Today is Saturday, March 21, the 81st day of 2020. There are 285 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On March 21, 1685, composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany.

On this date:

In 1918, during World War I, Germany launched its Spring Offensive on the Western Front, hoping to break through the Allied lines before American reinforcements could arrive. (Although successful at first, the Spring Offensive ultimately failed.)

In 1963, the Alcatraz federal prison island in San Francisco Bay was emptied of its last inmates and closed at the order of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

In 2006, the social media website Twitter was established with the sending of the first “tweet” by co-founder Jack Dorsey, who wrote: “just setting up my twttr.”

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Kathleen Widdoes is 81. Songwriter Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing”) is 80. Actress Marie-Christine Barrault is 76. Singer-musician Rose Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 75. Actor Timothy Dalton is 74. Rock singer-musician Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Russell Thompkins Jr. is 69. Comedy writer-performer Brad Hall is 62. Actress Sabrina LeBeauf is 62. Actor Gary Oldman is 62. Actress Kassie Depaiva is 59. Actor Matthew Broderick is 58.

Thought for Today: “Is it worse to be scared than to be bored, that is the question.” — Gertrude Stein, American writer (1874-1946).