February 21
February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 313 days remain until the end of the year (314 in leap years).
Events
- 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria.
- 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, was granted resignation after having confessed to torture and forgery.
- 1440 - The Prussian Confederation is formed.
- 1543 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated a Muslim army led by Ahmed Gragn.
- 1613 - Mikhail I is elected unanimously as Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.
- 1743 - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, "Samson".
- 1804 - The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren ironworks in Wales.
- 1842 - John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
- 1848 - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto.
- 1874 - The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first newspaper.
- 1878 - The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
- 1885 - The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.
- 1893 - Thomas Edison receives two U.S. patents for a "Cut Out for Incandescent Electric Lamps" and for a "Stop Device"
- 1907 - 125 people perish when the s.s. Berlin sinks near Hoek van Holland.
- 1916 - World War I: In France the Battle of Verdun begins.
- 1918 - The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.
- 1925 - The New Yorker publishes its first issue.
- 1937 - Initial flight of the first successful flying car, Waldo Waterman's Arrowbile.
- 1937 - The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War.
- 1943 - Battle of Guadalcanal ended.
- 1945 - World War II: Japanese Kamikaze planes sink escort carrier Bismarck Sea and damage the Saratoga.
- 1947 - In New York City Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.
- 1948 - NASCAR is incorporated.
- 1952 - The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes Identity Cards in the UK to "set the people free".
- 1952 - In Dhaka, East Pakistan (present Bangladesh) police opened fire on a procession of students, who demanded the establishment of Bengali as the official language, killing four people and starting a country-wide protest which led to the recognition of Bengali as one of the national languages of Pakistan. The day was later declared as "International Mother Language Day" by UNESCO.
- 1953 - Francis Crick and James D. Watson discover the structure of the DNA molecule.
- 1960 - Cuban leader Fidel Castro nationalizes all businesses in Cuba.
- 1965 - Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City by members of the Nation of Islam.
- 1970 - Swissair Flight 330: A mid-air bomb explosion and subsequent crash kills 38 passengers and nine crew members near Zürich, Switzerland.
- 1971 - The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
- 1972 - President Richard Nixon visits the People's Republic of China to normalize Sino-American relations.
- 1972 - The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.
- 1973 - Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down a Libyan Airlines jet killing 108.
- 1974 - The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal in carrying out a truce with Egypt.
- 1975 - Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.
- 1995 - Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
- 2004 - The first European political party organization, the European Greens, is established in Rome.
- 2007 - Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigns from office. His resignation is rejected by the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano.
Births
- 1484 - Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg (d. 1535)
- 1556 - Sethus Calvisius, German calendar reformer (d. 1615)
- 1675 - Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (d. 1750)
- 1688 - Queen Ulrike Eleonora of Sweden (d. 1741)
- 1705 - Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, British naval officer (d. 1781)
- 1721 - John McKinly, American physician (d. 1796)
- 1723 - Louis-Pierre Anquetil, French historian (d. 1808)
- 1728 - Tsar Peter III of Russia, husband of Catherine the Great (d. 1762)
- 1791 - Carl Czerny, Austrian composer (d. 1857)
- 1794 - Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Mexican president (d. 1876)
- 1801 - John Henry Newman, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1890)
- 1817 - Jose Zorrilla y Moral, Spanish dramatist (d. 1893)
- 1821 - Charles Scribner, American publisher (d. 1871)
- 1836 - Léo Delibes, French composer (d. 1891)
- 1844 - Charles-Marie Widor, French composer (d. 1937)
