September 21
| September 21 in recent years |
| 2024 (Saturday) |
| 2023 (Thursday) |
| 2022 (Wednesday) |
| 2021 (Tuesday) |
| 2020 (Monday) |
| 2019 (Saturday) |
| 2018 (Friday) |
| 2017 (Thursday) |
| 2016 (Wednesday) |
| 2015 (Monday) |
September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 101 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 1217 – The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights.
- 1745 – Battle of Prestonpans: A Hanoverian army under the command of Sir John Cope is defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
- 1765 – Antoine de Beauterne announces he had killed the Beast of Gévaudan, but was later proved wrong by more attacks.
- 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
- 1792 – The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the monarchy.
- 1827 – Joseph Smith, Jr. was reportedly visited by the angel Moroni, who gave him a record of gold plates, one-third of which Smith has translated into The Book of Mormon.
- 1860 – In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
- 1896 – British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan.
- 1897 – The "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is published in the New York Sun.
- 1898 – Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
- 1921 – A storage silo in Oppau, Germany, explodes, killing 500—600 people.
- 1934 – A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing 3,036 people.
- 1937 – J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published.
- 1938 – The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500-700 people.
- 1939 – Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu is assassinated by ultranationalist members of the Iron Guard.
- 1942 – On Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis sent over 1.000 Jews of Pidhaytsi (west Ukraine) to Belzec extermination camp.
- 1942 – On the end of Yom Kippur, the Germans ordered Konstantynów Jews (Poland) to permanently evacuate Konstantynów and move to the Ghetto – established in Biała Podlaska, meant to assemble Jews from nearby 7 towns among them: Konstantynów, Janów Podlaski, Rossosz, Terespol, and 3 more.
- 1942 – In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2588 Jews.
- 1942 – The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
- 1950 – George Marshall sworn in as the 3rd Secretary of Defense of United States.
- 1961 – Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter.
- 1964 – Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1964 – The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's first Mach 3 bomber, made its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
- 1965 – Singapore admitted as a part of the United Nations.
- 1970 – New York Times starts first modern op-ed page.
- 1972 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.
- 1976 – Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Chilean socialist government of Salvador Allende, overthrown in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet.
- 1979 – Two RAF Hawker Siddeley Harrier jump-jets from RAF Wittering collide over the UK. Both pilots ejected safely. One of the jets broke up in midair and fell harmlessly into a field but the other dropped onto the centre of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, destroying two houses and a bungalow. Several people were injured in the accident and three people were killed.
- 1980 – Kerry GAA beat Roscommon GAA in Croke Park during the All-Ireland Football Final by 1-9 to 1-6 thus winning the championship and a three-in-a-row.
- 1981 – Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1981 – Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female supreme court justice.
- 1986 – Kerry GAA beat Tyrone GAA in Croke Park during the All-Ireland Football Final by 2-15 to 1-10 thus winning the championship and a three-in-a-row.
- 1989 – Hurricane Hugo makes landfall in the U.S. state of South Carolina.
- 1991 – Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union.
- 1993 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and scraps the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
- 1995 – The Hindu milk miracle occurs, in which statues of the Hindu God Ganesh began drinking milk when spoonfuls were placed near their mouths.
- 1999 – Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.
- 2001 – Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.
- 2001 – AZF chemical plant explodes in Toulouse, France, killing 29 people
- 2001 – University of Roorkee, becomes India's 7th Indian Institute of Technology, rechristened as IIT Roorkee
- 2003 – Galileo mission terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
- 2004 – The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India merge to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
- 2004 – Construction of the Burj Dubai starts.
- 2008 – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the two last remaining independent investment banks on Wall Street, become bank holding companies as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.
- 2008 – President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa resigns from office, effective September 25.
- 2008 – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel formally resigns from office, effective as soon as his successor Tzipi Livni has successfully assembled a new government.
