What happened today in history
June
What happened on June 21
On June 21 history recorded 53 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 113 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 53events
- 160births
- 113deaths
- 20observances
Highlights
Highlights
217 BCSecond Punic War: Commanded by Hannibal, the Carthaginians ambushed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, capturing or killing 25,000 men.
The Second Punic War was the second in a series of three wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic, who were at the time the two main powers in the western Mediterranean. The protracted war was fought across the region, incurring immense materiel and
1128William Clito defeated Thierry of Alsace in a battle over the succession to the title of Count of Flanders.
William Clito was a member of the House of Normandy who ruled the County of Flanders from 1127 until his death and unsuccessfully claimed the Duchy of Normandy. As the son of Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, William Clito was seen as a
1529War of the League of Cognac: The French army under Francis de Bourbon was destroyed in Lombardy, Italy, by the Spanish army.
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V—primarily the Holy Roman Empire and Spain—and the League of Cognac, an alliance including the Kingdom of France, Pope Clement VII, the Republic of Venice, the Ki
June 21
On this day
III century BC
- 217 BC
217 BCA Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushes and defeats a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius in the battle of lake Trasimene during the Second Punic War.
VI century
IX century
XIV century
XVI century
XVII century
XVIII century
- 1734
1734In Montreal, New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of setting the fire that destroyed much of the city. - 1749
1749Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded. - 1768
1768James Otis Jr. offends the King and Parliament in a speech to the Massachusetts General Court. - 1788
1788New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. - 1791
1791King Louis XVI and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during the French Revolution. - 1798
1798Irish Rebellion of 1798: The British Army defeats Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill.
XIX century
- 1813
1813Peninsular War: Wellington defeats Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Vitoria. - 1824
1824Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea. - 1826
1826Maniots defeat Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in the Battle of Vergas. - 1848
1848In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell issue the Proclamation of Islaz and create a new republican government. - 1864
1864American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins. - 1898
1898The United States captures Guam from Spain. The few warning shots fired by the U.S. naval vessels are misinterpreted as salutes by the Spanish garrison, which was unaware that the two nations were at war. - 1900
1900Boxer Rebellion: China formally declares war on the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from the Empress Dowager Cixi.
XX century
- 1915
1915The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down Oklahoma grandfather clause legislation which had the effect of denying the right to vote to African-Americans. - 1919
1919The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg general strike. - 1919
1919Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I. - 1921
1921The Irish village of Knockcroghery is burned by British forces. - 1929
1929An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico. - 1930
1930One-year conscription comes into force in France. - 1940
1940World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France. - 1941
1941Having defeated forces of Vichy France, Allied forces capture Damascus. - 1942
1942World War II: Tobruk falls to Italian and German forces; 33,000 Allied troops are taken prisoner. - 1942
1942World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by Japan against the United States mainland. - 1945
1945World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island. - 1952
1952The Philippine School of Commerce, through a republic act, is converted to Philippine College of Commerce, later to be the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. - 1957
1957Ellen Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first female Cabinet Minister. - 1963
1963Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini is elected as Pope Paul VI. - 1964
1964Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, are murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States, by members of the Ku Klux Klan. - 1970
1970Penn Central declares Section 77 bankruptcy in what was the largest U.S. corporate bankruptcy to date. - 1973
1973The Primer Congreso del Hombre Andino is inaugurated in Arica, Chile. - 1973
1973In its decision in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller test for determining whether something is obscene and not protected speech under the U.S. constitution. - 1978
1978The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Evita, based on the life of Eva Perón, opens at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. - 1982
1982John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan. - 1985
1985Braathens SAFE Flight 139 is hijacked on approach to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. Special forces arrest the hijacker and there are no fatalities. - 1989
1989The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, that American flag-burning is a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment. - 1993
1993Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-57 to retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite. It is also the first shuttle mission to carry the Spacehab module. - 2000
2000Section 28 (of the Local Government Act 1988), outlawing the 'promotion' of homosexuality in the United Kingdom, is repealed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote.
XXI century
- 2001
2001A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen. - 2004
2004SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight. - 2005
2005Edgar Ray Killen, who had previously been unsuccessfully tried for the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Mickey Schwerner, is convicted of manslaughter 41 years afterwards (the case had been reopened in 2004). - 2006
2006Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra. - 2006
2006A Yeti Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter crashes at Jumla Airport in Nepal, killing nine people. - 2009
2009Greenland assumes self-rule. - 2012
2012A boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsizes in the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island, killing 17 people and leaving 70 others missing. - 2012
2012An Indonesian Air Force Fokker F27 Friendship crashes near Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, killing 11. - 2025
2025A hot air balloon catches fire mid-flight and crashes in Praia Grande, Santa Catarina, Brazil, killing 8 of the 21 on board.
Best known
Born on June 21
Best known
Died on June 21
866Rodulf (archbishop of Bourges)
French Catholic archbishop
868Ali al-Hadi
Tenth of the Twelve Shia Imams
870Al-Muhtadi
14th Abbasid Caliph (r. 869–870)
1040Fulk III of Anjou
11th-century Frankish nobleman
1359Erik Magnusson, King of Sweden
King of Sweden from 1356 to 1359
1377Edward III
King of England from 1327 to 1377
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day: Alban of Mainz
- Christian feast day: Aloysius Gonzaga
- Christian feast day: Engelmund of Velsen
- Christian feast day: John Rigby
- Christian feast day: Martin of Tongres
- Christian feast day: Mewan
- Christian feast day: Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran)
- Christian feast day: June 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the Martyrs (Togo)
- Father's Day (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates)
- Go Skateboarding Day
- International Yoga Day (international)
- National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada)
- Solstice-related observances (see also June 20): Day of Private Reflection (Northern Ireland)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on June 21?
53 documented historical events happened on June 21, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Second Punic War: Commanded by Hannibal, the Carthaginians ambushed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, capturing or killing 25,000 men. On the same day, in another year: William Clito defeated Thierry of Alsace in a battle over the succession to the title of Count of Flanders. 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 June 21?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on June 21, including Norbert Brunner (bishop), Paul Chernoff, Brian Sternberg. 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 June 21?
113 people with a Wikipedia article died on June 21, including Rodulf (archbishop of Bourges), Ali al-Hadi, Al-Muhtadi. 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 June 21?
20 observances are celebrated on June 21 around the world: Christian feast day: Alban of Mainz, Christian feast day: Aloysius Gonzaga, Christian feast day: Engelmund of Velsen, Christian feast day: John Rigby, Christian feast day: Martin of Tongres, Christian feast day: Mewan. 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