- 1860 - Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod, Czech journalist (d. 1927)
- 1865 - John Haden Badley, English school founder (d. 1967)
- 1867 - Otto Hermann Kahn, German millionaire (d. 1934)
- 1875 - Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian and longest-lived human on record (d. 1997)
- 1876 - Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (d. 1956)
- 1878 - The Mother (Mirra Alfassa), multi-origined spiritual leader and founder of Auroville in India (d. 1973)
- 1880 - Waldemar Bonsels, German writer (d. 1952)
- 1885 - Sacha Guitry, Russian dramatist (d. 1957)
- 1893 - Celia Lovsky, Russian-born actress (d. 1979)
- 1893 - Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (d. 1987)
- 1895 - Carl Peter Henrik Dam Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
- 1900 - Madeleine Renaud, French theater actress (d. 1994)
- 1903 - Fairfax M. Cone, American advertising executive (d. 1977)
- 1903 - Anaïs Nin, French writer (d. 1977)
- 1903 - Raymond Queneau, French poet and novelist (d. 1976)
- 1907 - W. H. Auden, English poet (d. 1973)
- 1910 - Douglas Bader, British pilot (d. 1982)
- 1910 - Carmine Galante, Italian-born gangster (d. 1979)
- 1910 - Eddie Waring, British sports commentator (d. 1986)
- 1913 - Roger Laurent, Belgian racing driver (d. 1997)
- 1915 - Ann Sheridan, American actress (d. 1967)
- 1917 - Lucille Bremer, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1924 - Robert Mugabe first President of Zimbabwe
- 1925 - Sam Peckinpah, American director (d. 1984)
- 1927 - Erma Bombeck, American humorist (d. 1996)
- 1927 - Hubert de Givenchy, French fashion designer
- 1927 - Pierre Mercure, French Canadian musician and composer (d. 1966)
- 1929 - Roberto "Chespirito" Carlos Bolanõs, Mexican actor
- 1929 - James Beck, English actor (d. 1973)
- 1933 - Nina Simone, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Rue McClanahan, American actress
- 1935 - Mark McManus, Scottish actor (d. 1994)
- 1935 - Jean Pelletier, French Canadian political operative
- 1936 - Barbara Jordan, American politician (d. 1996)
- 1937 - King Harald V of Norway
- 1937 - Gary Lockwood, American actor
- 1940 - John Lewis, American politician
- 1940 - Peter Gethin, British racing driver
- 1941 - James Wong, Hong Kong composer (d. 2004)
- 1942 - Margarethe von Trotta, German actress and film director
- 1943 - David Geffen, American record producer
- 1945 - Paul Newton, British musician (Uriah Heep)
- 1945 - D'Anna Fortunato, American mezzo-soprano
- 1946 - Tyne Daly, American actress
- 1946 - Anthony Daniels, British actor
- 1946 - Alan Rickman, English actor
- 1946 - Bob Ryan, Boston sports columnist
- 1946 - Vito Rizzuto, Sicilian-born alleged mafia boss
- 1947 - Johnny Echols, American musician and singer/songwriter (Love)
- 1947 - Olympia Snowe, American politician
- 1947 - Victor Sokolov, Russian journalist (d. 2006)
- 1949 - Jerry Harrison, American musician (Talking Heads)
- 1949 - Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer
- 1951 - Vince Welnick, American musician (The Grateful Dead) (d. 2006)
- 1952 - Jean Jacques Burnel, British musician (The Stranglers)
- 1953 - Christine Ebersole, American actress
- 1953 - William Petersen, American actor
- 1955 - Sir Steven Fayburgh, British diplomat
- 1955 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor
- 1958 - Jake Burns, Irish singer (Stiff Little Fingers}
- 1958 - Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer
- 1958 - Jack Coleman, American actor
- 1958 - Alan Trammell, baseball player and manager
- 1959 - José María Cano, Spanish musician (Mecano)
- 1959 - Emmett McAuliffe, KMOX radio show host and lawyer
- 1960 - Steve Wynn, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (The Dream Syndicate)
- 1961 - Davey Allison, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1961 - Christopher Atkins, American actor
- 1961 - Martha Hackett, American actress
- 1961 - Bertha Faye, American wrestler (d. 2001)
- 1962 - Vanessa Feltz, British television presenter
- 1962 - Chuck Palahniuk, American writer
- 1962 - David Foster Wallace, American writer
- 1963 - William Baldwin, American actor
- 1964 - Mark E. Kelly and Scott J. Kelly, American astronauts
- 1964 - Jane Tomlinson, British cancer campaigner (d. 2007)
- 1967 - Leroy Burrell, American runner
- 1969 - James Dean Bradfield, Welsh musician (Manic Street Preachers)
- 1969 - Tony Meola, American footballer
- 1969 - Eric Wilson, American musician (Sublime)
- 1970 - Michael Slater, Australian cricketer
- 1972 - Seo Taiji, Korean musician
- 1973 - Heri Joensen, Faroese musician, (Týr)
- 1973 - Bowie Tsang, Taiwanese singer, actress, TV host and author.