Births
- 1051 – Bertha of Savoy, German queen and Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1087)
- 1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
- 1411 – Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (d. 1460)
- 1415 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493)
- 1428 – Jingtai Emperor of China (d. 1457)
- 1452 – Girolamo Savonarola, Dominican priest and ruler of Florence (d. 1498)
- 1559 – Cigoli, Florentine painter, architect, and sculptor (d. 1613)
- 1629 – Philip Cardinal Howard, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1694)
- 1645 – Louis Joliet, Canadian explorer (d. 1700)
- 1706 – Polyxena Christina of Hesse-Rotenburg, queen of Sardinia (d. 1735)
- 1756 – John MacAdam, Scottish engineer and road-builder (d. 1836)
- 1758 – Christopher Gore, 8th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1827)
- 1760 – Ivan Dmitriev, Russian statesman (d. 1837)
- 1819 – Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France (d. 1864)
- 1840 – Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1904)
- 1842 – Abd-ul-Hamid II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1918)
- 1849 – Maurice Barrymore, Indian-born patriarch of the Barrymore family (d. 1905)
- 1853 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
- 1862 – James E. Talmage, LDS apostle and author (d. 1933)
- 1863 – John Bunny, American film comedian (d. 1915)
- 1866 – H. G. Wells, English writer (d. 1946)
- 1866 – Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
- 1873 – Papa Jack Laine, American musician (d. 1966)
- 1874 – Gustav Holst, English composer (d. 1934)
- 1895 – Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
- 1899 – Frederick Coutts, the 8th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (d. 1963)
- 1902 – Sir Allen Lane, British founder of Penguin Books (d. 1970)
- 1905 – Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive (d. 1999)
- 1906 – Henry Beachell, American plant breeder (d. 2006)
- 1912 – Chuck Jones, American animator (d. 2002)
- 1912 – György Sándor, Hungarian pianist (d. 2005)
- 1916 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist and politician (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (d. 1968)
- 1918 – John Gofman, American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Mario Bunge, Argentine philosopher and physicist
- 1919 – Fazlur Rahman, Pakistani scholar (d. 1988)
- 1926 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 – Noor Jehan, Pakistani singer and actress (d. 2000)
- 1929 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (d. 1979)
- 1931 – Larry Hagman, American actor
- 1933 – Dick Simon, American racing driver
- 1934 – Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1935 – Jimmy Armfield, Former English Footballer and Manager
- 1935 – Henry Gibson, American actor
- 1936 – Diane Rehm, American radio talk show host for National Public Radio
- 1936 – Yuriy Luzhkov, Russian politician, mayor of Moscow
- 1936 – Dickey Lee, American singer and songwriter
- 1938 – Doug Moe, American basketball player and coach
- 1940 – Bill Kurtis, American television journalist
- 1940 – Hermann Knoflacher, Austrian civil engineer
- 1941 – R. James Woolsey, Jr., Central Intelligence Agency director
- 1941 – Jack Brisco, American professional wrestler
- 1944 – Fannie Flagg, American actress and novelist
- 1944 – Hamilton Jordan, U.S. President Jimmy Carter's original chief of staff
- 1944 – Steve Beshear, Democratic Governor of Kentucky.
- 1945 – Jerry Bruckheimer, American film and television producer
- 1945 – Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner
- 1945 – Shaw Clifton, the 18th General of The Salvation Army
- 1946 – Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1947 – Stephen King, American author
- 1947 – Marsha Norman, American playwright
- 1947 – Don Felder, American guitarist (Eagles)
- 1949 – Artis Gilmore, American basketball player
- 1950 – Charles Clarke, British politician
- 1950 – Bill Murray, American actor
- 1951 – Bruce Arena, American soccer coach
- 1951 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen rebel leader (d. 2005)
- 1952 – Anneliese Michel, German exorcism victim (d. 1976)
- 1953 – Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver
- 1954 – Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
- 1954 – Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, British musician (Motörhead)
- 1955 – Mika Kaurismäki, Finnish director
- 1955 – Richard Hieb, American astronaut
- 1956 – Jack Givens, American basketball player
- 1956 – Marta Kauffman, American television producer
- 1956 – Ricky Morton, American professional wrestler
- 1957 – Ethan Coen, American film director
- 1957 – Sidney Moncrief, American basketball player
- 1957 – Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1957 – Penny Smith, English television presenter
- 1958 – Bruno Fitoussi, French poker player
- 1958 – Rick Mahorn, American basketball player
- 1959 – Dave Coulier, American actor
- 1959 – Danny Cox, American baseball player
- 1959 – Corinne Drewery, British singer (Swing Out Sister)
- 1960 – David James Elliott, Canadian actor
- 1961 – Nancy Travis, American actress
- 1962 – Rob Morrow, American actor
- 1963 – Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan West Indies cricketer
- 1963 – Cecil Fielder, American baseball player
- 1963 – Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor
- 1964 – Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan singer and composer
- 1965 – Cheryl Hines, American actress
- 1965 – David Wenham, Australian actor
- 1967 – Faith Hill, American singer
- 1967 – Tyler Stewart, Canadian drummer (Barenaked Ladies)
- 1968 – Ricki Lake, American actress and talk show hostess
- 1969 – Jason Christiansen, American baseball player
- 1970 – John Cudia, American actor
- 1971 – John Crawley, English cricketer
- 1971 – Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor
- 1971 – Luke Wilson, American actor
- 1972 – Liam Gallagher, English singer (Oasis)
- 1972 – Scott Spiezio, American baseball player
- 1972 – Jon Kitna, American football player
- 1972 – David Silveria, American drummer (KoЯn)
- 1973 – Oswaldo Sanchez, Mexican footballer
