On this day | February 21st

On this day: February 21st

Credit/Source: Wikipedia

452 or 453 Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine.

1245 Thomas (bishop of Finland), the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.

1440 The Prussian Confederation is formed.

1613 Michael I of Russia is unanimously elected Tsar by a Zemsky Sobor, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.

1797 A force of 1,400 French soldiers Battle of Fishguard 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 Penydarren Ironworks in Wales.

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.

1842 John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.

1848 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish ''The Communist Manifesto''.

1861 Mariehamn, the capital city of Åland, is founded.

1862 American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory.

1874 The ''Oakland Daily Tribune'' publishes its first edition.

1878 The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.

1885 The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.

1896 An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher (boxer), in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.

1913 Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars.

1916 World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.

1918 The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.

1919 German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassination. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.

1921 Constituent Assembly of Georgia of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution.

1921 Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a 1921 Persian coup d'état.

1925 ''The New Yorker'' publishes its first issue.

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.

1937 The League of Nations bans foreign national "Unlawful combatant" in the Spanish Civil War.

1945 World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier and damage the .

1945 World War II: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat the German forces in the Battle of Monte Castello on the Italian Campaign (World War II).

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.

1948 NASCAR is incorporated.

1952 The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes Identity document in the UK to "set the people free".

1952 The Bengali Language Movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

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.

1971 The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.

1972 United States President Richard Nixon visits China to normalize Sino-American relations.

1972 The Soviet Union uncrewed Spacecraft Luna 20 lands on the Moon.

1973 Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108 people.

1974 The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with 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.

1995 Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon.

2013 At least 17 people are killed and 119 injured following 2013 Hyderabad blasts in the Indian city of Hyderabad.

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.

921 Abe no Seimei, Japanese Astrology (d. 1005)

1397 Infanta Isabel, Duchess of Burgundy (d. 1471)

1462 Joanna la Beltraneja, princess of Castile (d. 1530)

1484 Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1535)

1498 Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, English Earl (d. 1549)

1541 Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1599)

1556 Sethus Calvisius, German astronomer, composer, and theorist (d. 1615)

1609 Raimondo Montecuccoli, Italian military commander (d. 1680)

1621 Rebecca Nurse, Massachusetts colonist, executed as a witch (d. 1692)

1705 Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral and politician (d. 1781)

1728 Peter III of Russia (d. 1762)

1783 Catharina of Württemberg (d. 1835)

1788 Francis Ronalds, British scientist, inventor and engineer who was knighted for developing the first working electric telegraph (d. 1873)

1791 Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1857)

1794 Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician, 8th President of Mexico (d. 1876)

1801 John Henry Newman, English cardinal (d. 1890)

1817 José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (d. 1893)

1821 Charles Scribner I, American publisher, founded Charles Scribner's Sons (d. 1871)

1836 Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (d. 1891)

1844 Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (d. 1937)

1860 Goscombe John, Welsh-English sculptor and academic (d. 1952)

1865 John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (d. 1967)

1867 Otto Hermann Kahn, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1934)

1875 Jeanne Calment, French super-centenarian, oldest verified person ever (d. 1997)

1878 Mirra Alfassa, French-Indian spiritual leader (d. 1973)

1881 Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (d. 1945)

1885 Sacha Guitry, Russian-French actor, director, and playwright (d. 1957)

1887 Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Ministry of War of Japan (d. 1945)

1888 Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (d. 1965)

1892 Harry Stack Sullivan, American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1949)

1893 Celia Lovsky, Austrian-American actress (d. 1979)

1893 Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (d. 1987)

1894 Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian chemist and academic (d. 1955)

1895 Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1976)

1896 Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Indian poet and author (d. 1961)

1900 Jeanne Aubert, French singer and actress (d. 1988)

1902 Arthur Nock, English theologian and academic (d. 1963)

1903 Anaïs Nin, French-American essayist and memoirist (d. 1977)

1903 Raymond Queneau, French poet and author (d. 1976)

1907 W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and composer (d. 1973)

1909 Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)

