This Day in History
November 21

Copyright © 2006-2024 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/
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What happened in history on this day: November 21?

On November 21 in ...

  • 235 - Saint Anterus begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
  • 496 - Saint Gelasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
  • 1495 - Birth of John Bale England, bishop/anti-catholic playwright (Kynge Johan).
  • 1555 - Death of Georgius Agricola AKA Georg Bauer in Chemnitz, Germany. Agricola was a humanist, physician and scientist who is often called "the father of mineralogy". He was one of the first to base his science on the observation of nature rather than speculation. Among his works are De re metallica, De natura fossilium, De natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra, aDe ortu et causis subterraneorum.
  • 1620 - Myles Standish leads a party of Pilgrims ashore (at Provincetown).
  • 1654 - Richard Johnson, a free black, granted 550 acres in Virginia.
  • 1694 - Birth of Voltaire [Francois-Marie Arouet] in France; thinker, author.
  • 1783 - In Paris, France, Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes make first untethered hot air balloon flight, in the Aerostat Reveillon, travelling 5.5 miles from the center of Paris to a local vineyard.
  • 1787 - Birth of Samuel Cunard; founder (first regular Atlantic steamship line).
  • 1789 - North Carolina ratifies US Constitution, becomes 12th US state.
  • 1791 - Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the French Republic.
  • 1794 - Honolulu Harbor discovered.
  • 1817 - Birth of Richard B Garnett; US Brigadier General (killed during Pickett's charge).
  • 1817 - Great fire in Saint John's, Newfoundland, burns over 260 buildings.
  • 1818 - Russia's Czar Alexander I petitions for a Jewish state in Palestine.
  • 1824 - First Jewish Reform congregation established, in Charleston, South Carolina.
  • 1837 - Thomas Morris of Australia skips rope 22,806 times.
  • 1847 - Steamer Phoenix is lost on Lake Michigan, 200 dead.
  • 1854 - Birth of Benedict XV, 258th Roman Catholic pope (1914-22).
  • 1863 - Birth of Arthur Quiller-Couch; editor (Oxford Book of English Verse).
  • 1871 - Moses Gale patents a cigar lighter.
  • 1877 - American inventor Thomas A. Edison announces his successful development of the "talking machine" or phonograph.
  • 1898 - Birth of René Magritte; painter (This is Not a Pipe).
  • 1899 - Garret Augustus Hobart, 24th US Vice President, dies.
  • 1902 - Birth of Foster Hewitt in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; hockey broadcaster (thousands of NHL, world, and Olympic hockey matches).
  • 1902 - Treaty of Wisconsin ends the Thousand Days war (Los Mil Dias) in Colombia.
  • 1902 - First night football game, Philadelphia Athletics beats Kanaweola AC, 39-0.
  • 1904 - Birth of Coleman Hawkins in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA; jazz saxophone virtuoso and bandleader.
  • 1907 - Birth of Charles Korvin in Piestany, Hungary; actor (Berlin Express, Ship of Fools).
  • 1907 - Birth of Jim Bishop; author (The Day Lincoln was Shot).
  • 1908 - Birth of Franz Pfnor in Germany; slalom (Olympic-gold-1936).
  • 1912 - Birth of Eleanor Powell in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA; actress/tap dancer (Broadway Melody).
  • 1916 - White Star's Britannic ocean liner, serving as a hospital ship in the Aegean sea, hits a mine and sinks off the coast of Greece; 30 dead.
  • 1916 - Birth of Sid Luckman; NFL quarterback (Chicago Bears).
  • 1920 - Birth of Ralph Meeker in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; actor (Anderson Tapes, Night Stalker).
  • 1920 - Birth of Stan Musial; outfielder (Saint Louis Cardinal, seven times National League batting champion).
  • 1921 - Birth of Vivian Blaine in Newark, New Jersey, USA; actress (Guys and Dolls, Skirts Ahoy).
