On This Day in History for November 21

Events 1 - 100 of 121

• 164 BC During Maccabbean revolt Judas Maccabaeus recaptures Jersusalem and rededicates the Second Temple, commemorated since as Jewish festival Hanukkah
• 235 St Anterus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
• 695 Pope Sergius names Willibrord as Archbishop Clemens of Friezen
• 1272 Following Henry III of England's death on November 16, his son Prince Edward becomes King of England.
• 1317 Frederik of Sierck/Zyrick becomes bishop of Utrecht
• 1620 Pilgrim Fathers reach America: Provincetown Harbor, Mass
• 1620 Mayflower Compact signed by Pilgrims at Cape Cod, [O.S. Nov 11]
• 1654 Richard Johnson, a free black, granted 550 acres in Virginia
• 1696 J Vanbrughe's "Relapse or Virtue in Danger" premieres in London
• 1729 Netherlands signs Treaty of Seville
• 1759 Battle at Maxen: Prussian army surrenders to Austrians
• 1783 Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes make 1st manned free balloon flight in a Montgolfier balloon

• 1789 North Carolina ratifies constitution, becomes 12th US state

• 1794 Honolulu Harbor discovered
• 1806 Decree of Berlin: Emperor Napoleon I bans all trade with Britain
• 1813 Stettin surrenders to allied armies
• 1818 Russia's Tsar Alexander I petitions for a Jewish state in Palestine
• 1824 First Jewish Reform congregation forms, Charleston, South Carolina
• 1834 HMS Beagle anchors at Bay of San Carlos, Chile
• 1837 Thomas Morris of Australia skips rope 22,806 times
• 1847 Steamer "Phoenix" is lost on Lake Michigan, kills 200
• 1848 Alfred de Musset's "Andre del Sarto" premieres in Paris
• 1848 Cincinnati Turngemeinde founded
• 1849 Friedrich Hebbel's "Der Rubin" premieres in Vienna
• 1852 Duke Uiversity, founded in 1838 as Union Institute, chartered as Normal College
• 1864 -22] Battle at Griswoldville, Georgia
• 1865 Shaw University forms in Raleigh NC
• 1871 Moses F Gale patents a cigar lighter (NYC)
• 1871 The first human cannonball, Emilio Onra, is fired
• 1876 Skirmish between HM Stanley's expedition & natives
• 1880 Henry Stanley & Pierre de Brazza quarrel about possession of Congo
• 1895 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Bruce Partington Plans" (BG)
• 1902 1st night football game, Philadelphia Athletics beats Kanaweola AC, 39-0
• 1902 The Canadian government appoints a commission to consider revising, classifying, and consolidating the many public statutes passed over the years
• 1906 China prohibits the opium trade
• 1914 Billy Mallett of Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in a game
• 1914 British army conquers Bazra
• 1916 HMHS Britannic sinks in the Aegean Sea after a mine explodes, killing 30 people

• 1918 2 German ammunition trains explode in Hamont Belgium, 1,750 die
• 1918 Polish soldiers organize a pogrom against Jews of Galicia, Poland
• 1918 The German High Seas Fleet of 5 battlecruisers, 9 battleships, 7 cruisers and 49 destroyers surrendered to the British Grand Fleet and were shepherded into the Firth of Forth
• 1920 Karel Capék's "Vec Makropulos" premieres in Prague

• 1921 The trial of the accused of the Bulhoek Massacre commences in South Africa
• 1922 Rebecca L Felton (Ga) sworn in as first female US Senator

• 1933 1st US ambassador to USSR, W.C. Bullitt, begins service
• 1934 "Uiver" returns from Schiphol in London-Melbourne air race


• 1935 Jean Giraudoux' "La Guerre de Troie n'Aura" premieres in Paris
• 1938 -24] Belgian king Leopold III visits Netherlands
• 1938 Nazi forces occupy western Czechoslovakia & declared them German citizens
• 1940 Nazi occupiers forbid building schools in Netherlands
• 1941 German troops occupy Rostov-on-Don, Southern Russia

