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Today is March 21 2015

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   I.
Today's Holidays and Historical Events (updated daily)
Today's Food Holiday

National French Bread Day: More
National California Strawberry Day More
National Corndog Day More
Since 1992. First Saturday of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

Other celebrations/observances today:
  • National Common Courtesy Day: More
  • National Single Parents Day: More
  • National Fragrance Day: More
  • National Quilting Day: More
    Third Saturday in March
  • Memory Day: More
  • Children's Poetry Day: More
  • WE Day: More
    'is an annual youth empowerment event organized by Free the Children. Different cities celebrate on different days. Seattle's is on Mar 21.
  • World Poetry Day: More
    A U.N. day.
  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: More
    2015 Theme: Learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination today
  • International Day of Nowruz: More
    U.N. recognition day. The day is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan).
  • World Down Syndrome Day: More
  • International Day of Forests and the Tree: More
Events in the past on: March 21
  • In 1935, The Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran, meaning 'Land of the Aryans'.
    From Wikipedia: 'In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, Iran. As the New York Times explained at the time, "At the suggestion of the Persian Legation in Berlin, the Tehran government, on the Persian New Year, Nowruz, March 21, 1935, substituted Iran for Persia as the official name of the country." Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably. Today, both Persia and Iran are used in cultural contexts; although, Iran is the name used officially in political contexts'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1939, 'God Bless America' was recorded by Kate Smith.
    From Wikipedia: '"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1947. President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9835 requiring all federal employees to have allegiance to the United States.
    From Wikipedia: 'President Harry S. Truman signed United States Executive Order 9835, sometimes known as the "Loyalty Order", on March 22, 1947. The order established the first general loyalty program in the United States, designed to root out communist influence in the U.S. federal government. Truman aimed to rally public opinion behind his Cold War policies with investigations conducted under its authority. He also hoped to quiet right-wing critics who accused Democrats of being soft on communism. At the same time, he advised the Loyalty Review Board to limit the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to avoid a witch hunt. The program investigated over 3 million government employees, just over 300 of whom were dismissed as security risks. Some in the Truman administration, such as Attorney General J. Howard McGrath, believed there were "many Communists in America." At the same time, Truman created a temporary commission on Employee Loyalty'.

    The Loyalty Order was part of the prelude to the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy, Republican of Wisconsin. It was mostly the result of increasing U.S.–Soviet tensions and political maneuvering by the president and Congress. The order established a wide area for the departmental loyalty boards to conduct loyalty screenings of federal employees and job applicants. It allowed the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to run initial name checks on federal employees and authorized further field investigations if the initial inquiry uncovered information that cast someone in a negative light. Executive Order 9835 also was the main impetus for the creation of the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations (AGLOSO)'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1952, Alan Freed presents the 'Moondog Coronation Ball', the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Moondog Coronation Ball was a concert held at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1952. It is generally accepted as the first major rock and roll concert.'

    'The concert was organized by Alan Freed (a disc jockey considered to have coined the term "Rock and Roll" at WJW-Radio), along with Lew Platt, a local concert promoter, and Freed's sponsors, including Leo Mintz, owner of the Record Rendezvous store. More tickets were printed than the arena's actual capacity, in part due to counterfeiting, and a printing error (tickets for a follow-up ball were sold with the same date printed after the first had sold out). With an estimated 20,000 individuals trying to crowd into an arena that held slightly more than half that — and worries that a riot might break out as people tried to crowd in — the fire authorities shut down the concert after the first song by opening act Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams ended. Freed made a public apology on WJW the next day'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1955, NBC-TV presented the first 'Colgate Comedy Hour'.
    From Wikipedia: 'The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars.'

    'The program evolved from NBC's first TV variety showcase, Four Star Revue, sponsored by Motorola. The "running gag" sketches were dropped in favor of more performing acts. The weekly show was proposed to be hosted by four comedians in a four-week rotation to provide competition for Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town on CBS. The first episode, starring Hans Conried, Rosemary DeCamp and Dick Foran, was written and produced by the then 22-year-old Peggy Webber, who appeared in over 100 episodes of Dragnet with Jack Webb.'.

