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April 21
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April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). There are 254 days remaining.
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Events
- 753 BC - Romulus founds Rome (traditional).
- 1792 - Tiradentes, a revolutionary who was leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged.
- 1836 - Texas Revolution: Battle of San Jacinto – Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
- 1863 - Bahá'u'lláh declares his mission as "He whom God shall make manifest". Considered the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
- 1863 - Quantrill's Raiders launch a reprisal raid Lawrence, Kansas in the Battle of Lawrence, killing a number of civilians.
- 1894 - Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
- 1898 - Spanish-American War: The U.S. Congress, on April 25, recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of this date.
- 1912 - The New York Giants and New York Yankees play an exhibition game to benefit survivors of the RMS Titanic.
- 1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed by Allied fire over Vaux sur Somme in France.
- 1930 - A fire at a Columbus, Ohio, USA, penitentiary kills 320 people.
- 1944 - Women in France receive the right to vote.
- 1945 - World War II: Soviet Union forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
- 1952 - Secretaries Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day) is first celebrated.
- 1955 - Bob Hope's radio program airs its last segment.
- 1956 - Elvis Presley's song "Heartbreak Hotel" becomes the "King's" first song to reach the top of the Cash Box magazine [1] music charts.
- 1960 - Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 9:30 am the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
- 1960 - Founding of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in Washington, DC.
- 1965 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season.
- 1966 - Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
- 1967 - A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d'état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
- 1975 - Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
- 1985 - Ayrton Senna wins the first of 41 Formula One championship races at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril.
- 1986 - Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on live television and finds nothing.
- 1987 - The Tamil Tigers is blamed for a car bomb that explodes in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, killing 106 people.
- 1989 - Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate the late Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
- 1992 - U.S. death penalty: After 13 years on death row, convicted murderer Robert Alton Harris is executed in California's gas chamber.
- 1994 - The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
- 2005 - John Negroponte becomes the first United States Director of National Intelligence.
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Births
- 1555 - Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1619)
- 1651 - Blessed Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (d. 1711)
- 1652 - Michel Rolle, French mathematician (d. 1719)
- 1671 - John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
- 1713 - Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, Marshal of France (d. 1793)
- 1729 - Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796)
- 1774 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (d. 1862)
- 1775 - Alexander Anderson, American wood-engraver and illustrator (d. 1870)
- 1810 - John Putnam Chapin, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
- 1811 - Alson Sherman, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
- 1814 - Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906)
- 1816 - Charlotte Brontë, English author (d. 1855)
- 1837 - Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1922)
- 1838 - John Muir, American environmentalist (d. 1914)
- 1851 - Charles Barrois, French geologist (d. 1939)
- 1864 - Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
- 1879 - Kartini, Indonesian national heroine (d. 1904)
- 1882 - Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1889 - Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
- 1905 - Pat Brown, American politician (d. 1996)
- 1911 - Ivan Combe, American inventor (d. 2000)
- 1912 - Marcel Camus, French film director (d. 1982)
- 1915 - Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born actor (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
- 1922 - Alistair MacLean, Scottish author (d. 1987)
- 1923 - John Mortimer, English barrister and writer
- 1926 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
- 1927 - Gerald Flood, British actor (d. 1989)
- 1930 - Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
- 1932 - Elaine May, American comedienne, writer, director, and actress
- 1935 - Charles Grodin, American actor and journalist
- 1935 - Thomas Kean, Governor of New Jersey
- 1936 - James Dobson, American evangelist
- 1938 - Helen Prejean, American nun and writer
- 1947 - Iggy Pop, American musician (The Stooges)
- 1948 - Gary Condit, American politician
- 1949 - Patti Lupone, American singer and actress
- 1951 - Tony Danza, American actor and talk show host
- 1951 - Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician
- 1958 - Andie MacDowell, American actress
- 1959 - Gene Callahan, American writer
- 1959 - Robert Smith, British musician, singer, and songwriter (The Cure)
- 1963 - Ken Caminiti, baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1963 - Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
- 1964 - Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete
- 1965 - Ed Belfour, Canadian hockey player
- 1970 - Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedienne, and writer
- 1971 - Eric Mabius, American actor
- 1977 - Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
- 1978 - Jukka Nevalainen, drummer of Finnish heavy metal band Nightwish
- 1980 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
- 1982 - Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, American football player
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Deaths
- 748 - Empress Gensho of Japan (b. 680)
- 1073 - Pope Alexander II
- 1109 - Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1142 - Pierre Abélard, French writer (b. 1079)
- 1329 - Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
- 1509 - King Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
- 1551 - Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
- 1557 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (b. 1495)
- 1574 - Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
- 1699 - Jean Racine, French dramatist (b. 1639)
- 1701 - Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (b. 1667)
- 1719 - Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b. 1640)
- 1720 - Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b. 1646)
- 1793 - John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724)
- 1815 - Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746)
- 1868 - Henry James O'Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (Hanged)
- 1910 - Mark Twain, American author and humorist (b. 1835)
- 1918 - Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1892)
- 1924 - Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
- 1930 - Robert Bridges, English poet (b. 1844)
- 1938 - Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
- 1946 - John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883)
- 1956 - Charles MacArthur, American writer (b. 1895)
- 1965 - Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- 1971 - François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haitian dictator (b. 1907)
- 1973 - Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- 1977 - Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892)
- 1978 - Sandy Denny, British vocalist (b. 1947)
- 1978 - Thomas Wyatt Turner, American civil rights advocate and agricultural engineer
- 1980 - Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b. 1894)
- 1983 - Walter Slezak, Austrian actor (b. 1902)
- 1985 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian fashion designer (b. 1922)
- 1985 - Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Brazil banker and politician (b. 1910)
- 1989 - Princess Dukhye of Korea (b. 1912)
- 1990 - Erté, French artist (b. 1892)
- 1991 - Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
- 1996 - Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b. 1944)
- 1996 - Jimmy the Greek, American bookie and sports broadcaster (b. 1919)
- 1999 - Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, American actor and musician (b. 1904)
- 2000 - Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (b. 1929)
- 2003 - Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933)
- 2004 - Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
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Holidays and observances
- Bahá'í Faith - First day of the festival of Ridván
- Roman Empire - the Parilia was held in honor of Pales
- Rome - city birthday
- United States - Administrative Professionals Day
- Sunni Islam - Mawlid, Prophet Muhammad's birthday (2005)
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External links
April 20 - April 22 - March 21 - May 21 -- listing of all days
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