March 21st Anniversaries

Santo Domingo.- The events of March 21st are marked by important historical events and international celebrations that left their mark on world history. Below, the main events of March 21st:

• World Glacier Day.
• International Day of Forests.
• World Down Syndrome Day.
• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
• World Poetry Day.
• International Color Day.

Saints' Day: Saints Philemon, Serapion, and Nicholas of Flüe.

National: March 21st Anniversaries

• 1499: Admiral Cristóbal Colón is replaced as governor of La Española by Francisco Bobadilla, due to the constant revolts of Indians and Spaniards.
• 1843: Troops of the revolution initiated in the Praslin estate against President Boyer enter Puerto Príncipe, under the command of General Charles Herard.
• 1844: The Central Governing Board appoints Juan Pablo Duarte to cooperate with the defense of the homeland, along with General Pedro Santana.
• 1849: President Manuel Jiménez issues a decree by which he orders that the Executive Power be exercised from the following day by the Council of Secretaries of State.
• 1967: President Joaquín Balaguer offers RD$25,000 reward to the person who provides information that leads to the clarification of the attack perpetrated against General Antonio Imbert Barreras.
• 1974: The left-wing organizations that were part of the “National Dignity Bloc” consider that the main and most serious mistake made in the rally of the 17th of this month was the untimely withdrawal of Professor Juan Bosch.
• 1982: The leader of the PRD, José Fco. Peña Gómez, is nominated for the mayoralty of the National District for the elections of May 16 of that year.
• 2008: In the Sermon of the Seven Words, Catholic priests condemn poverty, the concentration of wealth, corruption and the use of public resources in political campaigns.
• 2020: The government orders through decree 135-20 the imposition of a curfew throughout the national territory, prohibiting the transit of people from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM, until April 3. Medical personnel, paramedics and other health professionals are exempt.
• 2022: The presidents of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada; and Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, signed the Declaration of San José, which reaffirms the will to work for the promotion of concrete actions based on respect for human rights, sustainability and democratic values.

International: March 21st Anniversaries

• 1227: Cardinal Ugolino is chosen as the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, with the name Pope Gregory IX.
• 1551: Diego de Nazariegos, companion of Hernán Cortés, is appointed governor of Cuba.
• 1776: Great Britain prohibits trade with the insurgent American colonies.
• 1788: A fire completely destroys the city of New Orleans, in the United States.
• 1800: In Venice, while the dome of the church evacuates Rome due to the armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
• 1843: William Miller, a millenarian, predicts that the end of the world should have begun on this day, according to his interpretation of the prophecies of Daniel.
• 1847: Guatemala proclaims its independence.
• 1916: During the First World War, Austro-Hungarian troops behead 9,000 Serbian civilians.
• 1933: The Weimar Republic disappears in Germany and the Third Reich begins.
• 1935: Persia changes its name to Iran.
• 1937: In Ponce (Puerto Rico), by orders of the American governor Blanton C. Winship, the police fire on a peaceful demonstration, known as “La Masacre de Ponce”, which left the death of 16 adults and a 13-year-old girl.
• 1945: In World War II, British planes bombed the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen (Denmark) during Operation Carthage, causing the death of 55 German soldiers and 55 Danish civilians.
• 1960: In South Africa, the police kill 56 civilians during what is known as the “Sharpeville Massacre” in protest against discriminatory laws.
• 1961: In Miami, the two main organizations of Cuban exiles agree and form a government in exile, presided over by José Miró Cardona.
• 1963: The Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, California, closes definitively after 29 years of operation.
• 1966: In New York, the UN General Assembly proclaims the “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination” in memory of the Sharpeville Massacre (South Africa).
• 1993: The Salvadoran Congress grants full amnesty to the military accused of committing atrocities against civilians.
• 2005: Teenager Jeffrey Weise kills his grandfather and his girlfriend's grandmother, then goes to his school in Red Lake, Minnesota, where he kills five students, a teacher, and a security guard before committing suicide.
• 2006: Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, publishes his first tweet.
• 2015: Chilean bishop Juan Barros assumes as bishop of Osorno, amid protests over accusations of being an accomplice to abuse by priest Fernando Karadima.
• 2018: The President of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, announced his resignation after the disclosure of videos in which several of his allies are seen allegedly trying to buy votes in Congress.
• 2019: The U.S. President, Donald Trump, formally recognizes Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory occupied since 1967.
• 2020: Luis Almagro, from Uruguay, is re-elected as Secretary General of the OAS until 2025, receiving 23 votes against the 10 of his competitor, the former Ecuadorian chancellor María Fernanda Espinosa.
• 2021: Israeli authorities confiscate the travel documents of the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al Maliki, upon his return from a visit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
• 2022: In Kyiv, Ukraine, the "Retroville" shopping center is bombed by Russian forces, leaving at least eight dead.
• 2022: A Boeing 737 operated by China Eastern Airlines with 132 people on board crashes near Wuzhou, China, leaving numerous victims.
  

Births: March 21st Anniversaries

• 1806: Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, president of Mexico between 1858 and 1872.
• 1921: Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi military and politician, president of Iraq between 1963 and 1966.
• 1947: Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni politician and military, president of Yemen between 1990 and 2012.
• 1955: Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian military and politician, president of Brazil between 2019 and 2022.
• 1958: Gary Oldman, British actor.
• 1960: Ayrton Senna, Brazilian racing driver.
• 2000: Yoon San-ha, South Korean singer and actor.

Deaths: March 21st Anniversaries

• 1556: Thomas Cranmer (English bishop and religious leader).
• 1958: Cyril M. Kornbluth, American fantasy and science fiction writer.
• 2008: Gabriel París, Colombian military and president.
• 2015: Perro Aguayo Jr., Mexican professional wrestler and promoter.
• 2022: Rosa Altagracia Eulogia Gómez Arias de Mejía, former Dominican first lady.