1910 Douglas Bader, English fighter pilot in World War II (d. 1982)

1912 Arline Judge, American actress and singer (d. 1974)

1914 Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (d. 1999)

1914 Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)

1914 Jean Tatlock, American psychiatrist and physician (d. 1944)

1915 Claudia Jones, Trinidad-British journalist and activist (d. 1964)

1915 Ann Sheridan, American actress and singer (d. 1967)

1915 Anton Vratuša, Prime Minister of Slovenia (d. 2017)

1917 Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (d. 1996)

1917 Tadd Dameron, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)

1921 Zdeněk Miler, Czech animator (d. 2011)

1921 John Rawls, American philosopher and academic (d. 2002)

1921 Richard T. Whitcomb, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2009)

1924 Dorothy Blum, American computer scientist and cryptanalyst (d. 1980)

1924 Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2014)

1924 Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean educator and politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe (d. 2019)

1925 Sam Peckinpah, American director and screenwriter (d. 1984)

1925 Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)

1927 Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author (d. 1996)

1929 Chespirito, Mexican actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)

1933 Bob Rafelson, American film director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2022)

1933 Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2003)

1934 Rue McClanahan, American actress (d. 2010)

1935 Richard A. Lupoff, American author (d. 2020)

1935 Mark McManus, Scottish actor (d. 1994)

1936 Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1996)

1937 Ron Clarke, Australian runner and politician, Mayor of the Gold Coast (d. 2015)

1937 Harald V of Norway

1937 Gary Lockwood, American actor

1938 Bobby Charles, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)

1940 Peter Gethin, English racing driver (d. 2011)

1940 John Lewis, American activist and politician (d. 2020)

1942 Tony Martin (professor), Trinidadian-American historian and academic (d. 2013)

1942 Margarethe von Trotta, German actress, director, and screenwriter

1943 David Geffen, American businessman, co-founded DreamWorks Pictures and Geffen Records

1945 Maurice Bembridge, English golfer (d. 2024)

1946 Tyne Daly, American actress and singer

1946 Anthony Daniels, English actor and producer

1946 Alan Rickman, English actor and director (d. 2016)

1946 Bob Ryan, American journalist and author

1947 Johnny Echols, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1947 Olympia Snowe, American politician

1949 Frank Brunner, American illustrator

1949 Jerry Harrison, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1949 Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer (d. 2022)

1950 Sahle-Work Zewde, Ethiopian politician and diplomat, 5th President of Ethiopia

1951 Vince Welnick, American keyboard player (d. 2006)

1952 Jean-Jacques Burnel, English bass player, songwriter, and producer

1952 Vitaly Churkin, Russian diplomat, former Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations (d. 2017)

1953 Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer

1953 William Petersen, American actor and producer

1954 Christina Rees, British politician

1955 Kelsey Grammer, American actor, singer, and producer

1958 Jake Burns, Northern Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist

1958 Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1958 Kim Coates, Canadian-American actor

1958 Jack Coleman (actor), American actor

1958 Alan Trammell, American baseball player, coach, and manager

1959 José María Cano, Spanish singer-songwriter and painter

1960 Plamen Oresharski, Bulgarian economist and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria

1961 Christopher Atkins, American actor and businessman

1961 Elliot Hirshman, American psychologist and academic

1962 Chuck Palahniuk, American novelist and journalist

1962 David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2008)

1963 William Baldwin, American actor

1963 Ranking Roger, English singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)

1963 Greg Turner, New Zealand golfer

1964 Mark Kelly, American astronaut and politician

1964 Scott Kelly (astronaut), American astronaut

1965 Mark Ferguson (news presenter), Australian journalist

1967 Leroy Burrell, American runner and coach

1967 Sari Essayah, Finnish athlete and politician

1969 James Dean Bradfield, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist

1969 Aunjanue Ellis, American actress and producer

1969 Petra Kronberger, Austrian skier

1969 Tony Meola, American soccer player and manager

1969 Cathy Richardson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1970 Michael Slater, Australian cricketer and sportscaster

