Historical eventMarch 211965

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Everything on March 21Original source

In context

When
Sunday, March 21 196561 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1960s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1965.

What happened

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination, which most commonly affected African Americans.

March 21 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1965Martin Luther King Jr.
  2. 1989Transbrasil Flight 801
  3. 1990Namibia
  4. 1994United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  5. 1999Bertrand Piccard
  6. 2000Pope John Paul II
  7. 2006Jack Dorsey
  8. 2006Social media
  9. 2006Phra Phrom
  10. 20192019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion
  11. 2022China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735

Also in 1965

  • September 17Battle of ChawindaThe Battle of Chawinda is fought between Pakistan and India.
  • November 16Venera programVenera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, which will be the first spacecraft to reach the surface…
  • January 4Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 crashes on approach to Alma-Ata Airport, killing 64 people.
  • July 8Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 was destroyed by a bomb near 100 Mile House, Canada, killing 52.
  • December 9Kecksburg UFO incidentA large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in midwestern North America before landing in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.
  • May 18Eli CohenEli Cohen, a spy who is credited with gathering significant intelligence used by Israel during the Six-Day War, was publicly hanged in Sy…
  • March 18Alexei LeonovCosmonaut Alexei Leonov ventured outside the Soviet spacecraft Voskhod 2, becoming the first person to walk in space.
  • March 18AstronautCosmonaut Alexei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

Everything we record for 1965 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Martin Luther King Jr.”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/martin-luther-king-jr-1965-march-21, accessed October 28, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Martin Luther King Jr. happen?

March 21 1965 — 61 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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