- 1974 - Iván Campo, Spanish footballer
- 1974 - Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
- 1975 - Affirmed, American race horse (d. 2001)
- 1975 - Chris (CP) Powell, American columnist
- 1976 - Ryan Smyth, Canadian hockey player
- 1977 - Steve Francis, American basketball player
- 1977 - Chad Hutchinson, baseball and football player
- 1977 - Kevin Rose, American television host and Internet entrepreneur
- 1978 - Park Eun-hye, South Korean actress
- 1978 - Kim Ha Neul, South Korean actress
- 1978 - Nicole Parker, American actress
- 1979 - Pascal Chimbonda, French footballer
- 1979 - Carly "Carlito" Colón, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
- 1979 - Lonnie Ford, American football player
- 1979 - Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress
- 1980 - Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 - Tiziano Ferro, Italian singer
- 1982 - Bernhard Auinger, Austrian racing driver
- 1982 - Joshua J. Goodstein, Computer Scientist
- 1983 - Braylon Edwards, American football player
- 1983 - Franklin Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 - Andrew Ellis, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1984 - David Odonkor, German footballer
- 1985 - Bob Burton, American speedcuber
- 1985 - Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer
- 1986 - Charlotte Church, Welsh singer
- 1986 - Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
- 1987 - Ellen Page, Canadian actress
- 1987 - Anthony Walker, British murder victim (d. 2005)
- 1988 - Daniel Rose, English footballer
- 1989 - Corbin Bleu, American actor and singer
- 1989 - Kristin Herrera, American actress
- 1989 - Josh Walker, English footballer
- 1992 - Taylor Daigle, American Game Show Host
Deaths
- 1437 - King James I of Scotland (b. 1394)
- 1471 - John of Rokycan, Czech Catholic archbishop
- 1513 - Pope Julius II (b. 1443)
- 1543 - Ahmed Gragn, Sultan of Adal
- 1554 - Hieronymus Bock, German botanist (b. 1498)
- 1595 - Robert Southwell, English Jesuit priest and poet (executed)
- 1668 - John Thurloe, English Puritan spy (b. 1616)
- 1677 - Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher (b. 1632)
- 1715 - Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, Governor of the Province of Maryland (b. 1637)
- 1730 - Pope Benedict XIII (b. 1649)
- 1788 - Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (b. 1723)
- 1821 - Georg Friedrich von Martens, German diplomat (b. 1756)
- 1824 - Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Napoleon's wife, Josephine (b. 1781)
- 1846 - Emperor Ninko of Japan (b. 1800)
- 1862 - Justinus Kerner, German poet (b. 1786)
- 1901 - George Francis FitzGerald, Irish mathematician (b. 1851)
- 1920 - Jacinta Marto, witness of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima (b. 1910)
- 1926 - Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
- 1938 - George Ellery Hale, American astronomer (b. 1868)
- 1941 - Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1891)
- 1944 - Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-born race car driver (b. 1873)
- 1945 - Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (b. 1902)
- 1946 - José Streel, Belgian World War II collaborator (b. 1911)
- 1949 - Tan Malaka, Indonesian nationalist activist and communist leader (b. 1894)
- 1958 - Duncan Edwards, English footballer (b. 1936)
- 1960 - Jacques Becker, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 1965 - Malcolm X, American black activist (b. 1925)
- 1966 - Paul Comtois, French Canadian politician (b. 1895)
- 1967 - Charles Beaumont, American writer (b. 1929)
- 1968 - Howard Walter Florey, Australian-born pharmocologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1898)
- 1972 - Bronislava Nijinska, Polish-Russian ballet dancer (b. 1891)
- 1972 - Eugène Tisserant, French Catholic candinal (b. 1884)
- 1974 - Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (b. 1930)
- 1978 - Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish historian and priest (b. 1901)
- 1980 - Alfred Andersch, German writer
- 1982 - Murray the K, American impresario and disc jockey (b. 1922)
- 1984 - Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- 1985 - Louis Hayward, British actor (b. 1909)
- 1986 - Helen Hooven Santmyer, American writer (b. 1895)
- 1986 - Shigechiyo Izumi, Japanese sugarcane farmer, also the world's oldest man ever (b. 1865)
- 1989 - Alex Thépot, French footballer (b. 1906)
- 1991 - Dame Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (b. 1919)
- 1996 - Morton Gould, American composer (b. 1913)
- 1999 - Gertrude B. Elion, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1918)
- 1999 - Wilmer David Mizell, baseball player (b. 1930)
- 2000 - Antonio Díaz-Miguel, Spanish basketball coach (b. 1933)
- 2002 - Harold Furth, Austrian-born physicist (b. 1939)
- 2002 - John Thaw, English actor (b. 1942)
- 2003 - Eddie Thomson, Scottish football player and coach (b. 1947)
- 2004 - John Charles, Welsh footballer (b. 1931)
- 2004 - Guido Molinari, Canadian artist (b. 1933)
- 2005 - Ara Berberian, American opera singer (b. 1930)
- 2005 - Gérard Bessette, Quebec novelist and poet (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban novelist (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Eugene Scott, American religious broadcaster (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances
- Language Martyrs' Day - A day celebrated by Bengali speaking people for gaining right of mother tongue.
- International Mother Language Day (UNESCO).
Liturgical feasts
In the Roman Catholic Church: