April 21

is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). There are 254 days remaining.

Events

753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional).
1509 - Henry VIII accends 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 ^* 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. ^*
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.

Births

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 wood-engraver and illustrator (d. 1870)
1810 - John Putnam Chapin, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
1811 - Alson Sherman, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
1814 - Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906)
1816 - Charlotte Brontë, English author (d. 1855)
1837 - Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (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 heroine (d. 1904)
1882 - Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize winner (d. 1961)
1889 - Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize 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, writer, director, and actress
1935 - Charles Grodin, American actor and journalist
1935 - Thomas Kean, Governor of New Jersey
1936 - James Dobson, American evangelist
1939 - Helen Prejean, American nun and 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
1958 - Andie MacDowell, American actress
1959 - Gene Callahan, American writer
1959 - Robert Smith, British musician, singer, and songwriter (The Cure)
1959 - Michael Timmins, Canadian folk/rock guitarist, songwriter (Cowboy Junkies)
1960 - Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey 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, comedian, and writer
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 ^*])
1979 - Adam Drucker, (Dose One), rapper and poet
1980 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
1982 - Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, American football player
1983 - Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer

Deaths

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)

Holidays and observances

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

External links

April 20 - April 22 - March 21 - May 21 -- listing of all days

Gourt Home::Gourt :: April 21

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical feasts

External links