Historical Events in 2021 (Part 5)

Events 801 - 909 of 909

  • Nov 3 South African writer Damon Galgut wins literature's Booker Prize for his novel "The Promise"
  • Nov 3 US begins vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 years with a lower dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
  • Nov 4 Albino activist Overstone Kondowe is sworn in as Malawi's first MP with albinism [1]
  • Nov 4 COP26 climate pledges, if kept, could help limit global warning to 1.8 °C (above pre-industrial averages) according to the International Energy Agency [1]
  • Nov 4 WHO says Europe is again the Epicenter for COVID-19 after cases rise 50% in a month [1]
  • Nov 5 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Del Mar Racetrack; Day 1 winners: Twilight Gleaming, Echo Zulu, Pizza Bianca, Corniche, Modern Games
  • Nov 5 Eight people crushed to death and 13 hospitalized in a crowd surge during a Travis Scott performance at Astroworld Festival, Houston, Texas [1]
  • Nov 5 NFL Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rogers admits in interview he is unvaccinated and taking unapproved treatment after testing positive for COVID-19 and in isolation [1]
  • Nov 6 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Del Mar Racetrack; Day 2 winners: Ce Ce, Golden Pal, Life Is Good, Loves Only You, Aloha West, Space Blues, Marche Lorraine, Yibir, Knicks Go
  • Nov 7 Attempt to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi through drone attack on his home in Baghdad
  • Nov 7 Kyle Larson holds off Martin Truex Jr in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway to earn his 10th win of the season and claim his first Cup Series championship
  • Nov 8 US reopens its borders to vaccinated non US citizens after more than 18 months, lifting restrictions imposed because of COVID-19
  • Nov 9 105 year old Julia Hawkins sets world record as first woman and first American her age to run 100 meters Louisiana Senior Olympic Games [1]

Film & TV History

Nov 9 Actor Paul Rudd is named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive

Event of Interest

Nov 9 EU accuses Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko of "inhuman, gangster-style approach" to thousands of migrants massing on their border with Poland in freezing conditions

  • Nov 10 China and the US announce plans to work together on cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the COP26 summit

Film & TV History

Nov 10 New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson sells Weta Digital's technology division to video games company Unity for US$1.6 billion [1]

  • Nov 11 Near-earth asteroid Kamo`oalewa, the size of a ferris wheel, very likely a fragment of the moon, according to a new study [1]

Music History

Nov 12 "Voyage", ABBA's first album of new material in 40 years, tops the UK album chart

  • Nov 12 At least 68 inmates killed in new fighting at Ecuadorean prison, the Litoral Penitentiary, Guayaquil, following earlier violence in September

Music History

Nov 12 LA judge rules to end Britney Spears' conservatorship, which had controlled almost all aspects of her life for 14 years

Film Release

Nov 12 Taylor Swift releases her directorial debut the short film "All Too Well" alongside her re-recorded album "Red (Taylor's Version)"

  • Nov 13 Germany records its highest number of daily COVID-19 cases amid warnings its fourth wave could kill 100,000 [1]
  • Nov 13 Glasgow Climate Pact agreed at COP26: commits countries to a phasedown" of "unabated" coal, end deforestation by 2030 and cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030 [1]
  • Nov 14 Attack on a military police outpost near a gold mine in Inata, northern Burkina Faso, kills at least 53, prompting three days of national mourning [1]
  • Nov 14 ICC Men's Cricket T20 World Cup, Dubai: Australia beats New Zealand by 8 wickets with 7 balls remaining for their first title; Player of the series: Australian batsman David Warner (289 runs)
  • Nov 15 Former Trump aide Stephen Bannon turns himself in after being found in contempt of US Congress by a federal grand jury, after refusing to comply with investigation into Jan 6

Event of Interest

Nov 15 US President Joe Biden signs a 'once in a generation' $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law [1]

  • Nov 16 Astronauts on board the International Space Station forced to take shelter as Russian weapons test creates 1,500 debris field

Event of Interest

Nov 16 Frida Kahlo's self-portrait "Diego y yo" (1949) sells for $34.9m - record price at for a Latin American work at auction

  • Nov 16 Guanyu Zhou confirmed as China's first F1 driver, racing for Alfa Romeo in 2022 [1]
  • Nov 16 Men's roller derby team settles dispute with MLB baseball team, allowing both to use Cleveland Guardians name
  • Nov 17 British Columbia declares a state of emergency after an "atmospheric river" storm causes widespread rain and flooding [1]
  • Nov 17 Delhi authorities order schools shut till further notice and construction halted as Supreme Court calls for a "pollution lockdown" as city battles winter smog
  • Nov 17 Garbiñe Muguruza becomes first Spanish player to win WTA Finals defeating Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6–3, 7–5 in Zapopan, Mexico
  • Nov 17 Record number of Americans, over 100,000, died of drug overdoses April 2020 - April 2021 according to the CDC [1]
  • Nov 17 US capitol rioter QAnon Shaman [Jacob Chansley] sentenced to three years in prison by a federal court [1]
  • Nov 17 US National Book Award given to Jason Mott (fiction), Tiya Miles (nonfiction) and Martín Espada (poetry)