• 1943 7 Belgian ministers in London criticise King Leopold III for surrendering to Germany
• 1944 Personnel & executive staff of Philips demonstrate for more food
• 1945 Benjamin Britten's 2nd String quartet in C premieres
• 1945 General Motors workers go on strike
• 1946 Georgi Dimitrov elected premier of Bulgaria
• 1946 Harry Truman becomes 1st US President to travel in a submerged sub
• 1949 Bill Veeck sells Indians for $22 million
• 1952 1st US postage stamp in 2 colors (rotary process) introduced
• 1953 Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announce the "Piltdown Man" skull, one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, is a hoax
• 1955 Argentina asks Panama for return of ex-president Peron
• 1956 Don Newcombe wins NL MVP & 1st-ever Cy Young Award
• 1960 Bob Scheffing signs to manage Tigers after Casey Stengel turns it down
• 1962 The Chinese People's Liberation Army declares a unilateral cease-fire in the Sino-Indian War.

• 1964 Pope Paul VI signs 3rd sitting of 2nd Vatican council
• 1964 Verrazano-Narrows suspension bridge opens in New York City, then the world's longest
• 1965 1st freighter arrives in Ashdod Port, Israel
• 1965 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk, USSR
• 1966 Dutch government of Zijlstra forms
• 1967 Phillip & Jay Kunz fly a kite a record 28,000 feet

• 1969 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

• 1971 Richard Baker becomes teacher of San Francisco Zen Center
• 1971 Battle of Garibpur: Indian troops aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas) defeat the Pakistan army

• 1974 Freedom of Information Act passed by Congress over President Ford's veto
• 1974 Birmingham pub bombings: 21 civilians killed when bombs explode at two pubs in Birmingham, England (deadliest attack in England during "the Troubles")
• 1977 First flight of Concorde (London to New York)
• 1977 "All 'N All" 8th studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1978)
• 1979 Crowd at Islamabad, Pakistan attack US embassy, 1 dies
• 1980 Dallas' "Who Shot JR?" episode (Kristen) gets a 53.3 rating (83 mill) in the US
• 1980 Fire at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas kills 84
• 1980 "Hi Infidelity" 9th studio album by REO Speedwagon is released
• 1981 400,000 demonstrate in Amsterdam against cruise missiles
• 1986 Central African Republic adopts constitution
• 1986 Suriname army leader Desi Bouterse massacres Moiwana village

• 1989 TV cameras permitted in British House of Commons
• 1990 Michael Milken is sentenced to 10 years for security law violations

• 1991 Poetess Maria Elene Cruz Varela arrested in Cuba
• 1992 Oregon Senator Bob Packwood issues apology for unwelcome sexual advances

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next

• 1495 John Bale, England, bishop/anti-catholic playwright (Kynge Johan)
• 1561 Carolus Scribani, Italian/Flemish jesuit/author
• 1567 Anne de Xainctonge, French saint (d. 1621)
• 1637 Catharina Questiers, Dutch poetess (Friend of Abandoned Child)
• 1692 Carlo Fragoni, Italian poet

• 1724 John Ekels, the Old, Amsterdam painter/cartoonist
• 1729 Josiah Bartlett, US physician/judge/signer (Declaration of Independence)
• 1768 Friedrich Schleiermacher, German theologist/philosopher

• 1787 Samuel Cunard, founder (1st regular Atlantic steamship line)
• 1811 Zeng Guofan, Chinese military (d. 1872)
• 1817 Richard B. Garnett, Confederate Brigadier General, born in Essex County, Virginia (d. 1863)
• 1824 Hieronymus Theodor Richter, Dresden, German Mineralogist and co-discoverer of the element indium
• 1828 William McComb, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1918)
• 1829 Peter A de Genestet, Dutch vicar/poet
• 1831 John Franklin Miller, American lawyer, businessman, and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in South Bend, Indiana (d. 1886)

