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Revision as of 09:30, 12 September 2013

August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 132 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 1192 – Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
• 1331 – King Stephen Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stephen Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia.
• 1680 – Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
• 1689 – The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
• 1770 – James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
• 1772 – King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.
• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry.
• 1808 – Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
• 1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
• 1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances.
• 1831 – Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion.
• 1852 – Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
• 1863 – Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.
• 1879 – The Virgin Mary, along with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, reportedly appears at Knock Shrine in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland.
• 1883 – An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
• 1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
• 1897 – Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobiles was founded.
• 1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
• 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.
• 1942 – World War II: The flag of Nazi Germany is installed atop the Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus mountain range.
• 1942 – World War II: the Guadalcanal Campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
• 1944 – Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
• 1944 – World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France.
• 1945 – Physicist Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. is fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
• 1957 – The Soviet Union successfully conducts a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile.
• 1959 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day
• 1961 – Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
• 1963 – Xá Lợi Pagoda raids: the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalizes Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead.
• 1968 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of Communist Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
• 1968 – James Anderson, Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
• 1969 – An Australian, Denis Michael Rohan, sets the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, a major catalyst of the formation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
• 1971 – A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured.
• 1976 – Operation Paul Bunyan at Panmunjom, South Korea.
• 1979 – Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States.
• 1982 – Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon.
• 1983 – Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. is assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport).
• 1986 – Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometer range.
• 1991 – Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
• 1991 – Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
• 1992 – Ruby Ridge Standoff in Idaho
• 1993 – NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
• 2001 – NATO decides to send a peace-keeping force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
• 2001 – The Red Cross announces that a famine is striking Tajikistan, and calls for international financial aid for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• 2013 – Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.

Births

• 1165 – Philip II of France (d. 1223)
• 1535 – Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1619)
• 1567 – Francis de Sales, Swiss bishop and saint (d. 1622)
• 1597 – Roger Twysden, English historian and politician (d. 1672)
• 1643 – Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
• 1660 – Hubert Gautier, French scientist and engineer (d. 1737)
• 1665 – Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer (d. 1729)
• 1670 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French military leader (d. 1734)
• 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (d. 1805)
• 1754 – William Murdoch, Scottish engineer and inventor, created gas lighting (d. 1839)
• 1754 – Banastre Tarleton, English soldier and politician (d. 1833)
• 1765 – William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)
• 1789 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (d. 1857)
• 1798 – Jules Michelet, French historian (d. 1874)
• 1800 – Hiram Walden, American politician (d. 1880)
• 1801 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch politician (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Jean Stas, Belgian chemist (d. 1891)
• 1816 – Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist (d. 1856)
• 1826 – Karl Gegenbaur, German anatomist (d. 1903)
