November 21
| November 21 in recent years |
| 2023 (Tuesday) |
| 2022 (Monday) |
| 2021 (Sunday) |
| 2020 (Saturday) |
| 2019 (Thursday) |
| 2018 (Wednesday) |
| 2017 (Tuesday) |
| 2016 (Monday) |
| 2015 (Saturday) |
| 2014 (Friday) |
November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 40 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 164 BC – Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.
- 235 – Pope Anterus succeeds Pontian as the nineteenth pope. During the persecutions of emperor Maximinus Thrax he is martyred.
- 1386 – Timur of Samarkand captures and sacks the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, taking King Bagrat V of Georgia captive.
- 1620 – Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact (November 11, O.S.).
- 1783 – In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight.
- 1789 – North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 12th U.S. state.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin secretary of war.
- 1877 – Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.
- 1894 – Port Arthur, Manchuria falls to the Japanese, a decisive victory of the First Sino-Japanese War, after which Japanese troops massacre the remaining inhabitants of the city.
- 1905 – Albert Einstein's paper, Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?, is published in the journal "Annalen der Physik". This paper reveals the relationship between energy and mass. This leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc².
- 1910 – Sailors onboard Brazil's most powerful military units, including the brand-new warships Minas Geraes, São Paulo, and Bahia, violently rebel in what is now known as the Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash).
- 1916 – World War I: A mine explodes and sinks HMHS Britannic in the Aegean Sea, killing 30 people.
- 1918 – Flag of Estonia, previously used by pro-independence activists, is formally adopted as national flag of the Republic of Estonia.
- 1918 – A pogrom takes place in Lwów (now Lviv); over three days, at least 50 Jews and 270 Ukrainian Christians are killed by Poles.
- 1920 – Irish War of Independence: In Dublin, 31 people are killed in what became known as "Bloody Sunday". This included fourteen British informants, fourteen Irish civilians and three Irish Republican Army prisoners.
- 1922 – Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator.
- 1927 – Columbine Mine Massacre: Striking coal miners are allegedly attacked with machine guns by a detachment of state police dressed in civilian clothes.
- 1942 – The completion of the Alaska Highway (also known as the Alcan Highway) is celebrated (however, the highway is not usable by general vehicles until 1943).
- 1942 – The first appearance of the famous character Tweety Bird
- 1950 – Two Canadian National Railway trains collide in northeastern British Columbia in the Canoe River train crash. Twenty-one people are killed, seventeen of them Canadian troops bound for Korea.
- 1953 – The British Natural History Museum announces that the "Piltdown Man" skull, initially believed to be one of the most important fossilized hominid skulls ever found, is a hoax.
- 1959 – American disc jockey Alan Freed, who had popularized the term "rock and roll" and music of that style, is fired from WABC-AM radio for refusing to deny allegations that he had participated in the payola scandal.
- 1962 – The Chinese People's Liberation Army declares a unilateral cease-fire in the Sino-Indian War.
- 1964 – The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opens to traffic (at the time it is the world's longest suspension bridge).
- 1964 – Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.
- 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."
- 1969 – U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Sato agree in Washington, D.C. on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. is to retain its 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.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: Operation Ivory Coast – A joint Air Force and Army team raids the Son Tay prison camp in an attempt to free American prisoners of war thought to be held there.
- 1971 – Indian troops, partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas), defeat the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur.
- 1972 – Voters in South Korea overwhelmingly approve a new constitution, giving legitimacy to Park Chung-hee and the Fourth Republic.
- 1974 – The Birmingham Pub Bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but subsequently acquitted.
- 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 the poem "God Defend New Zealand", written by Thomas Bracken, as set to music by John Joseph Woods, both being of equal status as national anthems appropriate to the occasion.
- 1979 – The United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan is attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four. (see: Foreign relations of Pakistan)
- 1980 – A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas). 87 people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history.
- 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.
- 1986 – Iran-Contra Affair: National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents implicating them in the sale of weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
- 1990 – The Charter of Paris for a New Europe refocuses the efforts of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europeon post-Cold War issues.
- 1995 – The Dayton Peace 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. The agreement is formally ratified in Paris, on December 14 that same year.
- 1996 – Antonio Salinass in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 33.
- 2002 – NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.
- 2004 – The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, giving rise to massive protests and controversy over the election's integrity.
- 2004 – The island of Dominica is hit by the most destructive earthquake in its history. The northern half of the island receives the most damage, especially the town of Portsmouth. It is also felt in neighboring Guadeloupe, where one person is killed.
- 2004 – The Paris Club agrees to write off 80% (up to $100 billion) of Iraq's external debt.
- 2006 – Anti-Syrian Lebanese Minister and MP Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut.
- 2009 – A mine explosion in Heilongjiang province, northeastern China, kills 108.
