Historical Events
21 Feb 1245
Thomas the first known Bishop of Finland is granted resignation after having confessed to torture and forgery
21 Feb 1574
Spanish garrison of Middelburg Netherlands surrenders
21 Feb 1583
Groningen Netherlands begins using Gregorian calendar
21 Feb 1613
Michael Romanov son of Patriarch of Moscow elected first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov
21 Feb 1673
Michiel A de Ruyter appointed lt-admiral-general of Dutch fleet
21 Feb 1675
Prince Willem III appointed viceroy of Gelderland
21 Feb 1746
Jacobite Rising 1745 British forces surrender Inverness Castle to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite forces
21 Feb 1764
John Wilkes thrown out of English House of Commons for Essay on Women
21 Feb 1777
British ambassador Joseph Yorke demands dismissal of Governor John de Graaff for saluting US flag
21 Feb 1782
US Congress resolves establishment of a US mint
21 Feb 1792
US Congress passes Presidential Succession Act
21 Feb 1795
Freedom of worship established in France under constitution
21 Feb 1804
1st locomotive Richard Trevithicks runs for the 1st time along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil Wales
21 Feb 1821
Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire begins
21 Feb 1828
1st American Indian newspaper in US Cherokee Phoenix published
21 Feb 1842
1st known sewing machine patented in US John Greenough Washington D.C.
21 Feb 1846
1st US woman telegrapher Sarah G Bagley Lowell Massachusetts
21 Feb 1866
Lucy B Hobbs (Taylor) becomes 1st US woman to earn a DDS degree
21 Feb 1878
Worlds 1st telephone directory issued 50 subscribers (New Harbor Connecticut)
21 Feb 1882
NYCs 24 hour race begins winner with most mileage in 24 hours
21 Feb 1885
Washington Monument dedicated (Washington D.C.)
21 Feb 1887
1st US bacteriology laboratory opens (Brooklyn)
21 Feb 1887
Oregon becomes 1st US state to make Labor Day a holiday
21 Feb 1901
In Cuba the constitutional delegates adopt a constitution much like that of the USA
21 Feb 1902
Dr Harvey Cushing 1st US brain surgeon performs his 1st brain operation
21 Feb 1903
Cornerstone laid for US army war college Washington D.C.
21 Feb 1857
Congress outlaws foreign currency as legal tender in US
21 Feb 1858
Edwin T Holmes installs 1st electric burglar alarm (Boston Massachusetts)
21 Feb 1861
Steeple of Chichester Cathedral collapses despite the desperate efforts of 70 workmen
21 Feb 1862
Confederate Constitution & presidency are declared permanent
21 Feb 1862
Texas Rangers win Confederate victory at Battle of Valverde Confederate Arizona (now New Mexico)
21 Feb 1864
1st US Catholic parish church for blacks dedicated Baltimore
21 Feb 1904
National Ski Association forms in Ishpeming Mich
21 Feb 1907
SS Berlin sinks off the Hook of Holland (142 dead)
21 Feb 1909
John Galsworthys Strife premieres in London
21 Feb 1910
John Galsworthys Justice premieres in London
21 Feb 1911
Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto (Berceuse lgique)
21 Feb 1914
Bai Lang (White Wolf) troops attack Zhanjiang China
21 Feb 1914
In a secret meeting of civil and military leaders Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov convinces them to support a plan for seizing the straits controlled by Turkey that block access to the Mediterranean
21 Feb 1915
Russian 20th Army corps surrenders to the German 10th Army after being surrounded
21 Feb 1916
World War I Battle of Verdun begins leads to an estimated 1 million casualties
21 Feb 1917
British troopship SS Mendi sinks off Isle of Wight 646 die
21 Feb 1917
Train near Chirurcha Romania catches fire & explodes hundreds die
21 Feb 1918
Australians chase Turkish troop out of Jericho Dutch Palestine
21 Feb 1918
The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo
21 Feb 1919
German National Meeting accepts Anschluss incorporation of Austria
21 Feb 1920
Darius Milhaud & Jean Cocteaus ballet premieres in Paris
21 Feb 1921
Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the countrys first constitution
21 Feb 1921
The London Conference on the Near East begins the issue is the Allies 1920 Treaty of Sevres which had given part of Turkish Asia Minor to Greece
21 Feb 1922
Airship Rome explodes at Hampton Roads Virginia 34 die
21 Feb 1922
WHK-AM in Cleveland Ohio begins radio transmissions
21 Feb 1922
Irish Nationalist Eamon De Valera calls a convention of the Sinn Fein declaring the Republican Government the only legitimate one in all Ireland
21 Feb 1923
Andre Charlots musical Rats premieres in London
21 Feb 1925
Mass meeting of SPDs Reichsbanner Black-Red-Gold in Magdeburg
21 Feb 1930
Marc Connellys Green Pastures premieres in NYC
21 Feb 1931
Chicago White Sox & NY Giants play 1st exhibition night game
21 Feb 1934
Nicaraguan patriot Augusto Cesar Sandino assassinated by National Guard
21 Feb 1937
Initial flight of the first successful flying car Waldo Watermans Arrowbile.
