September 21

Events

*1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights.
*1745 - Battle of Prestonpans: A Hanoverian army under the command of Sir John Cope is defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
*1765 - Antoine de Beauterne announces he had killed the Beast of Gévaudan, but was later proved wrong by more attacks.
*1780 - American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
*1792 - The French National Convention votes to abolish the monarchy.
*1827 - According to Joseph Smith, Jr., the angel Moroni gave him a record of gold plates, one-third of which Joseph translated into "The Book of Mormon".
*1860 - In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
*1896 - British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan.
*1897 - The "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" letter is published in the "New York Sun."
*1898 - Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
*1921 - Oppau explosion, a storage silo at a fertilizer producing plant exploded in Oppau, Germany, 500—600 killed.
*1934 - A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan. The Japanese government confirms 3,036 killed. Osaka is hardest hit with great property damage.
*1937 - J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" is published.
*1938 - The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500-700 people.
*1939 - Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu is assassinated by ultranationalist members of the Iron Guard.
*1942 - On Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis sent over 1.000 Jews of Pidhaytsi (west Ukraine) to Belzec extermination camp.
* 1942 - On the end of Yom Kippur, the Germans ordered Konstantynów Jews (Poland) to permanently evacuate Konstantynów and move to the Ghetto - established in Biała Podlaska, meant to assemble Jews from nearby 7 towns among them: Konstantynów, Janów Podlaski, Rossosz, Terespol, and 3 more.
* 1942 - In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2588 Jews.
* 1942 - The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
*1950 - George Marshall sworn in as the 3rd Secretary of Defense of United States.
*1961 - Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter.
*1964 - Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
* 1964 - The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's first Mach 3 bomber, made its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
*1965 - Singapore admitted as a part of the United Nations.
* 1970 - "New York Times" starts first modern op-ed page.
*1972 - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.
*1976 - Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Chilean socialist government of Salvador Allende, overthrown in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet.
*1979 - Two RAF Hawker Siddeley Harrier jump-jets from RAF Wittering collide over the UK. Both pilots ejected safely. One of the jets broke up in midair and fell harmlessly into a field but the other dropped onto the centre of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, destroying two houses and a bungalow. Several people were injured in the accident and three people were killed.
*1980 - Kerry GAA beat Roscommon GAA in Croke Park during the All-Ireland Football Final by 1-9 to 1-6 thus winning the championship and a three-in-a-row.
*1981 - Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
* 1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female supreme court justice.
*1986 - Kerry GAA beat Tyrone GAA in Croke Park during the All-Ireland Football Final by 2-15 to 1-10 thus winning the championship and a three-in-a-row.
*1989 - Hurricane Hugo makes landfall in the U.S. state of South Carolina.
*1991 - Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union.
*1993 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and scraps the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
*1995 - The Hindu milk miracle occurs, in which statues of the Hindu God Ganesh began drinking milk when spoonfuls were placed near their mouths.
*1999 - Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.
*2001 - "Deep Space 1" flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.
* 2001 - AZF chemical plant explodes in Toulouse, France, killing 29 people
* 2001 - University of Roorkee, becomes India's 7th Indian Institute of Technology, rechristened as IIT Roorkee
*2003 - "Galileo" mission terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
*2004 - The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India merge to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
* 2004 - Construction of the Burj Dubai starts.
*2008 - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the two last remaining independent investment banks on Wall Street, become bank holding companies as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.
* 2008 - President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa resigns from office, effective September 25.
* 2008 - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel formally resigns from office, effective as soon as his successor Tzipi Livni has successfully assembled a new government.
* 2008 - Final baseball game played at Yankee Stadium

