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 In HistoryAugust 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 Friendship, Arkansas 71942 sunrise will occur at 06:36 AM and sunset will occur at 07:53 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).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 30 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For August 21

  • 1192
    Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
  • 1331
    King Stephen Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stephen Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia.
  • 1680
    Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
  • 1689
    The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
  • 1770
    James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
  • 1772
    King 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.
  • 1778
    American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondicherry.
  • 1808
    Battle 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.
  • 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 ship, Eliza Frances.
  • 1831
    Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion.
  • 1852
    Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
  • 1863
    Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill’s Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.
  • 1879
    The Virgin Mary, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, reportedly appears at Knock Shrine in 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.
  • 1918
    World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.
  • 1942
    World War II: a Nazi flag is installed atop the Mount Elbrus.
  • 1942
    World War II: the Guadalcanal campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
  • 1944
    Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
  • 1944
    World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, France.
  • 1945
    Physicist Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • 1959
    President 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
  • 1961
    Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes.
  • 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
    James Anderson, Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
  • 1968
    Soviet 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.
  • 1969
    An Australian, Michael Dennis Rohan, sets the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, a major catalyst of the formation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
  • 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.
  • 1979
    Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States.
  • 1982
    Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
  • 1983
    Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. is 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
    Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
  • 1991
    Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
  • 1992
    Ruby Ridge Standoff in Idaho
  • 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.

Who Were Born On August 21?