21 Feb 1937
The League of Nations bans foreign national volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.
21 Feb 1941
Omar Bradley is promoted to the rank of brigadier general
21 Feb 1942
US male Figure Skating championship won by Bobby Specht
21 Feb 1943
Dutch RC bishops protest against persecution of Jews
21 Feb 1944
War As It Happens news show premieres on NBC TV (NYC only)
21 Feb 1945
Dutch Archbishop of Utrecht Johannes de Jong calls for help with war casualties following the Nazi occupation of Netherlands from the allies
21 Feb 1945
Operation Veritable British Army captures Goch from Germany forcing German retreat away from the Rhineland
21 Feb 1945
US 10th Armour division overthrows Orscholz line
21 Feb 1947
Whipper Billy Watson beats Bill Longson to become wrestling champ
21 Feb 1949
US TV soap opera A Woman to Remember is 1st broadcast on DuMont Television Network
21 Feb 1950
WOI TV channel 5 in Ames-Des Moines IA (ABCPBS) begins broadcasting
21 Feb 1951
SC House urges Shoeless Joe Jackson be reinstated
21 Feb 1952
Bangladesh Martyrs Day (martyrs of Bengali Language Movement)
21 Feb 1952
Dick Button performs 1st figure skating triple jump in competition
21 Feb 1952
American defending champion Dick Button becomes first figure-skater to land a triple jump in competition performs a triple loop in the Olympic free skate in Oslo wins gold medal ahead of Austrias Helmut Seibt
21 Feb 1953
Maggie closes at National Theater NYC after 5 performances
21 Feb 1953
Longest collegiate basketball game (6 OTs) Niagara beats Siena 88-81
21 Feb 1957
Dodgers (Fort Worth) & Cubs (LA) trade minor league franchises
21 Feb 1958
Portotino opens at Adelphi Theater NYC for 3 performances
21 Feb 1958
Egypt-Syria as United Arab Republic elect Nasser president (99.9% vote)
21 Feb 1960
Biathlon debuts at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics Klas Lestander from Sweden becomes the first Olympic champion ahead of Finlands Antti Tyrvinen and Soviet Aleksandr Privalov
21 Feb 1961
Friedrich Durrenmatts Die Physiker premieres in Zurich
21 Feb 1962
Minister De Pous confirms natural gas reserves in Groningen Netherlands
21 Feb 1964
UK flies 24000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper to US
21 Feb 1968
150000 demonstrate against leftist students in West Berlin
21 Feb 1968
Baseball announces a minimum annual salary of 10000
21 Feb 1969
1st launching of heavy N-1 rocket at Baikonur Kazakhstan (explodes)
21 Feb 1970
Jackson 5 make TV debut on American Bandstand
21 Feb 1971
Series of tornadoes cuts through Miss & La killing 117
21 Feb 1971
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
21 Feb 1972
Michael Wellers Moonchildren premieres in NYC
21 Feb 1972
The first session of the Widgery Tribunal investigating the events of Bloody Sunday (30 January ) is held in Coleraine County Derry
21 Feb 1973
Chicago Black Hawks record 262nd NHL game without being shut-out
21 Feb 1973
Israeli fighters shoot Libyan aircraft down killing 108
21 Feb 1974
Silver hits record 5.96 an ounce in London
21 Feb 1975
Watergate figures John Mitchell H. R. Haldeman & John D Ehrlichman sentenced to 2-8 yrs for conspiracy and obstruction of justice
