On This Day — May 21

Famous events, births, and deaths from May 21 in history, plus the public holidays, religious observances, sports, and national days happening on this date today.

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61 events · 192 births · 97 deaths recorded for May 21.

🕰️ Notable Events on May 21

2012 — A bus accident near Himara, Albania kills 13 people and injures 21 others. Wikipedia ↗
2012 — A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana'a, Yemen. Wikipedia ↗
2011 — Radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted that the world would end on this date. Wikipedia ↗
2010 — JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, launches the solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS aboard an H-IIA rocket. The vessel would make a Venus flyby late in the year. Wikipedia ↗
2006 — The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; 55% of Montenegrins vote for independence. Wikipedia ↗
2005 — The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Wikipedia ↗
2003 — The 6.8 Mw Boumerdès earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). More than 2,200 people were killed and a moderate tsunami sank boats at the Balearic Islands. Wikipedia ↗
2001 — French Taubira law is enacted, officially recognizing the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity. Wikipedia ↗
1998 — In Miami, five abortion clinics are attacked by a butyric acid attacker. Wikipedia ↗
1998 — President Suharto of Indonesia resigns following the killing of students from Trisakti University earlier that week by security forces and growing mass protests in Jakarta against his ongoing corrupt rule. Wikipedia ↗
1996 — The ferry MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters on Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000. Wikipedia ↗
1994 — The Democratic Republic of Yemen unsuccessfully attempts to secede from the Republic of Yemen; a war breaks out. Wikipedia ↗
1992 — After 30 seasons Johnny Carson hosted his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show. Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras. Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end. Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Falklands War: A British amphibious assault during Operation Sutton leads to the Battle of San Carlos. Wikipedia ↗
1981 — The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries. Wikipedia ↗
1979 — White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. Wikipedia ↗
1976 — The Yuba City bus disaster occurs in Martinez, California. Twenty-nine are killed making it the deadliest road accident in U.S. history. Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is damaged by a vandal, the mentally disturbed Hungarian geologist Laszlo Toth. Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, known as Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student. Wikipedia ↗
1966 — The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland. Wikipedia ↗
1961 — American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out. Wikipedia ↗
1951 — The opening of the Ninth Street Show, otherwise known as the 9th Street Art Exhibition: A gathering of a number of notable artists, and the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively known as the New York School. Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Wikipedia ↗
1939 — The Canadian National War Memorial is unveiled by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa. Wikipedia ↗
1937 — A Soviet station, North Pole-1, becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean. Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover's severed genitals in her handbag. Her story soon becomes one of Japan's most notorious scandals. Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Oskaloosa, Iowa, becomes the first municipality in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens. Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Wikipedia ↗
1924 — University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks in a "thrill killing". Wikipedia ↗
1917 — The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is established through royal charter to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military forces. Wikipedia ↗
1917 — The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 causes $5.5 million in damages, destroying some 300 acres including 2,000 homes, businesses and churches, displacing about 10,000 people but leading to only one fatality (due to heart attack). Wikipedia ↗
1911 — President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz and the revolutionary Francisco Madero sign the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez to put an end to the fighting between the forces of both men, concluding the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution. Wikipedia ↗
1904 — The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris. Wikipedia ↗
1894 — The Manchester Ship Canal in the United Kingdom is officially opened by Queen Victoria, who later knights its designer Sir Edward Leader Williams. Wikipedia ↗
1881 — The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C. Wikipedia ↗
1879 — War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique. Wikipedia ↗
1871 — French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of "Bloody Week", some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested. Wikipedia ↗
1871 — Opening of the first rack railway in Europe, the Rigi-Bahnen on Mount Rigi. Wikipedia ↗
1864 — Russia declares an end to the Russo-Circassian War and many Circassians are forced into exile. The day is designated the Circassian Day of Mourning. Wikipedia ↗
1864 — American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends. Wikipedia ↗
1864 — The Ionian Islands reunite with Greece. Wikipedia ↗
1863 — American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege. Wikipedia ↗
1856 — Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces. Wikipedia ↗
1851 — Slavery is abolished in Colombia, South America. Wikipedia ↗
1809 — The first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling between the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles and the French army led by Napoleon I of France sees the French attack across the Danube held. Wikipedia ↗
1792 — Mount Unzen, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki, on the island of Kyūshū, Japan's southernmost main island, erupts, creating the deadliest Megatsunami that kills 14,524 people, as also a Pyroclastic flow in 1991. Wikipedia ↗
1758 — Ten-year-old Mary Campbell is abducted in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War. She is returned six and a half years later. Wikipedia ↗
1725 — The Order of St. Alexander Nevsky is instituted in Russia by Empress Catherine I. It would later be discontinued and then reinstated by the Soviet government in 1942 as the Order of Alexander Nevsky. Wikipedia ↗
1674 — The nobility elect John Sobieski King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Wikipedia ↗
1660 — The Battle of Long Sault concludes after five days in which French colonial militia, with their Huron and Algonquin allies, are defeated by the Iroquois Confederacy. Wikipedia ↗
1659 — In the Concert of The Hague, the Dutch Republic, the Commonwealth of England and the Kingdom of France set out their views on how the Second Northern War should end. Wikipedia ↗
1554 — Queen Mary I grants a royal charter to Derby School, as a grammar school for boys in Derby, England. Wikipedia ↗
1403 — Henry III of Castile sends Ruy González de Clavijo as ambassador to Timur to discuss the possibility of an alliance between Timur and Castile against the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia ↗
1349 — Dušan's Code, the constitution of the Serbian Empire, is enacted by Dušan the Mighty. Wikipedia ↗
996 — Sixteen-year-old Otto III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Wikipedia ↗
879 — Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state. Wikipedia ↗
878 — Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege. Wikipedia ↗
293 — Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on May 21

