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What happened in history on this day: August 21?
On August 21 in ...
- 1831 - Nat Turner slave revolt kills 55 (Southampton County, Virginia).
- 1841 - John Hampson first patents the Venetian blind in the United States.
- 1858 - First Abraham Lincoln - Douglas debate (Illinois).
- 1862 - Due to a circulating coin shortage, the US Treasury Department begins using impressions of 5-cent and 10-cent postage stamps on Treasury paper as currency, in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents.
- 1878 - The American Bar Association is founded at Sarasota, New York.
- 1888 - William Seward Burroughs patents the first successful adding machine in the United States.
- 1944 - Dumbarton Oaks conference opens in Washington, DC; establishes United Nations.
- 1945 - US President Harry Truman ends Lend-Lease program.
- 1953 - Marion Carl in Douglas Skyrocket reaches record altitude 25,370m.
- 1959 - Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the USA.
- 1965 - Gemini 5 launched into Earth orbit (two astronauts).
- 1968 - William Dana reaches 80 km (last high-altitude X-15 flight).
- 1972 - US orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus launched.
- 1987 - Clayton Lonetree, first US Marine court-martialed for spying, convicted.
- 1987 - At the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, the 14th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Races are held, over three days. About 50,000 people attend. Chevrolet holds its official 75th birthday party. Many historic Corvettes are on display and 34 participate in races, including the 1957 Corvette SS, 1960 Le Mans Corvette, CERV I, CERV II, 1959 Stingray, 1970 Manta Ray, 1977 Aerovette, two 1956 Corvette SR-2s, 1969 Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corvette, 1971 ZR-2 Corvette, 1963 Z06 Corvette, 1956 Sebring Corvette, 1962 Sebring coupe, and two 1963 Grand Sports (#003 and #004). Attending the event are Zora Arkus-Duntov, Ed Cole, Dave McLellan, Dick Thompson, Phil Hill, Jim Hall, Joe Pike, John Fitch, Augie Pabst, Roger Penske, Bill Mitchell, Hap Sharp, and Bob D'Olivio.
- 1992 - (to August 22) Events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho are sparked by a Federal Marshal surveillance team, resulting in the death of Marshal Sam Weaver and his dog and the next day the wounding of Randy Weaver, the death of his wife Vicki and the wounding of Kevin Harris.
- 1993 - NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Observer orbiter three days before the spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around Mars.
- 1995 - US District Court Judge Thomas Jackson holds the first and only hearing on the consent decree between Microsoft and the US Department of Justice. Within 17 minutes, he signs his approval of it. The decree will govern Microsoft's licensing practices of Windows for the next 6.5 years, barring the company from linking unrelated software licenses. The ruling comes after five years of investigation of monopolistic licensing practices.
- 2007 - STS-118 lands at the Kennedy Space Center, completing Space Shuttle Endeavour's 19th flight.
- 2017 - A total solar eclipse is visible within a band across the entire contiguous United States of America, passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. Prime viewing location is near Carbondale, Illinois.
Births on August 21
- 1796 - Birth of Asher Brown Durand in South Orange, New Jersey, USA; engraver of first US postage stamps (1847 5-cent and 10-cent), landscape painter, president of National Academy of Design.
- 1890 - Birth of Bill Henry in San Francisco, California, USA; newscaster (Who Said That?).
- 1904 - Birth of William James Basie AKA Count Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey, USA; jazz pianist, band leader, composer ("One O'Clock Jump", "April In Paris", Blazing Saddles) (dies 1984).
- 1907 - Birth of Roy K Marshall in Glen Carbon, Illinois, USA; TV scientist (The Nature of Things).
- 1915 - Birth of Morris Weinstein AKA Jack Weston in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; actor (Four Seasons, Rad).
- 1919 - Birth of Bill Idelson in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor/writer (Vic and Sade radio show, Herman Glimscher - The Dick Van Dyke Show TV show, MASH, Andy Griffith, Happy Days, The Flintstones).
- 1923 - Birth of Chris Schenkel in Biuppus, Indiana, USA; sportscasters (play-by-play for ABC TV on college football, Major League Baseball, NBA basketball, golf and tennis tournaments, boxing, auto racing, Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Professional Bowling).
- 1924 - Birth of Clara Ward to Gertrude Wardin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; composer, arranger, lyricist, singer (Ward Singers, Ward Trio, The Famous Ward Singers, Consecrated Family Gospel Singers, "How I Got Over" song, "Packin' Up" song).
- 1924 - Birth of Jack Buck in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA; sportscaster (baseball play-by-play of the St. Louis Cardinals, NFL football, World Series Baseball, Monday Night Football for CBS radio).
- 1931 - Birth of Nancy Hadley in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (Love That Jill, Joey Bishop Show).
- 1939 - Birth of Clarence Williams III in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Mod Squad, 52 Pick Up, Purple Rain).
- 1944 - Birth of Jackie DeShannon in Hazel, Kentucky, USA; singer ("What the World Needs Now").
- 1945 - Birth of Patty McCormack in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actress (Mama, Peck's Bad Girl, The Ropers).
- 1951 - Birth of Harry Smith in Indiana, USA; TV host (CBS Morning Show).
- 1957 - Birth of Kim Sledge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; vocalist (Sister Sledge - "We are Family").
Deaths on August 21
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