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On This Day
May
21 May

On This Day: 21 May

Henry V of England is made King of France by the Treaty of Troyes Click to show or hide the answer
Henry VI murdered Click to show or hide the answer
Joao da Nova Castell discovers St. Helena Click to show or hide the answer
Lady Jane Grey, great–grand–daughter of Henry VII, reluctantly marries Lord Guildford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumberland Click to show or hide the answer
James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, Scottish Royalist, executed Click to show or hide the answer
The nobility elect John Sobieski as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Click to show or hide the answer
Daniel Defoe is imprisoned on charges of seditious libel Click to show or hide the answer
Nearly 15,000 people lose their lives in a tsunami caused by the collapse of a lava dome on Mount Unzen, near the city of Shimbara on the Japanese island of Kyūshū Click to show or hide the answer
Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris, opens Click to show or hide the answer
Battle of Aspern–Essling: Austrians defeat Napoleon Click to show or hide the answer
Standard newspaper first published Click to show or hide the answer
Captain William Hobson declares New Zealand a British colony, on the basis of signatures collected from Maori chiefs Click to show or hide the answer
Gold is discovered in Australia Click to show or hide the answer
Battle of Spotsylvania (US Civil War) ends Click to show or hide the answer
Foundation stone of the Royal Albert Hall laid Click to show or hide the answer
Treaty of Frankfurt ratified Click to show or hide the answer
Versailles troops enter Paris to overthrow the insurrectionary Commune government after a siege of over a month, starting the so–called Bloody Week of reprisals Click to show or hide the answer
Leoncavallo's opera I Pagliacci first performed, in Milan Click to show or hide the answer
Manchester Ship Canal officially opened by Queen Victoria Click to show or hide the answer
FIFA is established in Paris Click to show or hide the answer
Wilbur and Orville Wright patent their flying machine Click to show or hide the answer
President Porfirio Díaz of Mexico and the revolutionary Francisco Madero sign the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, concluding the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution Click to show or hide the answer
Summer Time (Daylight Saving) begins in Britain – four days after the passing of the Act Click to show or hide the answer
The Imperial War Graves Commission is established through royal charter to mark, record, and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of the British Empire's military forces Click to show or hide the answer
Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris to complete the first solo non–stop transatlantic flight (taking 33h 30m) Click to show or hide the answer
Amelia Earhart is forced by bad weather to land in a pasture near Derry, completing the first ever solo flight across the Atlantic by a woman Click to show or hide the answer
Humphrey Bogart (44) marries Lauren Bacall (20) at Malabar Farm, Ohio – his fourth marriage Click to show or hide the answer
Two people die and more are injured as violent storms and a tornado sweep through the Home Counties Click to show or hide the answer
Postmaster General Ernest Marples announces that Subscriber Trunk Dialling will be introduced in the Bristol area from December, making telephone calls easier and cheaper Click to show or hide the answer
Martial law is imposed in Montgomery, Alabama, after violent racial clashes Click to show or hide the answer
The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army Click to show or hide the answer
Henry Cooper loses to Cassius Clay Click to show or hide the answer
Lazlo Toth, a Hungarian geologist, attacks Michelangelo's Pieta (in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome) with a hammer, shouting "I am Christ" Click to show or hide the answer
The Baader–Meinhof gang goes on trial in Frankfurt Click to show or hide the answer
29 people lose their lives when a bus carrying a school choir from Yuba City, California, suffers brake failure in Martinez: the deadliest road accident in US history Click to show or hide the answer
Elton John becomes the first Western rock star to play in the USSR Click to show or hide the answer
Joe Strummer of The Clash is arrested in Hamburg after smashing a guitar over the head of a member of the audience Click to show or hide the answer
Transamerica Corporation agrees to sell United Artists to Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer for $380 million, after the box office failure of the 1980 film Heaven's Gate Click to show or hide the answer
Seven Palestinians are killed by an Israeli soldier Click to show or hide the answer
Ion Ilescu wins the first free elections in Romania Click to show or hide the answer
Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras Click to show or hide the answer
Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees the country – effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end Click to show or hide the answer
Stephen Churchill dies – the first recorded victim of new variant CJD Click to show or hide the answer
Almost one thousand lives are lost when the ferry MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters on Lake Victoria Click to show or hide the answer
HM Government announces a complete ban on the manufacture and use of anti–personnel landmines Click to show or hide the answer
Saeed Anwar, opening for Pakistan against India, scores a one–day international record 194 Click to show or hide the answer
President Suharto of Indonesia resigns following the killing of students from Trisakti University earlier that week by security forces and growing mass protests in Jakarta against his ongoing corrupt rule Click to show or hide the answer
Kip Kinkel, 15, shoots his parents dead at their home and opens fire in a cafeteria, killing one more person and injuring at least 20, in Springfield, Oregon Click to show or hide the answer
More than 2,200 people lose their lives in an earthquake in Boumerdès Province, northern Algeria Click to show or hide the answer
Pemba Dorji Sherpa, 26, climbs Everest (from Base Camp to summit) in a new record time of 8 hrs 10 mins Click to show or hide the answer
Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster, opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey Click to show or hide the answer
55% of Montenegrins vote for independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro Click to show or hide the answer
The Cutty Sark, in dry dock at Greenwich and undergoing restoration, badly damaged by fire Click to show or hide the answer
More than 120 people are killed by a suicide bomb in Sana'a, Yemen – responsibility is claimed by Ansar al–Sharia, an affiliate of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Click to show or hide the answer
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performs its final show at the Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York Click to show or hide the answer

© Haydn Thompson 2019