- 1973 – Vanessa Grigoriadis, American journalist
- 1974 – Taral Hicks, American musician
- 1974 – Jana Kandarr, German tennis player
- 1974 – Andy Todd, English footballer
- 1974 – Bryce Drew, American basketball player
- 1975 – Doug Davis, American baseball player
- 1976 – Jonas Bjerre, Danish singer and guitarist (Mew)
- 1976 – Poul Hübertz, Danish footballer
- 1977 – Brian Tallet, American baseball player
- 1978 – Doug Howlett, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- 1979 – Richard Dunne, Irish footballer
- 1979 – Chris Gayle, Jamaican West Indies cricketer
- 1979 – Julian Gray, English footballer
- 1979 – Jaymee Ong, Chinese-Australian model
- 1980 – Robert Hoffman, American actor
- 1980 – Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
- 1980 – Nyree Lewis, British Paralympic swimmer
- 1980 – Aleksa Palladino, American actress
- 1980 – Autumn Reeser, American actress
- 1980 – Tomas Scheckter, South African racing driver
- 1981 – Nicole Richie, American socialite
- 1981 – Rimi Sen, Indian actress
- 1981 – Meilinda Soerjoko, Indonesian-Australian actress
- 1982 – Eduardo Azevedo, Brazilian racing driver
- 1982 – Danny Kass, American snowboarder
- 1982 – Marat Izmailov, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Rowan Vine, English footballer
- 1982 – Parvati Shallow, American reality-show contestant
- 1983 – Fernando Cavenaghi, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Maggie Grace, American actress
- 1983 – Joseph Mazzello, American actor
- 1983 – Anna Meares, Australian cyclist
- 1984 – Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner, American swimmer
- 1985 – Maryam Hassouni, Dutch actor
- 1986 – Faris Rotter, English vocalist (The Horrors)
- 1987 – Jimmy Clausen, American football player
- 1987 – Ashley Paris, American basketball player
- 1987 – Courtney Paris, American basketball player
- 1988 – Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician
- 1988 – Jason Derulo, American Pop singer and actor
- 1988 – Frank Fioretti III, European rugby player
- 1989 – Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, American skateboarder
- 1990 – Allison Scagliotti, American actress
- 1990 – Christian Serratos, American actress
- 1991 – Jordan Hasay, American track and field athlete
- 1998 – Brino quadruplets, American actor/actresses
Deaths
- 19 BC – Virgil, Roman poet (b. 70 BC)
- 454 – Aëtius, Roman general (b. c.396)
- 1217 – Lembitu of Lehola, Estonian soldier
- 1327 – King Edward II of England (b. 1284)
- 1397 – Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (executed) (b. 1346)
- 1542 – Juan Boscán Almogáver, Spanish poet
- 1558 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1500)
- 1576 – Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (b. 1501)
- 1586 – Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (b. 1517)
- 1626 – François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (b. 1543)
- 1719 – Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (b. 1647)
- 1743 – Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper (b. 1688)
- 1748 – John Balguy, English philosopher (b. 1686)
- 1796 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (b. 1769)
- 1798 – George Read, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1733)
- 1832 – Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
- 1860 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (b. 1788)
- 1874 – Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont, French geologist (b. 1794)
- 1897 – Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (b. 1819)
- 1904 – Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader (b. 1840)
- 1906 – Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1838)
- 1926 – Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (b. 1857)
- 1938 – Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic, Croatian writer (b. 1874)
- 1939 – Armand Călinescu, Romanian prime-minister (assassinated) (b. 1893)
- 1944 – Artur Phleps, German Waffen-SS officer (b. 1881)
- 1946 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress (b. 1871)
- 1954 – Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese inventor (b. 1858)
- 1957 – King Haakon VII of Norway (b. 1872)
- 1963 – Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (b. 1899)
- 1966 – Paul Reynaud, French politician (b. 1878)
- 1971 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1972 – Henry de Montherlant, French writer (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Walter Brennan, American actor (b. 1894)
- 1974 – Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (b. 1918)
- 1976 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean diplomat (b. 1932)
- 1982 – Hovhannes Bagramyan, Soviet general (b. 1897)
- 1985 – Gu Long, Taiwanese writer of wuxia novels (b. 1937)
- 1987 – Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
- 1988 – Glenn Robert Davis, member of United States Congress (b. 1914)
- 1990 – Takis Kanellopoulos, Greek film director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 1995 – Rudy Perpich, American politician (b. 1928)
- 1997 – Jennifer Holt, American actress (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (b. 1959)
- 2000 – Bryan Smith, Man who ran over Stephen King (b. 1957)
- 2002 – Robert L. Forward, American physicist and writer (b. 1932)
- 2004 – Barry Noble Wakeman, American naturalist and educator (b. 1939)
- 2004 – Bob Mason, British actor (b. 1952)
- 2006 – Boz Burrell, English rock musician (b. 1946)
- 2007 – Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian Olympic gold medalist (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Rex Humbard, American television evangelist (b. 1919)
Holidays and observances
- International Day of Peace
- Roman Catholic Saints – Matthew the Evangelist
- The Nativity of the Theotokos in Russia. Also see September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day in Malta (1964), Belize (1981) & Armenia (1991)
- Mabon – Neopagan festival of Mabon
- In ancient Greece, the eighth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion finish and the feast, Pannychis, beg
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to September 21.