Births
- 1495 – John Bale, English churchman (d. 1563)
- 1567 – Anne de Xainctonge, French saint (d. 1621)
- 1643 – René-Robert Cavelier de LaSalle French explorer (d. 1687)
- 1692 – Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (d. 1768)
- 1694 – Voltaire, French philosopher (d. 1778)
- 1729 – Josiah Bartlett, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1795)
- 1760 – Joseph Plumb Martin, Soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (d. 1850)
- 1761 – Dorothea Jordan, British actress (d. 1816)
- 1768 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German theologian (d. 1834)
- 1787 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian-born shipping magnate (d. 1865)
- 1811 – Zeng Guofan, Chinese military leader (d. 1872)
- 1818 – Lewis H. Morgan, American anthropologist (d. 1881)
- 1835 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman (d. 1916)
- 1840 – Victoria, Princess Royal of Great Britain and German Empress (d. 1901)
- 1851 – Désiré-Joseph Mercier, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1926)
- 1852 – Francisco Tárrega, father of modern classical guitar (d. 1909)
- 1853 – Hussein Kamal, Sultan of Egypt (d. 1917)
- 1854 – Pope Benedict XV (d. 1922)
- 1861 – Tom Horn, American lawman and convicted murderer (d. 1903)
- 1866 – Sigbjørn Obstfelder, Norwegian writer (d. 1900)
- 1866 – Konishiki Yasokichi I, Japanese sumo wrestler, 17th Yokozuna (d. 1914)
- 1870 – Alexander Berkman, American anarchist and writer (d. 1936)
- 1870 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (d. 1946)
- 1870 – Sigfrid Edström, Swedish sports official (d. 1964)
- 1876 – Olav Duun, Norwegian writer (d. 1939)
- 1877 – Sigfrid Karg-Elert, German composer (d. 1933)
- 1878 – Gustav Radbruch, German law professor (d. 1949)
- 1886 – Harold Nicolson, British diplomat (d. 1968)
- 1897 – Mollie Steimer Russian-born American anarchist (d. 1980)
- 1898 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (d. 1967)
- 1899 – Jobyna Ralston, American actress (d. 1967)
- 1902 – Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio pioneer (d. 1985)
- 1902 – Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish American author, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
- 1902 – Mikhail Suslov, Soviet statesman (d. 1982)
- 1904 – Coleman Hawkins, American musician (d. 1969)
- 1908 – Elizabeth George Speare, American author (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Eleanor Powell, American actress and dancer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Roy Boulting, British film director (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Henri Laborit, French physician, writer, and philosopher (d. 1995)
- 1916 – Sid Luckman, American football player (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Steve Brodie, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Ralph Meeker, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1920 – Stan Musial, American baseball player
- 1921 – Joonas Kokkonen, Finnish composer (d. 1996)
- 1922 – María Casares, Spanish-born actress (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Abe Lemons, American basketball coach (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Veljko Kadijević, Yugoslav general
- 1924 – Milka Planinc, Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2010)
- 1924 – Christopher Tolkien, British author
- 1925 – Xie Jin, Chinese film director (d. 2008)
- 1926 – William Wakefield Baum, American Cardinal
- 1927 – Joseph Campanella, American actor
- 1927 – Georgia Frontiere, American professional sports team owner (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Laurier LaPierre, Canadian journalist and politician
- 1929 – Marilyn French, American feminist writer (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Marjan Rožanc, Slovenian writer and essayist (d. 1990)
- 1931 – Lewis Binford, American archaeologist (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Revaz Dogonadze, Georgian scientist (d. 1985)
- 1931 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer (d. 2003)
- 1932 – Beryl Bainbridge, British novelist (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Henry Hartsfield, American astronaut
- 1934 – Laurence Luckinbill, American actor
- 1935 – Fairuz, Lebanese singer
- 1936 – Victor Chang, Australian physician (d. 1991)
- 1937 – Ingrid Pitt, Polish-born British actress (d. 2010)
- 1937 – Marlo Thomas, American actress
- 1939 – Budd Dwyer, American politician (d. 1987)
- 1940 – Dr. John, American musician
- 1940 – Richard Marcinko, American author
- 1940 – Freddy Beras Goico, Dominican TV host and comedian (d. 2010)
- 1941 – İdil Biret, Turkish pianist
- 1941 – Juliet Mills, British actress
- 1942 – Afa Anoa'i, Samoan/American wrestler
- 1942 – Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, German politician
- 1943 – Phil Bredesen, American politician and 48th Governor of Tennessee
- 1943 – Jacques Laffite, French racing driver
- 1943 – Larry Mahan, American rodeo cowboy
- 1943 – Viktor Sidjak, Russian fencer
- 1944 – Richard Durbin, American politician
- 1944 – Earl Monroe, American basketball player
- 1944 – Harold Ramis, American actor/director
- 1945 – Goldie Hawn, American actress
- 1946 – Jacky Lafon, Belgian actress
- 1948 – Alphonse Mouzon, American drummer
- 1948 – Michel Suleiman, President of Lebanon
