Did you know
In 1952, The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free". This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
February 21 in History
1952 — The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free"
February 21 spans 41 recorded events across recorded history, from 1245 to 2022. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
41 events
1245 – 2022
Today in history
More major events on February 21
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1925 The New Yorker publishes its first issue. Source
- 1828 Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. Source
- 1919 German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany. Source
Did you know
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
For some 62 of the years between 1900 and 1964, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) and represented a total of five constituencies over that time. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
1245
Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
First known bishop of Finland (died 1248)
1440
The Prussian Confederation is formed.
Organization of Prussian nobles in opposition to the Teutonic Order (1440-66)
1613
Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.
Tsar of Russia from 1613 to 1645
1797
A force of 1,400 French soldiers invade Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen.
They were defeated by 500 British reservists.
1804
The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.
Railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine
1808
Without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops cross the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish War, in which Sweden will lose the eastern half of the country (i.e.
Finland) to Russia.
1828
Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah.
Native American newspaper
1848
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.
German philosopher and socialist (1818–1883)
1861
Mariehamn, the capital city of Åland, is founded.
Capital and largest city of the Åland Islands
1862
American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1874
The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition.
Weekly newspaper in Oakland, California
1878
The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
Book that lists phone numbers of people and businesses
1885
The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.
U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C.
1896
An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fights an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically takes place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
English boxer (1863–1917)
1913
Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars.
Capital and largest city of Epirus, Greece
1916
World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1918
The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Extinct species of parakeet native to North America
1919
German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated.
His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.
1921
Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution.
National legislature of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1919-21)
1921
Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a successful coup.
Shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941
1929
In the first battle of the Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong against the Nationalist government of China, a 24,000-strong rebel force led by Zhang Zongchang was defeated at Zhifu by 7,000 NRA troops.
1929 uprising in the Republic of China
1937
The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War.
Intergovernmental organisation (1920–1946)
1945
World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage the USS Saratoga.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1945
World War II: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat the German forces in the Battle of Monte Castello on the Italian front.
Brazilian military division during WWII
1947
In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.
American scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur (1909–1991)
1948
1952
The Bengali language movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
1948–1956 political movement in East Pakistan
1958
The CND symbol, aka peace symbol, commissioned by the Direct Action Committee in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.
Symbols to promote peace
1971
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
1971 UN treaty to regulate recreational drugs
1972
United States President Richard Nixon visits China to normalize Sino-American relations.
President of the United States from 1969 to 1974
1972
The Soviet uncrewed spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.
Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
1973
Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108 people.
Peninsula in Egypt
1974
The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt.
Artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt
1975
Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N.
Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.
1994
Aldrich Ames is arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for selling national secrets to the Soviet Union in Arlington County, Virginia.
American CIA analyst and Soviet spy (1941–2026)
1995
Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
American businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer (1944–2007)
2013
At least 17 people are killed and 119 injured following several bombings in the Indian city of Hyderabad.
Terrorist attacks at a market in India
2022
In the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and moves troops into the region.
The action is condemned by the United Nations.