What Happened on March 21?

March 21 celebrates poems everywhere on World Poetry Day — the same day composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born, and the day France wrote down its famous civil laws!

• 1804 — Napoleon adopts the Code Napoléon as French civil law

  France replaced centuries of confusing regional laws with one clear civil code — a rulebook so useful that countries worldwide still borrow from it. Read the full story →

• 1946 — Kenny Washington signs with the Rams, breaking pro football's color barrier

  The Los Angeles Rams signed UCLA star Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in the NFL since players were pushed out of the league in 1933. Read the full story →

• 2006 — Twitter sends its first tweet

  'just setting up my twttr' — Jack Dorsey's tiny message launched a platform that changed how news, jokes, and hashtags spread around the world. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) · Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881) · Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (1867–1932) · Forrest Mars Sr. (1904–1999)

Days & observances

World Poetry Day · International Day of Forests