# On this day: June 21

June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years), with 193 days left until the end of the year.

## June 21 in one line

Headline entries for June 21, from Wikipedia: in 1898, The United States captured Guam from Spain in a bloodless event during the Spanish–American War; born 1905: Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author (died 1980); died 1527: Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and author (born 1469). In 2026 it is a Sunday, in 2027 a Monday.

## Events on June 21

- 217 BC Second Punic War: Commanded by Hannibal, the Carthaginians ambushed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, capturing or killing 25,000 men. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene)
- 1128 William Clito defeated Thierry of Alsace in a battle over the succession to the title of Count of Flanders. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Axspoele)
- 1529 War of the League of Cognac: The French army under Francis de Bourbon was destroyed in Lombardy, Italy, by the Spanish army. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Landriano)
- 1575 French Wars of Religion: Catholic forces defeated an armed group of Huguenots attempting to capture Besançon, from which they had previously been expelled. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Besan%C3%A7on)
- 1582 Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful of the Japanese daimyōs, is forced to commit suicide by his own general Akechi Mitsuhide. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honn%C5%8D-ji_Incident)
- 1788 New Hampshire ratified the U.S. Constitution and was admitted as the ninth U.S. state. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire)
- 1813 Peninsular War: Wellington defeats Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Vitoria. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vitoria)
- 1826 Greek War of Independence: A combined Egyptian and Ottoman army began an invasion of the Mani Peninsula, but were initially held off by the Maniots at the fortifications of Vergas. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Egyptian_invasion_of_Mani)
- 1848 In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell proclaimed a new republican government in present-day Romania. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallachian_Revolution_of_1848)
- 1864 New Zealand Wars: A British victory against the Māori King Movement brought the Tauranga campaign to an end. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauranga_campaign)
- 1890 Rudyard Kipling's poem Mandalay was published. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandalay_(poem))
- 1898 The United States captured Guam from Spain in a bloodless event during the Spanish–American War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War)
- 1900 Boxer Rebellion: China formally declares war on the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from the Empress Dowager Cixi. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Dowager_Cixi)
- 1919 Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttled the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow to prevent the ships from being seized and divided amongst the Allied Powers. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttling_of_the_German_fleet_at_Scapa_Flow)
- 1919 During a general strike in Winnipeg, Canada, members of the Royal North-West Mounted Police attacked a crowd of strikers, armed with clubs and revolvers. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnipeg_general_strike)
- 1921 Irish War of Independence: Most of the village of Knockcroghery in County Roscommon was burned by British forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Roscommon)
- 1930 One-year conscription comes into force in France. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription)
- 1940 World War II: The main offensive of the unsuccessful Italian invasion of France began. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_France)
- 1945 World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa)
- 1948 The Manchester Baby, the world's first stored-program computer, ran its first program. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Baby)
- 1957 Ellen Fairclough became the first woman to be appointed to the cabinet of Canada. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Fairclough)
- 1973 The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision in the landmark case Miller v. California, establishing the Miller test for determining what is obscene material. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_v._California)
- 1978 The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Evita, based on the life of Eva Perón, opens at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evita_(musical))
- 1993 Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on STS-57 to retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite. It is also the first shuttle mission to carry the Spacehab module. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-57)
- 2000 President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal of Honor to 22 Asian Americans, mostly from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, for actions during World War II. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton)
- 2006 Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto)

