April 21
is the 111th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (112th in
leap years). There are 254 days remaining.
*
753 BC -
Romulus and Remus found
Rome (
traditional).
*
1509 -
Henry VIII ascends the throne of England (unofficially) at the death of his father,
Henry VII*
1792 -
Tiradentes, a
revolutionary who was leading a movement for
Brazil's independence, is
hanged and
quartered.
*
1836 -
Texas Revolution:
Battle of San Jacinto –
Republic of Texas forces under
Sam Houston defeat troops under
Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
*
1863 -
Bahá'u'lláh declares his mission as "
He whom God shall make manifest". Considered the founder of the
Bahá'í Faith.
* 1863 -
Quantrill's Raiders launch a reprisal raid
Lawrence, Kansas in the
Battle of Lawrence, killing a number of civilians.
*
1894 -
Norway formally adopts the
Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
*
1898 -
Spanish-American War: The
U.S. Congress, on
April 25, recognizes that a state of war exists between the
United States and
Spain as of this date.
*
1918 -
World War I:
German fighter ace
Manfred von Richthofen, known as "
The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over
Vaux sur Somme in
France.
*
1930 - A fire at a
Columbus, Ohio,
USA, penitentiary kills 320 people.
*
1944 - Women in
France receive the right to vote.
*
1945 -
World War II:
Soviet Union forces south of
Berlin at
Zossen attack the
German High Command headquarters.
*
1952 -
Secretary's Day (now
Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated.
*
1956 -
Elvis Presley's song "
Heartbreak Hotel" becomes the "King's" first song to reach the top of the
Cash Box magazine [
1] music charts.
*
1960 -
Brasília,
Brazil's
capital, is officially inaugurated. At 9:30 am the
Three Powers of the
Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital,
Rio de Janeiro.
* 1960 - Founding of the
Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in
Washington, DC.
*
1962 - The
Seattle World's Fair (
Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first
World's Fair in the
U.S. since
World War II. [
2]
*
1965 - The
1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season.
*
1966 -
Rastafari movement:
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits
Jamaica, an event now celebrated as
Grounation Day.
*
1967 - A few days before the
general election in
Greece,
Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a
coup d'état, establishing a
military regime that lasts for seven years.
*
1975 -
Vietnam War:
President of
South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees
Saigon, as
Xuan Loc, the last
South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct
North Vietnamese assault on
Saigon, falls.
*
1987 - The
Tamil Tigers are blamed for a
car bomb that explodes in the
Sri Lankan
capital of
Colombo, killing 106 people.
*
1989 -
Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In
Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in
Tiananmen Square to commemorate the late Chinese reform leader
Hu Yaobang.
*
1994 - The first discoveries of
extrasolar planets are announced by
astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
*
2005 -
John Negroponte becomes the first
United States Director of National Intelligence.
*
1555 -
Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (d.
1619)
*
1651 - Blessed
Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (d.
1711)
*
1652 -
Michel Rolle, French mathematician (d.
1719)
*
1671 -
John Law, Scottish economist (d.
1729)
*
1713 -
Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, Marshal of France (d.
1793)
*
1729 -
Empress Catherine II of Russia (d.
1796)
*
1774 -
Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (d.
1862)
*
1775 -
Alexander Anderson, American illustrator (d.
1870)
*
1810 -
John Putnam Chapin, American politician (d.
1864)
*
1811 -
Alson Sherman, American politican (d.
1903)
*
1814 -
Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d.
1906)
*
1816 -
Charlotte Brontë, English author (d.
1855)
*
1837 -
Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician,
Nobel laureate (d.
1922)
*
1838 -
John Muir, American environmentalist (d.
1914)
*
1851 -
Charles Barrois, French geologist (d.
1939)
*
1864 -
Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d.
1920)
*
1870 -
Edwin S. Porter, American film pioneer (d.
1941)
*
1879 -
Kartini, Indonesian national figure (d.
1904)
*
1882 -
Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1961)
*
1889 -
Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1971)
*
1905 -
Pat Brown, American politician (d.
1996)
*
1911 -
Ivan Combe, American inventor (d.
2000)
*
1912 -
Marcel Camus, French film director (d.
1982)
*
1915 -
Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (d.
2001)
*
1919 -
Don Cornell, American singer (d.
2004)
*
1920 -
Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d.
1991)
*
1922 -
Alistair MacLean, Scottish author (d.
1987)
*
1923 -
John Mortimer, English barrister and writer
*
1926 -
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom*
1927 -
Gerald Flood, British actor (d.
1989)
*
1930 -
Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d.
