What Happened on February 21
Important Events
- 1173 Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1613 Michael Romanov, son of Patriarch of Moscow, elected first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov
- 1804 1st locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for the 1st time, along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
- 1916 World War I: Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
- 1922 Britain declares Egypt a sovereign state
- 1972 Richard Nixon becomes the first US President to visit China, normalizing relations between the countries in a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing
February 21 in Film & TV
- 1990 "The Batman Theme" by Danny Elfman wins Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition at 32nd Annual Grammy Awards
- 2003 Bill Maher's political talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher" debuts on HBO
February 21 in Sport
- 1931 Chicago White Sox & NY Giants play 1st exhibition night game
Famous Birthdays
Santa Anna
(1794 - 1876)- Robert Mugabe
(1924 - 2019) - Nina Simone
(1933 - 2003) - Alan Rickman
(1946 - 2016) - Jennifer Love Hewitt
41 Years Old - Ellen Page
33 Years Old
Santa Anna
Robert Mugabe
Nina Simone
Alan Rickman
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Ellen PageWould You Believe?
World's 1st telephone directory issued, 50 subscribers (New Harbor, Connecticut)
On February 21, 1878
Famous Weddings
- 1807 US President Martin Van Buren (24) weds highschool sweetheart Hannah Hoes (23) in Catskill, New York
- 1952 Actress Elizabeth Taylor (19) marries for the 2nd time to actor Michael Wilding (39)
- 1954 Actor Leonard Nimoy (22) weds actress Sandra Zober
Famous Deaths
- James I
(1394 - 1437) - Julius II
(1443 - 1513) - Frederick Banting
(1891 - 1941) - Malcolm X
(1925 - 1965) - Tim Horton
(1930 - 1974) - Billy Graham
(1918 - 2018)
James I
Julius II
Frederick Banting
Malcolm X
Tim Horton
Billy GrahamFebruary in History
Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK
John F. Kennedy's aides struggling to load the casket containing the slain President aboard Air Force One is an enduring image. But what happened to the casket?
February 18, 1966Final Deadly Performance of a Twisted Actor
From a celebrated family of actors came a young man with a twisted mind whose last performance involved the death of a president.
February 20, 1817Wonder of Woolworths Begins its Meteoric Rise
It was a simple idea: opening a store where nothing cost more than five cents. The idea caught on so quickly that Woolworth’s became a retail phenomenon.
February 22, 1878The Man Who Re-wrote 'Offensive' Shakespeare
Thomas Bowdler, the man who re-wrote Shakespeare to remove the "offensive" bits, died on this day and added a new word – bowdlerise – to the language.
February 24, 1825