• 1840 – Ferdinand Hamer, Dutch missionary and bishop (d. 1900)
• 1858 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (d. 1889)
• 1862 – Emilio Salgari, Italian writer (d. 1911)
• 1869 – William Henry Ogilvie, Scottish-Australian poet (d. 1963)
• 1872 – Aubrey Beardsley, English illustrator and author (d. 1898)
• 1878 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Claude Grahame-White, English pilot (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Chandler Egan, American golfer (d. 1936)
• 1885 – Édouard Fabre, Canadian runner (d. 1939)
• 1886 – Ruth Manning-Sanders, British author (d. 1988)
• 1887 – James Paul Moody, English 6th Officer of the RMS Titanic (d. 1912)
• 1891 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rician super-centenarian (d. 2007)
• 1892 – Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
• 1902 – Angel Karaliychev, Bulgarian writer (d. 1972)
• 1904 – Count Basie, American pianist, bandleader, and composer (Count Basie Orchestra) (d. 1984)
• 1905 – Friz Freleng, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1995)
• 1908 – M. M. Kaye, Indian-English author (d. 2004)
• 1909 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician (d. 1992)
• 1912 – Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist, songwriter and recording artist (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Billy Reay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Christopher Robin Milne, English soldier and bookseller (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Mario Laserna Pinzón, French-Colombian educator and politician (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Jack Buck, American sportscaster (d. 2002)
• 1924 – Chris Schenkel, American sportscaster (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1925 – Toma Caragiu, Romanian actor (d. 1977)
• 1925 – Judy Grable, American wrestler (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Eduardo Koaik, Brazilian bishop (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader and author, 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 1928 – Addison Farmer, American bassist (d. 1963)
• 1928 – Art Farmer, American trumpet player (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Bud McFadin, American football player (d. 2006)
• 1929 – X. J. Kennedy, American poet and author
• 1929 – Marie Severin, American illustrator
• 1930 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
• 1930 – Frank Perry, American director (d. 1995)
• 1932 – Melvin Van Peebles, American actor and screenwriter
• 1933 – Janet Baker, English soprano
• 1933 – Michael Dacher, German mountaineer (d. 1994)
• 1934 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician (d. 2001)
• 1934 – Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer
• 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player (d. 1999)
• 1936 – Radish Tordia, Georgian painter
• 1937 – Donald Dewar, Scottish politician, First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
• 1937 – Gustavo Noboa, Ecuadorian politician, 51st President of Ecuador
• 1937 – Robert Stone, American novelist
• 1938 – Kenny Rogers, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition)
• 1939 – James Burton, American guitarist (TCB Band)
• 1939 – Festus Mogae, Botswana politician, 3rd President of Botswana
• 1939 – Harold Reid, American singer-songwriter (The Statler Brothers)
• 1939 – Clarence Williams III, American actor
• 1940 – Endre Szemerédi, Hungarian mathematician
• 1943 – Hugh Wilson, American director, writer, and actor
• 1944 – Perry Christie, Bahamian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Bahamas
• 1944 – Jackie DeShannon, American singer-songwriter
• 1944 – Peter Weir, Australian director
• 1945 – Jerry DaVanon, American baseball player
• 1945 – Patty McCormack, American actress
• 1945 – Basil Poledouris, American composer (d. 2006)
• 1947 – Sándor Erdős, Hungarian fencer
• 1947 – Carl Giammarese, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Buckinghams)
• 1949 – Loretta Devine, American actress
• 1950 – Arthur Bremer, American attempted murderer
• 1950 – Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer-songwriter and model
• 1951 – Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
• 1951 – Glenn Hughes, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Finders Keepers, Trapeze, Deep Purple, and Black Country Communion)
• 1951 – Margo Kane, Canadian actress and playwright
• 1951 – Char Margolis, American psychic medium
• 1951 – Harry Smith, American journalist
• 1952 – Keith Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1952 – Jiří Paroubek, Czech politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
• 1952 – Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Clash, The Mescaleros, and The Pogues) (d. 2002)
• 1953 – Ivan Stang, American author, publisher, and director
• 1954 – Chip Coffey, American psychic medium
• 1954 – Archie Griffin, American football player
• 1956 – Kim Cattrall, English actress
• 1956 – Jon Tester, American politician
• 1957 – Steve Smith, American drummer (Journey and Montrose)
• 1959 – Jim McMahon, American football player
• 1961 – V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer
• 1961 – Stephen Hillenburg, American animator, writer, director, and producer