    'The new format was heavily backed by its sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive, to the tune of $3 million in the first year, and the 8:00 p.m. ET, Sunday evening format show was a spectacular success, particularly for Eddie Cantor and the Martin and Lewis and Abbott and Costello duos.'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1956, At the 28th Academy Awards:
    From Wikipedia: More
    Best Picture is, Marty
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actor is Ernest Borgnine for 'Marty'
    Best Actress is Anna Magnani for 'The Rose Tattoo'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Supporting Actor is Jack Lemmon for 'Mister Roberts'
    Best Supporting Actress is Jo Van Fleet for 'East of Eden'
    Best Song is Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing from 'Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'
    -- at Wikipedia: More
    -- On YouTube: More
  • In 1964, The Beatles' 'She Loves You' single goes #1 and stays #1 for 2 weeks.
    From Wikipedia: '"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock group the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States as one of the five Beatles songs that held the top five positions in the American charts simultaneously on 4 April 1964. It is their best-selling single and the best selling single of the 1960s in the United Kingdom'.
    - At Wikipedia: More
    - On YouTube: More
  • In 1994, At the 66th Academy Awards:
    From Wikipedia: More
    Best Picture is, Schindler's List
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actor is Tom Hanks for 'Philadelphia'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actress is Holly Hunter for 'The Piano'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Supporting Actor is Tommy Lee Jones for 'The Fugitive'
    Best Supporting Actress is Anna Paquin for 'The Piano'
    Best Song is Streets of Philadelphia from 'Philadelphia'
    -- at Wikipedia: More
    -- On YouTube: More
  • In 1999, At the 71st Academy Awards:
    From Wikipedia: More
    Best Picture is, Shakespeare in Love
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actor is Roberto Benigni for 'Life Is Beautiful'
    -- At Wikipedia: More
    -- At Internet Movie Database IMDb: More
    -- On YouTube: More
    Best Actress is Gwyneth Paltrow for 'Shakespeare in Love'
    Best Supporting Actor is James Coburn for 'Affliction'
    Best Supporting Actress is Judi Dench for 'Shakespeare in Love'
    Best Song is When You Believe from 'The Prince of Egypt'
    -- at Wikipedia: More
    -- On YouTube: More
  II.
Henry's Heads Up! - previous days social media post (updated daily)

Tomorrow we have three food holidays.
- 'National French Bread Day'.
[The Hankster says] A favorite with me.
- 'National California Strawberry Day'.
[The Hankster says] We just finished our local Pasadena TX Strawberry Festival back on March 15-17. I guess we can let the west coast have a go at it now.
- 'National Corndog Day'. Since 1992. First Saturday of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
[The Hankster says] I am basically a mustard kind-of-a-guy. Not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings, I however, eat them four at a time.One with mustard, one with mayo one with ketchup and the last with the mystery coating of the day. Perhaps salsa or ranch dressing.

I would tell everyone to practice for tomorrow's 'National Common Courtesy Day', but that would be defeating the basic concept.

Spring is here and it's time to smell the roses. tomorrow is 'National Fragrance Day'.
[The Hankster says] Today was garbage day in my neighborhood. I am looking forward to tomorrow's walk along the city streets, without the empty cans and without what I could not really call a fragrance.

Guys, hide those old but favorite shirts and pants of yours. Tomorrow is 'National Quilting Day'. Third Saturday in March.
[The Hankster says] Women have this gene that equates old, faded and full of holes, as quilting material.

Awareness days for tomorrow.
- 'National Single Parents Day'.
- 'WE Day'. 'is an annual youth empowerment event organized by Free the Children. Different cities celebrate on different days. Seattle's is on Mar 21.
- 'World Poetry Day'. A U.N. day.
- 'International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination'. 2015 Theme: Learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination today
- International Day of Nowruz'. U.N. recognition day. The day is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan).
- 'World Down Syndrome Day'.
International Day of Forests and the Tree'.

Socrates once said 'Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.'
[The Hankster says] That which other men have labored hard for, may not be to your liking, but you won't know until you find out what they said. The history of any day, let say March 21, is like that. You may not agree with what happens, but you are better for knowing that it happened.

In 1935, The Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran, meaning 'Land of the Aryans'.

In 1939, 'God Bless America' was recorded by Kate Smith.

In 1947. President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9835 requiring all federal employees to have allegiance to the United States.

In 1952, Alan Freed presents the 'Moondog Coronation Ball', the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1955, NBC-TV presented the first 'Colgate Comedy Hour'.