  • 1922 - Rebecca Latimer Felton is sworn in as US Senator at age 87. First female US senator.
  • 1927 - Birth of Joseph Campanella in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Dr Steffen - The Nurses, Lou - Mannix, That's Life, The Colbys, Days of our Lives).
  • 1929 - Birth of Laurier LaPierre; Canadian broadcaster/academic (This Hour has Seven Days, The Vancouver Show).
  • 1931 - Ali Fethi Okyar forms new (third) government in Turkey.
  • 1932 - Birth of Jim Ringo; NFL center (Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles).
  • 1933 - First US ambassador to USSR, W.C. Bullitt, begins service.
  • 1933 - Birth of Henry Hartsfield Junior in Birmingham, Alabama, USA; astronaut (STS-4, STS 41-D, STS 61A).
  • 1933 - Birth of Jean Shepard in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, USA; country singer (Ozark Jubilee).
  • 1934 - Birth of Laurence Luckinbill in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA; actor (Delphi Bureau, Ike, Space).
  • 1934 - New York Yankees buy Joe DiMaggio from San Francisco Seals.
  • 1936 - Birth of James De Preist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; conductor (Mitropolos 1964).
  • 1937 - Birth of Marlo Thomas in Detroit, Michigan, USA; actress (That Girl, Jenny, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).
  • 1938 - Birth of Robert Drivas; actor (Our Private World).
  • 1939 - Birth of Richard Lenz in Springfield, Illinois, USA; actor (Hec Ramsey, Scandalous John, Green Acres, Dynasty).
  • 1940 - Birth of Natalia Maskarova in Leningrad, USSR; ballerina (Kirov) defected 1970.
  • 1941 - Birth of Juliet Mills in London, England; actress (Nanny and the Professor, QB VII, Passions, Till We Meet Again).
  • 1941 - German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt's army group seizes Rostov on the Don river.
  • 1942 - Birth of Michael Cavanaugh; actor (24, Dark Shadows, Starman).
  • 1943 - Birth of Larry Mahan in Oregon, USA; rodeo champion (1967-70).
  • 1944 - Birth of Marcy Carsey; television producer (Roseanne, Cosby Show).
  • 1944 - Birth of Harold Ramis; Comedian-director (Second City TV).
  • 1944 - Birth of Earl "the Pearl" Monroe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; NGA Guard (New York Knicks, Baltimore Bullets).
  • 1945 - Birth of Goldie Hawn in Takoma Park, Maryland, USA; actress (Laugh-in, Private Benjamin).
  • 1945 - General Motors' workers go on strike.
  • 1948 - Birth of Lonnie Jordan; rock musician (War).
  • 1950 - Birth of Alberto Juantorena in Cuba; 400m dash (Olympic-gold-1976).
  • 1950 - Birth of Livingston Taylor in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; rocker ("I Will be in Love With You").
  • 1952 - First US postage stamp in two colors (rotary process) introduced.
  • 1952 - Birth of Deborah Shelton in Washington DC, USA; actress (Dallas, Ocean Kill, Body Double).
  • 1952 - Birth of Lorna Luft in Scarsdale, New York, USA; singer ("Where the Boys Are" (1980)), actress (Trapper John MD).
  • 1953 - Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announce that the "Piltdown Man" skull, discovered in 1912, and held to be one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, was a hoax.
  • 1953 - Birth of Tina Brown; journalist publisher (Tatler).
  • 1956 - Birth of Cherry Jones; actress (Loving, Clubhouse).
  • 1957 - Birth of Jim Brown; rocker (UB40 - "Red Red Wine").
  • 1958 - Mel Ott, New York Giants baseball star (1926-1947), dies at age 49.
  • 1959 - Birth of Tim Wilkison in Shelby, North Carolina, USA; tennis player (WCT Atlanta finals-1986).
  • 1959 - Jack Benny (violin) and Richard Nixon (piano) play their famed duet.