21 Feb 1976
Rockabye Hamlet closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 7 performances
21 Feb 1976
Cardinal Willebrands installed as Archbishop of Utrecht
21 Feb 1979
Japan launches Hakucho X-ray satellite & Corsa-B (550580 km)
21 Feb 1979
2 Iowa girls HS basketball teams play 4 scoreless quarters game was won 4-2 in 4th overtime period
21 Feb 1980
American speed skater Eric Heiden wins 1500m in Olympic record 155.44 4th of record 5 gold medal sweep of events at Lake Placid
21 Feb 1980
Hanni Wenzel is 1st Liechtensteiner to win Olympic gold for the giant slalom
21 Feb 1980
Liechtenstein becomes the smallest country to produce an Olympic champion as Hanni Wenzel wins the womens giant slalom at the Lake Placid Winter Games
21 Feb 1980
East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins her second gold medal of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics as part of the womens 4 x 5k relay team also wins 10k gold
21 Feb 1980
British figure skater Robin Cousins wins mens singles gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics goes on to pro career TV analysis and stage performance & production
21 Feb 1981
Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe murderer of 13 women captured
21 Feb 1981
Japan launches Hinotori satellite to study solar flares (580640 k)
21 Feb 1982
Aint Misbehavin closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 1604 performances
21 Feb 1982
Little Me closes at Eugene ONeill Theater NYC after 36 performances
21 Feb 1983
Donald Davis runs 1 mile backwards in 6 m 7.1 s
21 Feb 1983
NBA San Diego Clippers begin a 29 game road losing streak
21 Feb 1985
Evert van Benthem wins 13th Friese 11 city skateing race
21 Feb 1985
Largest NBA crowd to date 44970 (Atlanta at Detroit)
21 Feb 1986
AIDS patient Ryan White returns to classes at Western Middle School
21 Feb 1988
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggert confesses his sins to his congregation
21 Feb 1989
US bust Chinese drug smuggling ring capturing a record 820 lbs of heroin worth 1 billion at street value
21 Feb 1990
32nd Grammy Awards Wind Beneath My Wings Nick of Time wins
21 Feb 1991
USSR announces that Iraq has agreed to a proposal to end the Gulf War but the US calls the plan unacceptable
21 Feb 1992
Kristi Yamaguchi of US wins Olympic gold medal in womens figure skating
21 Feb 1993
Sergei Bubka pole vaults world record indoor (6.15 m)
21 Feb 1995
CFLs Sacramento Gold Miners become San Antonio Texans
21 Feb 1995
RAF-pilot Jo Salter is 1st woman to fly in a tornado
21 Feb 1997
Empire Strikes Back special edition premieres
21 Feb 1999
Lahore Declaration signed between Indias Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistans Navaz Sharif on use of nuclear weapons
21 Feb 2001
43rd Grammy Awards Beautiful Day Shelby Lynne wins
21 Feb 2004
The first European political party organization the European Greens is established in Rome
21 Feb 2007
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigns from office. His resignation is rejected by the President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano.
