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February 21: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – February 21 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 21st Feb 1173: Thomas Becket, Arch Bishop of Canterbury was on this day Canonized by Pope Alexander III.
2. 21st Feb 1245: The first known Bishop of Finland, Thomas was granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
3. 21st Feb 1431: This day marks the first day of interrogation of John of Arc during her trial for heresy.
4. 21st Feb 1440: The Prussian Confederation was formed on this day.
5. 21st Feb 1564: King Phillip II of Spain routes Cardinal Granvelle to Franche-Comte on this day.
6. 21st Feb 1598: Boris Godunov on this day was crowned as Tsar.
7. 21st Feb 1613: Michel Romanov the son of Patriarch of Moscow was on this day elected as Tsar of the House of Romanov.
8. 21st Feb 1675: Prince William III was on this day appointed as the viceroy of Gelderland.
18th Century – What Happened on February 21 – The 1700s
9. 21st Feb 1746: The Castle of Bonnie Prince Charlie was on this day surrendered to Jacobite forces by the British forces.
10. 21st Feb 1764: John Wilkes was thrown out of the British House of Commons for his “Essay on Women”.
11. 21st Feb 1777: British ambassador Joseph York demanded that Governor John de Graff be dismissed for saluting the US flag.
12. 21st Feb 1782: The US Congress on this day resolved to establish a US mint.
13. 21st Feb 1792: The Presidential Succession Act was on this day passed by the US Congress.
14. 21st Feb 1795: France established on this day freedom of worship under its Constitution.
15. 21st Feb 1797: Trinidad in the West Indies on this day surrenders to the British.
19th Century – February 21 This Day That Year – The 1800s
16. 21st Feb 1804: Demonstration of the first self-propelled locomotive was held on this day in Wales.
17. 21st Feb 1842: The sewing machine was patented on this day by John J. Greenough.
18. 21st Feb 1848: Karl Marks and Friedrich Engels, on this day published the Communist Manifesto.
19. 21st Feb 1858: The first electric burglar was installed on this day in Boston.
20. 21st Feb 1864: On this day the first catholic parish church for the blacks was dedicated in Baltimore.
21. 21st Feb 1866: Lucy B Hobbs graduated from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati. She was the first woman to graduate from a dental school.
22. 21st Feb 1874: The publication of The Oakland Daily Tribune begins today.
23. 21st Feb 1874: Benjamin Disraeli became the Prime Minister of Britain today. He succeeded Willem Gladstone.
24. 21st Feb 1878: The first telephone directory was issued in the United States and was distributed to residents of New Haven. It consisted of one page and had fifty names.
25. 21st Feb 1885: The Washington Monument was dedicated on this day.
26. 21st Feb 1887: Oregon on this day became the first state in the US to declare Labor Day as a holiday.
27. 21st Feb 1887: The first bacteriology laboratory in the US was opened on this day in Brooklyn.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day February 21st – The 1900s
28. 21st Feb 1901: A constitution, much like that of the US constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Delegates in Cuba on this day.
29. 21st Feb 1902: The first brain operation was performed in the United States by its first brain surgeon Dr. Harvey Cussing.
30. 21st Feb 1903: The cornerstone for the US Army War College was laid on this day in Washington D.C.
31. 21st Feb 1904: The National Ski Association was formed on this day in Ishpeming, Michigan.
32. 21st Feb 1907: SS Berlin on this day sank off Hoek van Holland Neth. 142 people died.
33. 21st Feb 1914: Russian Foreign Minister Sazpnov has a secret meeting with civil and military leaders and convinces them to support a plan to Seize the straits controlled by Turkey to gain access to the Mediterranean.
34. 21st Feb 1914: White Wolves troops on this day launched an attack on Zhanjiang in China.
35. 21st Feb 1915: The 20th Russian Army Corps surrenders on this day.
36. 21st Feb 1916: The Battle of Verdun between France and Germany began in France on this day. The battle concluded in Dec the same year with a French victory.
37. 21st Feb 1917: Hundreds of people die as the train they were traveling in catches fire and explodes near Church in Romania.
