Did you know
SRI International was established in 1946 by trustees of Stanford University to serve as a center of innovation.
November 21 in History
1969 — The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI
November 21 spans 69 recorded events across recorded history, from 164 BC to 2022. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
69 events
164 BC – 2022
Today in history
More major events on November 21
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1959 American disc jockey Alan Freed, who had popularized the term "rock and roll" and music of that style, is fired from WABC radio over allegations he had participated in the payola scandal. Source
- 1916 World War I: Mines from SM U-73 sink HMHS Britannic, the largest ship lost in the war. Source
- 1894 Port Arthur, China, falls to the Japanese, a decisive victory of the First Sino-Japanese War; Japanese troops are accused of massacring the remaining inhabitants. Source
Did you know
The organization is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, United States.
Did you know
SRI International formally separated from Stanford University in 1970.
Did you know
The organization was known as the Stanford Research Institute before becoming SRI International in 1977.
Did you know
SRI International is a nonprofit scientific research institute and organization.
-164
Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event that is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.
(25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.)
235
Pope Anterus succeeds Pontian as the nineteenth pope.
Head of the Catholic Church from 235 to 236
1386
Timur of Samarkand captures and sacks the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, taking King Bagrat V of Georgia captive.
Turco-Mongol conqueror (1320s–1405)
1620
Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact (November 11, O.S.)
English colonial venture in America (1620–1691)
1676
The Danish astronomer Ole Rømer presents the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light.
Scientist in the field of astronomy
1783
In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes make the first untethered hot air balloon flight.
French pioneer balloonist (1754–1785)
1789
North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 12th U.S.
state.
1851
Mutineers take control of the Chilean penal colony of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan.
Part of the failed 1851 Chilean Revolution
1861
American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin Secretary of War.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1877
Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.
American inventor and businessman (1847–1931)
1894
Port Arthur, China, falls to the Japanese, a decisive victory of the First Sino-Japanese War; Japanese troops are accused of massacring the remaining inhabitants.
District in Liaoning, People's Republic of China
1900
Claude Monet's paintings shown at Gallery Durand-Ruel in Paris.
French painter (1840–1926)
1902
The Philadelphia Football Athletics defeat the Kanaweola Athletic Club of Elmira, New York, 39–0, in the first-ever professional American football night game.
Professional football team (1902)
1905
Albert Einstein's paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik.
German-born theoretical physicist (1879–1955)
1910
Sailors on board Brazil's warships including the Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Bahia, violently rebel in what is now known as the Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash).
20th-century dreadnought
1916
World War I: Mines from SM U-73 sink HMHS Britannic, the largest ship lost in the war.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1918
The Flag of Estonia, previously used by pro-independence activists, is formally adopted as the national flag of the Republic of Estonia.
1918
The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 is passed, allowing women to stand for Parliament in the UK.
1918 UK law allowing women to be elected to Parliament
1918
A pogrom takes place in Lwów (now Lviv); over three days, at least 50 Jews and 270 Ukrainian Christians are killed by Poles.
Anti-Jewish attacks in Lwów, Poland
1920
Irish War of Independence: On "Bloody Sunday" in Dublin, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassinated a group of British Intelligence agents, and British forces killed 14 civilians at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park.
1919–1921 war between Irish and British forces
1922
Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator.
American white supremacist and feminist activist (1835–1930)
1927
Columbine Mine massacre: Striking coal miners are allegedly attacked with machine guns by a detachment of Colorado state police dressed in civilian clothes.
1927 police shooting of striking miners in Colorado, United States
1942
The completion of the Alaska Highway (also known as the Alcan Highway) is celebrated (however, the highway is not usable by standard road vehicles until 1943).
Highway in British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska
1944
World War II: American submarine USS Sealion sinks the Japanese battleship Kongō and Japanese destroyer Urakaze in the Formosa Strait.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1945
The United Auto Workers strike 92 General Motors plants in 50 cities to back up worker demands for a 30-percent raise.
Labor disputes between the United Auto Workers and General Motors
1950
Two Canadian National Railway trains collide in northeastern British Columbia in the Canoe River train crash; the death toll is 21, with 17 of them Canadian troops bound for Korea.