  • 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
    Banastre Tarleton, British soldier and politician (d. 1833)
  • 1754
    William Murdoch, Scottish inventor (d. 1839)
  • 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)
  • 1858
    Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (d. 1889)
  • 1869
    William Henry Ogilvie, Scottish/Australian poet (d. 1963)
  • 1872
    Aubrey Beardsley, English illustrator (d. 1898)
  • 1878
    Richard Girulatis, German football manager (d. 1963)
  • 1879
    Claude Grahame-White, British pioneer aviator and builder (d. 1959)
  • 1891
    Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World’s oldest living man 2004-2007 (d. 2007)
  • 1892
    Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
  • 1902
    Angel Karaliychev, Bulgarian writer (d. 1972)
  • 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
    Hector “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
    Chris Schenkel, American sports journalist (d. 2005)
  • 1924
    Jack Buck, American sports announcer (d. 2002)
  • 1924
    Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
  • 1925
    Judy Grable, American professional wrestler (d. 2008)
  • 1925
    Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (d. 2003)
  • 1927
    Thomas S. Monson, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
  • 1928
    Art Farmer, American trumpet player (d. 1999)
  • 1928
    Bud McFadin, American football player (d. 2006)
  • 1929
    Marie Severin, American comic book artist and colorist
  • 1929
    X. J. Kennedy, American poet
  • 1930
    Frank Perry, American film director (d. 1995)
  • 1930
    Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
  • 1932
    Melvin Van Peebles, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1933
    Janet Baker, English mezzo-soprano
  • 1933
    Michael Dacher, German mountaineer (d. 1994)
  • 1934
    Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer, visual and sound artist
  • 1934
    Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician( d. 2001)
  • 1936
    Radish Tordia, painter of Figurative Art from Georgia
  • 1936
    Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (d. 1999)
  • 1937
    Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
  • 1937
    Gustavo Noboa, former President of Ecuador
  • 1937
    Robert Stone, American novelist
  • 1938
    Kenny Rogers, American singer and actor
  • 1939
    Clarence Williams III, American actor
  • 1939
    Festus Mogae, president of Botswana
  • 1939
    James Burton, American guitarist
  • 1940
    Endre Szemerédi, Hungarian mathematician
  • 1943
    Hugh Wilson, American director, writer and actor
  • 1944
    Jackie DeShannon, American singer
  • 1944
    Perry Christie, former prime minister of the Bahamas
  • 1944
    Peter Weir, Australian film director
  • 1945
    Basil Poledouris, American film score composer (d. 2006)
  • 1945
    Jerry DaVanon, baseball player
  • 1945
    Patty McCormack, American actress
  • 1947
    Carl Giammarese, American musician
  • 1947
    Sándor Erdős, Hungarian fencer
  • 1949
    Loretta Devine, American actress
  • 1950
    Arthur Bremer, American criminal, who shot George C Wallace in May 1972.
  • 1950
    Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer
  • 1951
    Char Margolis, American medium
  • 1951
    Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
  • 1951
    Harry Smith, American television journalist
  • 1951
    Margo Kane, Canadian playwright.
  • 1952
    Glenn Hughes, British bassist and vocalist (Finders Keepers/Trapeze/Deep Purple)
  • 1952
    Jiří Paroubek, former Czech prime minister
  • 1952
    Joe Strummer, British musician and singer (The Clash) (d. 2002)
  • 1952
    Keith Hart, Canadian professional wrestler
  • 1953
    Ivan Stang, American writer
  • 1954
    Archie Griffin, former American football player and only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.
  • 1954
    Chip Coffey, American psychic, medium and television personality.
  • 1956
    Jon Tester, US Senator from Montana
  • 1956
    Kim Cattrall, English-born actress
  • 1957
    Steve Smith, American drummer (Journey)
  • 1959
    Jim McMahon, American football player
  • 1961
    David Morales, American disc jockey
  • 1961
    Stephen Hillenburg, American animator and cartoonist
  • 1961
    V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer
  • 1962
    Jeff Stryker, American actor
  • 1962
    John Korfas, Greek basketball player
  • 1962
    Tsutomu Miyazaki Japanese Serial killer (d. 2008)
  • 1963
    King Mohammed VI of Morocco
  • 1963
    Richmond Arquette, American actor
  • 1964
    Trinity Loren, American actress and model (d. 1998)
  • 1965
    Caryn Mower, American actress, stuntwoman and former professional wrestler
  • 1965
    Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
  • 1966
    John Wetteland, Major League Baseball player
  • 1967
    Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
  • 1967
    Darren Bewick, AFL footballer
  • 1967
    Serj Tankian, Armenian-born singer (System of a Down)
  • 1968
    Dina Carroll, British singer
  • 1969
    Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
  • 1970
    Craig Counsell, American baseball player
  • 1970
    Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist
  • 1970
    Nathan Jones, American professional wrestler
  • 1971
    Liam Howlett, British musician (The Prodigy)
  • 1971
    Mamadou Diallo, Senegalese Soccer player
  • 1971
    Robert Harvey, Australian Rules Footballer (St Kilda Football Club)
  • 1973
    Nikolay Valuev, Russian boxer
  • 1973
    Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google
  • 1973
    Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975
    Alicia Witt, American actress
  • 1975
    Simon Katich, Australian cricketer
  • 1976
    Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player
  • 1976
    Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican American soccer player
  • 1976
    Nikos Vertis, Greek singer
  • 1976
    Ramón Vázquez, Puerto Rican baseball player
  • 1978
    Alan Lee, Irish footballer
  • 1978
    Annie Wu, Taiwanese Actress
  • 1978
    Bhumika Chawla, Indian Actress
  • 1978
    Jason Marquis, American baseball player
  • 1978
    Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player
  • 1978
    Peter Buxton, English rugby union player
  • 1978
    Reuben Droughns, American football player
  • 1979
    Kelis Rogers-Jones, American singer
  • 1980
    Burney Lamar, American race car driver
  • 1980
    Paul Menard, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver
  • 1981
    Cameron Winklevoss, American Rower and Entrepeneur
  • 1981
    Collie Buddz, (Colin Harper) Reggae & Dancehall artist
  • 1981
    Jarrod Lyle, Australian Golfer
  • 1981
    Tyler Winklevoss, American Rower and Entrepeneur
  • 1982
    Jason Eaton, New Zealand All Black rugby player
  • 1983
    Brody Jenner, American actor
  • 1983
    Chantelle Houghton, British TV personality
  • 1983
    Josh Harrington, American professional BMX rider
  • 1983
    Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
  • 1984
    Alizée Jacotey, French singer
  • 1984
    B.J. Upton, American baseball player
  • 1984
    Melissa Schuman, American actress
  • 1984
    Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
  • 1985
    Aleksandra Kiryashova, Russian pole vaulter
  • 1985
    Kevin Nee, American strongman
  • 1985
    Melissa M, French singer
  • 1986
    Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1986
    Wout Brama, Dutch international footballer
  • 1987
    Kim Kibum, a 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
  • 1989
    Judd Trump, English snooker player
  • 1990
    Bo Burnham, American comedic singer-songwriter and Internet Celebrity
  • 1990
    Cameron Argon, American electronic and death metal musician
  • 1990
    Fabian Heimpel, German rugby player
  • 1992
    Brad Kavanagh, English songwriter and actor
  • 1996
    Jamia Simone Nash, American singer and actress

Who Died On August 21?

