Today In History

Today is Tuesday, March 21, the 80th day of 2023. There are 285 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

On March 21, 1965, civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their third, successful march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

ON THIS DATE

› 1685: Composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany.

› 1935: Persia officially changed its name to Iran.

› 1945: During World War II, Allied bombers began four days of raids over Germany.

› 1952: The Moondog Coronation Ball, considered the first rock ’n’ roll concert, took place at Cleveland Arena.

› 1972: The Supreme Court, in Dunn v. Blumstein, ruled that states may not require at least a year’s residency for voting eligibility.

› 1990: Namibia became an independent nation as the former colony marked the end of 75 years of South African rule.

› 1997: President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin wrapped up their summit in Helsinki, Finland, still deadlocked over NATO expansion, but able to agree on slashing nuclear weapons arsenals.

› 2006: The social media website Twitter was established with the sending of the first “tweet” by co-founder Jack Dorsey, who wrote: “just setting up my twttr.”

› 2007: Former Vice President Al Gore made an emotional return to Congress as he pleaded with House and Senate committees to fight global warming; skeptical Republicans questioned the science behind his climate-change documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Kathleen Widdoes is 84. Songwriter Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing”) is 83. Folk-pop singer-musician Keith Potger (The Seekers) is

82. Actor Marie-Christine Barrault is 79. Singer-musician Rose Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is

78. Actor Timothy Dalton is 77. Singer Ray Dorset (Mungo Jerry) is 77. Rock singer-musician Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) is 73. Rock musician Conrad Lozano (Los Lobos) is 72. R&B singer Russell Thompkins Jr. is

72. Comedy writer-performer Brad Hall is 65. Actor Sabrina LeBeauf is

65. Actor Gary Oldman is

65. Actor Kassie Depaiva is 62. Actor Matthew Broderick is 61. Comedian-actor Rosie O’Donnell is 61. Actor Cynthia Geary is 58. Hip-hop DJ Premier (Gang Starr) is

57. Rock musician Jonas “Joker” Berggren (Ace of Base) is 56. Rock MC Maxim (Prodigy) is 56. Rock musician Andrew Copeland (Sister Hazel) is 55. Actor Laura Allen is 49. Rapper-TV personality Kevin Federline is 45. Actor Sonequa Martin-Green (TV: “The Walking Dead”) is 38. Actor Scott Eastwood is

37. Actor Jasmin Savoy Brown is 29. Actor Forrest Wheeler is 19.