1971 Pierre Fulke, Swedish golfer

1973 Heri Joensen, Faroese singer-songwriter and guitarist

1973 Brian Rolston, American ice hockey player and coach

1974 Iván Campo, Spanish footballer

1975 Scott Miller (swimmer), Australian swimmer

1976 Michael McIntyre, English comedian, actor and television presenter

1976 Ryan Smyth, Canadian ice hockey player

1977 Steve Francis, American basketball player

1977 Rhiannon Giddens, American musician

1978 Erick Barkley, American basketball player

1979 Tituss Burgess, American actor and singer

1979 Carlito (wrestler), Puerto Rican wrestler

1979 Pascal Chimbonda, Guadeloupean-French footballer

1979 Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and producer

1979 Jordan Peele, American actor, comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter

1980 Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player

1980 Tiziano Ferro, Italian singer-songwriter and producer

1980 Brendan Sexton III, American actor

1980 Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 5th King of Bhutan

1981 Tsuyoshi Wada, Japanese baseball player

1982 Andre Barrett, American basketball player

1982 Chantal Claret, American singer-songwriter

1982 Tebogo Jacko Magubane, South African DJ and producer

1983 Braylon Edwards, American football player

1983 Franklin Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player

1983 Mélanie Laurent, French actress

1984 Andy Ellis (rugby union), New Zealand rugby player

1984 David Odonkor, German footballer

1984 Marco Paoloni, Italian footballer

1984 James Wisniewski, American ice hockey player

1985 Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer

1986 Charlotte Church, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress

1987 Eniola Aluko, English footballer

1987 Ashley Greene, American actress

1987 Elliot Page, Canadian actor

1988 Donté Greene, American basketball player

1989 Corbin Bleu, American actor, model, dancer, film producer and singer-songwriter

1989 Ian Cole, American ice hockey player

1989 Federico Fernández (footballer), Argentine footballer

1989 Jake Muzzin, Canadian ice hockey player

1990 Mattias Tedenby, Swedish ice hockey player

1991 Joe Alwyn, English actor

1991 Riyad Mahrez, Algerian footballer

1991 Ji So-yun, South Korean footballer

1991 Devon Travis, American baseball player

1992 Phil Jones (footballer, born 1992), English footballer

1993 Steve Leo Beleck, Cameroonian footballer

1993 Davy Klaassen, Dutch footballer

1994 Tang Haochen, Chinese tennis player

1994 Hayley Orrantia, American actress and singer-songwriter

1994 Wendy (singer), South Korean singer

1996 Noah Rubin (tennis), American tennis player

1996 Sophie Turner, English actress

1999 Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, Thai actor and singer

4 AD Gaius Caesar, Roman Roman consul and grandson of Augustus (b. 20 BC)

675 Randoald of Grandval, priory # Other prior and priories of the Benedictine monastery of Grandval, Switzerland

1184 Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Japanese List of shōguns (b. 1154)

1211 Aymon de Briançon, archbishop of Tarentaise and crusader

1267 Baldwin of Ibelin, Seneschal of Cyprus

1437 James I of Scotland (b. 1394; assassinated)

1471 Jan Rokycana, Czech bishop and theologian (b. 1396)

1513 Pope Julius II (b. 1443)

1543 Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, Somalian general (b. 1507)

1554 Hieronymus Bock, German botanist and physician (b. 1498)

1572 Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (b. 1501)

1590 Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and general (b. 1528)

1595 Robert Southwell (Jesuit), English priest and poet (b. 1561)

1677 Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1632)

1715 Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, English politician (b. 1637)

1730 Pope Benedict XIII (b. 1649)

1821 Georg Friedrich von Martens, German jurist and diplomat (b. 1756)

1824 Eugène de Beauharnais, French general (b. 1781)

1829 Kittur Chennamma, Indian queen and freedom fighter (b. 1778)

1846 Emperor Ninkō of Japan (b. 1800)

1862 Justinus Kerner, German poet and physician (b. 1786)

1888 William Weston (Australian politician), English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1804)

1891 James Timberlake, American lieutenant and police officer (b. 1846)

1918 Incas (parakeet), endling Carolina parakeet (h. )

1919 Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Minister-President of Bavaria (b. 1867)