1997 — Ivan De Santis, Italian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1997 — Sisca Folkertsma, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1997 — Alex Gunning, Australian mathematician Wikipedia ↗
1997 — Viktoria Petryk, Ukrainian singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1996 — Indy de Vroome, Dutch tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1994 — Tom Daley, English diver Wikipedia ↗
1993 — Luke Garbutt, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Hutch Dano, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Guilherme, Brazilian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Rene Krhin, Slovenian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Emily Robins, New Zealand actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Hal Robson-Kanu, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Claire Cashmore, English swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Park Gyu-ri, South Korean singer Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Jonny Howson, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Beau Falloon, Australian rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Mario Mandžukić, Croatian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Eder Sánchez, Mexican race walker Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Park Sojin, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Mark Cavendish, Manx cyclist Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Isa Guha, English cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Lucie Hradecká, Czech tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Kano, English rapper, producer, and actor Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Dušan Kuciak, Slovak footballer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Heath L'Estrange, Australian rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Andrew Miller, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Craig Anderson, American ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Edson Buddle, American soccer player Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Josh Hamilton, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Maximilian Mutzke, German singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Anna Rogowska, Polish pole vaulter Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Gotye, Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Damián Ariel Álvarez, Argentinian-Mexican footballer Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Jamie Hepburn, Scottish politician, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health Wikipedia ↗
1979 — James Clancy Phelan, Australian author and academic Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Scott Smith, American mixed martial artist Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Sonja Vectomov, Czech musician/composer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Jamaal Magloire, Canadian basketball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Quinton Fortune, South African footballer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Stuart Bingham, English snooker player Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Anthony Mundine, Australian rugby league player and boxer Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Brad Arthur, Australian rugby league coach Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Fairuza Balk, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Havoc, American rapper and producer Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Stewart Cink, American golfer Wikipedia ↗
1972 — The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (d. 1997) Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Brigita Bukovec, Slovenian hurdler Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Dorsey Levens, American football player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Pauline Menczer, Australian surfer Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Carl Veart, Australian footballer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Georgiy Gongadze, Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and director (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Masayo Kurata, Japanese voice actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1969 — George LeMieux, American lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Pete Sandoval, Salvadoran-born American drummer Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Brian Statham, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Ilmar Raag, Estonian director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Matthias Ungemach, German-Australian rower Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Julie Vega, Filipino actress and singer (d. 1985) Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Blake Schwarzenbach, American singer and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Lisa Edelstein, American actress and playwright Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Tatyana Ledovskaya, Belarusian hurdler Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Richard Appel, American screenwriter and producer Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Dave Specter, American guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Laurie Spina, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1962 — David Crumb, American composer and educator Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (d. 1994) Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Kent Hrbek, American baseball player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Mark Ridgway, Australian cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Vladimir Salnikov, Russian swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Jeffrey Toobin, American lawyer and essayist Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Mohanlal, South Indian actor Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Nick Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Abdulla Yameen, Maldivian politician, 6th President of the Maldives Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Muffy Calder, Canadian-Scottish computer scientist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Michael Crick, English journalist and author Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Naeem Khan, Indian-American fashion designer Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Jefery Levy, American director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1957 — James Bailey, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Nadine Dorries, English nurse and politician Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Judge Reinhold, American actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Renée Soutendijk, Dutch actress Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Paul Barber, English field hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Marc Ribot, American guitarist and composer Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Mr. T, American actor and wrestler Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Al Franken, American actor, screenwriter, and politician Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Adrian Hardiman, Irish lawyer and judge (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Will Hutton, English economist and journalist Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Rosalind Plowright, English soprano Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Elizabeth Buchan, English author and critic Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Joe Camilleri, Maltese-Australian singer-songwriter and saxophonist Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Jonathan Hyde, Australian-English actor Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Denis MacShane, Scottish journalist and politician, UK Minister of State for Europe Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Leo Sayer, English-Australian singer-songwriter and musician Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Bill Champlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (d. 1992) Wikipedia ↗
1947 — İlber Ortaylı, Turkish historian and academic Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Wayne Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider and coach Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Ernst Messerschmid, German physicist and astronaut Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Richard Hatch, American actor, writer, and producer (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar, Iranian-English academic and politician Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Janet Dailey, American author and entrepreneur (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Mary Robinson, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th President of Ireland Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Vincent Crane, English pianist and composer (d. 1989) Wikipedia ↗
1943 — John Dalton, English bass player (The Kinks) Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Hilton Valentine, English guitarist and songwriter (The Animals) Wikipedia ↗
1942 — David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales Wikipedia ↗
1942 — John Konrads, Australian swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Danny Ongais, American race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Bobby Cox, American baseball player and manager Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Ambrose Greenway, 4th Baron Greenway, English photographer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Ronald Isley, American singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist, composer, and conductor Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Günter Blobel, Polish-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Bob Northern, American horn player and bandleader Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Maurice André, French trumpet player (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Yevgeny Minayev, Russian weightlifter (d. 1993) Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Inese Jaunzeme, Latvian javelin thrower and surgeon (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1930 — Keith Davis, New Zealand rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1930 — Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Robert Welch, English silversmith and industrial designer (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Alice Drummond, American actress (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Kay Kendall, English actress and comedian (d. 1959) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2005) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Peggy Cass, American actress, comedian, and game show panelist (d. 1999) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Armand Borel, Swiss-American mathematician and academic (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Ara Parseghian, American football player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Dorothy Hewett, Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Sandy Douglas, English computer scientist and academic, designed OXO (d. 2010) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989) Wikipedia ↗