21 Feb 2009
29th Golden Raspberry Awards The Love Guru wins
21 Feb 2011
Thailands GDP rose 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2010 after a minor recession caused by GDP contractions of 0.4% in the second quarter and 0.3% in the third quarter of 2010 it is reported today
21 Feb 2012
Yemeni voters go to the polls for a presidential election where the only candidate on the ballot paper is vice-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi
21 Feb 2013
83 people are killed and 250 are injured in a series of bombing attacks in Damascus Syria
21 Feb 2013
21 people are killed and 54 are injured in a bombing in Hyderabad India
21 Feb 2014
11 people are killed after a Libyan Air Force plan crashes in Tunisia
21 Feb 2014
10 words from the 15th C Voynich manuscript have been decoded
21 Feb 2014
Police in Kiev open fire on protesters 27 killed and around 570 injured
21 Feb 2014
Canada take the curling double at the Sochi Winter Olympics beating Great Britain 9-3 in the final also win womens gold medal
21 Feb 2014
Park Seung-hi wins Olympic womens 1000m short track speed skating gold medal in Sochi for her 2nd gold medal of the Games 3000m relay winner
21 Feb 2014
Viktor An of Russia wins 6th career Olympic short track speed skating gold medal as part of the 5000m relay team in Sochi 2nd gold of the day (500m) and 3rd of Games (1000m)
21 Feb 2015
35th Golden Raspberry Awards Saving Christmas wins worst film
21 Feb 2016
Bombings in the Syrian cities of Homs and Damascus kill 140 people Islamic State claims responsibility
21 Feb 2016
58th Daytona 500 Denny Hamlin wins closest finish in race history - by just 0.01s from Martin Truex Jr
21 Feb 2016
66th Berlin International Film Festival Italian documentary Fire at Sea wins the Golden Bear
21 Feb 2017
Bodies of 87 African migrants wash ashore at Zawiya Libya
21 Feb 2017
Plane crashes into shopping centre in Essendon Melbourne Australia killing the five people on board
21 Feb 2018
Indian film star Kamal Haasan launches a new political party - Makkal Needhi Mayyam in Tamil Nadu state
21 Feb 1564
Philip II routes Cardinal Granvelle to Franche-Comte
21 Feb 1911
Gustav Mahler conducts his last concerto Berceuse lgiaque in New York City
21 Feb 1916
World War I Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
21 Feb 1927
Franz Lehrs opera Der Zarewitsch premieres
21 Feb 2002
Canadian world champion womens ice hockey team wins first of 4 consecutive Winter Olympic gold medals with a 3-2 win over the United States at Salt Lake City
21 Feb 2018
Winter Olympics Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall become the first Americans in history to win a cross country gold medal (team sprint)
21 Feb 2018
Norwegian cross country skiers Martin Johnsrud Sundby Johannes Hsflot & Klbo win their 2nd Olympic gold medals in Pyeongchang in the mens team sprint freestyle trio also wins gold in 4 x 10k relay
21 Feb 2019
Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 touches down on asteroid Ryugu on mission to collect rock samples
21 Feb 1985
Evert van Benthem wins his 13th Elfstedentocht a long distance 11 city skating race
21 Feb 2019
The Lunar Library a 30 million page digital library launched on board Israels Beresheet Lunar Lander aiming to be stored on the Moon
21 Feb 1918
The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo (Cincinnati Ohio)
21 Feb 1934
Nicaraguan patriot Augusto Csar Sandino and three others kidnapped and assassinated by the National Guard in Larreynaga
21 Feb 1945
Battle of Monte Castello (Italy) Allied forces including the first land battle of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat Germans after three months of fierce fighting in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains
21 Feb 1951
South Carolina House of Representatives urges Shoeless Joe Jackson be reinstated by Major League Baseball
21 Feb 1958
British artist Gerald Holtom designs Nuclear Disarmament logo based on blended semaphore signals for the letters N and D it later became an international peace symbol
21 Feb 1673
Michiel de Ruyter appointed lt-admiral-general of Dutch fleet
21 Feb 1675
Prince William of Orange appointed viceroy of Gelderland
21 Feb 1797
Trinidad West Indies a Spanish colony surrenders to the British
21 Feb 1808
Russia invades Finland then part of the Swedish Kingdom with 24000 troops
21 Feb 1842
1st known sewing machine patented in US by John Greenough of Washington D.C.
21 Feb 1846
1st US woman telegrapher is Sarah G. Bagley of Lowell Massachusetts
21 Feb 1858
Edwin T. Holmes installs 1st electric burglar alarm (Boston Massachusetts)
21 Feb 1862
US Confederate Constitution and presidency come into effect last until the end of the Civil War in 1865
21 Feb 1864
1st US Catholic parish church for black worshippers dedicated in Baltimore
21 Feb 1866
Lucy B. Hobbs (Taylor) becomes 1st US woman to earn a DDS degree
21 Feb 1885
Washington Monument dedicated in Washington D.C.
