MARCH 21 | Birthdays and Events
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Notable Birthdays for March 21
Mary Dixon Kies (1752-1837) - The first woman to receive a patent for weaving straw, silk and thread.
Henry Ossian Flipper (1856-1940) - The first Black to graduate from West Point.
Daria Pratt (1859-1938) - Olympic winner of the bronze medal in golf.
Antonia Maury (1866-1952) - Female astronomer to first to detect and calculate the orbit of a spectroscopic binary (stars).
Walter Tewksbury (1876-1969) - Olympic gold winner for running and hurdles.
Broncho Billy Anderson (1880-1971) - The first cowboy in a movie (The Great Train Robbery).
Forrest Mars, Sr. (1904-1999) - Creator of M&M's and Mars bar candy.
Julio Gallo (1910-1993) - Co-founder of E & J Gallo Winery.
Walter Lincoln Hawkins (1911-1992) - Scientist who invented the plastic to cover telephone cables.
Matthew Broderick (1962-Still Living) - Actor in WarGames, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Glory.
Memorable Events for March 21
1788 - A fire in New Orleans burns most of the town down.
1791 - Captain Hopley Yeaton becomes the first commissioned officer in the Revenue Marine, which would later become the modern U.S. Coast Guard.
1859 - The first Zoological Society in the U.S. is founded in Philadelphia.
1917 - Loretta Walsh becomes the first female Petty Officer in the Navy.
1947 - President Truman signs Executive Order 9835 requiring all federal employees to have "...complete and unswerving loyalty to the United States."
1963 - Alcatraz prison closes.
1970 - The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by the Mayor of San Francisco (Joseph Alioto).
1970 - Comic-Con hosts its first inaugural event, becoming the largest pop and culture festival in the world.