April 21

Historic Events

2021

Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala (402) sinks in the Bali Sea during a military drill, killing all 53 on board. ›

2019

Eight bombs explode at churches, hotels, and other locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing at least 269. ›

2012

Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, killing one person and injuring 116 others. ›

2010

The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev; it was unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014. ›

2004

Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160. ›

1996

Four people are killed and 75 are injured in a train accident in Jokela, Finland. ›

1993

The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution. ›

1989

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang. ›

1987

The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people. ›

1985

The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in Arkansas after a two-day government siege. ›

1982

Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves. ›

1977

Annie opens on Broadway. ›

1975

Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls. ›

1972

Astronauts John Young and Charles Duke fly Apollo 16's Apollo Lunar Module to the Moon's surface, the fifth NASA Apollo Program crewed lunar landing. ›

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. ›

1967

A tornado outbreak in Illinois, United States, kills over 50 and injures over 1,000. Belvidere sustains over 500 casualties as a violent tornado strikes the high school. Another tornado near Chicago causes another 500 casualties, devastating Oak Lawn. ›

1966

Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day. ›

1965

The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season. ›

1964

A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed. ›

1963

The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith. ›

1962

The Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World's Fair in the United States since World War II. ›

1960

Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro. ›

1958

United Air Lines Flight 736 collides with a United States Air Force fighter jet near Arden, Nevada in what is now Enterprise, Nevada. ›

1952

Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated. ›

1950

The Nainital wedding massacre occurs, killing 22 members of the Harijan caste. ›

1948

United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 relating to Kashmir conflict is adopted. ›

1946

The U.S. Weather Bureau records that a tornado which struck Timber Lake, South Dakota was 4 miles (6.4 km), among the widest tornadoes on record. ›

1945

World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters. ›

1934

The "Surgeon's Photograph", the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1994, it is revealed to be a hoax). ›

1926

Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi'a Imams, is leveled to the ground by Wahhabis. ›

1918

World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France. ›

1914

Ypiranga incident: A German arms shipment to Mexico is intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Veracruz. ›

1898

Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date. ›

1894

Norway formally adopts the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years. ›

1856

Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day. ›

1836

Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. ›

1821

Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile. ›

1809

Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl. ›

1806

Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa. ›

1802

Twelve thousand Wahhabis sack Karbala, killing over three thousand inhabitants. ›

1796

War of the First Coalition: In the climax of the Montenotte Campaign, Napoleon Bonaparte decisively defeats the army of Piedmont at the Battle of Mondovi, leading to Piedmont's surrender a week later and decisively turning the Italian campaign in France's favor. ›

1792

Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered. ›

1789

John Adams sworn in as first US Vice President (nine days before George Washington). ›

1789

George Washington's reception at Trenton is hosted by the Ladies of Trenton as he journeys to New York City for his first inauguration. ›

1782

The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. ›

1615

The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta. ›

1526

The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi, is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat. ›

1509

Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII. ›

1506

The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics. ›

1092

The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II. ›

900

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations. ›

43 BC

Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after. ›

753 BC

Romulus founds Rome (traditional date). ›