Vintage News · Odd history for February 21

What Happened On February 21

Q: What happened on February 21?

1842: John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine. 1245: Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. 1995: Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. 1866: Lucy Hobbs Taylor (pictured) became the first woman to receive a doctorate from a dental college. 1828: The inaugural issue of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper in a Native American language, was published. 1437: King James I of Scotland was murdered at Perth in a failed coup by his uncle and former ally Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. 1878: The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut. 1874: The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition. 1828: Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. 1804: The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.

41 events and 176 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 21 February →

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10 odd things that happened on February 21

1842 First ever
John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
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Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1245 First ever
Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1995 First ever
Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1866 First ever
Lucy Hobbs Taylor (pictured) became the first woman to receive a doctorate from a dental college.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1828 First ever
The inaugural issue of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper in a Native American language, was published.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1437 Oddly true
King James I of Scotland was murdered at Perth in a failed coup by his uncle and former ally Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1878 First ever
The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1874 First ever
The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1828 First ever
Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1804 First ever
The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2022In the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and moves troops into the region. The action is condemned by the United Nations. Wikipedia →
2013At least 17 people are killed and 119 injured following several bombings in the Indian city of Hyderabad. Wikipedia →
1995Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. Wikipedia →
1994Aldrich Ames is arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for selling national secrets to the Soviet Union in Arlington County, Virginia. Wikipedia →
1975Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison. Wikipedia →
1974The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt. Wikipedia →
1973Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108 people. Wikipedia →
1972United States President Richard Nixon visits China to normalize Sino-American relations. Wikipedia →
1972The Soviet uncrewed spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon. Wikipedia →
1971The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna. Wikipedia →
1958The CND symbol, aka peace symbol, commissioned by the Direct Action Committee in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom. Wikipedia →
1952The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free". Wikipedia →
1952The Bengali language movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Wikipedia →
1948NASCAR is incorporated. Wikipedia →
1947In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage the USS Saratoga. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat the German forces in the Battle of Monte Castello on the Italian front. Wikipedia →
1937The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War. Wikipedia →
1929In the first battle of the Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong against the Nationalist government of China, a 24,000-strong rebel force led by Zhang Zongchang was defeated at Zhifu by 7,000 NRA troops. Wikipedia →
1925The New Yorker publishes its first issue. Wikipedia →
1921Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country's first constitution. Wikipedia →
1921Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a successful coup. Wikipedia →
1919German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany. Wikipedia →
1918The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. Wikipedia →
1916World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins. Wikipedia →
1913Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars. Wikipedia →
1896An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fights an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically takes place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing. Wikipedia →
1885The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated. Wikipedia →
1878The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut. Wikipedia →
1874The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition. Wikipedia →
1862American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory. Wikipedia →
1861Mariehamn, the capital city of Åland, is founded. Wikipedia →
1848Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto. Wikipedia →
1842John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine. Wikipedia →
1828Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. Wikipedia →
1808Without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops cross the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish War, in which Sweden will lose the eastern half of the country (i.e. Finland) to Russia. Wikipedia →
1804The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales. Wikipedia →
1797A force of 1,400 French soldiers invade Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen. They were defeated by 500 British reservists. Wikipedia →
1613Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia. Wikipedia →
1440The Prussian Confederation is formed. Wikipedia →
1245Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2016The Guardian
George Pell evidence: royal commission says victims can be present in Rome
Commission chair finds victims’ request to be in the same room as Pell when he gives evidence is ‘not unreasonable’ a…
Read on The Guardian →
2012The Guardian
From Rocky Flats to Fukushima: this nuclear folly
Naomi Wolf: There's no such thing as safe and accidents are always covered up. So why let Obama build a whole new gen…
Read on The Guardian →
1975The New York Times
Police End ‘Fencing’ Operation
Sham trucking co set up by undercover NYC detectives in E Village as cover to ‘purchase’ stolen property is closed th…
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.