AD was the city's first siege during the Gothic War (535–554) between the defending Byzantine Empire's forces under the leadership of Belisarius against a numerically superior Ostrogothic (Goths) force under Vitigis. The siege was the first major encounter between the forces of the two opponents, and played a decisive role in the subsequent development of the war.

People

Born on March 21

Ethan Nwaneri 2007– English footballer (born 2007)
Abbi Pulling 2003– British racing driver (born 2003)
Jace Norman 2000– American actor (born 2000)
Yoon San-ha 2000– South Korean singer and actor (born 2000)
Miles Bridges 1998– American basketball player (born 1998)
Nat Phillips 1997– English footballer (born 1997)
Martina Stoessel 1997– Argentine singer and actress (born 1997)
Aurora Mikalsen 1996– Norwegian footballer (born 1996)
RJ Cyler 1995– American actor
Show 9 more — notable births on March 21
Nick Mullens 1995– American football player (born 1995)
Mirco Müller 1995– Swiss ice hockey player (born 1995)
Jasmin Savoy Brown 1994– American actress (born 1994)
Sven Andrighetto 1993– Swiss ice hockey player (born 1993)
Jake Bidwell 1993– English footballer (born 1993)
Jesse Joronen 1993– Finnish footballer (born 1993)
Frankie Montas 1993– Dominican baseball player (born 1993)
Lehlogonolo Masalesa 1992– South African footballer
Chiney Ogwumike 1992– Nigerian-American basketball player (born 1992)

People

Died on March 21

Michael Lyster Irish radio and television broadcaster (1954–2026)
Rhoda Roberts Australian arts executive (1959–2026)
Kitty Dukakis American author (1936–2025)
George Foreman American boxer (1949–2025)
Willis Reed American basketball player (1942–2023)
Nawal El Saadawi Egyptian feminist writer, activist, doctor and psychiatrist (1931–2021)
Victor Hochhauser CBE British music promoter (1923–2019)
Gonzalo Portocarrero Peruvian sociologist (1949–2019)
Chuck Barris American game show host (1929–2017)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on March 21
Colin Dexter English writer (1930–2017)
Martin McGuinness Irish republican politician and IRA leader (1950–2017)
Mike Hall British sport cyclist
Ishaya Bakut Nigerian politician and general
Chuck Bednarik Slovak-American football player (1925–2015)
James C. Binnicker American sergeant (born 1938)
Hans Erni Swiss painter and engraver
Jørgen Ingmann Danish jazz and pop guitarist (1925–2015)
Alberta Watson Canadian actress (1955–2015)

Timeline

Every March 21 on record

  1. 537 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.

    First siege of Rome during the Justinian's Gothic War

    The siege of Rome of 537–538 AD was the city's first siege during the Gothic War (535–554) between the defending Byzantine Empire's forces under the leadership of Belisarius against a numerically superior Ostrogothic (Goths) force under Vitigis. The siege was the first major encounter between the forces of the two opponents, and played a decisive role in the subsequent development of the war.

  2. 630 Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.

    Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641

    Heraclius was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas.

  3. 717 Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.

    717 battle of the Frankish Civil War in present-day Les Rues-des-Vignes, France

    The Battle of Vincy was a battle of the Frankish civil war of 715–18 fought near Cambrai, in the modern département of Nord. It was a contest between Charles Martel and the Austrasians on one side and the king of the Franks, Chilperic II, and his mayor of the palace, Ragenfrid, on the other.

  4. 867 An army of the Kingdom of Northumbria attempts to recapture York from the Great Heathen Army but is defeated in the battle of York.

    Medieval English kingdom

    Northumbria was an early medieval English kingdom, existing between 654 and 1066 AD, spanning modern-day Northern England and Southern Scotland.

  5. 1152 Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.

    King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180

    Louis VII, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. Called the Younger or the Young to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe. The marriage temporarily extended the Capetian lands to the Pyrenees.

  6. 1180 Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
  7. 1349 Erfurt massacre: Outbreak of an antisemitic pogrom in Erfurt, Germany, during which between 100 and up to 3000 Jews were killed by Christians after being accused of causing the Black Death.
  8. 1556 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."
  9. 1788 A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
  10. 1800 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.
  11. 1801 The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
  12. 1804 Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
  13. 1814 Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
  14. 1821 Greek War of Independence: Greek revolutionaries seize Kalavryta.
  15. 1829 The Wellington–Winchilsea duel takes place in London involving the Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington.
Show 15 earlier entries from March 21
  1. 1844 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.
  2. 1861 Alexander H. Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.
  3. 1871 Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
  4. 1871 Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
  5. 1918 World War I: The first phase of the German spring offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
  6. 1919 The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
  7. 1921 The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.
  8. 1925 The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.
  9. 1925 Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
  10. 1925 Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges, to a libretto by Colette, is premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
  11. 1928 Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
  12. 1934 The landmark Australian Eastern Mission led by John Latham departs on its three-month tour of East and South-East Asia.
  13. 1935 Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
  14. 1937 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.
  15. 1943 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.

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