August 21

August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 132 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).

Events

• 1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars.
• 1192 – Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
• 1331 – King Stefan Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stefan Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia.
• 1415 – Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Battle of Ceuta.
• 1680 – Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
• 1689 – The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
• 1770 – James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
• 1772 – King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.
• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry.
• 1808 – Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
• 1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
• 1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances.
• 1831 – Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which will claim the lives of 55-65 whites.
• 1852 – Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
• 1863 – Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.
• 1879 – The Virgin Mary, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, reportedly appears at Knock Shrine in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland.
• 1883 – An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
• 1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
• 1897 – Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobiles, is founded.
• 1901 – The International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres is founded in Copenhagen.
• 1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
• 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Charleroi, a successful German attack across the River Sambre which pre-empted a French offensive in the same area.
• 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.
• 1942 – World War II: The flag of Nazi Germany is installed atop the Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus mountain range.
• 1942 – World War II: The Guadalcanal Campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
• 1944 – Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
• 1944 – World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France.
• 1945 – Physicist Harry Daghlian is fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
• 1957 – The Soviet Union successfully conducts a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile.
• 1959 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day
• 1961 – Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
• 1963 – Xá Lợi Pagoda raids: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalizes Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead.
• 1968 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of Communist Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
• 1968 – James Anderson, Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
• 1969 – An Australian, Denis Michael Rohan, sets the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, a major catalyst of the formation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
• 1971 – A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured.
• 1976 – Operation Paul Bunyan at Panmunjom, South Korea.
• 1979 – Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States.
• 1982 – Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon.
• 1983 – Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. is assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor).
• 1986 – Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.
• 1988 – The 6.9 Mw Nepal earthquake shakes the Nepal–India border with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 709–1,450 people killed and thousands injured.
• 1991 – Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
• 1991 – Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
• 1993 – NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
• 2001 – NATO decides to send a peace-keeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
• 2013 – Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.
• 2015 – Several of the train passengers subdue the perpetrator in a train heading to Paris, resulting in four injuries (including perpetrator himself) and no deaths.

Births

• 1165 – Philip II of France (d. 1223)
• 1535 – Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese general (d. 1619)
• 1567 – Francis de Sales, Swiss bishop and saint (d. 1622)
• 1597 – Roger Twysden, English historian and politician (d. 1672)
• 1643 – Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
• 1660 – Hubert Gautier, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1737)
• 1665 – Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1729)
• 1670 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (d. 1734)
• 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter and educator (d. 1805)
• 1754 – William Murdoch, Scottish engineer and inventor, created gas lighting (d. 1839)
• 1754 – Banastre Tarleton, English general and politician (d. 1833)
• 1765 – William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)
