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On this day: April 21

April 21 is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years), with 254 days left until the end of the year.

 

Events on April 21

  • 753 BC According to the calculations of the ancient Roman scholar Varro Reatinus, Romulus and Remus legendarily founded the city of Rome. Wikipedia
  • 753 BC Romulus founds Rome (traditional date). Wikipedia
  • 1615 The Wignacourt Aqueduct in Malta was inaugurated, and was used to carry water to Valletta for about 300 years. Wikipedia
  • 1725 J. S. Bach's cantata Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, was first performed on Easter Monday. Wikipedia
  • 1782 The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. Wikipedia
  • 1789 The Ladies of Trenton social club hosted a reception for President-elect George Washington as he journeyed to New York City for his first inauguration. Wikipedia
  • 1789 John Adams sworn in as first US Vice President (nine days before George Washington). Wikipedia
  • 1796 War of the First Coalition: In the climax of the Montenotte Campaign, Napoleon Bonaparte decisively defeats the army of Piedmont at the Battle of Mondovi, leading to Piedmont's surrender a week later and decisively turning the Italian campaign in France's favor. Wikipedia
  • 1809 Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl. Wikipedia
  • 1918 World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France. Wikipedia
  • 1945 World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters. Wikipedia
  • 1960 Brasília, a planned city primarily designed by architect and urban planner Lúcio Costa, was officially inaugurated, replacing Rio de Janeiro as the capital of Brazil. Wikipedia
  • 1960 Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro. Wikipedia
  • 1962 The Century 21 Exposition, the first world's fair in the United States since World War II, opened in Seattle. Wikipedia
  • 1963 The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith. Wikipedia
  • 1964 A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed. Wikipedia
  • 1967 A tornado outbreak in Illinois, United States, kills over 50 and injures over 1,000. Belvidere sustains over 500 casualties as a violent tornado strikes the high school. Another tornado near Chicago causes another 500 casualties, devastating Oak Lawn. Wikipedia
  • 1970 In response to a dispute over wheat production quotas, Leonard Casley declared his 75 km2 (29 sq mi) farm in Western Australia to be an independent country as the Hutt River Province. Wikipedia
  • 1975 Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls. Wikipedia
  • 1975 South Vietnamese president Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned on hearing of the fall of Xuân Lộc, the last battle of the Vietnam War. Wikipedia
  • 1982 Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves. Wikipedia
  • 1987 The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people. Wikipedia
  • 1993 The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution. Wikipedia
  • 2010 Ukraine and Russia signed the Kharkiv Pact, extending the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea. Wikipedia
  • 2010 The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev; it was unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014. Wikipedia
  • 2019 Eight bombs explode at churches, hotels, and other locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing at least 269. Wikipedia

Born on April 21

  • 1488 Ulrich von Hutten, German religious reformer (died 1523) Wikipedia
  • 1619 Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Town (died 1677) Wikipedia
  • 1671 John Law, Scottish economist (died 1729) Wikipedia
  • 1774 Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (died 1862) Wikipedia
  • 1816 Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet (died 1855) Wikipedia
  • 1837 Fredrik Bajer, Danish lieutenant and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1922) Wikipedia
  • 1838 John Muir, Scottish-American environmentalist and author (died 1914) Wikipedia
  • 1864 Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (died 1920) Wikipedia
  • 1882 Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961) Wikipedia
  • 1889 Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1971) Wikipedia
  • 1904 Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer and Holocaust perpetrator (died 1945) Wikipedia
  • 1915 Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor (died 2001) Wikipedia
  • 1926 Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms (died 2022) Wikipedia
  • 1930 Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (died 1989) Wikipedia
  • 1947 Iggy Pop, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor Wikipedia
  • 1958 Andie MacDowell, American model, actress, and producer Wikipedia
  • 1959 Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia
  • 1979 James McAvoy, Scottish actor Wikipedia
  • 1992 Isco, Spanish footballer Wikipedia
  • 1997 Mikel Oyarzabal, Spanish footballer Wikipedia
  • 2003 Xavi Simons, Dutch footballer Wikipedia
  • 2007 Princess Isabella of Denmark, daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark Wikipedia

Died on April 21

  • 586 Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths Wikipedia
  • 847 Odgar, Frankish archbishop of Mainz Wikipedia
  • 866 Bardas, de facto regent of the Byzantine Empire Wikipedia
  • 941 Bajkam, de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate Wikipedia
  • 1109 Anselm of Canterbury, Italian-English archbishop and saint (born 1033) Wikipedia
  • 1142 Peter Abelard, French philosopher and theologian (born 1079) Wikipedia
  • 1699 Jean Racine, French playwright and poet (born 1639) Wikipedia
  • 1910 Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (born 1835) Wikipedia
  • 1938 Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistani National philosopher and poet (born 1877) Wikipedia
  • 1946 John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher (born 1883) Wikipedia
  • 1965 Edward Victor Appleton, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892) Wikipedia
  • 2013 Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, author, and educator (born 1905) Wikipedia
  • 2016 Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (born 1958) Wikipedia
  • 2025 Pope Francis (born 1936) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 21” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.