On This Day for March 21 - Closing of Alcatraz prison, St. Angela Merici is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. March 21 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY St. Angela Merici READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1963 Closing of Alcatraz prison READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2017: Irish politician Martin McGuinness—who, as a member of Sinn Féin, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), played an influential role in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement) of 1998—died at age 66. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Europeans.] 2006: Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey sent the first public tweet, which read "just setting up my twttr." [Test your knowledge of tech companies.] 1990: After 106 years of German and South African rule, Namibia became independent. [ Sort fact from fiction in our Africa quiz.] 1980: U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States was boycotting the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. [ Take our Olympic history quiz.] 1965: American civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr., began a protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. [ Learn about 10 milestones in civil rights history.] 1880: German painter Hans Hofmann , an influential art teacher and a pioneer in the use of improvisatory techniques whose work paved the way for American painters to develop Abstract Expressionism, was born. [Test your knowledge of artistic styles and techniques.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1958 Gary Oldman British actor 1685 Johann Sebastian Bach German composer 1985 Adrian Peterson American football player 1949 Slavoj Žižek Slovene philosopher and cultural theorist 1962 Rosie O'Donnell American entertainer 1961 Lothar Matthäus German football player SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2021 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help