1926 Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1853)

1934 Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (b. 1895)

1938 George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and academic (b. 1868)

1941 Frederick Banting, Canadian physician and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1891)

1944 Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-French racing driver (b. 1873)

1945 Eric Liddell, Scottish rugby player and runner (b. 1902)

1946 José Streel, Belgian journalist (b. 1911)

1947 Fannie Charles Dillon, American composer (b. 1881)

1958 Duncan Edwards, English footballer (b. 1936)

1965 Malcolm X, American minister and activist (b. 1925)

1967 Charles Beaumont, American author and screenwriter (b. 1929)

1968 Howard Florey, Australian pathologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1898)

1972 Zhang Guohua (politician, born 1914), Chinese general and politician (b. 1914)

1972 Bronislava Nijinska, Russian-American dancer and choreographer (b. 1891)

1972 Eugène Tisserant, French cardinal (b. 1884)

1974 Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, co-founded Tim Hortons (b. 1930)

1980 Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author (b. 1914)

1982 Gershom Scholem, German-Israeli historian and philosopher (b. 1897)

1984 Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate (b. 1905)

1985 Louis Hayward, South African-American actor (b. 1909)

1986 Helen Hooven Santmyer, American novelist (b. 1895)

1991 Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, Australian poet, critic, and academic (b. 1915)

1991 Nutan, Indian actress (b. 1936)

1993 Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (b. 1888)

1994 Johannes Steinhoff, German general and pilot (b. 1913)

1995 Robert Bolt, English dramatist (b. 1924)

1996 Morton Gould, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1913)

1999 Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1918)

1999 Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (b. 1914)

1999 Wilmer Mizell, American baseball player and politician (b. 1930)

2002 John Thaw, English actor and producer (b. 1942)

2004 John Charles, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1931)

2005 Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban author, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1929)

2005 Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1929)

2008 Ben Chapman (actor), American actor (b. 1928)

2011 Dwayne McDuffie, American author and screenwriter, co-founded Milestone Media (b. 1962)

2011 Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (b. 1926)

2012 H. M. Darmstandler, American general (b. 1922)

2013 Hasse Jeppson, Swedish footballer (b. 1925)

2014 Héctor Maestri, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1935)

2014 Matthew Robinson (snowboarder), Australian snowboarder (b. 1985)

2014 Cornelius Schnauber, German–American historian, playwright, and academic (b. 1939)

2015 Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1931)

2015 Sadeq Tabatabaei, Iranian journalist and politician (b. 1943)

2015 Clark Terry, American trumpet player, composer, and educator (b. 1920)

2016 Eric Brown (pilot), Scottish-English captain and pilot (b. 1919)

2017 Jeanne Martin Cissé, Guinean teacher and politician (b. 1926)

2018 Billy Graham, American evangelist (b. 1918)

2019 Stanley Donen, American film director (b. 1924)

2019 Peter Tork, American musician and actor (b. 1942)

2021 Mireya Arboleda, Colombian classical pianist (b. 1928)

2021 Kevin Dann, Australian rugby league player (b. 1958)

2024 John Bahnsen, United States Army brigadier general and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War (b. 1934)

Armed Forces Day # South Africa

Harald V of Norway (Norway)

Christian feast day:

- Felix of Hadrumetum

- Pepin of Landen

- Peter Damian

- Randoald of Grandval

- February 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Public holidays in Vanuatu (Vanuatu)

Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)

International Mother Language Day (UNESCO)

The first day of the Public holidays in Bhutan, celebrated until February 23. (Bhutan)

The first day of the Tagum City # Cultural activities and festivities, celebrated until February 27. (Tagum City, Philippines)

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/21 BBC: On This Day]

[https://www.onthisday.com/events/february/21 Historical Events on February 21]