1989)
*
1932 -
Elaine May, American comedian
*
1935 -
Charles Grodin, American actor
* 1935 -
Thomas Kean, Governor of New Jersey
*
1936 -
James Dobson, American evangelist
*
1939 -
Helen Prejean, American writer
*
1947 -
Iggy Pop, American musician (
The Stooges)
* 1947 -
John Weider, British rock musician (
Eric Burdon and the Animals,
Family)
*
1948 -
Gary Condit, American politician
*
1949 -
Patti Lupone, American singer and actress
*
1951 -
Tony Danza, American actor and talk show host
* 1951 -
Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician
* 1951 -
Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
*
1954 -
James Morrison, American actor
*
1958 -
Andie MacDowell, American actress
*
1959 -
Gene Callahan, American writer
* 1959 -
Robert Smith, British musician (
The Cure)
* 1959 -
Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (
Cowboy Junkies)
*
1960 -
Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player
*
1962 -
Les Lancaster, baseball player
*
1963 -
Ken Caminiti, baseball player (d.
2004)
* 1963 -
Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
*
1964 -
Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete
*
1965 -
Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1965 -
Karen Foster, American model (
Playboy)
*
1970 -
Rob Riggle, American comedian
* 1970 -
Nicole Sullivan, American actress
*
1971 -
Eric Mabius, American actor
* 1971 -
Michael Turner, American comic book artist
*
1972 -
Severina Vučković,
Croatian singer
*
1977 -
Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
*
1978 -
Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (
Nightwish)
*
1979 -
Adam Drucker, (
Dose One), rapper
*
1980 -
Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
*
1982 -
Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, American football player
*
1983 -
Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
*
748 -
Empress Gensho of
Japan (b.
680)
*
1073 -
Pope Alexander II*
1109 -
Anselm of Canterbury,
Archbishop of Canterbury*
1142 -
Pierre Abélard, French writer (b.
1079)
*
1329 -
Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b.
1282)
*
1509 - King
Henry VII of England (b.
1457)
*
1551 -
Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b.
1510)
*
1557 -
Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (b.
1495)
*
1574 -
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b.
1519)
*
1699 -
Jean Racine, French dramatist (b.
1639)
*
1701 -
Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (b.
1667)
*
1719 -
Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b.
1640)
*
1720 -
Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b.
1646)
*
1793 -
John Michell, English seismologist (b.
1724)
*
1815 -
Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b.
1746)
*
1852 -
Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b.
1787)
*
1868 -
Henry James O'Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (hanged)
*
1910 -
Mark Twain, American author and humorist (b.
1835)
*
1918 -
Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot (b.
1892)
*
1924 -
Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b.
1858)
*
1930 -
Robert Bridges, English poet (b.
1844)
*
1938 -
Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b.
1877)
*
1945 -
Walter Model, German field marshal (b.
1891)
*
1946 -
John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b.
1883)
*
1956 -
Charles MacArthur, American writer (b.
1895)
*
1965 -
Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1892)
*
1971 -
François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haitian dictator (b.
1907)
*
1973 -
Arthur Fadden, thirteenth
Prime Minister of Australia (b.
1894)
*
1977 -
Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b.
1892)
*
1978 -
Sandy Denny, British vocalist (b.
1947)
* 1978 -
Thomas Wyatt Turner, American civil rights advocate and agricultural engineer
*
1980 -
Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b.
1894)
*
1983 -
Walter Slezak, Austrian actor (b.
1902)
*
1985 -
Rudi Gernreich, Austrian fashion designer (b.
1922)
* 1985 -
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Brazil banker and elected president (b.
1910)
*
1989 - Princess
Dukhye of Korea (b.
1912)
*
1990 -
Erté, French artist (b.
1892)
*
1991 -
Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b.
1909)
*
1996 -
Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b.
1944)
* 1996 -
Jimmy the Greek, American bookie and sports broadcaster (b.
1919)
*
1999 -
Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, American actor and musician (b.
1904)
*
2000 -
Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (b.
1929)
*
2003 -
Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b.
1933)
*
2004 -
Mary McGrory, American journalist (b.
1918)
*
2005 -
Gerry Marshall, British racing driver (b.
1941)
*
2006 -
Telê Santana, Brazilian football manager (b.
1931)
*
Bahá'í Faith - First day of the festival of
Ridván.
*
Roman Empire - the
Parilia was held in honor of
Pales.
*
Rome - city birthday.
*
Sunni Islam -
Mawlid,
Prophet Muhammad's
birthday (
2005).
*
Tiradentes -
Brazil.
*
Grounation Day in
Rastafari movement.
*
Texas-San Jacinto Day
Liturgical feasts
*
Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury*
Saint Anastasius I*
Saint Konrad von Parzham*
Saint Wolbodo*
BBC: On This Day*
Epic Idiot: On This DayApril 20 -
April 22 -
March 21 -
May 21 --
listing of all days