  • 1959 - Max Baer, American heavyweight boxing champion (1934), dies at age 49.
  • 1960 - Birth of Brian Ritchie; rock musician (The Violent Femmes).
  • 1963 - Birth of Nicollette Sheridan in Worthing, England; actress (Paige - Knots Landing, Desperate Housewives).
  • 1963 - US President John Kennedy administration asks Congress to authorize coining of silver dollars for use by gambling casinos.
  • 1964 - Birth of Marjorie Judith Vincent in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; Miss America (1991).
  • 1964 - World's longest suspension bridge "Verrazano Narrows" opens (New York City, New York).
  • 1967 - Phillip and Jay Kunz fly a kite a record 28,000 feet.
  • 1968 - Birth of Alex James; rock musician (Blur).
  • 1968 - Birth of Chauncey Hannibal; rhythm-and-blues singer (BLACKstreet).
  • 1970 - New York Knicks' first game against Cleveland Cavaliers, Knicks win 102-94 at Madison Square Gardens, New York.
  • 1971 - Birth of Pretty Lou; rapper (Lost Boyz).
  • 1971 - New York Rangers score a NHL record eight goals in one period.
  • 1973 - Allan Sherman, singer ("Goodbye Muddah, Goodbye Faddah"), dies at age 48.
  • 1974 - Birth of Kelsi Osborn; country singer (SHeDAISY).
  • 1975 - Birth of Cherie Johnson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; actress (Cherie - Punky Brewster).
  • 1977 - First flight of the Concorde from London to New York.
  • 1979 - After false radio reports from the Ayatollah Khomeini that the Americans had occupied the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan is attacked by a mob and set afire, killing four.
  • 1980 - 350 million people around the world tune in to television's primetime drama Dallas to find out who shot J.R. Ewing (Kristin Shepard, J.R.'s wife's sister and his former mistress).
  • 1980 - A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 85 people. The cause is determined to be faulty electrical system on the first floor.
  • 1980 - Gene Michaels replaces Dick Howser as New York Yankees' 25th manager.
  • 1981 - Harry Von Zell, TV announcer (Burns and Allen), dies at age 75.
  • 1981 - Death of Harry Von Zell of cancer at age 75; radio and TV announcer (George Burns/Gracie Allen Show on radio and TV), screenwriter (Wagon Train).
  • 1982 - Death of Lee Patrick of a heart seizure at age 80; actress (The O'Neills radio show, Maltese Falcon movie, Henrietta - Adventures of Topper TV show).
  • 1984 - Birth of Jena Malone; actress (The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, Hitler: The Rise of Evil).
  • 1986 - US National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start shredding documents implicating them in selling weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
  • 1987 - James E Folsom, American politician (Alabama-Governor, 1947-51, 1955-59) dies at age 79.
  • 1988 - Ted Turner officially buys Jim Crockett Promotions, known as NWA Crockett, and turns it into World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
  • 1988 - Brian Mulroney and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada win a second majority government.
  • 1989 - Atari introduces the Lynx hand-held video game system. It features a 4.0 MHz 65C02 processor, 16-bit graphics processor, Six sound channels, 3.5-inch color LCD screen, 16 colors out of 4096 palette. Weight is under one pound. Price is US$150-200, with the Galifornia Games video game cartridge.
  • 1990 - Michael Milken is sentenced to ten years for security law violations.
  • 1990 - Signing of Declaration of "End of Cold war" in Paris, France.
  • 1990 - In Japan, Nintendo releases the Super Family Computer (Super Famicom) game system. The system uses a 16-bit processor, has 512 kB RAM, displays graphics in over 32,000 colors, and includes the Super Mario World game.
  • 1991 - Macedonia declares independence.
  • 1991 - David "Sonny" Werblin, AFL owner (New York Jets), dies at age 81.