• 1789 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (d. 1857)
• 1798 – Jules Michelet, French historian and philosopher (d. 1874)
• 1800 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (d. 1880)
• 1801 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Jean Stas, Belgian chemist and physician (d. 1891)
• 1816 – Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist and academic (d. 1856)
• 1823 – Nathaniel Everett Green, English painter and astronomer (d. 1899)
• 1826 – Karl Gegenbaur, German anatomist and academic (d. 1903)
• 1840 – Ferdinand Hamer, Dutch bishop and missionary (d. 1900)
• 1858 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (d. 1889)
• 1862 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (d. 1911)
• 1869 – William Henry Ogilvie, Scottish-Australian poet and author (d. 1963)
• 1872 – Aubrey Beardsley, English author and illustrator (d. 1898)
• 1878 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Claude Grahame-White, English pilot and engineer (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (d. 1936)
• 1885 – Édouard Fabre, Canadian runner (d. 1939)
• 1886 – Ruth Manning-Sanders, Welsh-English author and poet (d. 1988)
• 1887 – James Paul Moody, English sailor (d. 1912)
• 1891 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican soldier (d. 2007)
• 1892 – Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
• 1894 – Christian Schad, German painter (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Scottish soldier and peer (d. 1966)
• 1902 – Angel Karaliychev, Bulgarian author (d. 1972)
• 1903 – Kostas Giannidis, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1984)
• 1904 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (Count Basie Orchestra) (d. 1984)
• 1905 – Bipin Gupta, Indian actor and producer (d. 1981)
• 1906 – Friz Freleng, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1995)
• 1907 – P. Jeevanandham, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1963)
• 1908 – M. M. Kaye, Indian-English author and illustrator (d. 2004)
• 1909 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
• 1912 – Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
• 1914 – Doug Wright, English cricketer and coach (d. 1998)
• 1915 – Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Bill Lee, American actor and singer (d. 1980)
• 1916 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Leonid Hurwicz, Russian economist and mathematician (d.2008)
• 1918 – Billy Reay, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Christopher Robin Milne, English soldier and bookseller (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Reuven Feuerstein, Romanian-Israeli psychologist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Jaymala Shiledar, Indian actor and singer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Albert Irvin, English soldier and painter (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Mario Laserna Pinzón, French-Colombian educator and politician (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Jack Buck, American sportscaster (d. 2002)
• 1924 – Chris Schenkel, American sportscaster (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1925 – Toma Caragiu, Romanian actor (d. 1977)
• 1925 – Judy Grable, American wrestler (d. 2008)
• 1926 – Can Yücel, Turkish poet and translator (d. 1999)
• 1927 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 1928 – Addison Farmer, American bassist (d. 1963)
• 1928 – Art Farmer, American trumpet player and composer (The Jazztet) (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Bud McFadin, American football player (d. 2006)
• 1929 – Herman Badillo, Puerto Rican-American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
• 1929 – X. J. Kennedy, American poet, translator, anthologist, editor
• 1929 – Marie Severin, American illustrator
• 1930 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
• 1930 – Frank Perry, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
• 1932 – Menashe Kadishman, Israeli sculptor and painter (d. 2015)
• 1932 – Melvin Van Peebles, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1933 – Janet Baker, English soprano and educator
• 1933 – Michael Dacher, German mountaineer (d. 1994)
• 1933 – Barry Norman, English author and critic
• 1933 – Erik Paaske, Danish actor and singer (d. 1992)
• 1934 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian lawyer and politician, 13th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2001)
• 1934 – Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Adnan Şenses, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (d. 1999)
• 1936 – Radish Tordia, Georgian painter and educator
• 1937 – Donald Dewar, Scottish lawyer and politician, 1st First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
• 1937 – Gustavo Noboa, Ecuadorian academic and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
• 1937 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Ernie Maresca, American singer-songwriter (The Regents) (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Kenny Rogers, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition)
