This day in history: 21 march

1788: The Great Fire of New Orleans, Louisiana, began, causing extensive damage.
1925: The Butler Act was signed into law in Tennessee, prohibiting the teaching of evolution in schools. This law became central to the famous Scopes Trial and remained in effect until 1967.
1952: The world’s first rock and roll concert took place in Cleveland, Ohio, presented by DJ Alan Freed. It was shut down after just one song due to overcrowding.
1963: Alcatraz Island federal prison in San Francisco Bay closed down. It had housed notorious criminals like Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz”.
1965: Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. began their historic protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, advocating for voting rights.
1980: President Jimmy Carter announced the U.S. boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
1980: The popular TV series “Dallas” aired its famous cliffhanger episode where character J.R. Ewing was shot, leading to widespread speculation and the catchphrase “Who shot J.R.?”.
2006: Jack Dorsey sent the world’s first-ever tweet, marking the launch of Twitter and significantly impacting communication and social networking globally.

1556: Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, was executed by burning at the stake for heresy under Queen Mary I of England, known as “Bloody Mary”.
1918: The Second Battle of the Somme began during World War I. German General Erich von Ludendorff launched a major offensive aimed at breaking through Allied lines. The battle resulted in significant territorial gains for Germany but came at a high cost, with nearly 500,000 casualties on both sides.
1943: A failed assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler occurred. German Army officers planned to kill Hitler using a bomb during a ceremony, but the plot failed due to technical issues with the bomb’s fuse.

1857 Tokyo Earthquake: A devastating earthquake struck Tokyo on March 21, 1857, claiming approximately 100,000 lives.
1945 Liberation of Mandalay: British troops liberated Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar), from Japanese occupation during World War II on this day.
1985 Apartheid Protests: South African police killed at least 21 black protesters commemorating the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960. This event drew parallels to struggles for racial justice worldwide.