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This day in history

This day in history: 21 September

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

447 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 21 September.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2019: A 5.6 Mw earthquake shakes the Albanian port of Durrës. Forty-nine people are injured in the capital, Tirana.

Holidays and observances

Arbor Day (Brazil)

Autumnal equinox observances in the Northern Hemisphere, vernal equinox observances in the Southern Hemisphere (see September 22): Spring Day (Argentina)

Christian feast day: Cadoc

Christian feast day: Ephigenia of Ethiopia

Christian feast day: Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert (one of the Korean Martyrs)

Christian feast day: Matthew the Evangelist (Western Church)

Christian feast day: Maura of Troyes

Christian feast day: Nativity of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian calendar)

Christian feast day: September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Commemoration of the Declaration of Martial Law (Philippines)

Customs Service Day (Poland)

Founder's Day and National Volunteer Day (Ghana)

Events

2019A 5.6 Mw earthquake shakes the Albanian port of Durrës. Forty-nine people are injured in the capital, Tirana.

2018LGBT rights activist Zak Kostopoulos is beaten to death on a busy street in Athens.

2015Adventist Health System agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle allegations of fraud. It was the largest a hospital network has ever paid.

2013Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, killing at least 67 people.

2012Three Egyptian militants open fire on a group of Israeli soldiers in a southern Israel cross-border attack.

2003The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere.

2001America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.

2001Ross Parker is murdered in Peterborough, England, by a gang of ten British Pakistani youths.

1999The 7.7-magnitude Chi-Chi earthquake strikes central Taiwan, killing 2,400 people.

1997St. Olaf's Church, a stone church from the 16th century in Tyrvää, Finland, is burnt down by a burglar.

1996The Defense of Marriage Act is passed by the United States Congress.

1995MIAT Flight 557 crashes near Mörön, Mongolia, killing 41 people.

1993A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-134 is shot down by a missile in the Black Sea near Sokhumi, Georgia.

1993Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.

1991Armenia gains independence from the Soviet Union.

1984Brunei joins the United Nations.

1981Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.

1981Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.

1977Malév Flight 203 crashes near Urziceni, Romania, killing 29 people.

1976Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. by Michael Townley, linked to the National Intelligence Directorate of Chile.

1976Seychelles joins the United Nations.

1972Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos begins authoritarian rule by declaring martial law.

1971Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.

1969Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801, a Boeing 727-100 passenger plane, crashes during a landing attempt in Mexico City, killing 27 of the 118 occupants.

1965The Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.

1964Malta gains independence from the United Kingdom, but remains in the Commonwealth.

1964The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's fastest bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.

1957Pamir, a four-masted barque, was shipwrecked and sank off the Azores during Hurricane Carrie.

1953Lieutenant No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot, defects to South Korea with his jet fighter.

1942The Boeing B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.

1942The Holocaust in Poland: At the end of Yom Kippur, Germans order Jews to permanently move from Konstantynów to Biała Podlaska.

1942The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2,588 Jews.

1942The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis send over 1,000 Jews from Pidhaitsi to Bełżec extermination camp.

1939Romanian prime minister Armand Călinescu is assassinated by the Iron Guard.

1938The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500–700 people.

1937J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time. (September 22 is celebrated by some fans as Hobbit Day, however.)

1934A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing more than 3,000 people.

1933Salvador Lutteroth establishes Mexican professional wrestling.

1921A storage silo in Oppau, Germany, explodes, killing 500–600 people.

1898Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.

Born on this day

2006Alisha Palmowski, British female racing driver

1999Alexander Isak, Eritrean-Swedish professional footballer

1999Lizzy McAlpine, American singer-songwriter

1999Wang Junkai, Chinese singer

1998Máscara de Bronce, Mexican wrestler

1998Yainer Díaz, Dominican baseball player

1995Bruno Caboclo, Brazilian basketball player

1994Devin Williams, American baseball player

1993Ante Rebić, Croatian footballer

1993Kirsty Gilmour, Scottish badminton player

1993Kwon Mina, South Korean singer and actress

1992Devyn Marble, American basketball player

1992Kim Jong-dae, South Korean singer-songwriter

1992Rodrigo Godínez, Mexican footballer

1991Anastassia Kovalenko, Estonian motorcycle racer

1991Carlos Martínez, Dominican baseball player

1990Al-Farouq Aminu, American basketball player

1990Allison Scagliotti, American actress and musician

1990Christian Serratos, American actress

1990Danny Batth, English footballer

1990Ivan Dorschner, American-Filipino model and actor

1990Rob Cross, English darts player

1990Sam Kasiano, New Zealand rugby league player

1989Emma Watkins, Australian singer and actress

1989Jason Derulo, American singer-songwriter

1989Manny Harris, American basketball player

1989Sandor Earl, Australian rugby league player

1988Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician

1988Doug Baldwin, American football player

1987Anthony Don, Australian rugby league player

1987Ashley Paris, American basketball player

1987Courtney Paris, American basketball player

1987Ivelisse Vélez, Puerto Rican wrestler

1987Jimmy Clausen, American football player

1987Marcelo Estigarribia, Paraguayan footballer

1987Michał Pazdan, Polish footballer

1987Murilo Maccari, Brazilian footballer

1987Ryan Guzman, American actor and model

1986Faris Badwan, English singer-songwriter

1986Lindsey Stirling, American violinist and composer

Died on this day

2026Angry Anderson, Australian singer and actor (born 1947)

2026Terry Denton, Australian author and illustrator (born 1950)

2024Benny Golson, American saxophonist and composer (born 1929)

2024Eddie Low, New Zealand country singer and musician (born 1943)

2024Mercury Morris, American football player (born 1947)

2024Raquel Blandón, Guatemalan lawyer and activist, First Lady of Guatemala (born 1943)

2023Walewska Oliveira, Brazilian volleyball player and Olympic champion (born 1979)

2022Raju Srivastav, Indian comedian, actor and politician (born 1963)

2021Willie Garson, American actor (born 1964)

2020Arthur Ashkin, American scientist and Nobel laureate (born 1922)

2018Trần Đại Quang, President of Vietnam (born 1956)

2018Vitaliy Masol, Ukrainian Former Prime Minister (born 1928)

2015Ray Warleigh, Australian-English saxophonist and flute player (born 1938)

2015Richard Williamson, American footballer and coach (born 1941)

2015Yoram Gross, Polish-Australian director and producer (born 1926)

2014Caldwell Jones, American basketball player and coach (born 1950)

2014Michael Harari, Israeli intelligence officer (born 1927)

2014Sheldon Patinkin, American director and playwright (born 1935)

2013Harl H. Haas, Jr., American lawyer, jurist, and politician (born 1932)

2013Kofi Awoonor, Ghanaian author, poet, and diplomat (born 1935)

2013Ko Wierenga, Dutch lawyer and politician (born 1933)

2013Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928)

2013Walter Wallmann, German lawyer and politician, Minister-President of Hesse (born 1932)

2012Bill King, English commander, sailor, and author (born 1910)

2012José Curbelo, Cuban-American pianist and manager (born 1917)

2012Sven Hassel, Danish-German soldier and author (born 1917)

2012Tom Umphlett, American baseball player and manager (born 1930)

2012Yehuda Elkana, Israeli historian and philosopher (born 1934)

2011Jun Henmi, Japanese author and poet (born 1939)

2009Robert Ginty, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1948)

Quote of the day

“No man is free who is not master of himself.”

Epictetus

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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