November 21

Historic Events

2022

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java kills between 335 and 602 people. ›

2021

An SUV plows through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six and injuring 62. ›

2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. ›

2019

Tesla launches the SUV Cybertruck. A gaffe occurs during the launch event when its "unbreakable" windows shatter during demonstration. ›

2017

Robert Mugabe formally resigns as President of Zimbabwe, after thirty-seven years in office. ›

2015

The government of Belgium imposes a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, and public transportation, due to potential terrorist attacks. ›

2014

A stampede in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe caused by the police firing tear gas kills at least eleven people and injures 40 others. ›

2013

Fifty-four people are killed when the roof of a shopping center collapses in Riga, Latvia. ›

2013

Massive protests start in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych suspended signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement. ›

2012

At least 28 are wounded after a bomb is thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv. ›

2009

A mine explosion in Heilongjiang, China kills 108. ›

2006

Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and government minister Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut. ›

2004

The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, giving rise to massive protests and controversy over the election's integrity. ›

2004

Dominica is hit by the most destructive earthquake in its history. The northern half of the island sustains the most damage, especially the town of Portsmouth. In neighboring Guadeloupe, one person is killed. ›

2004

The Paris Club agrees to write off 80% (up to $100 billion) of Iraq's external debt. ›

2004

China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 crashes after takeoff from Baotou Donghe Airport, killing 55. ›

2002

NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members. ›

2002

Arturo Guzmán Decena, founder of Los Zetas and high-member of the Gulf Cartel, is killed in a shoot-out with the Mexican Army and the police. ›

1998

Finnish satanist Jarno Elg kills a 23-year-old man and performs a ritual-like cutting and eating of body parts in Hyvinkää, Finland. ›

1996

Humberto Vidal explosion: Thirty-three people die when a Humberto Vidal shoe shop in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico explodes. ›

1995

The Dayton Agreement is initialed at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ›

1992

A major tornado strikes the Houston, Texas area during the afternoon. Over the next two days the largest tornado outbreak ever to occur in the US during November spawns over 100 tornadoes. ›

1990

Bangkok Airways Flight 125 crashes on approach to Samui Airport, killing 38. ›

1989

Aeroflot Flight 37577 crashes on approach to Sovetsky Airport, killing 32. ›

1986

National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran–Contra affair. ›

1985

United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison. ›

1980

A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas). Eighty-five people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history. ›

1979

The United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, is attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four. ›

1977

Minister of Internal Affairs Allan Highet announces that the national anthems of New Zealand shall be the traditional anthem "God Save the Queen" and "God Defend New Zealand". ›

1974

The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but are later exonerated. ›

1972

Voters in South Korea overwhelmingly approve a new constitution, giving legitimacy to Park Chung Hee and the Fourth Republic. ›

1971

Indian troops, partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas), defeat the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur. ›

1970

Vietnam War: Operation Ivory Coast: A joint United States Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prisoner-of-war camp in an attempt to free American prisoners of war thought to be held there. ›

1969

U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. The U.S. retains rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free. ›

1969

The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI. ›

1967

Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing." ›

1964

The Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. At the time it is the world's longest bridge span. ›

1964

Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes. ›

1962

The Chinese People's Liberation Army declares a unilateral ceasefire in the Sino-Indian War. ›

1961

"La Ronde" opens in Honolulu, the first revolving restaurant in the United States. ›

1959

American disc jockey Alan Freed, who had popularized the term "rock and roll" and music of that style, is fired from WABC radio over allegations he had participated in the payola scandal. ›

1954

People's Action Party, an eventual dominative political party in Singapore, was established. ›

1953

The Natural History Museum, London announces that the "Piltdown Man" skull, initially believed to be one of the most important fossilized hominid skulls ever found, is a hoax. ›

1950

Two Canadian National Railway trains collide in northeastern British Columbia in the Canoe River train crash; the death toll is 21, with 17 of them Canadian troops bound for Korea. ›

1945

The United Auto Workers strike 92 General Motors plants in 50 cities to back up worker demands for a 30-percent raise. ›

1944

World War II: American submarine USS Sealion sinks the Japanese battleship Kongō and Japanese destroyer Urakaze in the Formosa Strait. ›

1942

The completion of the Alaska Highway (also known as the Alcan Highway) is celebrated (however, the highway is not usable by standard road vehicles until 1943). ›

1927

Columbine Mine massacre: Striking coal miners are allegedly attacked with machine guns by a detachment of Colorado state police dressed in civilian clothes. ›

1922

Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator. ›

1920

Irish War of Independence: On "Bloody Sunday" in Dublin, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassinated a group of British Intelligence agents, and British forces killed 14 civilians at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park. ›

1918

The Flag of Estonia, previously used by pro-independence activists, is formally adopted as the national flag of the Republic of Estonia. ›

1918

The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 is passed, allowing women to stand for Parliament in the UK. ›

1918

A pogrom takes place in Lwów (now Lviv); over three days, at least 50 Jews and 270 Ukrainian Christians are killed by Poles. ›

1916

World War I: Mines from SM U-73 sink HMHS Britannic, the largest ship lost in the war. ›

1910

Sailors on board Brazil's warships including the Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Bahia, violently rebel in what is now known as the Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash). ›

1905

Albert Einstein's paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik. ›

1902

The Philadelphia Football Athletics defeat the Kanaweola Athletic Club of Elmira, New York, 39–0, in the first-ever professional American football night game. ›

1900

Claude Monet's paintings shown at Gallery Durand-Ruel in Paris. ›

1894

Port Arthur, China, falls to the Japanese, a decisive victory of the First Sino-Japanese War; Japanese troops are accused of massacring the remaining inhabitants. ›

1877

Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound. ›

1861

American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin Secretary of War. ›

1851

Mutineers take control of the Chilean penal colony of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan. ›

1789

North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 12th U.S. state. ›

1783

In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes make the first untethered hot air balloon flight. ›

1676

The Danish astronomer Ole Rømer presents the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light. ›

1620

Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact (November 11, O.S.) ›

1386

Timur of Samarkand captures and sacks the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, taking King Bagrat V of Georgia captive. ›

235

Pope Anterus succeeds Pontian as the nineteenth pope. ›

164 BC

Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event that is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. (25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.) ›