• 1938 – Mike Weston, English rugby player
• 1939 – James Burton, American guitarist (TCB Band)
• 1939 – Festus Mogae, Botswana economist and politician, 3rd President of Botswana
• 1939 – Harold Reid, American singer-songwriter (The Statler Brothers)
• 1939 – Clarence Williams III, American actor
• 1940 – Dominick Harrod, English journalist, historian, and author (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Endre Szemerédi, Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist
• 1943 – Patrick Demarchelier, French-American photographer
• 1943 – Jonathan Schell, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Lucius Shepard, American author and critic (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Hugh Wilson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1944 – Perry Christie, Bahamian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Bahamas
• 1944 – Jackie DeShannon, American singer-songwriter
• 1944 – Peter Weir, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1945 – Celia Brayfield, English journalist and author
• 1945 – Jerry DaVanon, American baseball player
• 1945 – Willie Lanier, American football player
• 1945 – Patty McCormack, American actress
• 1945 – Basil Poledouris, American composer and conductor (d. 2006)
• 1947 – Carl Giammarese, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Buckinghams)
• 1949 – Loretta Devine, American actress and singer
• 1949 – Daniel Sivan, Israeli scholar and academic
• 1950 – Arthur Bremer, American attempted murderer
• 1950 – Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer-songwriter and model
• 1951 – Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
• 1951 – Margo Kane, Canadian actress and playwright
• 1951 – Chesley V. Morton, American businessman and politician
• 1951 – Harry Smith, American journalist and radio host
• 1952 – Keith Hart, Canadian firefighter, wrestler, and trainer
• 1952 – Glenn Hughes, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Finders Keepers, Trapeze, Deep Purple, and Black Country Communion)
• 1952 – Jiří Paroubek, Czech soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
• 1952 – Bernadette Porter, English nun and academic
• 1952 – Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Clash, The Mescaleros, and The Pogues) (d. 2002)
• 1953 – Ivan Stang, American author, publisher, and director
• 1954 – Chip Coffey, American psychic medium
• 1954 – Archie Griffin, American football player
• 1954 – Bodil Niska, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
• 1954 – Steve Smith, American drummer (Journey, Montrose, Steps Ahead, The RD Crusaders, and Vital Information)
• 1955 – Shaun Tomson, South African surfer
• 1956 – Kim Cattrall, English-Canadian actress and producer
• 1956 – Jon Tester, American farmer and politician
• 1957 – Frank Pastore, American baseball player and radio host (d. 2012)
• 1959 – Anne Hobbs, English tennis player and coach
• 1959 – Jim McMahon, American football player and coach
• 1961 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player and coach (d. 2001)
• 1961 – V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1961 – Stephen Hillenburg, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
• 1962 – John Korfas, Greek-American basketball player and coach
• 1962 – Tsutomu Miyazaki, Japanese serial killer (d. 2008)
• 1962 – Jeff Stryker, American porn actor and director
• 1963 – Richmond Arquette, American actor
• 1963 – Mohammed VI of Morocco
• 1963 – Nigel Pearson, English footballer and manager
• 1964 – Gary Elkerton, Australian surfer
• 1964 – Trinity Loren, American porn actress and model (d. 1998)
• 1965 – Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
• 1965 – Caryn Mower, American wrestler, actress, and stuntwoman
• 1966 – John Wetteland, American baseball player and coach
• 1967 – Charb, French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
• 1967 – Darren Bewick, Australian footballer
• 1967 – B. D. Foxmoor, Greek rapper and producer (Active Member)
• 1967 – Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
• 1967 – Serj Tankian, Lebanese-American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (System of a Down and Axis of Justice)
• 1968 – Dina Carroll, English singer-songwriter
• 1968 – Goran Ćurko, Serbian footballer
• 1968 – Laura Trevelyan, English journalist and author
• 1969 – Bruce Anstey, New Zealand motorcycle racer
• 1969 – Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
• 1970 – Craig Counsell, American baseball player and coach
• 1970 – Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist and manager
• 1970 – Simone Eriksrud, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (D'Sound)
• 1970 – Nathan Jones, Australian wrestler and actor
• 1970 – Cathy Weseluck, Canadian actress, singer, and director
• 1971 – Mamadou Diallo, Senegalese footballer
• 1971 – Robert Harvey, Australian footballer and coach
• 1971 – Liam Howlett, English keyboard player, DJ, and producer (The Prodigy)
• 1973 – Sergey Brin, Russian-American computer scientist and businessman, co-founded Google
• 1973 – Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1973 – Nikolai Valuev, Russian boxer and actor