Births

*1051 - Bertha of Savoy, German queen and Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1087)
*1328 - Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
*1411 - Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (d. 1460)
*1415 - Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493)
*1428 - Jingtai Emperor of China (d. 1457)
*1452 - Girolamo Savonarola, Dominican priest and ruler of Florence (d. 1498)
*1559 - Cigoli, Florentine painter, architect, and sculptor (d. 1613)
*1629 - Philip Cardinal Howard, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1694)
*1645 - Louis Joliet, Canadian explorer (d. 1700)
*1706 - Polyxena Christina of Hesse-Rotenburg, queen of Sardinia (d. 1735)
*1756 - John MacAdam, Scottish engineer and road-builder (d. 1836)
*1758 - Christopher Gore, 8th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1827)
*1760 - Ivan Dmitriev, Russian statesman (d. 1837)
*1819 - Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France (d. 1864)
*1840 - Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1904)
*1842 - Abd-ul-Hamid II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1918)
*1849 - Maurice Barrymore, Indian-born patriarch of the Barrymore family (d. 1905)
*1853 - Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
*1862 - James E. Talmage, LDS apostle and author (d. 1933)
*1863 - John Bunny, American film comedian (d. 1915)
*1866 - H. G. Wells, English writer (d. 1946)
*1866 - Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
*1873 - Papa Jack Laine, American musician (d. 1966)
*1874 - Gustav Holst, English composer (d. 1934)
*1895 - Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
*1899 - Frederick Coutts, the 8th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1986)
*1902 - Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (d. 1963)
* 1902 - Sir Allen Lane, British founder of Penguin Books (d. 1970)
*1905 - Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive (d. 1999)
*1906 - Henry Beachell, American plant breeder (d. 2006)
*1912 - Chuck Jones, American animator (d. 2002)
* 1912 - György Sándor, Hungarian pianist (d. 2005)
*1916 - Françoise Giroud, French journalist and politician (d. 2003)
*1917 - Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (d. 1968)
*1918 - John Gofman, American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (d. 2007)
*1919 - Mario Bunge, Argentine philosopher and physicist
* 1919 - Fazlur Rahman, Pakistani scholar (d. 1988)
*1926 - Donald A. Glaser, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1926 - Noor Jehan, Pakistani singer and actress (d. 2000)
*1929 - Bernard Williams, English philosopher (d. 2003)
* 1929 - Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (d. 1979)
*1931 - Larry Hagman, American actor
*1933 - Dick Simon, American racing driver
*1934 - Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer and songwriter
*1935 - Jimmy Armfield, Former English Footballer and Manager
*1935 - Henry Gibson, American actor
*1936 - Diane Rehm, American radio talk show host for National Public Radio
* 1936 - Yuriy Luzhkov, Russian politician, mayor of Moscow
* 1936 - Dickey Lee, American singer and songwriter
*1938 - Doug Moe, American basketball player and coach
*1940 - Bill Kurtis, American television journalist
* 1940 - Hermann Knoflacher, Austrian civil engineer
*1941 - R. James Woolsey, Jr., Central Intelligence Agency director
* 1941 - Jack Brisco, American professional wrestler
*1944 - Fannie Flagg, American actress and novelist
* 1944 - Hamilton Jordan, U.S. President Jimmy Carter's original chief of staff
* 1944 - Steve Beshear, Democratic Governor of Kentucky.
*1945 - Jerry Bruckheimer, American film and television producer
* 1945 - Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner
* 1945 - Shaw Clifton, the 18th General of The Salvation Army
*1946 - Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Federal Councilor
*1947 - Stephen King, American author
* 1947 - Marsha Norman, American playwright
* 1947 - Don Felder, American guitarist (Eagles)
*1949 - Artis Gilmore, American basketball player
*1950 - Charles Clarke, British politician
* 1950 - Bill Murray, American actor
*1951 - Bruce Arena, American soccer coach
* 1951 - Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen rebel leader (d. 2005)
*1952 - Anneliese Michel, German exorcism victim (d. 1976)
*1953 - Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver
*1954 - Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
* 1954 - Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, British musician (Motörhead)
*1955 - Mika Kaurismäki, Finnish director
* 1955 - Richard Hieb, American astronaut
*1956 - Jack Givens, American basketball player
* 1956 - Marta Kauffman, American television producer
* 1956 - Ricky Morton, American professional wrestler
*1957 - Ethan Coen, American film director
* 1957 - Sidney Moncrief, American basketball player
* 1957 - Kevin Rudd, Australian politician
* 1957 - Penny Smith, English television presenter
*1958 - Bruno Fitoussi, French poker player
*1959 - Dave Coulier, American actor
* 1959 - Danny Cox, American baseball player
* 1959 - Corinne Drewery, British singer (Swing Out Sister)
*1960 - David James Elliott, Canadian actor
* 1961 - Nancy Travis, American actress
*1962 - Rob Morrow, American actor
*1963 - Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan West Indies cricketer
* 1963 - Cecil Fielder, American baseball player
* 1963 - Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor
*1964 - Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan singer and composer
*1965 - Cheryl Hines, American actress
* 1965 - David Wenham, Australian actor
*1967 - Faith Hill, American singer
* 1967 - Tyler Stewart, Canadian drummer (Barenaked Ladies)
*1968 - Ricki Lake, American actress and talk show hostess
*1969 - Jason Christiansen, American baseball player
*1970 - John Cudia, American actor
*1970 - Bridget Moynahan, American model and actress
*1971 - John Crawley, English cricketer
* 1971 - Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor
* 1971 - Luke Wilson, American actor
*1972 - Liam Gallagher, English singer (Oasis)
* 1972 - Scott Spiezio, American baseball player
* 1972 - Jon Kitna, American football player
* 1972 - David Silveria, American drummer (KoЯn)
*1973 - Oswaldo Sanchez, Mexican footballer
* 1973 - Vanessa Grigoriadis, American journalist
*1974 - Taral Hicks, American musician
*1974 - Jana Kandarr, German tennis player
* 1974 - Andy Todd, English footballer
*1975 - Doug Davis, American baseball player
*1976 - Jonas Bjerre, Danish singer and guitarist (Mew)
* 1976 - Poul Hübertz, Danish footballer
*1977 - Brian Tallet, American baseball player
*1978 - Doug Howlett, New Zealand rugby union footballer
*1979 - Richard Dunne, Irish footballer
* 1979 - Chris Gayle, Jamaican West Indies cricketer
* 1979 - Julian Gray, English footballer
* 1979 - Jaymee Ong, Chinese-Australian model
*1980 - Robert Hoffman, American actor
* 1980 - Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
* 1980 - Nyree Lewis, British Paralympic swimmer
* 1980 - Aleksa Palladino, American actress
* 1980 - Autumn Reeser, American actress
* 1980 - Tomas Scheckter, South African racing driver
*1981 - Nicole Richie, American socialite
* 1981 - Rimi Sen, Indian actress
* 1981 - Meilinda Soerjoko, Indonesian-Australian actress
*1982 - Eduardo Azevedo, Brazilian racing driver
* 1982 - Danny Kass, American snowboarder
*1982 - Marat Izmailov, Russian footballer
* 1982 - Rowan Vine, English footballer
*1983 - Fernando Cavenaghi, Argentinian footballer
* 1983 - Maggie Grace, American actress
* 1983 - Joseph Mazzello, American actor
* 1983 - Anna Meares, Australian cyclist
*1984 - Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner, American swimmer
*1985 - Maryam Hassouni, Dutch actor
*1986 - Faris Rotter, English vocalist (The Horrors)
*1987 - Jimmy Clausen, American football player
* 1987 - Ashley Paris, American basketball player
* 1987 - Courtney Paris, American basketball player
*1988 - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician
* 1988 - Jason Derulo, American Pop singer and actor
*1989 - Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, American skateboarder
*1990 - Allison Scagliotti, American actress
* 1990 - Christian Serratos, American actress
*1991 - Jordan Hasay, American track and field athlete
*1998 - Brino quadruplets, American actor/actresses