  • 1991 - Terry Pendleton wins Major League Baseball's National League's Most Valuable Player Award.
  • 1993 - Death of Bill Bixby of prostate cancer at age 58; American TV actor (The Incredible Hulk, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, My Favorite Martian, The Magician).
  • 1994 - Nintendo releases the Donkey Kong Country video game for the Super NES in the US and Canada. Price is US$69.95. The game was developed by Rare in England.
  • 1995 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 5,000 (5,023.55) for the first time.
  • 1995 - The Dayton Peace Agreement ends civil war in Bosnia.
  • 1995 - Death of Bruno Gerussi at age 67 of a heart attack in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; actor (The Beachcombers TV show).
  • 1996 - A propane explosion at the Humberto Vidal shoe store and office building in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 33.
  • 1996 - Death of Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926).
  • 1997 - In the India-Bangladesh border region, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurs. Twenty-three people killed, 200 injured, and a five-story building collapsed at Chittagong, Bangladesh.
  • 1998 - In Hyvinkää, Finland, satanists Jarno Elg, Terhi Tervashonka and Mika Riska murder, cut up, and partly eat a 23-year-old man.
  • 1999 - Maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean International's Voyager of the Seas cruise ship (142,000 gross tons, maximum 3838 passengers).
  • 1999 - Death of Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia since 1993.
  • 2001 - Death of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj, King of Malaysia (born 1926).
  • 2001 - Motor tank barge Stolt Rotterdam sinks during a discharging operation at Erdoelchemie Uerdingen, Germany; fumes are seen coming from the bottom of the barge, a fire breaks out in a store room, and the barge sinks, dumping about 2.4 million litres of nitric acid into the Rhine River.
  • 2002 - North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Prague: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are invited to join NATO.
  • 2004 - Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS handheld video game system in the US and Canada. It features two 3-inch diagonal screens, stereo speakers, microphone, IEEE 802.11 wireless communications with range about 30 feet. Size is 5.85 x 3.33 x 1.13 inches. Price in the US is US$149.99. 500,000 units are sold in the first week; 1.2 million in the first month.
  • 2004 - In the final round of presidential election in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych is declared the winner. International election observers express severe criticism, and large crowds gather in a protest rally in Kiev.
  • 2004 - The Terra Nova offshore oil platform malfunctions and spills 166,000 litres of oil off Newfoundland, Canada.
  • 2004 - The Toronto Argonauts win the Canadian Football League Championship for the first time in seven years, defeating the British Columbia Lions in the 92nd Grey Cup 27-19 at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Canada.
  • 2005 - SBC Communications Inc. changes its company name to AT&T Incorporated.
  • 2005 - The Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, announces his resignation from Likud and his intention to form a new party devoted to peace in the region, Kadima, and asks the President of Israel to call a general election.
  • 2006 - Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanon's Minister of Industry, is assassinated in Beirut.
  • 2006 - Israel's Supreme Court finds that Israel must recognize and register same-gender marriages celebrated in other countries.
  • 2006 - A gas explosion in the coal mine Halemba in Ruda Slaska, Poland, kills 23 miners approximately 1,000 metres below ground.
  • 2007 - Senegalese street vendors riot in Dakar after government attempts to ban them from operating in the center of the capital city.
  • 2010 - Eurozone countries agree to a 85 billion euro (US$115 billion) rescue package for the Republic of Ireland from the European Financial Stability Facility in response to the country's financial crisis.
  • 2010 - Blaise Compaoré is elected President of Burkina Faso.
  • 2013 - Euromaidan pro-EU demonstrations begin in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych rejects an economic association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in favor of closer ties to Russia.
  • 2014 - Lions Gate Films releases the film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 to theaters.
  • 2018 - Death of Devin Lima at age 41 of adrenal cancer; musician (LFO).
  • 2019 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
  • 2022 - Death of Wilko Johnson at age 75; guitarist (Dr Feelgood).

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