Today
Saturday March 21 2026
- Day of the year
- 80/ 365
- Week
- 122,026
- Days left
- 28522%
- Moon
- 9%Waxing crescent
Today is Saturday, March 21, 2026. It is day 80 of 2026, a year of 365 days: 285 remain, and 22% of the year has gone. Under ISO 8601 this date falls in week 12.
What's celebrated on this date
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
WorldwideUnited Nations — International Days
World Poetry Day
WorldwideUNESCO — International Days
International Day of Forests
WorldwideUnited Nations — International Days
Saints and name days
Saints whose feast falls on this date, most widely known first.
- Benedict of Nursiafounder of Christian monasticism, founder of the Benedictine order (480–547)
- Nicholas of Flüehermit, ascetic, patron saint of Switzerland (1417–1487)
- Richeza of LotharingiaPolish queen consort
- Serapion of ThmuisEgyptian priest (4th century AD)
- Thomas I of Constantinoplepriest
Sources : Wikidata (P841) · CC0 1.0
Astronomy
New York
- Sunrise
- 06:57
- Sunset
- 19:09
- Length of day
- 12h 12m+3 min vs yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:03
Times shown for America/New_York
Season
Spring
began on March 20, 2026
Next season
Summer — 92 days, June 21, 2026 (June solstice)
Public holidays — United States
Not a public holiday in the United States.
Next public holiday : Memorial Day — May 25, 2026
National holidays only. Regions, provinces and Länder add their own.
Moon
Waxing crescent
Illumination : 9%
Moon age : 2.6 days
- Next full moon
- April 2, 2026
- Next new moon
- April 17, 2026
Astrology
Today's zodiac sign
Aries
until April 20, 2026 — Taurus
Zodiac dates are an astrological convention, not the Sun's actual position among the constellations. The astronomy above is measured; this is not.
On this day in history
1556
On the day of his execution in Oxford, former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." Wikipedia
1800
With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché. Wikipedia
1801
The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt. Wikipedia
1804
Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law. Wikipedia
1918
World War I: The first phase of the German spring offensive, Operation Michael, begins. Wikipedia
1919
The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia. Wikipedia
Show more (4)
1960
Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180. Wikipedia
1980
Cold War: American President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War. Wikipedia
1999
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon. Wikipedia
2006
The social media site Twitter (now officially named X) is founded. Wikipedia
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
Births and deaths
Born on this day March 21
- 1768Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (died 1830)
- 1806Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (died 1872)
- 1839Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (died 1881)
- 1867Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (died 1932)
- 1876Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (died 1968)
- 1914Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (died 1990)
- 1920Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (died 2010)
- 1922Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004)
Died on this day March 21
- 1076Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (born 1011)aged 65 years
- 1306Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (born 1248)aged 58 years
- 1487Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (born 1417)aged 70 years
- 1556Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (born 1489)aged 67 years
- 1656James Ussher, Irish archbishop (born 1581)aged 75 years
- 1729John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (born 1671)aged 58 years
- 1751Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (born 1706)aged 45 years
- 1991Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (born 1909)aged 82 years
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
The day in words
In New York the sun rises at 06:57 and sets at 19:09, giving 12h 12m of daylight — 3 minutes more than yesterday. It has been spring since March 20, 2026; summer opens in 92 days, on June 21, 2026 (June solstice).
The moon is a waxing crescent, 9% illuminated. The next full moon falls on April 2, 2026 and the next new moon on April 17, 2026.
The saints' calendar attaches March 21 to Benedict of Nursia, Nicholas of Flüe and Richeza of Lotharingia.
March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, World Poetry Day and International Day of Forests, designated by the United Nations or one of its agencies.
It is not a public holiday in the United States.
On this day in history: On the day of his execution in Oxford, former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." (1556); With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché (1800). English Wikipedia records 10 events for this date.
Joseph Fourier was born on March 21, 1768; Robert I died on March 21, 1076.
279 days remain until Christmas and 286 until New Year's Day.
In astrology — kept separate from the measured astronomy above, deliberately — March 21 falls under the sign of Aries.
Calendar
By the numbers
- 22%
- of the year elapsed
- 279
- until Christmas
- 286
- until New Year
- 710
- until the next 29 February
2026 — Common year (365 days)
Work with dates
Sources
Every block on this page names where its data comes from. Nothing here is generated when the source is silent.
- United Nations — International Days— What's celebrated today
- Wikidata (P841)— Saints and name days · CC0 1.0
- Wikipedia (en)— On this day in history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26