• 1974 – Martin Andanar, Filipino journalist and radio host
• 1974 – Paul Mellor, Australian rugby league player and referee
• 1975 – Simon Katich, Australian cricketer and manager
• 1976 – Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player and scout
• 1976 – Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican-American soccer player
• 1976 – Robert Miles, Australian rugby league player
• 1976 – Ramón Vázquez, Puerto Rican baseball player and coach
• 1978 – Peter Buxton, English rugby player and manager
• 1978 – Reuben Droughns, American football player and coach
• 1978 – Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player and coach
• 1978 – Alan Lee, Irish footballer and coach
• 1978 – Jason Marquis, American baseball player
• 1978 – Fay Wolf, American actress, singer-songwriter, and pianist
• 1978 – Annie Wu, Taiwanese model and actress
• 1979 – Kelis, American singer-songwriter
• 1980 – Burney Lamar, American race car driver
• 1980 – Paul Menard, American race car driver
• 1980 – Jasmin Wöhr, German tennis player
• 1981 – Jarrod Lyle, Australian golfer
• 1981 – Cameron Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
• 1981 – Tyler Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
• 1982 – Jason Eaton, New Zealand rugby player
• 1982 – Omar Sachedina, Canadian television journalist, correspondent, and news anchor from CTV Television Network
• 1983 – Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
• 1984 – Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
• 1984 – Rachel Potter, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1984 – Melissa Schuman, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer (Dream)
• 1984 – Eve Torres, American wrestler, model, and dancer
• 1984 – Melvin Upton, Jr., American baseball player
• 1984 – Martin Vunk, Estonian footballer
• 1985 – Nicolás Almagro, Spanish tennis player
• 1985 – Aleksandra Kiryashova, Russian pole vaulter
• 1985 – Melissa M, French singer
• 1985 – Kevin Nee, American strongman
• 1986 – Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
• 1986 – Wout Brama, Dutch footballer
• 1986 – Koki Sakamoto, Japanese gymnast
• 1988 – Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer
• 1988 – Kacey Musgraves, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1988 – Louise Setara, English singer-songwriter
• 1989 – Charlison Benschop, Dutch footballer
• 1989 – James Davey, English rugby player
• 1989 – Matteo Gentili, Italian footballer
• 1989 – Hayden Panettiere, American actress and singer
• 1990 – Bo Burnham, American comedian, singer-songwriter, and actor
• 1990 – Big Chocolate, American singer-songwriter, and producer (Burning the Masses)
• 1990 – Omar El Kaddouri, Belgian-Moroccan footballer
• 1990 – Fabian Heimpel, German rugby player
• 1991 – Demy, Greek singer
• 1991 – Leandro Bacuna, Dutch footballer
• 1991 – Liis Emajõe, Estonian footballer
• 1991 – Tess Gaerthé, Dutch singer
• 1992 – Bryce Dejean-Jones, American basketball player (d. 2016)
• 1992 – Song Seung-hyun, South Korean guitarist and vocalist (F.T. Island)

Deaths

• 672 – Emperor Kōbun of Japan (b. 648)
• 1157 – Alfonso VII of León and Castile (b. 1105)
• 1271 – Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (b. 1220)
• 1614 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian serial killer (b. 1560)
• 1622 – Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana, Spanish poet and politician (b. 1582)
• 1627 – Jacques Mauduit, French composer and academic (b. 1557)
• 1673 – Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, English soldier (b. 1599)
• 1689 – William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier (b. 1661)
• 1762 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1689)
• 1763 – Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710)
• 1775 – Zahir al-Umar, Arabian ruler (b. 1690)
• 1796 – John McKinly, American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (b. 1721)
• 1814 – Benjamin Thompson, American-English physicist and colonel (b. 1753)
• 1835 – John MacCulloch, Scottish geologist and academic (b. 1773)
• 1836 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (b. 1785)
• 1838 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German botanist and poet (b. 1781)
• 1853 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (b. 1783)
• 1854 – Thomas Clayton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
• 1870 – Ma Xinyi, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (b. 1821)
• 1905 – Alexander von Oettingen, Estonian theologian and statistician (b. 1827)
• 1910 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (b. 1835)
• 1919 – Laurence Doherty, English tennis player (b. 1875)
• 1935 – John Hartley, English tennis player (b. 1849)
• 1940 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
• 1940 – Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (b. 1863)
• 1940 – Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (b. 1879)
• 1943 – Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
• 1947 – Ettore Bugatti, Italian-French engineer and businessman, founded Bugatti (b. 1881)
• 1951 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (b. 1905)
