What happened on August 21? There are more than 264 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About August 21
August 21 is the 234th day of the year 2024. There are 132 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 34th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Pocomoke City, Maryland 21851 sunrise occured at 06:21 AM and sunset occured at 07:48 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Peridot while the mystical birthstone is Diamond.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 161 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For August 21
- 1192Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
- 1331King Stephen Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stephen Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia.
- 1680Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
- 1689The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
- 1770James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
- 1772King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.
- 1778American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondicherry.
- 1808Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
- 1810Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
- 1821Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances.
- 1831Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion.
- 1852Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
- 1863Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill’s Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.
- 1879The Virgin Mary, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, reportedly appears at Knock Shrine in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland.
- 1888The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
- 1911The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
- 1918World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.
- 1942World War II: a Nazi flag is installed atop the Mount Elbrus.
- 1942World War II: the Guadalcanal campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
- 1944Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
- 1944World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, France.
- 1945Physicist Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- 1959President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii’s admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day
- 1961Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes.
- 1963Xa 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.
- 1968James Anderson, Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
- 1968Soviet Union-dominated Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring; on the same day, Nicolae Ceauşescu, leader of Communist Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet maneuver, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
- 1969An Australian, Michael Dennis Rohan, sets the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, a major catalyst of the formation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
- 1971A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured.
- 1976Operation Paul Bunyan at Panmunjeom, Korea.
- 1979Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States.
- 1982Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
- 1983Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. is assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport).
- 1986Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.
- 1991Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
- 1991Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
- 1992Ruby Ridge Standoff in Idaho
- 1993NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
- 2001NATO decides to send a peace-keeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
- 2001The Red Cross announces that a famine is striking Tajikistan, and calls for international financial aid for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
- 2007Hurricane 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.
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Who Were Born On August 21?
- 1165King Philip II of France (d. 1223)
- 1535Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1619)
- 1567Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and saint (d. 1622)
- 1597Roger Twysden, English antiquarian and royalist (d. 1672)
- 1643King Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
- 1660Hubert Gautier, French scientist and civil engineer (d. 1737)
- 1665Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer (d. 1729)
- 1670James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French military leader (d. 1734)
- 1725Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (d. 1805)
- 1754Banastre Tarleton, British soldier and politician (d. 1833)
- 1754William Murdoch, Scottish inventor (d. 1839)
- 1765William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)
- 1789Augustin Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (d. 1857)
- 1798Jules Michelet, French historian (d. 1874)
- 1800Hiram Walden, American politician (d. 1880)
- 1801Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch politician (d. 1876)
- 1813Jean Stas, Belgian chemist (d. 1891)
- 1816Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist (d. 1856)
- 1826Karl Gegenbaur, German anatomist (d. 1903)
- 1858Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (d. 1889)
- 1869William Henry Ogilvie, Scottish/Australian poet (d. 1963)
- 1872Aubrey Beardsley, English illustrator (d. 1898)
- 1878Richard Girulatis, German football manager (d. 1963)
- 1879Claude Grahame-White, British pioneer aviator and builder (d. 1959)
- 1891Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World’s oldest living man 2004-2007 (d. 2007)
- 1892Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
- 1902Angel Karaliychev, Bulgarian writer (d. 1972)
- 1904William “Count” Basie, American bandleader (d. 1984)
- 1906Friz Freleng, American movie animator (d. 1995)
- 1908M. M. Kaye, British writer (d. 2004)
- 1909Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician (d. 1992)
- 1912Hector “Toe” Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
- 1915Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (d. 1998)
- 1918Billy Reay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1920Christopher Robin Milne, inspiration for the Winnie-the-Pooh stories (d. 1996)
- 1924Chris Schenkel, American sports journalist (d. 2005)
- 1924Jack Buck, American sports announcer (d. 2002)
- 1924Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1925Judy Grable, American professional wrestler (d. 2008)
- 1925Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (d. 2003)
- 1927Thomas S. Monson, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
- 1928Art Farmer, American trumpet player (d. 1999)
- 1928Bud McFadin, American football player (d. 2006)
- 1929Marie Severin, American comic book artist and colorist
- 1929X. J. Kennedy, American poet
- 1930Frank Perry, American film director (d. 1995)
- 1930Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
- 1932Melvin Van Peebles, American actor and screenwriter
- 1933Janet Baker, English mezzo-soprano
- 1933Michael Dacher, German mountaineer (d. 1994)
- 1934Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer, visual and sound artist
- 1934Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician( d. 2001)
- 1936Radish Tordia, painter of Figurative Art from Georgia
- 1936Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (d. 1999)
- 1937Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
- 1937Gustavo Noboa, former President of Ecuador
- 1937Robert Stone, American novelist
- 1938Kenny Rogers, American singer and actor
- 1939Clarence Williams III, American actor
- 1939Festus Mogae, president of Botswana
- 1939James Burton, American guitarist
- 1940Endre Szemerédi, Hungarian mathematician
- 1943Hugh Wilson, American director, writer and actor
- 1944Jackie DeShannon, American singer
- 1944Perry Christie, former prime minister of the Bahamas
- 1944Peter Weir, Australian film director
- 1945Basil Poledouris, American film score composer (d. 2006)
- 1945Jerry DaVanon, baseball player
- 1945Patty McCormack, American actress
- 1947Carl Giammarese, American musician
- 1947Sándor Erdős, Hungarian fencer
- 1949Loretta Devine, American actress
- 1950Arthur Bremer, American criminal, who shot George C Wallace in May 1972.