Event of Interest

Nov 18 US judge exonerates two men for the killing of Malcolm X in 1965, saying they were "wrongly convicted" [1]

Album Release

Nov 19 Adele releases her fourth studio album "30"

  • Nov 19 Austria becomes the first country to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory (from 1 Feb) as it announces its fourth lockdown [1]
  • Nov 19 Longest partial lunar eclipse since 1440, lasting 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds
  • Nov 19 MLB Cleveland Indians name change to Guardians becomes official
  • Nov 19 Rare original copy of the U.S. Constitution sold to Ken Griffin, head of hedge fund Citadel, for $43.2 million - world record price for a book, historical document or manuscript [1]

Album Release

Nov 19 Rounder Records releases "Raise The Roof", the 2nd collaborative album by American bluegrass singer Alison Krauss and British rock vocalist Robert Plant

  • Nov 19 US jury clears Kyle Rittenhouse (18) of murder for fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during racial justice protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin
  • Nov 21 "Voiceless Mass" by Raven Chacon, premieres at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee - first work by an Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music [1]
  • Nov 21 49th American Music Awards: BTS, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Drake & Luke Bryan win

Sports History

Nov 21 Alexander Zverev of Germany captures his second ATP Finals men's tennis title defeating world #2 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 in Turin

Sports History

Nov 21 British driver Lewis Hamilton wins 1st Qatar Grand Prix Formula One motor race at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar

  • Nov 23 At least 45 people are killed when a bus crashes and catches fire, near Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Nov 23 Egypt reopens its 3000 year old Avenue of the Sphinxes in Luxor with a grand ceremony [1]

Event of Interest

Nov 23 Manuscript of early workings of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity "one of the most important scientific documents of the 20th century" sells at auction for $13 million [1]

  • Nov 23 NASA launches its DART Mission, to test technology to prevent future impact on earth by hazardous asteroid, by deliberately crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid (in a real life echo of the movie Armageddon) [1]
  • Nov 24 At least 27 migrants drown after their boat capsizes in the English Channel trying to reach the UK
  • Nov 24 Sweden's first female Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson resigns after 12 hours in the job after her coalition government falls apart
  • Nov 24 Three men found guilty by a jury of felony murder of black runner Ahmaud Arbery, with Travis McMichael also convicted of malice murder in Brunswick, Georgia [1]

COVID-19 Pandemic

Nov 25 Germany's COVID-19 death toll passes 100,000 (Robert Koch Institute) amid its highest surge in infections yet

  • Nov 25 India has more girls than boys for the first time in its history and its population boom is ending, according to new government survey [1]
  • Nov 25 Peter Jackson's documentary series "The Beatles: Get Back" premieres on Disney+
  • Nov 26 WHO labels COVID-19 variant Omicron a "variant of concern", with its dozens of new mutations, after it emerges in Botswana and South Africa [1]
  • Nov 28 Honduras presidential elections: Xiomara Castro elected country's first female president (declared 2 Dec)
  • Nov 29 British socialite and former girlfriend of Jeffery Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of sex trafficking in a federal court in Manhattan [1]

Ballon d'Or

Nov 29 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Argentina and PSG forward Lionel Messi wins his record 7th award from Robert Lewandowski; FC Barcelona attacking midfielder Alexia Putellas is Women's World Player of the Year

Appointment of Interest

Nov 29 Jack Dorsey announces he is stepping down as CEO of Twitter, to be replaced by Parag Agrawal

  • Nov 30 15 year old student shoots four death and injures seven at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan

Music History

Nov 30 Barbados becomes a Republic, removing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state in a ceremony with Sandra Mason sworn in as the first President, with Rihanna declared a national hero

Event of Interest

Nov 30 El Chapo's wife Emma Coronel Aispuro sentenced to three years in the US for helping run her husband's drug cartel and aid his escape from prison

Music History

Nov 30 Josephine Baker becomes the first black woman to be honored at Paris’ Panthéon, France's highest honor

  • Dec 1 Tel Aviv named the world's most expensive city for the first time ahead of Singapore and Paris, with Damascus the cheapest [1]
  • Dec 1 Turner Art Prize awarded to activist group Array Collective for installation including mock Irish pub - first Northern Irish artists to win [1]
  • Dec 4 Mt Semeru erupts on Java island, Indonesia, killing at least 14 and injuring 56
  • Dec 4 New Zealand cricket spin bowler Ajaz Patel (10-119) joins Jim Laker and Anil Kumble as the only three men to take all ten wickets in a Test innings, on Day 2 of the 2nd Test against India in Mumbai
  • Dec 5 First known Hippos tests positive for COVID-19 at Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, with staff putting Imani (14) and Hermien (41) into isolation [1]

Music History

Dec 5 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony held for Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels and Justino Diaz with President Biden attending in Washington D.C.