- 1948 – George Zimmer, American entrepreneur
- 1950 – Stephen Geyer, American film and television composer
- 1952 – Lorna Luft, American actress and singer, daughter of Judy Garland
- 1954 – Thomas Rothman, American film executive
- 1955 – Cedric Maxwell, American basketball player
- 1958 – David Reivers, American actor
- 1960 – Brian McNamara, American actor
- 1960 – Brian Ritchie, American musician (Violent Femmes)
- 1962 – Steven Curtis Chapman, American musician
- 1962 – Sabine Busch, German athlete
- 1963 – Nicollette Sheridan, British actress
- 1964 – Shane Douglas, American wrestler
- 1964 – Olden Polynice, Haitian basketball player
- 1964 – Liza Tarbuck, British entertainer
- 1965 – Björk, Icelandic musician
- 1965 – Reggie Lewis, American basketball player (d. 1993)
- 1965 – Alexander Siddig, British actor
- 1966 – Troy Aikman, American football player
- 1966 – Evgeny Bareev, Russian chess Grandmaster
- 1967 – Tripp Cromer, American baseball player
- 1967 – Toshihiko Koga, Japanese Judoka
- 1968 – Inka Bause, German actress and singer
- 1968 – Alex James, English bassist (Blur)
- 1968 – Christopher Noxon, American journalist
- 1968 – Sean Schemmel, American voice actor
- 1968 – Antonio Tarver, American boxer
- 1969 – Ken Griffey, Jr., American baseball player
- 1970 – Justin Langer, Australian cricketer
- 1971 – Michael Strahan, American football player
- 1972 – Rain Phoenix, American singer/actress
- 1972 – David Tua, Samoan boxer
- 1973 – Brook Kerr, American actress
- 1973 – Inés Sastre, Spanish model and actress
- 1974 – Karen Rolton, Australian Cricketer
- 1975 – Cherie Johnson, American actress
- 1975 – Chris Moneymaker, American poker player
- 1975 – Aaron Solowoniuk, Canadian drummer
- 1976 – Michael Wilson, Australian rules footballer
- 1976 – Dasha, Czech adult actress
- 1976 – Martin Meichelbeck, German footballer
- 1976 – Daniel Whiston, British ice skater
- 1977 – Bruno Berner, Swiss footballer
- 1977 – Myles Heskett, Australian musician (Wolfmother)
- 1977 – Yolande James, Canadian politician
- 1977 – Jonas Jennings, American football player
- 1977 – Tobias Sammet, German singer (Edguy)
- 1978 – Daniel Bradshaw, Australian rules footballer
- 1978 – Lucía Jiménez, Spanish actress
- 1978 – Sara Tanaka, American actress
- 1979 – Stromile Swift, American basketball player
- 1979 – Vincenzo Iaquinta, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Kim Dong Wan, Korean singer (Shinhwa)
- 1979 – Alex Tanguay, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Hank Blalock, American baseball player
- 1980 – Alec Brownstein, American author, director
- 1980 – Leonardo González, Costa Rican footballer
- 1980 – Elaine Yiu, Hong Kong actress
- 1981 – Wesley Britt, American football player
- 1981 – Jonny Magallón, Mexican footballer
- 1981 – Piet Rinke, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982 – Georgios Kalogiannidis, Greek archer
- 1982 – Ryan Starr, American singer
- 1983 – Jamie Langley, English rugby player
- 1983 – Brianna Garcia, American professional wrestler
- 1983 – Nicole Garcia, American professional wrestler
- 1984 – Álvaro Bautista, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1984 – Hope Dworaczyk, American model
- 1984 – Jena Malone, American actress
- 1984 – Callum Ferguson, Australian Cricketer
- 1985 – Jesús Navas, Spanish footballer
- 1985 – Nicola Silvestri, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Ben Bishop, American ice hockey goalie
- 1986 – Jordan Lloyd, American reality television personality
- 1987 – Brian Douwes, Dutch kickboxer and martial artist
- 1988 – Len Väljas, Canadian cross-country skier
- 1989 – Fabian Delph, English footballer
- 1992 – Megan and Liz, American musicians
- 1993 – Elena Myers, American motorcycle racer
- 2001 – Samantha Bailey, American actress
Deaths
- 496 – Pope Gelasius I
- 1011 – Reizei, Japanese emperor (b. 950)
- 1150 – García Ramírez, King of Navarre
- 1361 – Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (plague) (b. 1346)
- 1555 – Georg Agricola, German scientist (b. 1490)
- 1566 – Annibale Caro, Italian poet (b. 1507)
- 1579 – Thomas Gresham, English merchant and financier
- 1652 – Jan Brożek, Polish mathematician, physician, and astronomer (b. 1585)
- 1695 – Henry Purcell, English composer
- 1730 – François de Troy, French portrait artist (b. 1645)
- 1775 – John Hill, British writer
- 1782 – Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor and engineer (b. 1709)
- 1811 – Heinrich von Kleist, German writer (b. 1777)
- 1825 – Panos Kolokotronis, Greek fighter in the Greek War of Independence (b. 1800)
- 1844 – Ivan Krylov, Russian fabulist (b. 1769)
- 1859 – Yoshida Shōin, Japanese intellectual (b. 1830)
- 1861 – Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, French priest, re-established the Dominican Order (b. 1802)
- 1870 – Karel Jaromír Erben, Czech writer (b. 1811)
- 1874 – Mariano Fortuny, Spanish painter (b. 1838)
- 1881 – Ami Boué, Austrian geologist (b. 1794)
- 1899 – Garret Hobart, 24th Vice President of the United States (b. 1844)
- 1907 – Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (b. 1876)
- 1909 – Peder Severin Krøyer, Norwegian-Danish painter (b. 1851
- 1916 – Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria (b. 1830)
- 1922 – Ricardo Flores Magón, Mexican anarchist (b. 1874).
