What Happened on April 21
CalendarImportant Events
- 753 BC Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date)
- 1526 First Battle of Panipat: Central Asian conqueror Babur defeats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, establishing the Mughal Empire in India
- 1792 Brazilian revolutionary Tiradentes, is hanged, drawn and quartered in Rio de Janeiro
- 1863 Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, enters garden of Rivden near Baghdad. He makes his declaration as a Messenger of God during the 12 days spent there
- 1918 World War I: German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen “The Red Baron“, shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France, Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown credited with the kill
- 1989 Thousands of Chinese crowd into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square cheering students demanding greater political freedom
More Historical EventsApr 21 in Film & TV
- 1930 “All Quiet on the Western Front” based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Louis Wolheim and Lew Ayres premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Outstanding Production 1930)
- 1956 Elvis Presley‘s 1st hit record, “Heartbreak Hotel”, becomes #1
Did You Know?
Secretaries’ Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) is first celebrated
On April 21, 1952Famous Birthdays
- Catherine the Great
(1729 – 1796) - Charlotte Brontë
(1816 – 1855) - John Muir
(1838 – 1914) - Elizabeth II
94 Years Old - Iggy Pop
73 Years Old - Robert Smith
61 Years Old
Would You Believe?
Alf Dean using a rod & reel hooks a 2,664lb, 16′ 10″ great white shark off the coast of Ceduna, Australia
On April 21, 1959Famous Weddings
- 1920 Future UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (26) weds daughter of the 9th Duke of Devonshire Dorothy Evelyn Cavendish (19) at St. Margaret’s, Westminster
- 1993 Rolling Stone Bill Wyman weds Suzanne Accosta on French Riveria
- 2006 Professional drag racer Andrew Hines (22) weds Tanya Phillips at the First Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida
- 1952 American actor Clark Gable (50) and socialite Sylvia Ashley (47) divorce
More Weddings & DivorcesFamous Deaths
- Tiradentes
(1746 – 1792) - Mark Twain
(1835 – 1910) - The Red Baron
(1892 – 1918) - John Maynard Keynes
(1883 – 1946) - Nina Simone
(1933 – 2003) - Prince Rogers Nelson
(1958 – 2016)
Articles, Photos and Quiz
- A Son, A Son – My Wife For A Son! Henry VIII, who became King of England on this day in history, disposed of two wives in his quest for a son and heir – and was to marry four others.
April 21, 1509 - First Battle of Panipat The Battle of Panipat, fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi Kingdom
April 21, 1526 - Weekly Quiz for April 20 – 26What nationality was WWI fighter ace The Red Baron? What was Elvis Presley’s 1st #1 hit record? What country is the Chernobyl nuclear power station located in?