What happened today in history
February
What happened on February 21
On February 21 history recorded 41 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 81 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 41events
- 160births
- 81deaths
- 12observances
Highlights
Highlights
1437King James I of Scotland was murdered at Perth in a failed coup by his uncle and former ally Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl.
James I was King of Scots from 1406 to 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and his wife Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of Rothesay died under suspicious circumstances while being detained by
1746Jacobite rising of 1745: The siege of Inverness ended with British forces surrendering to the Jacobite army.
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The last in a series of Jacobite risings that began in March 1689, it proved to be the end of Jacobitism as a major factor in British politics.
1828The inaugural issue of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper in a Native American language, was published.
The Cherokee Phoenix is the first newspaper published by Native Americans in the United States and the first published in a Native American language. The first issue was published in English and Cherokee on February 21, 1828, in New Echota, capital of the Cher
February 21
On this day
XIII century
- 1245
1245Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
XV century
XVII century
XVIII century
XIX century
- 1804
1804The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales. - 1808
1808Without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops cross the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish War, in which Sweden will lose the eastern half of the country (i.e. Finland) to Russia. - 1828
1828Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. - 1842
1842John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine. - 1848
1848Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto. - 1861
1861Mariehamn, the capital city of Åland, is founded. - 1862
1862American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory. - 1874
1874The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition. - 1878
1878The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut. - 1885
1885The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated. - 1896
1896An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fights an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically takes place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
XX century
- 1913
1913Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars. - 1916
1916World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins. - 1918
1918The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. - 1919
1919German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany. - 1921
1921Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution. - 1921
1921Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a successful coup. - 1925
1925The New Yorker publishes its first issue. - 1929
1929In the first battle of the Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong against the Nationalist government of China, a 24,000-strong rebel force led by Zhang Zongchang was defeated at Zhifu by 7,000 NRA troops. - 1937
1937The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War. - 1945
1945World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage the USS Saratoga. - 1945
1945World War II: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat the German forces in the Battle of Monte Castello on the Italian front. - 1947
1947In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America. - 1948
1948NASCAR is incorporated. - 1952
1952The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free". - 1952
1952The Bengali language movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). - 1958
1958The CND symbol, aka peace symbol, commissioned by the Direct Action Committee in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom. - 1971
1971The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna. - 1972
1972United States President Richard Nixon visits China to normalize Sino-American relations. - 1972
1972The Soviet uncrewed spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon. - 1973
1973Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108 people. - 1974
1974The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt. - 1975
1975Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison. - 1994
1994Aldrich Ames is arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for selling national secrets to the Soviet Union in Arlington County, Virginia. - 1995
1995Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
XXI century
- 2013
2013At least 17 people are killed and 119 injured following several bombings in the Indian city of Hyderabad. - 2022
2022In the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and moves troops into the region. The action is condemned by the United Nations.
Best known
Born on February 21
Best known
Died on February 21
1184Minamoto no Yoshinaka
Japanese samurai lord
1437James I of Scotland
King of Scots from 1406 to 1437
1543Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
16th century Imam and General of the Adal Sultanate
1554Hieronymus Bock
German botanist (1497/98–1554)
1590Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
English nobleman and general
1595Robert Southwell (priest)
English Jesuit
Holidays and observances
- Armed Forces Day (South Africa)
- Birthday of King Harald V (Norway)
- Christian feast day: Felix of Hadrumetum
- Christian feast day: Pepin of Landen
- Christian feast day: Peter Damian
- Christian feast day: Randoald of Grandval
- Christian feast day: February 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Father Lini Day (Vanuatu)
- Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)
- International Mother Language Day (UNESCO)
- The first day of the Birth Anniversary of Fifth Druk Gyalpo, celebrated until February 23. (Bhutan)
- The first day of the Musikahan Festival, celebrated until February 27. (Tagum City, Philippines)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on February 21?
41 documented historical events happened on February 21, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: King James I of Scotland was murdered at Perth in a failed coup by his uncle and former ally Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. On the same day, in another year: Jacobite rising of 1745: The siege of Inverness ended with British forces surrendering to the Jacobite army. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on February 21?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on February 21, including Charles Scribner I, Léo Delibes, Charles-Marie Widor. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on February 21?
81 people with a Wikipedia article died on February 21, including Minamoto no Yoshinaka, James I of Scotland, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on February 21?
12 observances are celebrated on February 21 around the world: Armed Forces Day (South Africa), Birthday of King Harald V (Norway), Christian feast day: Felix of Hadrumetum, Christian feast day: Pepin of Landen, Christian feast day: Peter Damian, Christian feast day: Randoald of Grandval. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
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Source: Wikipedia · Calendar