Canadian Class I freight railway company
1953
The Natural History Museum, London announces that the "Piltdown Man" skull, initially believed to be one of the most important fossilized hominid skulls ever found, is a hoax.
Museum in South Kensington, London
1954
People's Action Party, an eventual dominative political party in Singapore, was established.
Singaporean political party
1959
American disc jockey Alan Freed, who had popularized the term "rock and roll" and music of that style, is fired from WABC radio over allegations he had participated in the payola scandal.
American disc jockey and rock-and-roll figure (1921–1965)
1961
"La Ronde" opens in Honolulu, the first revolving restaurant in the United States.
Defunct revolving restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
1962
The Chinese People's Liberation Army declares a unilateral ceasefire in the Sino-Indian War.
Combined military forces of the People's Republic of China
1964
The Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge opens to traffic.
At the time it is the world's longest bridge span.
1964
Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.
Most recent Catholic ecumenical council (1962–1965)
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."
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1969
U.S.
President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. The U.S. retains rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free.
1970
Vietnam War: Operation Ivory Coast: A joint United States Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prisoner-of-war camp in an attempt to free American prisoners of war thought to be held there.
American military operation during the Vietnam War (1970)
1971
Indian troops, partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas), defeat the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur.
Bangladeshi guerrilla movement
1972
Voters in South Korea overwhelmingly approve a new constitution, giving legitimacy to Park Chung Hee and the Fourth Republic.
President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979
1974
The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people.
The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but are later exonerated.
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 "God Defend New Zealand".
New Zealand minister of the Crown
1979
The United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, is attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four.
Capital of Pakistan
1980
A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas).
Eighty-five 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
National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran–Contra affair.
American military figure (born 1943)
1989
Aeroflot Flight 37577 crashes on approach to Sovetsky Airport, killing 32.
Airport in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia
1990
Bangkok Airways Flight 125 crashes on approach to Samui Airport, killing 38.
1990 aviation accident in Thailand
1992
A major tornado strikes the Houston, Texas area during the afternoon.
Over the next two days the largest tornado outbreak ever to occur in the US during November spawns over 100 tornadoes.
1995
The Dayton 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.
1995 treaty ending the Bosnian War
1996
Humberto Vidal explosion: Thirty-three people die when a Humberto Vidal shoe shop in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico explodes.
Explosion in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico in 1996
1998
Finnish satanist Jarno Elg kills a 23-year-old man and performs a ritual-like cutting and eating of body parts in Hyvinkää, Finland.
Religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan
2002
NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.
Intergovernmental military alliance
2002
Arturo Guzmán Decena, founder of Los Zetas and high-member of the Gulf Cartel, is killed in a shoot-out with the Mexican Army and the police.
Mexican Army Special Forces officer; founder of the Los Zetas cartel
2004
The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, giving rise to massive protests and controversy over the election's integrity.
2004
Dominica is hit by the most destructive earthquake in its history.
The northern half of the island sustains the most damage, especially the town of Portsmouth. In neighboring Guadeloupe, one person is killed.
2004
The Paris Club agrees to write off 80% (up to $100 billion) of Iraq's external debt.
International organization
2004
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 crashes after takeoff from Baotou Donghe Airport, killing 55.
2004 aviation accident
2006
Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and government minister Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut.
Lebanese politician (1972–2006)
2009
2012
At least 28 are wounded after a bomb is thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv.
2012 terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel
2013
Fifty-four people are killed when the roof of a shopping center collapses in Riga, Latvia.
2013 disaster in Riga, Latvia
2013
Massive protests start in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych suspended signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement.
2013–14 protests in Ukraine
2014
A stampede in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe caused by the police firing tear gas kills at least eleven people and injures 40 others.
2014 human crush in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe
2015
The government of Belgium imposes a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, and public transportation, due to potential terrorist attacks.
2017
Robert Mugabe formally resigns as President of Zimbabwe, after thirty-seven years in office.
Leader of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017
2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
Prime Minister of Israel (1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–present)
2019
Tesla launches the SUV Cybertruck.
A gaffe occurs during the launch event when its "unbreakable" windows shatter during demonstration.
2021
An SUV plows through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six and injuring 62.
2021 vehicular mass murder in Wisconsin
2022
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java kills between 335 and 602 people.
Earthquake in Indonesia