• 1834 Joseph Jackson Bartlett, American attorney, diplomat and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Binghamton, New York (d. 1893)
• 1840 Victoria, Empress of Germany/Queen of Prussia
• 1851 Desire J Mercier, Belgian philosopher/cardinal
• 1853 Hussain Kamil, sultan of Egypt (1914-17)
• 1854 Benedict XV, [Giacomo PGB marques della Chiessa], 258th Pope (1914-22)
• 1857 Manuel Estrada Cabrera, 13th President of Guatemala (1898-1920), born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (d. 1924)

• 1861 Joao da Cruz, Brazilian poet
• 1863 Arthur Quiller-Couch, [Q], editor (Oxford Book of English Verse)
• 1867 Vladimir N Ipatiev, Russian chemist
• 1878 Gustav Radbruch, German lawyer/minister of Justice
• 1880 Franz Hessel, German writer, born in Szczecin, Poland (d. 1941)
• 1886 Harold Nicolson, English diplomat/author (Good Behaviour)
• 1897 Mollie Steimer anarchist agitator (d. 1980)
• 1898 René Magritte, Belgian surrealistic painter (This is Not a Pipe)
• 1902 Michail A Suslov, Russian party ideologist [OS=Nov 8]
• 1902 Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio pioneer (d. 1985)
• 1907 Jim Bishop, author (The Day Lincoln was Shot)
• 1907 M Eleonore Lippits, 1st Dutch female missionary doctor
• 1908 Elizabeth George Speare, American author (d. 1994)
• 1912 Anne Bolt, photo-journalist/trade unionist
• 1917 Sem Presser, Dutch press photographer
• 1924 Christopher Tolkien, British author and son of J. R. R. Tolkien, born in Leeds, England
• 1925 Johan "Poncke" Princen, KNIL-defector/civil rights in Jakarta
• 1929 Marilyn French, American author (The Women's Room)
• 1931 Revaz Dogonadze, Georgian scientist (d. 1985)
• 1933 Frank Brake, English multi-millionaire
• 1933 Henry Hartsfield Jr, American astronaut (STS-4, STS 41-D, STS 61A), born in Birmingham Ala, (d. 2014)
• 1936 Victor Chang, Australian physician (d. 1986)
• 1937 Marlo Thomas, [Mrs Phil Donahue], Detroit Mich (That Girl!, Jenny)
• 1939 R. Budd Dwyer, American politician who committed suicide on TV (d. 1987)
• 1940 Richard Marcinko, American author
• 1942 Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, German politician
• 1943 Larry Mahan, Oregon, rodeo champ (1967-70)
• 1943 Phil Bredesen, American politician
• 1943 Viktor Sidjak, Russian fencer
• 1944 Marcia "Marcy" Carsey, TV executive/producer
• 1944 Richard J Durbin, (Rep-D-IL, 1983- )
• 1948 George Zimmer, American entrepreneur
• 1953 Tina Brown, journalist publisher (New Yorker, Tattler)
• 1956 Mariana Simionescu, Tirgu Neamt Romania, 1st wife of Bjorn Borg
• 1964 Liza Tarbuck, British entertainer
• 1967 Toshihiko Koga, Japanese Judoka
• 1968 Christopher Noxon, American journalist
• 1975 Chris Moneymaker, American poker player
• 1977 Yolande James, Quebec politician
• 1980 Alec Brownstein, American author, director

