August 21

August 21

Encyclopedia

Tutorials

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Directory

Email this to a friend August_21

August 21

Events
Births
Deaths
Holidays and observances
Eastern Orthodox Liturgy

Fixed commemorations
Saints

External links

Events

1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Sh?gun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
1680 - Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
1689 - The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
1760 - The church (later cathedral) of "Our Lady of Candlemas of Mayagüez (Puerto Rico)" is founded, establishing the basis for the founding of the city.
1770 - James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
1772 - King Gustav III completes his coup d'etat by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.
1810 - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
1821 - Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the Eliza Frances.
1831 - Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion.
1842 - The city of Hobart, Tasmania, is founded.
1852 - Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
1856 - America's first consul to Japan, Townsend Harris, arrives in Shimoda. (Traditional Japanese date: July 21, 1856)
1858 - The Lincoln-Douglas debates begin.
1862 - The Vienna Stadtpark opens its gates.
1863 - Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerillas Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.
1878 - The American Bar Association is founded.
1879 - The Virgin Mary, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist reportedly appear to the people of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland.
1888 - The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
1911 - The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
1942 - World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad began.
1942 - World War II: A Nazi flag is installed atop the Mount Elbrus.
1942 - World War II: Allied forces involved in the Guadalcanal campaign defeated an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
1944 - Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union.
1963 - Xa Loi Pagoda raids: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalises Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead.
1968 - Soviet Union-dominated Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring; on the same day, Nicolae Ceau?escu, leader of Communist Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet maneuver, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
1968 - James Anderson, Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
1969 - An Australian, Michael Dennis Rohan, sets the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire
1971 - A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured.
1976 - Operation Paul Bunyan at Panmunjeom, Korea.
1983 - Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport).
1986 - Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.
1991 - Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
1991 - Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
1993 - NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
2001 - NATO decides to send a peace-keeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
2001 - The Red Cross announces that a famine is striking Tajikistan, and calls for international financial aid for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
2007 - Hurricane Dean makes its first landfall in Costa Maya, Mexico with winds at 165 mph. Dean is the first storm since Hurricane Andrew to make landfall as a Category 5.

Births

1165 - King Philip II of France (d. 1223)
1535 - Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1619)
1567 - Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and saint (d. 1622)
1597 - Roger Twysden, English antiquarian and royalist (d. 1672)
1643 - King Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
1660 - Hubert Gautier, French scientist and civil engineer (d. 1737)
1665 - Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer (d. 1729)
1670 - James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French military leader (d. 1734)
1725 - Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (d. 1805)
1754 - William Murdoch, Scottish inventor (d. 1839)
1754 - Banastre Tarleton, British soldier and politician (d. 1833)
1765 - William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)
1789 - Augustin Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (d. 1857)
1798 - Jules Michelet, French historian (d. 1874)
1800 - Hiram Walden, American politician (d. 1880)
1801 - Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch politician (d. 1876)
1813 - Jean Stas, Belgian chemist (d. 1891)
1816 - Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist (d. 1856)
1826 - Karl Gegenbaur, German anatomist (d. 1903)
1872 - Aubrey Beardsley, English illustrator (d. 1898)
1891 - Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World's oldest living man 2004-2007 (d. 2007)
1892 - Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
1904 - William "Count" Basie, American bandleader (d. 1984)
1906 - Friz Freleng, American movie animator (d. 1995)
1908 - M. M. Kaye, British writer (d. 2004)
1909 - Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician (d. 1992)
1912 - Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
1915 - Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (d. 1998)
1918 - Billy Reay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
1920 - Christopher Robin Milne, inspiration for the Winnie-the-Pooh stories (d. 1996)
1924 - Jack Buck, American sports announcer (d. 2002)
1924 - Chris Schenkel, American sports journalist (d. 2005)
1924 - Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
1925 - Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (d. 2003)
1925 - Jorge Rafael Videla, ex-dictator of Argentina
1927 - Thomas S. Monson, 16th president of the (Mormon) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1928 - Art Farmer, American trumpet player (d. 1999)
1929 - X. J. Kennedy, American poet
1929 - Marie Severin, American comic book artist and colorist
1930 - Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
1930 - Frank Perry, American film director (d. 1995)
1932 - Melvin Van Peebles, American actor and screenwriter
1933 - Janet Baker, English mezzo-soprano
1934 - Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer, visual and sound artist
1936 - Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (d. 1999)
1936 - Radish Tordia, Painter Of Figurative Art From Georgia
1938 - Kenny Rogers, American singer and actor
1937 - Robert Stone, American novelist
1939 - James Burton, American guitarist
1939 - Clarence Williams III, American actor
1939 - Festus Mogae, president of Botswana
1943 - Hugh Wilson, American director, writer and actor
1944 - Jackie DeShannon, American singer
1944 - Peter Weir, Australian film director
1944 - Perry Christie, former prime minister of the Bahamas
1945 - Jerry DaVanon, baseball player
1945 - Basil Poledouris, American film score composer (d. 2006)
1949 - Loretta Devine, American actress
1950 - Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer
1951 - Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
1951 - Char Margolis, American medium
1951 - Harry Smith, American television journalist
1951 - Margo Kane, Canadian playwright.
1952 - Joe Strummer, British musician and singer (The Clash) (d. 2002)
1952 - Glenn Hughes, British bassist and vocalist (Finders Keepers/Trapeze/Deep Purple)
1954 - Archie Griffin, former American football player and only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
1954 - Ivan Stang, American writer
1956 - Kim Cattrall, English-born actress
1959 - Jim McMahon, American football player
1961 - David Morales, American disc jockey
1961 - Stephen Hillenburg, American animator and cartoonist
1962 - Jeff Stryker, American actor
1963 - King Mohammed VI of Morocco
1963 - Richmond Arquette, American actor
1964 - Trinity Loren, American actress and model (d. 1998)
1965 - Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
1966 - John Wetteland, Major League Baseball player
1967 - Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
1967 - Serj Tankian, Armenian-born singer (System of a Down)
1967 - Darren Bewick, AFL footballer
1969 - Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
1970 - Nathan Jones, American professional wrestler
1970 - Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist
1971 - Liam Howlett, British musician (The Prodigy)
1971 - Matthew Noonan, American Concert Organist
1971 - Robert Harvey, Australian Rules Footballer (St Kilda Football Club)
1973 - Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 - Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
1975 - Alicia Witt, American actress
1975 - Simon Katich, Australian cricketer
1976 - Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player
1976 - Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican American soccer player
1978 - Reuben Droughns, American football player
1978 - Jason Marquis, American baseball player
1978 - Alan Lee, Irish footballer
1978 - Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player
1978 - Peter Buxton, English rugby union player
1979 - Kelis Rogers-Jones, American singer
1980 - Burney Lamar, American race car driver
1980 - Paul Menard, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver
1981 - Andreas Glyniadakis, Greek basketball player
1981 - Collie Buddz, (Colin Harper) Reggae & Dancehall artist
1983 - Josh Harrington, American professional BMX rider
1983 - Chantelle Houghton, British TV personality
1983 - Brody Jenner, American actor
1983 - Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
1984 - Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
1984 - Alizée Jacotey, French singer
1984 - Melissa Schuman, American actress
1984 - B.J. Upton, American baseball player
1986 - Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
1987 - Kim Kibum, one of the member of Korean boy band Super junior. actor and singer
1988 - Louise Setara, English singer-songwriter
1988 - Paris Bennett, American singer and finalist on American Idol (season 5)
1989 - Hayden Panettiere, American actress, model and singer
1996 - Jamia Simone Nash, American singer and actress