21 Feb 1902
Dr. Harvey Cushing 1st US brain surgeon performs his 1st brain operation
21 Feb 1904
National Ski Association forms in Ishpeming Michigan
21 Feb 1919
Kurt Eisner Premier of the Bavarian Republic is assassinated by a far-right German nationalist in Munich
21 Feb 1932
US camera exposure meter patented to W.N. Goodwin
21 Feb 1958
Portotino opens at Adelphi Theater NYC runs for 3 performances
21 Feb 1971
Series of tornadoes cuts through Mississippi & Louisiana killing 117
21 Feb 1976
Cliff Jones theatrical rock opera Rockabye Hamletstarring Beverly DAngelo closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 7 performances
21 Feb 1981
Charles Rocket clearly says fck on Saturday Night Live
21 Feb 1990
32nd Grammy Awards Wind Beneath My Wings Nick of Time win
21 Feb 1997
NASAs STS 82 (Space Shuttle Discovery 22) lands
21 Feb 2001
43rd Grammy Awards Beautiful Day Shelby Lynne win
21 Feb 1874
Oakland Daily Tribune begins publication in Oakland California
21 Feb 1969
Apple Records releases Mary Hopkins debut album Post Card in the UK produced by Paul McCartney
21 Feb 1976
Cliff Jones theatrical rock opera Rockabye Hamlet starring Beverly DAngelo closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 7 performances
21 Feb 1978
Electrical workers accidentally discover the Aztec Templo Mayor or High Temple two blocks from Mexico Citys central square the Zcalo
21 Feb 2010
Claybourne Park by Bruce Norris opens off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in New York (1st play to win a Tony and a Pulitzer) [1]
21 Feb 1613
Michael Romanov son of the Patriarch of Moscow is elected the first Russian Tsar of the House of Romanov
21 Feb 1804
The worlds first steam locomotive built by Richard Trevithick runs for the first time along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil Wales
21 Feb 1878
Telegraph manager George Coy of New Haven Connecticut issues worlds 1st telephone directory issued single page contains info for 50 subscribers
21 Feb 1910
John Galsworthys play Justice premieres in London aimned at highlighting conditions in prisons
21 Feb 1916
Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
21 Feb 1932
Andre Tardieu becomes Prime Minister of France for the third time
21 Feb 1937
Walter Watermans Arrowbile the 1st working automobile-airplane combination tested at Santa Monica California
21 Feb 1944
War As It Happens news show premieres on NBC-TV in New York City only
21 Feb 1945
Dutch Archbishop of Utrecht Johannes de Jong calls to the Allies for help with war casualties following the Nazi occupation of Netherlands
21 Feb 1945
WWII US Army 10th Armored Division overthrows Germanys Orscholz line of defense
21 Feb 1974
Silver hits a record 5.96 an ounce in London
21 Feb 2007
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigns from office his resignation is rejected by the President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano
21 Feb 2021
First democratic transfer of power in Niger the worlds poorest country as former interior minister Mohamed Bazoum wins Presidential election [1]
21 Feb 2021
WHO pleads with Tanzania to start reporting COVID-19 cases amid fears of a hidden epidemic in the country
21 Feb 2022
60 people die in an explosion at an unregulated gold mine near Gaoua Burkina Faso [1]
21 Feb 2022
Australias international border reopens to vaccinated tourists after 704 days nearly two years [1]
21 Feb 2022
Colombias Constitutional Court its highest court decriminalizes abortion [1]
21 Feb 1795
Freedom of worship is established in France under the constitution
21 Feb 1842
First known sewing machine patented in the US by John Greenough of Washington D.C.
21 Feb 1878
Telegraph manager George Coy of New Haven Connecticut issues the worlds first telephone directory a single page containing information for 50 subscribers
21 Feb 1883
Second French government of Jules Ferry begins
21 Feb 1887
First US bacteriology laboratory opens in Brooklyn
21 Feb 1887
Oregon becomes the first US state to make Labor Day a holiday
21 Feb 1901
Constitutional delegates in Cuba adopt a constitution similar to that of the US
21 Feb 1902
Dr. Harvey Cushing the first U.S. brain surgeon performs his first brain operation
21 Feb 1923
Andre Charlots musical revue Rats opens at the Vaudeville Theatre in Londons West End
21 Feb 1931
Chicago White Sox and NY Giants play the first exhibition night game
21 Feb 1973
Israeli fighter jets shoot down Libyan commercial airliner that strayed into restricted airspace over occupied Sinai Penninsula killing 108
21 Feb 1978
Electrical workers accidentally discover the Aztec Templo Mayor or Great Temple two blocks from Mexico Citys central square the Zcalo
21 Feb 1995
RAF pilot Jo Salter is the first woman to fly a Tornado fighter jet
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