- 1924 – Florence Harding, American First Lady (b. 1860)
- 1938 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish American pianist (b. 1870)
- 1941 – Henrietta Vinton Davis American elocutionist and public speaker (b. 1860)
- 1942 – Leopold Graf Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister (b. 1863)
- 1942 – J. B. M. Hertzog, South African Prime Minister (b. 1866)
- 1945 – Robert Benchley, American writer and actor (b. 1889)
- 1945 – Alexander Patch, American general (b. 1889)
- 1945 – Al Davis, American boxer (b. 1920)
- 1953 – Larry Shields, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1893)
- 1957 – Francis Burton Harrison, American politician (b. 1873)
- 1958 – Mel Ott, American baseball player (b. 1909)
- 1959 – Max Baer, American boxer (b. 1909)
- 1963 – Robert Stroud, American convicted murderer and ornithologist (b. 1890)
- 1967 – C. M. Eddy, Jr., American writer (b. 1896)
- 1969 – Mutesa II of Buganda, President of Uganda (b. 1924)
- 1970 – Newsy Lalonde, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887)
- 1970 – Sir C. V. Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Thomas Pelly, American politician (b. 1902)
- 1974 – John B. Gambling, American radio talk show host (b. 1897)
- 1974 – Frank Martin, Swiss composer (b. 1890)
- 1975 – Gunnar Gunnarsson, Icelandic writer (b. 1889)
- 1980 – Sara García, Mexican actress (b. 1895)
- 1981 – Harry Von Zell, American announcer (b. 1906)
- 1982 – John Hargrave, British Social Credit advocate (b. 1894)
- 1986 – Marcelino Sanchez, American actor (b. 1957)
- 1986 – Jerry Colonna, American comic (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Dar Robinson, American film stuntman (b. 1947)
- 1988 – Carl Hubbell, American baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1988 – Pál Kalmár, Hungarian singer (b. 1900)
- 1990 – Dean Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1954)
- 1991 – Sonny Werblin, former owner of the New York Jets (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Kaysone Phomvihane, President of Laos (b. 1920)
- 1993 – Bill Bixby, American actor and director (b. 1934)
- 1994 – Willem Jacob Luyten, Dutch American astronomer (b. 1899)
- 1995 – Peter Grant, British rock manager and actor (b. 1935)
- 1995 – Noel Jones, British diplomat (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist and Nobel laureate (b. 1926)
- 1999 – Quentin Crisp, British writer and actor (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Ernest Lluch, Spanish politician (b. 1937)
- 2001 – King Salahuddin of Malaysia (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Hadda Brooks, American jazz singer, pianist, and composer (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Alfred Anderson, Scottish World War I veteran (b. 1896)
- 2005 – Hugh Sidey, American journalist (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanese statesman (b. 1972)
- 2006 – Hassan Gouled Aptidon, President of Djibouti (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Kathryn Johnston, American police shooting victim (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American blues guitarist (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director and playwright (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Tom Johnson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Noel McGregor, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Konstantin Feoktistov, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1926)
- 2010 – Norris Church Mailer, American model and widow of Norman Mailer (b. 1949)
- 2010 – Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, American artist and writer (b. 1917)
- 2010 – David Nolan, American politicial activist (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances
- Armed Forces Day (Bangladesh)
- Christian Feast Day:
- National Adoption Day (United States)
- World Hello Day (Unofficial)
- World Television Day (International)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to November 21.