Event of Interest

Dec 6 Former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to four years (later reduced to two) for inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 protocols [1]

  • Dec 6 New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announces a COVID-19 mandate for all private employers effective December 27, to combat Omicron, 1st in the country
  • Dec 7 Chile becomes the 31st nation to legalize same-sex marriage [1]
  • Dec 7 US President Joe Biden warns Russian President Vladimir Putin of economic consequences if Russia continues a military build-up in Ukraine, during a virtual meeting

Event of Interest

Dec 8 Olaf Scholz is sworn as the new Chancellor of Germany, replacing Angela Merkel after 16 years

  • Dec 9 Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime in 2019, in a Chicago court
  • Dec 9 Chicago Black Hawks Marc-Andre Fleury becomes 3rd NHL goaltender to reach 500 career wins in 2-0 shut-out over the Canadiens at Montreal
  • Dec 9 More than 40 camels disqualified from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival beauty contest after Botox injections and other cosmetic enhancements were discovered [1]
  • Dec 9 Truck with a trailer carrying 150 migrants crashes in Chiapas, Mexico, killing 54 [1]
  • Dec 10 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, London, England: Europe retains trophy with an 11-6 win over US; MVP: Jayson Shaw (Scotland)
  • Dec 10 Rare December tornadoes strike four American states, with a 'Quad-State Tornado' across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, completely destroying some towns and leaving at least 70 dead
  • Dec 11 87th Heisman Trophy Award: Bryce Young, Alabama (QB)

COVID-19 Pandemic

Dec 12 British PM Boris Johnson announces a emergency COVID-19 booster program to protect the NHS and stem a possible incoming “tidal wave of Omicron” [1]

  • Dec 12 Dutchman Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 Drivers' C'ship for Red Bull with a controversial last lap win over Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP
  • Dec 13 1 in a 100 Americans aged over 65 has now died of COVID-19, or 75% of total deaths, according to the CDC [1]
  • Dec 13 70th Miss Universe Contest won by Miss India's Harnaaz Sandhu in Eilat, Israel

Event of Interest

Dec 13 Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, named Time's Person of the Year

  • Dec 13 First COVID-19 Omicron death in the UK reported by PM Boris Johnson

Film Premiere

Dec 13 Marvel superhero film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by Jon Watts, premieres in Los Angeles

  • Dec 14 American Covid-19 death toll passes 800,000, with more deaths recorded in 2021 than 2020
  • Dec 14 Fuel tanker explosion after an accident leaves at least 90 dead in city of Cap-Haitien, Haiti [1]
  • Dec 14 Steph Curry makes his 2,974th three-point shot to pass Ray Allen as the NBA's greatest career 3-point shooter during Golden State Warriors' 105-96 win over NY Knicks at Madison Square Garden

Music History

Dec 15 Bruce Springsteen sells his music back catalogue to Sony Music Entertainment for an estimated $500 million, in possibly the biggest deal ever for a single artist [1]

  • Dec 15 COVID-19 Omicron variant called "probably the most significant threat" of the pandemic by head of UK Health Security Agency, warning of "staggering" growth in next few days [1]

Event of Interest

Dec 15 Las Vegas' McCarran Airport officially changes name to Harry Reid International Airport

  • Dec 16 Six children die in a bouncy castle accident at a school in Devonport, Tasmasia, Australia
  • Dec 16 Super Typhoon Rai strikes the Philippines' south-eastern islands with winds of 195km/h (120mph), killing at least 375
  • Dec 17 Discovery of the first true millipede (Eumillipes persephone) with 1,000 legs found down a drill hole in Western Australia published in "Scientific Reports" [1]
  • Dec 19 Former student activist Gabriel Boric wins Chile's Presidential election, to become the country's youngest president at 35
  • Dec 20 First Hong Kong legislative elections with only 'patriot' candidates allowed to stand has low turnout of 30%
  • Dec 21 Major breakthrough in development of nuclear fission energy when experiment produces 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds at JET Laboratory, UK (reported Feb 2022) [1]
  • Dec 25 NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launched in joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America [1]
  • Dec 28 Test cricket debutant Scott Boland takes 6 for 7 as Australia retain the Ashes (3-0) with an innings & 14 run win against England in the 3rd Test in Melbourne
  • Dec 30 Rare winter wildfire destroys nearly 1000 homes at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, in suburban neighborhoods between Boulder and Denver [1]