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This day in history

This day in history: 21 November

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

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Key facts

394 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 21 November.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2022: A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java kills between 335 and 602 people.

Holidays and observances

Armed Forces Day (Bangladesh)

Christian feast days: Amelberga of Susteren

Christian feast days: Digain

Christian feast days: Franciszka Siedliska

Christian feast days: Maurus of Parentium

Christian feast days: November 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast days: Pope Gelasius I

Christian feast days: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Christian feast days: Rufus of Rome (no. 7 in list)

Christian feast days: William Byrd, John Merbecke and Thomas Tallis (Episcopal Church (USA))

World Television Day (United Nations observance)

Events

2022A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java kills between 335 and 602 people.

2021An SUV plows through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six and injuring 62.

2019Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

2019Tesla launches the SUV Cybertruck. A gaffe occurs during the launch event when its "unbreakable" windows shatter during demonstration.

2017Robert Mugabe formally resigns as President of Zimbabwe, after thirty-seven years in office.

2015The government of Belgium imposes a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, and public transportation, due to potential terrorist attacks.

2014A stampede in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe caused by the police firing tear gas kills at least eleven people and injures 40 others.

2013Fifty-four people are killed when the roof of a shopping center collapses in Riga, Latvia.

2013Massive protests start in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych suspended signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement.

2012At least 28 are wounded after a bomb is thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv.

2009A mine explosion in Heilongjiang, China kills 108.

2006Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and government minister Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut.

2004China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 crashes after takeoff from Baotou Donghe Airport, killing 55.

2004Dominica is hit by the most destructive earthquake in its history. The northern half of the island sustains the most damage, especially the town of Portsmouth. In neighboring Guadeloupe, one person is killed.

2004The Paris Club agrees to write off 80% (up to $100 billion) of Iraq's external debt.

2004The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election is held, giving rise to massive protests and controversy over the election's integrity.

2002Arturo Guzmán Decena, founder of Los Zetas and high-member of the Gulf Cartel, is killed in a shoot-out with the Mexican Army and the police.

2002NATO invites Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.

1998Finnish satanist Jarno Elg kills a 23-year-old man and performs a ritual-like cutting and eating of body parts in Hyvinkää, Finland.

1996Humberto Vidal explosion: Thirty-three people die when a Humberto Vidal shoe shop in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico explodes.

1995The Dayton Agreement is initialed at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1992A major tornado strikes the Houston, Texas area during the afternoon. Over the next two days the largest tornado outbreak ever to occur in the US during November spawns over 100 tornadoes.

1990Bangkok Airways Flight 125 crashes on approach to Samui Airport, killing 38.

1989Aeroflot Flight 37577 crashes on approach to Sovetsky Airport, killing 32.

1986National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran–Contra affair.

1985United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

1980A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas). Eighty-five people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history.

1979The United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, is attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four.

1977Minister of Internal Affairs Allan Highet announces that the national anthems of New Zealand shall be the traditional anthem "God Save the Queen" and "God Defend New Zealand".

1974The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but are later exonerated.

1972Voters in South Korea overwhelmingly approve a new constitution, giving legitimacy to Park Chung Hee and the Fourth Republic.

1971Indian troops, partly aided by Mukti Bahini (Bengali guerrillas), defeat the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur.

1970Vietnam War: Operation Ivory Coast: A joint United States Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prisoner-of-war camp in an attempt to free American prisoners of war thought to be held there.

1969The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI.

1969U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. The U.S. retains rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free.

1967Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing."

1964Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.

1964The Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. At the time it is the world's longest bridge span.

1962The Chinese People's Liberation Army declares a unilateral ceasefire in the Sino-Indian War.

1961"La Ronde" opens in Honolulu, the first revolving restaurant in the United States.

Born on this day

2004Liz, South Korean singer

2004Rico Lewis, English footballer

2001Rizky Ridho, Indonesian footballer

2000Isabel May, American actress

2000Matt O'Riley, English-Danish footballer

1999Jaelin Howell, American soccer player

1998Ognjen Ilić, Serbian cyclist

1998Vangelis Pavlidis, Greek footballer

1997Reo Hatate, Japanese footballer

1995Chris Chiozza, American basketball player

1995Vladislav Gavrikov, Russian ice hockey player

1994Andreas Johnsson, Swedish ice hockey player

1994Saúl Ñíguez, Spanish footballer

1994Wyatt Teller, American football player

1991Almaz Ayana, Ethiopian sprinter

1991Lewis Dunk, English footballer

1991Peni Terepo, New Zealand rugby league player

1990Dani King, English cyclist

1990Georgie Twigg, English field hockey player

1989Chris Singleton, American basketball player

1989Dárvin Chávez, Mexican footballer

1989Fabian Delph, English footballer

1989José Pirela, Venezuelan baseball player

1989Justin Tucker, American football player

1989Will Buckley, English footballer

1988Larry Sanders, American basketball player

1988Len Väljas, Canadian skier

1988Preston Zimmerman, American soccer player

1987Eesha Karavade, Indian chess player

1987Karl Stollery, Canadian ice hockey player

1987Stefan Glarner, Swiss footballer

1986Ben Bishop, American ice hockey player

1986Colleen Ballinger, American YouTuber, comedian, actress, and singer

1986Kristof Goddaert, Belgian cyclist (died 2014)

1986Sam Palladio, English actor and musician

1985Carly Rae Jepsen, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress

1985Jesús Navas, Spanish footballer

1985Nicola Silvestri, Italian footballer

1984Álvaro Bautista, Spanish motorcycle racer

1984Jena Malone, American actress and singer

Died on this day

2024Alice Brock, American artist, author and restauranteur (born 1941)

2021Jean-Pierre Schumacher, French Trappist monk and survivor of the Thibirine monks (born 1924)

2021Lou Cutell, American actor (born 1930)

2017David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1950)

2016Hassan Sadpara, Pakistani mountaineer and adventurer (born 1963)

2015Ameen Faheem, Indian-Pakistani poet and politician (born 1939)

2015Anthony Read, English screenwriter and producer (born 1935)

2015Bob Foster, American boxer and police officer (born 1938)

2015Gil Cardinal, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1950)

2015Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (born 1932)

2014John H. Land, American soldier and politician (born 1920)

2014Robert Richardson, English general (born 1929)

2013Bernard Parmegiani, French composer (born 1927)

2013Dimitri Mihalas, American astronomer and author (born 1939)

2013Fred Kavli, Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist, founded The Kavli Foundation (born 1927)

2013John Egerton, American journalist and author (born 1935)

2013Maurice Vachon, Canadian-American wrestler (born 1929)

2013Tôn Thất Đính, Vietnamese general (born 1926)

2013Vern Mikkelsen, American basketball player and coach (born 1928)

2012Austin Peralta, American pianist (born 1990)

2012Emily Squires, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1941)

2011Anne McCaffrey, American science fiction and fantasy author (born 1926)

2010David Nolan, American activist and politician (born 1943)

2010Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, American painter and author, co-founded the DuSable Museum of African American History (born 1917)

2010Norris Church Mailer, American author (born 1949)

2009Konstantin Feoktistov, Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1926)

2007Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1921)

2007Noel McGregor, New Zealand cricketer (born 1931)

2007Tom Johnson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (born 1928)

2006Hassan Gouled Aptidon, Somalian-Djiboutian politician, 1st President of Djibouti (born 1916)

Quote of the day

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

attributed to Marcus Aurelius

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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