38. 21st Feb 1917: British Mendi sank off the Isle of Wight on this day. 627 people died.
39. 21st Feb 1918: Austrian troops chase Turkish troops out of Jericho, Dutch Palestine.
40. 21st Feb 1919: German national meeting accepts incorporation of Austria.
41. 21st Feb 1921: Constituent Assembly of The Democratic Republic Georgia adopts its first constitution.
42. 21st Feb 1922: Great Britain on this day granted independence to Egypt.
43. 21st Feb 1922: An Italian-built airship Roma crashed to the ground after an explosion of hydrogen caused by its coming into contact with power lines in Norfolk Virginia. It turned into a blazing inferno and fell to the ground from 1000 feet. The only survivors were those who jumped out before it came into contact with the power lines.
44. 21st Feb 1925: The first issue of “The New Yorker” was published on this day.
45. 21st Feb 1932: The Camera Exposure Meter was patented on this day by William N Goodwin.
46. 21st Feb 1933: There was a hot debate on the wager bill, which would legalize winners collecting bets won after appropriate expenses were paid. The bill however was withdrawn from the congress on this day.
47. 21st Feb 1933: Mariam A Ferguson announced today that Feb 26th through March 8th would be officially called the “Texas Week”. March 2nd, the independence day of Texas falls in this week.
48. 21st Feb 1947: Edwin Land on this day demonstrated the Polaroid Land Camera to the Optical Society of America in New York City. It was the first camera to take, develop, and print a black-and-white picture on photo paper in 60 seconds.
49. 21st Feb 1937: The League of Nations on this day banned foreign national “volunteers” in the Spanish Civil War.
50. 21st Feb 1939: Belgian government of Pierlot forms on this day.
51. 21st Feb 1941: Omar Bradley was on this day promoted to Brigadier General.
52. 21st Feb 1943: Dutch Roman Catholic bishops protested on this day against the persecution of Jews.
53. 21st Feb 1953: The structure of DNA molecule on this day was discovered by Francis Krick and James Watson.
54. 21st Feb 1958: Nassar was elected President of the United Arab Republic formed by Egypt and Syria with a huge mandate of 99.9%.
55. 21st Feb 1960: Fidel Castro who believed in communism coming into power ordered that all industries in Cuba come under direct control of the Government.
56. 21st Feb 1962: Natural gas reserves in Groningen in the Netherlands were confirmed by Minister De Pous.
57. 21st Feb 1963: The US performs a nuclear test on this day at its Nevada test site.
58. 21st Feb 1965: Malcolm X on this day was assassinated in New York City. The assassins were later identified as Black Muslims.
59. 21st Feb 1966: President Sukarno of Indonesia on this day dismissed General Nasution.
60. 21st Feb 1970: Henry Kissinger begins secret peace talks with North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho at a villa outside Paris. With a hope of mutual withdrawal of forces from South Vietnam. This was refused by North Vietnam.
61. 21st Feb 1971: The Convention of Psychotropic Substances was on this day signed in Vienna.
62. 21st Feb 1971: This day one of Oklahoma’s worst winter storms occurred. More than 2 feet of snow had fallen. Snow drifts reached 15 feet in height. Wind speeds were in the region of 50 MPH. There were several deaths.
63. 21st Feb 1972: US President Richard Nixon on this day became the first US president to visit China.
64. 21st Feb 1972: To end 20 years of difficult relations with China, President Nixon arrived in China for a week-long summit.
65. 21st Feb 1973: Israeli fighter planes shot down a jet of Libyan Airlines over the Sinai desert. Over a hundred people were killed.
66. 21st Feb 1974: Yugoslavia on this day adopted its constitution.
67. 21st Feb 1975: In the Watergate trial former Attorney General John N Mitchell and former White House Aides H.R. Haldeman and John D Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 ½ to 8 years in prison for their involvement in the Watergate Cover-up.
68. 21st Feb 1976: Cardinal Willebrands was on this day installed as Archbishop of Utrecht.
69. 21st Feb 1979: Japan launches Hakucho X-ray satellite and Corsa-B on this day.
70. 21st Feb 1981: Japan on this day launched the Hinotori satellite to study solar flares.
