On This Day

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Important events of history that took place in India and elsewhere on today’s date.

21 March

🇮🇳 In India

1791 A British contingent led by Lord Cornwallis breached Tipu Sultan's fort in Bengaluru.

1836 The Imperial Library of Calcutta, which became the National Library in 1953, was opened to the public.

1916 Ustad Bismillah Khan, musician credited with popularizing the shehnai, a reeded woodwind instrument, was born in Dumraon, Bihar.

1922 C V Raman Pillai, pioneering playwright and novelist of Malayalam literature, died at Thiruvananthapuram.

1977 The Emergency declared by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Section 352 at the request of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, was withdrawn.

1977 The Emergency declared by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", in effect from 25 June 1975, was withdrawn.

2003 Shivani (Gaura Pant), Hindi writer of the 20th century and a pioneer in writing Indian women-centric fiction, died at New Delhi. She was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Hindi literature in 1982.

🌎 Elsewhere

1685 German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, who is generally considered the greatest composer of all time, was born.

1844 The Baha'i calendar used in the Baha'i Faith, a solar calendar consisting of 19 months, started. 1844 was the year when Sayyed Ali Muḥammad Shirazi, one of the central figures of the Baha'i Faith, started teaching.

1860 English novelist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) finished writing her novel The Mill on the Floss in Wandsworth, London.

1943 A plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, by German Wehrmacht officer, Rudolf von Gersdorff, fails.

1960 Ayrton Senna, Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1988, 1990, and 1991, was born in São Paulo, Brazil.

1980 Ronaldinho, Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger, was born.

2006 Jack Dorsey sends the world's first Twitter message, or tweet. Twitter currently has 396.5 million users.

2013 Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature, died at Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

⭐ Significance

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns.

World Down Syndrome Day is marked each year on March 21, beginning in 2006. It is observed to create awareness about Down syndrome. The 21st day of March was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. Every year on March 21, World Down Syndrome Day is observed to create awareness about Down syndrome.

World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March, and was declared by UNESCO in 1999, "with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard". Held every year on 21 March, it celebrates one of humanity's most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity. Practiced throughout history – in every culture and on every continent – poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

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