• 1957 – Mait Metsanurk, Estonian author and playwright (b. 1879)
• 1957 – Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
• 1957 – Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
• 1960 – David B. Steinman, American engineer, designed the Mackinac Bridge (b. 1886)
• 1964 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (b. 1893)
• 1971 – George Jackson, American activist and author, co-founded the Black Guerrilla Family (b. 1941)
• 1974 – Buford Pusser, American police officer (b. 1937)
• 1978 – Charles Eames, American architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1907)
• 1979 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1910)
• 1982 – Sobhuza II of Swaziland (b. 1899)
• 1983 – Benigno Aquino, Jr., Filipino journalist and politician (b. 1932)
• 1988 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (The Dawn) (b. 1963)
• 1988 – Ray Eames, American architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1912)
• 1989 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1945)
• 1992 – Dai Vernon, Canadian-American magician (b. 1894)
• 1993 – Tatiana Troyanos, American soprano and actress (b. 1938)
• 1995 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-American astrophysicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
• 1995 – Chuck Stevenson, American racing driver (b. 1919)
• 1997 – Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Tomata du Plenty, American singer-songwriter and playwright (The Screamers) (b. 1948)
• 2000 – Daniel Lisulo, Zambian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
• 2000 – Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1928)
• 2001 – Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
• 2003 – John Coplans, British artist (b.1920)
• 2003 – Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and academic (b. 1946)
• 2003 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Wesley Willis Fiasco) (b. 1963)
• 2004 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (b. 1916)
• 2005 – Martin Dillon, American tenor and educator (b. 1957)
• 2005 – Robert Moog, American businessman, founded Moog Music (b. 1934)
• 2005 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet and translator (b. 1936)
• 2005 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
• 2006 – S. Yizhar, Israeli author and politician (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Siobhan Dowd, British author (b. 1960)
• 2007 – Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American general (b. 1918)
• 2008 – Jerry Finn, American engineer and producer (b. 1969)
• 2009 – Rex Shelley, Singaporean engineer and author (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Dean Turner, Australian singer, bass player, and producer (Magic Dirt) (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Nancy Dolman, Canadian actress and singer (b. 1952)
• 2010 – Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean sociologist and author (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Georg Leber, German soldier and politician, Federal Minister of Defence for Germany (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Taketoshi Naito, Japanese actor (b. 1926)
• 2012 – J. Frank Raley Jr., American soldier and politician (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Don Raleigh, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Guy Spitaels, Belgian academic and politician, 7th Minister-President of the Walloon Region (b. 1931)
• 2012 – William Thurston, American mathematician and academic (b. 1946)
• 2013 – Jean Berkey, American lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Sid Bernstein, American record producer (b. 1918)
• 2013 – C. Gordon Fullerton, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Fred Martin, Scottish footballer (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Enos Nkala, Zimbabwean politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Lew Wood, American journalist (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Raed al Atar, Palestinian commander (b. 1974)
• 2014 – Gerry Anderson, Irish radio and television host (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Helen Bamber, English psychotherapist and academic (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Steven R. Nagel, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Jean Redpath, Scottish-American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Albert Reynolds, Irish businessman and politician, 9th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Colin Beyer, New Zealand lawyer and businessman (b. 1938)
• 2015 – Wang Dongxing, Chinese commander and politician (b. 1916)
• 2015 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Bob Hepple, South African-English scholar and academic (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abraham of Smolensk (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Euprepius of Verona
  • Maximilian of Antioch
  • Our Lady of Knock
  • Pope Pius X
  • Sidonius Apollinaris
  • August 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)
• Youth Day/King Mohammed VI's Birthday (Morocco)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada