Vintage News · Odd history for August 21

What Happened On August 21

Q: What happened on August 21?

1888: The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs. 1945: American physicist Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core, exposing himself to neutron radiation and later becoming the first Manhattan Project fatality due to a criticality accident. 1971: Six people were killed during an escape attempt and riot at San Quentin State Prison in California; the subsequent trial of six inmates was the longest in state history at the time. 1808: Peninsular War: British and Portuguese forces put an end to the first French invasion of Portugal at the Battle of Vimeiro. 1995: Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, attempts to divert to West Georgia Regional Airport after the left engine fails, but the aircraft crashes in Carroll County near Carrollton, Georgia, killing nine of the 29 people on board. 1789: The national colours of Italy first appeared on a tricolour cockade in Genoa. 1879: The locals of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland report their having seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The apparition is later named "Our Lady of Knock" and the spot transformed into a Catholic pilgrimage site. 1862: The Stadtpark, the first public park in Vienna, opens to the public. 1858: The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois. 1808: Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.

52 events and 228 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 21 August →

August 20 August 22

10 odd things that happened on August 21

1888 First ever
The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1945 First ever
American physicist Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core, exposing himself to neutron radiation and later becoming the first Manhattan Project fatality due to a criticality accident.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1971 Oddly true
Six people were killed during an escape attempt and riot at San Quentin State Prison in California; the subsequent trial of six inmates was the longest in state history at the time.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1808 First ever
Peninsular War: British and Portuguese forces put an end to the first French invasion of Portugal at the Battle of Vimeiro.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1995 Weird
Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, attempts to divert to West Georgia Regional Airport after the left engine fails, but the aircraft crashes in Carroll County near Carrollton, Georgia, killing nine of the 29 people on board.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1789 First ever
The national colours of Italy first appeared on a tricolour cockade in Genoa.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1879 Oddly true
The locals of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland report their having seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The apparition is later named "Our Lady of Knock" and the spot transformed into a Catholic pilgrimage site.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1862 First ever
The Stadtpark, the first public park in Vienna, opens to the public.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1858 First ever
The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1808 First ever
Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2017A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States. Wikipedia →
2013Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria. Wikipedia →
2000American golfer Tiger Woods wins the 82nd PGA Championship and becomes the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in a calendar year. Wikipedia →
1995Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, attempts to divert to West Georgia Regional Airport after the left engine fails, but the aircraft crashes in Carroll County near Carrollton, Georgia, killing nine of the 29 people on board. Wikipedia →
1994Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 crashes in Douar Izounine, Morocco, killing all 44 people on board. Wikipedia →
1993NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. Wikipedia →
1991Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940. Wikipedia →
1991Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses. Wikipedia →
1988The 6.9 Mw Nepal earthquake shakes the Nepal–India border with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 709–1,450 people killed and thousands injured. Wikipedia →
1986Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometre (12 mi) range. Wikipedia →
1983Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. is assassinated at Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor). Wikipedia →
1982Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon. Wikipedia →
1971A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured. Wikipedia →
1968Cold War: Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals. Wikipedia →
1968James Anderson Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine. Wikipedia →
1965The Socialist Republic of Romania is proclaimed, following the adoption of a new constitution. Wikipedia →
1963Xá Lợi Pagoda raids: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalizes Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead. Wikipedia →
1959United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day. Wikipedia →
1957The Soviet Union successfully conducts a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile. Wikipedia →
1945Physicist Harry Daghlian is fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Wikipedia →
1944Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: The Guadalcanal campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru. Wikipedia →
1918World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The Battle of Charleroi, a successful German attack across the River Sambre that pre-empted a French offensive in the same area. Wikipedia →
1911The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee. Wikipedia →
1901Six hundred American school teachers, Thomasites, arrived in Manila on the USAT Thomas. Wikipedia →
1888The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs. Wikipedia →
1883An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic. Wikipedia →
1879The locals of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland report their having seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The apparition is later named "Our Lady of Knock" and the spot transformed into a Catholic pilgrimage site. Wikipedia →
1878The American Bar Association is founded in Saratoga Springs, New York. Wikipedia →
1863Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by pro-Confederate guerrillas known as Quantrill's Raiders. Wikipedia →
1862The Stadtpark, the first public park in Vienna, opens to the public. Wikipedia →
1858The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois. Wikipedia →
1852Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory. Wikipedia →
1831Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which will claim the lives of 55 to 65 whites and about twice that number of blacks. Wikipedia →
1821Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances. Wikipedia →
1810Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. Wikipedia →
1808Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War. Wikipedia →
1791Enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue, led by Dutty Boukman, held a Vodou ceremony that became a pivotal act of resistance. This gathering sparked a mass uprising against slavery, marking the beginning of the Haitian Revolution. Wikipedia →
1778American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry. Wikipedia →
1772King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot. Wikipedia →
1716Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The arrival of naval reinforcements and the news of the Battle of Petrovaradin force the Ottomans to abandon the Siege of Corfu, thus preserving the Ionian Islands under Venetian rule. Wikipedia →
1689The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland. Wikipedia →
1680Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt. Wikipedia →
1673The Dutch fleet defeats an Anglo-French fleet under Prince Rupert in the battle of Texel. Wikipedia →
1415Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Conquest of Ceuta. Wikipedia →
1331King Stefan Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stefan Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia. Wikipedia →
1192Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Sei-i Taishōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: the 12th day of the seventh month in the third year of the Kenkyū (建久) era). Wikipedia →
1169Battle of the Blacks: Uprising by the black African forces of the Fatimid army, along with a number of Egyptian emirs and commoners, against Saladin. Wikipedia →
1140Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars. Wikipedia →
959Eraclus becomes the 25th bishop of Liège. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2022The Guardian
CEO of Israeli Pegasus spyware firm NSO to step down
CEO Shalev Hulio is stepping down as part of NSO reorganisation that will see it focus on sales in Nato member countries
Read on The Guardian →
2016The Guardian
No re-percussions as 'stolen' tambourine returned to KT Tunstall
The guilty thief sent the instrument back to the singer in a taxi after she launched an online appeal
Read on The Guardian →
1887The New York Times
SUPPE'S LATEST OPERA.
"The Beggar Student" saw its last representation at Wallack'a last evening, having been continued a week beyond the t…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.