• 1961 – David Morales, American DJ and producer
• 1962 – John Korfas, Greek basketball player
• 1962 – Tsutomu Miyazaki Japanese serial killer (d. 2008)
• 1962 – Jeff Stryker, American porn actor
• 1963 – Mohammed VI of Morocco
• 1963 – Richmond Arquette, American actor
• 1964 – Trinity Loren, American porn actress and model (d. 1998)
• 1965 – Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
• 1965 – Caryn Mower, American wrestler, actress, and stuntwoman
• 1966 – John Wetteland, American baseball player
• 1967 – Darren Bewick, Australian footballer
• 1967 – Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
• 1967 – Serj Tankian, Armenian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (System of a Down and Axis of Justice)
• 1968 – Dina Carroll, English singer-songwriter
• 1968 – Goran Ćurko, Serbian footballer
• 1969 – Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
• 1970 – Craig Counsell, American baseball player
• 1970 – Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist
• 1970 – Nathan Jones, Australian wrestler and actor
• 1971 – Mamadou Diallo, Senegalese footballer
• 1971 – Robert Harvey, Australian footballer
• 1971 – Liam Howlett, English musician, DJ, and producer (The Prodigy)
• 1973 – Sergey Brin, Russian-American computer scientist and businessman, co-founded of Google
• 1973 – Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Nikolai Valuev, Russian boxer
• 1974 – Johnny Reid, Scottish born and Canada based country music singer
• 1974 – Martin Andanar, Filipino broadcast journalist
• 1975 – Simon Katich, Australian cricketer
• 1975 – Alicia Witt, American actress
• 1976 – Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player
• 1976 – Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican-American soccer player
• 1976 – Ramón Vázquez, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1976 – Nikos Vertis, Dutch-Greek singer
• 1978 – Peter Buxton, English rugby player
• 1978 – Bhumika Chawla, Indian actress
• 1978 – Reuben Droughns, American football player
• 1978 – Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player
• 1978 – Alan Lee, Irish footballer
• 1978 – Jason Marquis, American baseball player
• 1978 – Annie Wu, Taiwanese actress
• 1978 – Fay Wolf, American actress, singer-songwriter, pianist, and professional organizer
• 1979 – Kelis, American singer-songwriter
• 1980 – Burney Lamar, American race car driver
• 1980 – Paul Menard, American race car driver
• 1980 – Jasmin Wöhr, German tennis player
• 1981 – Collie Buddz, Bermudian rapper
• 1981 – Jarrod Lyle, Australian golfer
• 1981 – Cameron Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
• 1981 – Tyler Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
• 1982 – Jason Eaton, New Zealand rugby player
• 1983 – Josh Harrington, American bicycle motocross racer
• 1983 – Chantelle Houghton, English model
• 1983 – Brody Jenner, American model and actor
• 1983 – Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
• 1984 – Alizée, French singer
• 1984 – Barun Sobti, Indian actor
• 1984 – Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
• 1984 – Melissa Schuman, American actress
• 1984 – Eve Torres, American wrestler, model, and dancer
• 1984 – B. J. Upton, American baseball player
• 1985 – Nicolás Almagro, Spanish tennis player
• 1985 – Aleksandra Kiryashova, Russian pole vaulter
• 1985 – Melissa M, French singer
• 1985 – Kevin Nee, American strongman
• 1986 – Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
• 1986 – Wout Brama, Dutch footballer
• 1986 – Kiami Davael, American actress
• 1986 – Daniel Dickey, American comedian and writer
• 1986 – Koki Sakamoto, Japanese gymnast
• 1987 – Natalia Dzyublo, Russian actress
• 1987 – Cody Kasch, American actor
• 1987 – Kim Kibum, South Korean singer and actor (Super Junior)
• 1988 – Paris Bennett, American singer
• 1988 – Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer
• 1988 – Louise Setara, English singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Whitney Sloan, English actress
• 1989 – Elarica Gallacher, English actress
• 1989 – Rob Knox, English actor (d. 2008)
• 1989 – Hayden Panettiere, American actress and singer
• 1989 – Judd Trump, English snooker player
• 1989 – Matteo Gentili, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Bo Burnham, American comedian, singer-songwriter, and actor
• 1990 – Big Chocolate, American singer-songwriter, and producer (Burning the Masses)
• 1990 – Fabian Heimpel, German rugby player
• 1990 – Omar El Kaddouri, Belgian footballer
• 1991 – Tess Gaerthé, Dutch singer
• 1992 – Brad Kavanagh, English actor and singer
• 1994 – Jacqueline Emerson, American actress and singer (Devo 2.0)
• 1996 – Jamia Simone Nash, American singer and actress
• 1999 – Maxim Knight, American actor

Deaths

• 1157 – Alfonso VII of León and Castile (b. 1105)
• 1271 – Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (b. 1220)
• 1581 – Sakuma Nobumori, Japanese samurai (b. 1527)
• 1614 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian serial killer (b. 1560)
• 1627 – Jacques Mauduit, French composer (b. 1557)
• 1673 – Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, English soldier (b. 1599)