  • 1153
    Bernard of Clairvaux, French theologian (b. 1090)
  • 1157
    King Alfonso VII of Castile (b. 1104/1105)
  • 1271
    Alphonse of Toulouse, son of Louis VIII of France (b. 1220)
  • 1581
    Sakuma Nobumori, Japanese retainer and samurai (b. 1527)
  • 1614
    Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian noble and alleged serial killer (b. 1560)
  • 1627
    Jacques Mauduit, French composer (b. 1557)
  • 1673
    Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, English soldier
  • 1689
    William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier
  • 1762
    Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (b. 1689)
  • 1763
    Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, British statesman (b. 1710)
  • 1796
    John McKinly, American physician and President of Delaware (b. 1721)
  • 1814
    Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (b. 1753)
  • 1836
    Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist (b. 1785)
  • 1838
    Adelbert von Chamisso, German writer (b. 1781)
  • 1854
    Thomas Clayton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
  • 1870
    Ma Xinyi, Chinese Viceroy of Liangjiang and statesman (b. 1821)
  • 1910
    Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter (b. 1835)
  • 1926
    Ugyen Wangchuck, first king of Bhutan (b.1862)
  • 1935
    John Hartley, English tennis player (b. 1849)
  • 1940
    Ernest Lawrence Thayer, American poet (b. 1863)
  • 1940
    Hermann Obrecht, Swiss jurist (b. 1882)
  • 1940
    Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary (b. 1879)
  • 1943
    Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer, Nobel Prize (b. 1857)
  • 1947
    Ettore Bugatti, Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1881)
  • 1951
    Constant Lambert, British composer and conductor (b. 1905)
  • 1957
    Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
  • 1957
    Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
  • 1960
    David Barnard Steinman, American civil engineer and bridge designer (b. 1886)
  • 1964
    Palmiro Togliatti, Italian communist leader (b. 1893)
  • 1971
    George Jackson, American Black Panther Party figure (b. 1941)
  • 1974
    Buford Pusser, American law enforcement official (b. 1937)
  • 1978
    Charles Eames, American designer and architect (b. 1907)
  • 1979
    Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
  • 1981
    Michael Devine, 1981 Irish hunger strike figure (b. 1954)
  • 1982
    Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland (b. 1899)
  • 1983
    Benigno Aquino, Jr., Philippine opposition leader (b. 1932)
  • 1988
    Ray Eames, American designer, artist and architect (b. 1912)
  • 1988
    Teddy Diaz, Filipino rock guitarist (The Dawn) (b. 1963)
  • 1989
    Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
  • 1992
    Dai Vernon, Canadian magician (b. 1894)
  • 1993
    Tatiana Troyanos, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1938)
  • 1995
    Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-born astrophysicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1997
    Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor (b. 1921)
  • 2000
    Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer (b. 1928)
  • 2000
    Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
  • 2000
    Tomata du Plenty, artist and lead singer of The Screamers. (b. 1948)
  • 2001
    Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
  • 2003
    Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and aid worker (b. 1946)
  • 2003
    Wesley Willis, American musician (b. 1963)
  • 2005
    Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936)
  • 2005
    Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
  • 2005
    Martin Dillon, American opera singer (b. 1957)
  • 2005
    Robert Moog, American inventor (b. 1934)
  • 2006
    Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
  • 2006
    S. Yizhar (aka Yizhar Smilansky), Israeli author (b. 1916)
  • 2006
    Ustad Bismillah Khan, Indian musician (b. 1916)
  • 2007
    Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American Brigadier General (b. 1918)
  • 2007
    Haley Paige, American pornographic actress (b. 1981)
  • 2007
    Siobhan Dowd, British/Irish writer (b. 1960)
  • 2008
    Jerry Finn, American record producer (b. 1969)
  • 2009
    Dean Turner, Australian musician (b. 1972)
  • 2009
    Rex Shelley, Singaporean author (b. 1930)
  • 2010
    Nancy Dolman, Canadian actress and comedienne (b. 1952)
  • 2010
    Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean writer (b. 1941)

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