In 1956, At the 28th Academy Awards,
- Best Motion Picture is 'Marty'.
- Best Actor is Ernest Borgnine for 'Marty'.
- Best Actress is Anna Magnani for 'The Rose Tattoo'.
- Best Supporting Actor is Jack Lemmon for 'Mister Roberts'.
- Best Supporting Actress is Jo Van Fleet for 'East of Eden'.
- Best Original Song is 'Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing' from 'Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing'.

In 1964, The Beatles' 'She Loves You' single goes #1 and stays #1 for 2 weeks.

In 1994, At the 66th Academy Awards,
- Best Picture is 'Schindler's List'.
- Best Actor is Tom Hanks for 'Philadelphia'.
- Best Actress is Holly Hunter for 'The Piano'
- Best Supporting Actor is Tommy Lee Jones for 'The Fugitive'.
- Best Supporting Actress is Anna Paquin for 'The Piano'.
- Best Original Song is 'Streets of Philadelphia' from 'Philadelphia'.

In 1999, At the 71st Academy Awards,
- Best Picture is 'Shakespeare in Love'.
- Best Actor is Roberto Benigni for 'Life Is Beautiful'.
- Best Actress is Gwyneth Paltrow for 'Shakespeare in Love'.
- Best Supporting Actor is James Coburn for 'Affliction'.
- Best Supporting Actress is Judi Dench for 'Shakespeare in Love'.
- Best Original Song is 'When You Believe' from 'The Prince of Egypt'.

In 2006,
- Originally called twttr, Jack Dorsey posts the first Twitter message ever
- he tweeted
- 'just setting up my twttr'.

 III.
Top Song & Movie 50 years ago today (last updated Mar 6 2015 next Mar 27 2015

No. 1 song

  • Eight Days a Week - The Beatles: More
    'This Diamond Ring' has been displaced by 'Eight Days a Week', which will hold the no. 1 spot until March 27 1965, when 'Stop! In the Name of Love', takes over.

Top movie

  • The Sound of Music More
    Having displaced 'The Greatest Story Ever Told', it will be there until the weekend box office of April 11 1965 when, 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VadngOGKlP0', takes over.
  IV.
Today in the Past (reference sites): March 21
   V.
This month March 2015 (updated once a month - last updated - March 1 2015)

Food Holiday:
Bell Peppers and Broccoli Month
Berries and Cherries Month
Exotic Winter Fruit and Leeks and Green Onions Month
National Celery Month
National Flour Month
National Frozen Food Month
National Noodle Month
National Nutrition Month
National Peanut Month
National Sauce Month

Other:
American Diabetes Alert Month
American Red Cross Month
Brain Injury Awareness Month
Child Life Month
Colic Awareness Month
Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Awareness Month
Dolphin Awareness Month
Expanding Girls' Horizons in Science and Engineering Month
Hemophilia Month
Honor Society Awareness Month
Humorists are Artists Month
International Listening Awareness Month
International Mirth Month
Irish-American Heritage Month
Kidney Month
Malignant Hyperthermia Awareness and Training Month
Music in our Schools Month
National Athletic Trainers Month
National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month
National Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Month
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
National Craft Month
National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
National Endometriosis Awareness Month
National Essential Tremor Awareness Month
National Ethics Awareness Month
National Eye Donor Month
National Flower Month
National Kidney Month
National March Into Literacy Month
National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month
National Poison Prevention Awareness Month
National Problem Gambling Awareness Month
National Professional Social Worker's Month
National Social Work Month
National Women's History Month
Red Cross Month
Rosacea Awareness Month
Save Your Vision Month
Trisomy Awareness Month


March is:

March origin (from Wikipedia):
'The name of March comes from Latin Martius, the first month of the earliest Roman calendar. It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war who was also regarded as a guardian of agriculture and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. '

March 'is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of seven months that are 31 days long. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20th or 21st marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere's March. '

March at Wikipedia: More

  VI.
TV fifty years ago 1965 (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2015)

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

 VII.
Best selling books fifty years ago (updated yearly - last updated Jan. 1 2015)

Best selling books of 1965 More

VIII.
Fun (Last link added October 1 2014, but content on each site may change daily)
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
  • NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
  • Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
  • NASA TV: (video feed) More
    NASA TV schedule: More
  • Public Domain eBook Links

    Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

  • Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  • Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
    Home page: More
    RSS: More
  IX.
Other Holiday Sites (Last link added October 1 2014. Link content changes yearly)

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.


US Government Holidays

  • 2015 Postal Holidays More
  • 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

  • List of holidays by country More
  • Holidays and Observances around the World More
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