71. 21st Feb 1983: Donald Davis on this day ran a mile backward in 6 m 7.1 s.
72. 21st Feb 1985: The National Crisis Action Rally was held in Iowa. It was expected that farmers, ranchers, small-town business people, clergymen, and other concerned citizens would attend.
73. 21st Feb 1987: The Syrian army on this day marched into Beirut.
74. 21st Feb 1988: TV Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart on this day resigned from his ministry after it was revealed that he had been consorting with a prostitute.
75. 21st Feb 1989: US President George W. Bush called Ayatollah Khomeini’s death warrant against Salman Rushdie, the author of “Satanic Verses” deeply offensive to the norms of civilization.
76. 21st Feb 1991: USSR on this day announced that Iraq agreed to a proposal to end the Persian Gulf War. The US said the plan is unacceptable.
77. 21st Feb 1994: A man who had worked for the CIA, Aldrich Ames was on this day arrested. He was charged with selling secrets to the Soviet Union and was blamed for putting several CIA agent’s lives in danger. Ten agents were killed in the eastern block after Ames disclosed their identities.
78. 21st Feb 1995: Jo Salter, an RAF pilot on this day became the first woman to fly in a tornado.
79. 21st Feb 1995: Steve Fossett, a Chicago stockbroker became the first man to fly solo in a balloon across the Pacific Ocean.
80. 21st Feb 1996: Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-23 was on this day launched into orbit.
81. 21st Feb 1997: STS 82, “Discovery 22” landed on this day.
82. 21st Feb 1998: US on this day busted a Chinese drug ring and captured a record 820 pounds of Heroin.
83. 21st Feb 1999: India’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee concluded two days of meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
21st Century – February 21 This Day In History – The 2000s
84. 21st Feb 2001: An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Britain prompted the government to ban the export of meat milk and livestock. This threatened serious damage to the country’s farming industry.
85. 21st Feb 2004: The “European Greens”, the first political party organization was on this day established in Rome.
86. 21st Feb 2006: New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and New Orleans US sea ports are taken over by the state-owned business “Dubai Posts World” in the United Arab Emirates. The takeover has caused major controversy because of security implications.
87. 21st Feb 2007: Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned from office on this day. The President of Italy, Georgio Napolitano refused to accept the resignation.
88. 21st Feb 2008: A disabled spy satellite was shot down by the US on this day using an SM-3 missile fired from a warship off Hawaii.
89. 21st Feb 2011: Egypt on this day reopened several museums which were closed during the civilian protests which resulted the President Mubarak resigning as President. The country now hopes to regain some tourism revenue.
90. 21st Feb 2012: Yamani voters went to polls on this day with only one name on the ballot paper, that of vice-president Adu Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi.
91. 21st Feb 2012: Miners of the Rio Tinto’s Argyle Diamond mine in the east Kimberly region of Australia on this day found a 12.76-carat pink diamond which was the largest rough pink diamond found in Australia.
92. 21st Feb 2013: A series of bombings in Damascus Syria left 83 people dead and 250 injured.
93. 21st Feb 2013: The Belgian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov resigned on this day in response to protests against austerity measures. The resignation was accepted with a vote of 209 to 5.
94. 21st Fe 2014: US President Barack Obama met Dalai Lama on this day.
95. 21st Feb 2013: A bombing in Hyderabad, India killed about 21 people. 54 others were injured in the bombing.
96. 21st Feb 2014: A Libyan Air Force plane crashed in Tunisia today killing 11 people.
97. 21st Feb 2014: The government of the United Kingdom announced that they would base teams of anti-slavery specialists in airports of the United Kingdom to curb human trafficking. The teams were responsible for identifying victims of trafficking and halting gang efforts.
98. 21st Feb 2014: Police on this day opened fire on protestors in Kiev injuring 570 and killing 27.
99. 21st Feb 2016: Bombings in the Syrian city of Homs and Damascus kill about 140 people. Islamic State claims responsibility for the bombing.
100. 21st Feb 2016: At an auction in Dallas, Texas, the lock of John Lennon’s hair was sold at $35,000 on this day.
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