• 1689 – William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier (b. 1661)
• 1762 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (b. 1689)
• 1763 – Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, English politician (b. 1710)
• 1775 – Daher el-Omar, Arab ruler of Galilee (b. 1690)
• 1796 – John McKinly, American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (b. 1721)
• 1814 – Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (b. 1753)
• 1836 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist (b. 1785)
• 1838 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German writer (b. 1781)
• 1854 – Thomas Clayton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
• 1870 – Ma Xinyi, Chinese military leader and statesman (b. 1821)
• 1910 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter (b. 1835)
• 1919 – Laurence Doherty, English tennis player (b. 1875)
• 1926 – Ugyen Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1862)
• 1935 – John Hartley, English tennis player (b. 1849)
• 1940 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss jurist (b. 1882)
• 1940 – Ernest Thayer, American poet (b. 1863)
• 1940 – Leon Trotsky, Russian politician and theorist (b. 1879)
• 1943 – Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
• 1947 – Ettore Bugatti, Italian-French engineer and businessman, founded Bugatti (b. 1881)
• 1951 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (b. 1905)
• 1957 – Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
• 1957 – Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
• 1960 – David B. Steinman, American engineer and author, designed the Mackinac Bridge (b. 1886)
• 1964 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian politician (b. 1893)
• 1966 – Martin Dooling, American soccer player (b. 1886)
• 1971 – George Jackson, American activist and author, co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family (b. 1941)
• 1974 – Buford Pusser, American police officer (b. 1937)
• 1978 – Charles Eames, American designer and architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1907)
• 1979 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
• 1981 – Michael Devine, Irish hunger striker (b. 1954)
• 1982 – Sobhuza II, Swiss king (b. 1899)
• 1983 – Benigno Aquino, Jr., Filipino politician (b. 1932)
• 1988 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (The Dawn) (b. 1963)
• 1988 – Ray Eames, American designer and architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1912)
• 1989 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
• 1992 – Dai Vernon, Canadian magician (b. 1894)
• 1993 – Tatiana Troyanos, American soprano (b. 1938)
• 1995 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
• 1997 – Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Daniel Lisulo, Zambian politician, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
• 2000 – Tomata du Plenty, American singer (The Screamers) (b. 1948)
• 2000 – Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer (b. 1928)
• 2001 – Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
• 2003 – Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and academic (b. 1946)
• 2003 – Wesley Willis, American singer and keyboard player (Wesley Willis Fiasco) (b. 1963)
• 2005 – Martin Dillon, American tenor (b. 1957)
• 2005 – Robert Moog, American businessman and inventor, founded Moog Music (b. 1934)
• 2005 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936)
• 2005 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
• 2006 – S. Yizhar, Israeli author and politician (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Siobhan Dowd, English author (b. 1960)
• 2007 – Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American army officer (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Haley Paige, American porn actress (b. 1981)
• 2008 – Jerry Finn, American record producer (b. 1969)
• 2009 – Rex Shelley, Singaporean author (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Dean Turner, Australian singer, bass player, and producer (Magic Dirt) (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Nancy Dolman, Canadian actress and singer (b. 1952)
• 2010 – Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean sociologist and author (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Paul Bassim, Lebanese prelate (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Georg Leber, German politician (b. 1920)
• 2012 – J. Frank Raley, American politician (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Don Raleigh, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Guy Spitaels, Belgian politician, 7th Minister-President of the Walloon Region (b. 1931)
• 2012 – William Thurston, American mathematician (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abraham of Smolensk (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Euprepius of Verona
  • Maximilian of Antioch
  • Pope Pius X
  • Sidonius Apollinaris
  • August 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Consualia, in honor of Consus. (Roman Empire)
• Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)
• Youth Day/King Mohammed VI's Birthday (Morocco)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

• Days of the year
• August