## Born on June 21

- 1002 Pope Leo IX (died 1054) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_IX)
- 1774 Daniel D. Tompkins, American lawyer and politician, 6th Vice President of the United States (died 1825) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_D._Tompkins)
- 1781 Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (died 1840) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sim%C3%A9on_Denis_Poisson)
- 1839 Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (died 1908) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machado_de_Assis)
- 1905 Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author (died 1980) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartre)
- 1921 Jane Russell, American actress and singer (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Russell)
- 1921 Judy Holliday, American actress and singer (died 1965) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Holliday)
- 1935 Françoise Sagan, French author and playwright (died 2004) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7oise_Sagan)
- 1947 Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, judge, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Ebadi)
- 1948 Andrzej Sapkowski, Polish author and translator [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Sapkowski)
- 1948 Ian McEwan, British novelist and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_McEwan)
- 1950 Anne Carson, Canadian poet and academic [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Carson)
- 1953 Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan (died 2007) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto)
- 1955 Michel Platini, French footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Platini)
- 1961 Joko Widodo, Indonesian businessman and politician, 7th President of Indonesia [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joko_Widodo)
- 1962 Viktor Tsoi, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1990) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Tsoi)
- 1967 Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai businesswoman and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Thailand [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yingluck_Shinawatra)
- 1973 Juliette Lewis, American actress and singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliette_Lewis)
- 1979 Chris Pratt, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Pratt)
- 1982 William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%2C_Prince_of_Wales)
- 1983 Edward Snowden, American activist and academic [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden)
- 1985 Lana Del Rey, American singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lana_Del_Rey)

## Died on June 21

- 1305 Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (born 1271) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenceslaus_II_of_Bohemia)
- 1377 Edward III of England (born 1312) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_III)
- 1527 Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and author (born 1469) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli)
- 1582 Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord (born 1534) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga)
- 1591 Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (born 1568) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Gonzaga)
- 1631 John Smith, English admiral and explorer (born 1580) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith_(explorer))
- 1652 Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen's House and Wilton House (born 1573) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inigo_Jones)
- 1874 Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist and astronomer (born 1814) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Jonas_%C3%85ngstr%C3%B6m)
- 1876 Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician 8th President of Mexico (born 1794) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_L%C3%B3pez_de_Santa_Anna)
- 1908 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer and educator (born 1844) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Rimsky-Korsakov)
- 1914 Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1843) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_von_Suttner)
- 1957 Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Stark)
- 1970 Sukarno, Indonesian engineer and politician, 1st President of Indonesia (born 1901) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukarno)
- 2001 John Lee Hooker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lee_Hooker)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Alban of Mainz [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alban_of_Mainz)
- Christian feast day: Aloysius Gonzaga [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Gonzaga)
- Christian feast day: Engelmund of Velsen [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelmund_of_Velsen)
- Christian feast day: John Rigby [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rigby_(martyr))
- Christian feast day: Martin of Tongres [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_of_Tongeren)
- Christian feast day: Mewan [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mewan)
- Christian feast day: Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onesimos_Nesib)
- Christian feast day: June 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_21_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of the Martyrs (Togo) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Togo)
- Father's Day (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father's_Day)
- Go Skateboarding Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Skateboarding_Day)
- International Yoga Day (international) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Yoga)
- National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Indigenous_Peoples_Day)
- Solstice-related observances (see also June 20): Day of Private Reflection (Northern Ireland) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_Private_Reflection)
- Solstice-related observances (see also June 20): National Day (Greenland) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_National_Day)
- Solstice-related observances (see also June 20): We Tripantu, a winter solstice festival in the southern hemisphere. (Mapuche, southern Chile) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Tripantu)
- Solstice-related observances (see also June 20): Willkakuti, an Andean-Amazonic New Year (Aymara) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willkakuti)
- Solstice-related observances (see also June 20): Fête de la Musique [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_de_la_Musique)
- World Humanist Day (Humanism) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Humanist_Day)
- World Hydrography Day (international) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Hydrography_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “June 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_21) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/June 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/June_21) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“June 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_21) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_21?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for June 21 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## June 21 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Sunday | 2026-W25 | 🌓 First Quarter |
| 2027 | Monday | 2027-W25 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Wednesday | 2028-W25 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2029 | Thursday | 2029-W25 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Friday | 2030-W25 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on June 21

- [🇦🇷 Argentina](https://whathappen.today/holidays/argentina/): Pass to the Immortality of General Don Martín Miguel de Güemes (2027)
- [🇨🇱 Chile](https://whathappen.today/holidays/chile/): National Indigenous Peoples Day (2026 and 2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← June 20](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/june-20/) · [June 22 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/june-22/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/june-21/