# What happened on August 21 in history?

**Date:** August 21  
**Events recorded:** 52  
**Years spanned:** 959 – 2017  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/august/21/

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## Featured Event

**2013** — Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghouta_chemical_attack)

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## Events on this date

- **959** — Eraclus becomes the 25th bishop of Liège. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraclus))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty))
- **1169** — Battle of the Blacks: Uprising by the black African forces of the Fatimid army, along with a number of Egyptian emirs and commoners, against Saladin. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Blacks))
- **1192** — Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Sei-i Taishōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: the 12th day of the seventh month in the third year of the Kenkyū (建久) era). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamoto_no_Yoritomo))
- **1331** — King Stefan Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stefan Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_De%C4%8Danski))
- **1415** — Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Conquest of Ceuta. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Henry_the_Navigator))
- **1680** — Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_peoples))
- **1689** — The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunkeld))
- **1716** — Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The arrival of naval reinforcements and the news of the Battle of Petrovaradin force the Ottomans to abandon the Siege of Corfu, thus preserving the Ionian Islands under Venetian rule. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Venetian_War_(1714%E2%80%931718)))
- **1770** — James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_III))
- **1778** — American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War))
- **1791** — Enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue, led by Dutty Boukman, held a Vodou ceremony that became a pivotal act of resistance. This gathering sparked a mass uprising against slavery, marking the beginning of the Haitian Revolution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Domingue))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimeiro))
- **1810** — Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XIV_John))
- **1821** — Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarvis_Island))
- **1831** — Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which will claim the lives of 55 to 65 whites and about twice that number of blacks. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner))
- **1852** — Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlingit))
- **1858** — The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%E2%80%93Douglas_debates))
- **1862** — The Stadtpark, the first public park in Vienna, opens to the public. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtpark%2C_Vienna))
- **1863** — Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by pro-Confederate guerrillas known as Quantrill's Raiders. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence%2C_Kansas))
- **1878** — The American Bar Association is founded in Saratoga Springs, New York. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bar_Association))
- **1879** — The locals of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland report their having seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The apparition is later named "Our Lady of Knock" and the spot transformed into a Catholic pilgrimage site. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knock%2C_County_Mayo))
- **1883** — An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_Rochester_tornado))
- **1888** — The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adding_machine))
- **1901** — Six hundred American school teachers, Thomasites, arrived in Manila on the USAT Thomas. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomasites))
- **1911** — The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa))
- **1914** — World War I: The Battle of Charleroi, a successful German attack across the River Sambre that pre-empted a French offensive in the same area. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I))
- **1918** — World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_the_Somme))
- **1942** — World War II: The Guadalcanal campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1944** — Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbarton_Oaks_Conference))
- **1944** — World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tractable))
- **1945** — Physicist Harry Daghlian is fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Daghlian))
- **1957** — The Soviet Union successfully conducts a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%C3%A1_L%E1%BB%A3i_Pagoda_raids))
- **1965** — The Socialist Republic of Romania is proclaimed, following the adoption of a new constitution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Romania))
- **1968** — Cold War: Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War))
- **1968** — James Anderson Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Anderson_Jr.))
- **1971** — A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Party_(Philippines)))
- **1982** — Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Civil_War))
- **1983** — Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. is assassinated at Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninoy_Aquino))
- **1986** — Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometre (12 mi) range. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Nepal_earthquake))
- **1991** — Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia))
- **1991** — Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_attempt))
- **1993** — NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA))
- **1994** — Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 crashes in Douar Izounine, Morocco, killing all 44 people on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Maroc_Flight_630))
- **1995** — Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, attempts to divert to West Georgia Regional Airport after the left engine fails, but the aircraft crashes in Carroll County near Carrollton, Georgia, killing nine of the 29 people on board. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Southeast_Airlines_Flight_529))
- **2000** — American golfer Tiger Woods wins the 82nd PGA Championship and becomes the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in a calendar year. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Woods))
- **2013** — Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghouta_chemical_attack))
- **2017** — A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_21%2C_2017))

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## Notable births on August 21

- **2002** — **Kenji Fan** — Hong Kong model and actor ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenji_Fan))
- **2000** — **Corbin Carroll** — American baseball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbin_Carroll))
- **1999** — **Maxim Knight** — American actor ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Knight))
- **1996** — **Karolína Muchová** — Czech tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol%C3%ADna_Muchov%C3%A1))
- **1995** — **Dominik Kubalík** — Czech ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominik_Kubal%C3%ADk))
- **1994** — **Alexandra Cooper** — American podcaster ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Cooper_(podcaster)))
- **1994** — **Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu** — British-Turkish reality television personality, actress and model ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekin-Su_C%C3%BClc%C3%BClo%C4%9Flu))
- **1993** — **Millie Bright** — English footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millie_Bright))
- **1993** — **Mike Evans** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Evans_(wide_receiver)))
- **1992** — **Brandon Drury** — American baseball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Drury))

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## Notable deaths on August 21

- **2024** — **Nell McCafferty** — Northern Irish journalist, playwright and civil rights campaigner (born 1944) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nell_McCafferty))
- **2024** — **Bill Pascrell** — American politician (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Pascrell))
- **2024** — **John Amos** — American actor (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Amos))
- **2019** — **Celso Piña** — Mexican singer, composer, arranger, and accordionist (born 1953) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celso_Pi%C3%B1a))
- **2018** — **Stefán Karl Stefánsson** — Icelandic actor and singer (born 1975) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stef%C3%A1n_Karl_Stef%C3%A1nsson))
- **2017** — **Bajram Rexhepi** — First Kosovan Prime Ministers of UN mission administration in Kosovo (born 1954) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajram_Rexhepi))
- **2015** — **Colin Beyer** — New Zealand lawyer and businessman (born 1938) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Beyer))
- **2015** — **Wang Dongxing** — Chinese commander and politician (born 1916) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Dongxing))
- **2015** — **Jimmy Evert** — American tennis player and coach (born 1924) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Evert))
- **2014** — **Gerry Anderson** — Irish radio and television host (born 1944) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Anderson_(broadcaster)))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/august/21/](https://thisday.info/events/august/21/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.