- 1950Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer
- 1951Char Margolis, American medium
- 1951Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
- 1951Harry Smith, American television journalist
- 1951Margo Kane, Canadian playwright.
- 1952Glenn Hughes, British bassist and vocalist (Finders Keepers/Trapeze/Deep Purple)
- 1952Jiří Paroubek, former Czech prime minister
- 1952Joe Strummer, British musician and singer (The Clash) (d. 2002)
- 1952Keith Hart, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1953Ivan Stang, American writer
- 1954Archie Griffin, former American football player and only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
- 1954Chip Coffey, American psychic, medium and television personality.
- 1956Jon Tester, US Senator from Montana
- 1956Kim Cattrall, English-born actress
- 1957Steve Smith, American drummer (Journey)
- 1959Jim McMahon, American football player
- 1961David Morales, American disc jockey
- 1961Stephen Hillenburg, American animator and cartoonist
- 1961V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer
- 1962Jeff Stryker, American actor
- 1962John Korfas, Greek basketball player
- 1962Tsutomu Miyazaki Japanese Serial killer (d. 2008)
- 1963King Mohammed VI of Morocco
- 1963Richmond Arquette, American actor
- 1964Trinity Loren, American actress and model (d. 1998)
- 1965Caryn Mower, American actress, stuntwoman and former professional wrestler
- 1965Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
- 1966John Wetteland, Major League Baseball player
- 1967Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
- 1967Darren Bewick, AFL footballer
- 1967Serj Tankian, Armenian-born singer (System of a Down)
- 1968Dina Carroll, British singer
- 1969Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
- 1970Craig Counsell, American baseball player
- 1970Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist
- 1970Nathan Jones, American professional wrestler
- 1971Liam Howlett, British musician (The Prodigy)
- 1971Mamadou Diallo, Senegalese Soccer player
- 1971Robert Harvey, Australian Rules Footballer (St Kilda Football Club)
- 1973Nikolay Valuev, Russian boxer
- 1973Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
- 1973Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975Alicia Witt, American actress
- 1975Simon Katich, Australian cricketer
- 1976Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player
- 1976Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican American soccer player
- 1976Nikos Vertis, Greek singer
- 1976Ramón Vázquez, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1978Alan Lee, Irish footballer
- 1978Annie Wu, Taiwanese Actress
- 1978Bhumika Chawla, Indian Actress
- 1978Jason Marquis, American baseball player
- 1978Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player
- 1978Peter Buxton, English rugby union player
- 1978Reuben Droughns, American football player
- 1979Kelis Rogers-Jones, American singer
- 1980Burney Lamar, American race car driver
- 1980Paul Menard, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver
- 1981Cameron Winklevoss, American Rower and Entrepeneur
- 1981Collie Buddz, (Colin Harper) Reggae & Dancehall artist
- 1981Jarrod Lyle, Australian Golfer
- 1981Tyler Winklevoss, American Rower and Entrepeneur
- 1982Jason Eaton, New Zealand All Black rugby player
- 1983Brody Jenner, American actor
- 1983Chantelle Houghton, British TV personality
- 1983Josh Harrington, American professional BMX rider
- 1983Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
- 1984Alizée Jacotey, French singer
- 1984B.J. Upton, American baseball player
- 1984Melissa Schuman, American actress
- 1984Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
- 1985Aleksandra Kiryashova, Russian pole vaulter
- 1985Kevin Nee, American strongman
- 1985Melissa M, French singer
- 1986Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
- 1986Wout Brama, Dutch international footballer
- 1987Kim Kibum, a member of Korean boy band Super junior. actor and singer
- 1988Louise Setara, English singer-songwriter
- 1988Paris Bennett, American singer and finalist on American Idol (season 5)
- 1989Hayden Panettiere, American actress, model and singer
- 1989Judd Trump, English snooker player
- 1990Bo Burnham, American comedic singer-songwriter and Internet Celebrity
- 1990Cameron Argon, American electronic and death metal musician
- 1990Fabian Heimpel, German rugby player
- 1992Brad Kavanagh, English songwriter and actor
- 1996Jamia Simone Nash, American singer and actress
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Who Died On August 21?