Deaths

*19 BC - Virgil, Roman poet (b. 70 BC)
* 454 - Aëtius, Roman general (bc. 396)
*1217 - Lembitu of Lehola, Estonian soldier
*1327 - King Edward II of England (b. 1284)
*1397 - Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (executed) (b. 1346)
*1542 - Juan Boscán Almogáver, Spanish poet
*1558 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1500)
*1576 - Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (b. 1501)
*1586 - Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (b. 1517)
*1626 - François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (b. 1543)
*1719 - Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (b. 1647)
*1743 - Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper (b. 1688)
*1748 - John Balguy, English philosopher (b. 1686)
*1796 - François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (b. 1769)
*1798 - George Read, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1733)
*1832 - Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
*1860 - Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (b. 1788)
*1874 - Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont, French geologist (b. 1794)
*1897 - Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (b. 1819)
*1904 - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader (b. 1840)
*1906 - Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1838)
*1926 - Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (b. 1857)
*1938 - Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic Croatian writer (b. 1874)
*1939 - Armand Călinescu Romanian prime-minister (assassinated) (b. 1893)
*1946 - Olga Engl, Austrian actress (b. 1871)
*1954 - Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese inventor (b. 1858)
*1957 - King Haakon VII of Norway (b. 1872)
*1963 - Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (b. 1899)
*1966 - Paul Reynaud, French politician (b. 1878)
*1971 - Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
*1972 - Henry de Montherlant, French writer (b. 1896)
*1974 - Walter Brennan, American actor (b. 1894)
* 1974 - Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (b. 1918)
*1976 - Orlando Letelier, Chilean diplomat (b. 1932)
*1982 - Hovhannes Bagramyan, Soviet general (b. 1897)
*1985 - Gu Long, Taiwanese writer of wuxia novels (b. 1937)
*1987 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
*1988 - Glenn Robert Davis, member of United States Congress (b. 1914
*1995 - Rudy Perpich, American politician (b. 1928)
*1997 - Jennifer Holt, American actress (b. 1920)
*1998 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (b. 1959)
*2000 - Bryan Smith, Man who ran over Stephen King (b. 1957)
*2002 - Robert L. Forward, American physicist and writer (b. 1932)
*2004 - Barry Noble Wakeman, American naturalist and educator (b. 1939)
* 2004 - Bob Mason, British actor (b. 1952)
*2006 - Boz Burrell, English rock musician (b. 1946)
*2007 - Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian Olympic gold medalist (b. 1929)
* 2007 - Alice Ghostley, American actress (b. 1926)
* 2007 - Rex Humbard, American television evangelist (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

*International Day of Peace
*Roman Catholic Saints - Matthew the Evangelist
*The Nativity of the Theotokos in Russia. Also see September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Independence Day in Malta (1964), Belize (1981) & Armenia (1991)
*Mabon - Neopagan festival of Mabon
*In ancient Greece, the eighth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the secret rites in the Telesterion finish and the feast, Pannychis, begin

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Sep&day=21 On This Day in Canada] ----