• 496 Pope Gelasius I, Catholic Pope, of Berber extraction
• 1361 Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (plague) (b. 1346)
• 1481 Ikkyu Sojun, Zen head of Daitokuji temple, dies in Kyoto, Japan at 87
• 1555 Georg Agricola, [Bauer], German mineralogist (zinc), dies at 61
• 1566 Annibale Caro, Italian poet (b. 1507)
• 1579 Thomas Gresham, English merchant and financier
• 1580 Willem Van Hoorn, baron of Heze, governor of Brussels, executed
• 1610 Benedict van Canfield, [William Fish], English missionary, dies
• 1652 Jan Brożek, Polish mathematician, physician, and astronomer (b. 1585)
• 1728 Fjodor M graaf Apraksin, Russian gen-admiral, dies at about 57
• 1730 François de Troy, French portrait artist
• 1775 John Hill, British writer
• 1811 Heinrich W von Kleist, German playwright, dies at 34
• 1844 Ivan Krylov, Russian fabulist (b. 1769)
• 1870 Karel Jaromír Erben, Czech poet (Ruiker), dies at 69
• 1875 Friedrich A Lange, philosopher/socialist (Neo-Kantianism), dies at 67
• 1881 Ami Boué, Austrian geologist (b. 1794)
• 1882 Sergei G Netsjajev, Russian nihilist, dies at 35
• 1899 Garret Augustus Hobart, 24th VP, dies
• 1916 Franz Jozef I, King of Austria/Hungary, dies
• 1922 Ricardo Flores Magón, Mexican anarchist (b. 1874).
• 1924 Florence Harding, American First Lady (b. 1860)
• 1928 Hermann Sudermann, German author (Frau Sorge), dies
• 1932 Vito Pardo, Italian sculptor (Columbus monument Argentina), dies
• 1932 Pietro Bonfante, Italian lawyer (Roman law) and historian, dies at 68
• 1941 Juanita Spellini, first women executed in Calif
• 1941 Henrietta Vinton Davis, African-American elocutionist, dramatist, impersonator and public speaker, dies at 81
• 1941 George Morren, Flemish painter/sculptor, dies at 73

• 1952 Henriette Roland Holst-de Schalk, marxist author, dies at 82
• 1952 William Green, union chairman (AFL 1924-52), dies at 79
• 1954 Werner Elert, German Lutheran theologian, dies at 69
• 1957 Francis Burton Harrison, American political figure (b. 1873)
• 1963 Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (Perfil del Aire), dies at 61
• 1963 Robert Stroud, American convict "Birdman of Alcatraz", dies at 73
• 1967 C. M. Eddy, Jr., American writer (b. 1896)
• 1969 Mutesa II of Buganda, President of Uganda (1924)
• 1970 Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Indian physicist (Nobel Prize 1930 for light scattering), dies at 82
• 1973 Thomas Pelly, American politician, dies at 71
• 1975 Gunnar Gunnarsson, Icelandic writer (The Church on the Mountain), dies at 86
• 1982 John Hargrave, British Social Credit advocate (b. 1894)
• 1987 Jim Folsom, American politician (Alabama-Gov, 1947-51, 1955-59), dies at 79
• 1991 Daniel Mann, US director (Rose tattoo), dies of heart failure at 79
• 1992 Kaysone Phomvihane, Prime Minister and President of Laos (1975-91), dies at 71
• 1992 Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flautist, dies
• 1993 Emile Ardolino, director (Sister Act), dies of AIDS at 50
• 1993 Jim McLaughlin, Buffalo radio newsman (WKBW), dies at 59
• 1994 Manfred Longer, Austrian/Dutch gay disco owner, dies at 42
• 1995 Dorothy Jeakins, costume designer, dies at 81
• 1995 George Ivan Smith, diplomat, dies at 80
• 1995 Noel Jones, British diplomat (b. 1940)
• 1996 Edward George Edwards, chenist, dies at 82
• 1997 Ismail Fahmi, external minister of Egypt in (1973-77), dies
• 2001 Salahuddin of Malaysia, King of Malaysia (b. 1926)
• 2005 Alfred Anderson, last Scottish World War I (and Christmas Truce) veteran (b. 1896)
• 2005 Hugh Sidey, American journalist (b. 1927)
• 2006 Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanese Cabinet minister (assassinated) (b. 1972)
• 2009 Konstantin Feoktistov, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1926)
• 2010 Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, American artist and writer (b. 1917)
• 2010 David Nolan, American politicial activist (b. 1943)

• Share On Facebook
• Share On Twitter