- 1153Bernard of Clairvaux, French theologian (b. 1090)
- 1157King Alfonso VII of Castile (b. 1104/1105)
- 1271Alphonse of Toulouse, son of Louis VIII of France (b. 1220)
- 1581Sakuma Nobumori, Japanese retainer and samurai (b. 1527)
- 1614Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian noble and alleged serial killer (b. 1560)
- 1627Jacques Mauduit, French composer (b. 1557)
- 1673Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, English soldier
- 1689William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier
- 1762Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (b. 1689)
- 1763Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, British statesman (b. 1710)
- 1796John McKinly, American physician and President of Delaware (b. 1721)
- 1814Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (b. 1753)
- 1836Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist (b. 1785)
- 1838Adelbert von Chamisso, German writer (b. 1781)
- 1854Thomas Clayton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
- 1870Ma Xinyi, Chinese Viceroy of Liangjiang and statesman (b. 1821)
- 1910Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter (b. 1835)
- 1926Ugyen Wangchuck, first king of Bhutan (b.1862)
- 1935John Hartley, English tennis player (b. 1849)
- 1940Ernest Lawrence Thayer, American poet (b. 1863)
- 1940Hermann Obrecht, Swiss jurist (b. 1882)
- 1940Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary (b. 1879)
- 1943Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer, Nobel Prize (b. 1857)
- 1947Ettore Bugatti, Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1881)
- 1951Constant Lambert, British composer and conductor (b. 1905)
- 1957Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
- 1957Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
- 1960David Barnard Steinman, American civil engineer and bridge designer (b. 1886)
- 1964Palmiro Togliatti, Italian communist leader (b. 1893)
- 1971George Jackson, American Black Panther Party figure (b. 1941)
- 1974Buford Pusser, American law enforcement official (b. 1937)
- 1978Charles Eames, American designer and architect (b. 1907)
- 1979Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
- 1981Michael Devine, 1981 Irish hunger strike figure (b. 1954)
- 1982Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland (b. 1899)
- 1983Benigno Aquino, Jr., Philippine opposition leader (b. 1932)
- 1988Ray Eames, American designer, artist and architect (b. 1912)
- 1988Teddy Diaz, Filipino rock guitarist (The Dawn) (b. 1963)
- 1989Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
- 1992Dai Vernon, Canadian magician (b. 1894)
- 1993Tatiana Troyanos, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1938)
- 1995Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-born astrophysicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
- 1997Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor (b. 1921)
- 2000Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer (b. 1928)
- 2000Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
- 2000Tomata du Plenty, artist and lead singer of The Screamers. (b. 1948)
- 2001Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
- 2003Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and aid worker (b. 1946)
- 2003Wesley Willis, American musician (b. 1963)
- 2005Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936)
- 2005Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
- 2005Martin Dillon, American opera singer (b. 1957)
- 2005Robert Moog, American inventor (b. 1934)
- 2006Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
- 2006S. Yizhar (aka Yizhar Smilansky), Israeli author (b. 1916)
- 2006Ustad Bismillah Khan, Indian musician (b. 1916)
- 2007Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American Brigadier General (b. 1918)
- 2007Haley Paige, American pornographic actress (b. 1981)
- 2007Siobhan Dowd, British/Irish writer (b. 1960)
- 2008Jerry Finn, American record producer (b. 1969)
- 2009Dean Turner, Australian musician (b. 1972)
- 2009Rex Shelley, Singaporean author (b. 1930)
- 2010Nancy Dolman, Canadian actress and comedienne (b. 1952)
- 2010Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean writer (b. 1941)
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