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Today April 21st 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
753 BC – Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date).
43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Although Antony fails to capture Mutina, Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly afterwards.
1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England (unofficially) at the death of his father, Henry VII.
1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary who was leading a movement for Brazil s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto – Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1863 – Bahá u lláh, considered the founder of the Bahá í Faith, declares his mission as He whom God shall make manifest.
1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
1898 – Spanish-American War: The U.S. Congress, on April 25, recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of this date.
1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, known as The Red Baron, is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France.
1922 – The first Aggie Muster is held as a remembrance for fellow Aggies who had died in the previous year.
1942 – World War II: The most famous (and first international) Aggie Muster is held on the Philippine island of Corregidor, by Brigadier General George F. Moore (with 25 fellow Aggies who were under his command), while 1.8 million pounds of shells pounded the island over a 5 hour attack.
1944 – Women in France receive the right to vote.
1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
1952 – Secretary s Day (now Administrative Professionals Day) is first celebrated.
1960 – Brasília, Brazil s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 9:30 am the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
1960 – Founding of the Orthodox Bahá í Faith in Washington, D.C.
1962 – The Seattle World s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World s Fair in the United States since World War II.
1963 – The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá í Faith is elected for the first time.
1965 – The 1964-1965 New York World s Fair opens for its second and final season.
1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
1967 – A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
1970 – The Hutt River Province Principality secedes from Australia.
1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
1982 – Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that explodes in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
1989 – Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
1994 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
2008 – The United States Air Force retires the F-117 Nighthawk.
Births
1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1619)
1651 – Blessed Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (d. 1711)
1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician (d. 1719)
1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
1673 – Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1742)
1713 – Louis, 4th duc de Noailles, Marshal of France (d. 1793)
1767 – Elisabeth of Württemberg, Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1790)
1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (d. 1862)
1775 – Alexander Anderson, American illustrator (d. 1870)
1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician (d. 1864)
1811 – Alson Sherman, American politician (d. 1903)
1814 – Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, English philanthropist (d. 1906)
1816 – Charlotte Brontë, English author (d. 1855)
1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1922)
1838 – John Muir, American environmentalist (d. 1914)
1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist (d. 1939)
1854 – William Stang, Roman Catholic Bishop (d. 1907)
1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
1870 – Edwin S. Porter, American film pioneer (d. 1941)
1879 – Kartini, Indonesian national figure (d. 1904)
1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1961)
1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)
1889 – Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
1904 – Odilo Globocnik, Austrian Nazi (d. 1945)
1905 – Pat Brown, American politician (d. 1996)
1911 – Ivan Combe, American inventor (d. 2000)
1912 – Marcel Camus, French film director (d. 1982)
1914 – Norman Panama, American screenwriter (d. 2003)
1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-born American actor (d. 2001)
1915 – Garrett Hardin, American ecologist (d. 2003)
1919 – Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
1920 – Ronald Magill, British actor (d. 2007)
1923 – John Mortimer, English barrister and writer (d. 2009)
1925 – Sir Anthony Mason, former Chief Justice of Australia
1926 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
1926 – Arthur Rowley, English Footballer (d. 2002)
1927 – Gerald Flood, British actor (d. 1989)
1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
1932 – Elaine May, American comedian
1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor
1935 – Thomas Kean, American politician
1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist
1938 – Ernie Maresca, American singer and record executive
1939 – Helen Prejean, American writer
1944 – Adrian Hurley, Australian basketball coach
1945 – Diana Darvey, British actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)
1947 – Iggy Pop, American musician (The Stooges)
1947 – John Weider, British rock musician (Eric Burdon and the Animals, Family)
1948 – Gary Condit, American politician
1948 – Paul Davis, American singer
1949 – Patti LuPone, American singer and actress
1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and comedian
1951 – Michael Hartley Freedman, American mathematician
1951 – Robert Gotobed, English drummer (Wire)
1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
1954 – James Morrison, American actor
1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer
1956 – Phillip Longman, American demographer
1957 – Edward Leslie, American professional wrestler
1958 – Andie MacDowell, American actress
1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author and columnist
1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese manga artist
1959 – Robert Smith, British musician (The Cure)
1959 – Jerry Only, American musician (The Misfits)
1959 – Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (Cowboy Junkies)
1959 – Tim Jacobus, American artist (Goosebumps)
1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player
1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American film director
1964 – Alex Baumann, Canadian Olympic swimmer
1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete
1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 – Karen Foster, American model (Playboy)
1965 – Fiona Kelleghan, American academic and critic
1966 – Michael Franti, American musician
1969 – Robin Meade, American reporter
1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish songwriter and actor
1970 – Rob Riggle, American comedian
1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress
1971 – Alexander Kravchenko, Russian professional poker player
1971 – Hasan Akbar, American convicted murderer
1971 – Michael Turner, American comic book artist
1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
1972 – Severina Vuckovic, Croatian singer
1973 – Jonathan Nsenga, Belgian athlete
1976 – Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
1977 – Doseone, American rapper
1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish)
1978 – Branden Steineckert, American drummer (Rancid), (The Used)
1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
1980 – Jeff Keppinger, American baseball player
1981 – Stephanie Larimore, American model
1982 – Carnell Cadillac Williams, American football player
1983 – Pawel Brozek, Polish footballer
1984 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish hockey player
1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
1988 – Robbie Amell, Canadian actor
1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
2007 – Princess Isabella of Denmark
Deaths
1073 – Pope Alexander II
1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
1142 – Pierre Abélard, French writer (b. 1079)
1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
1509 – King Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (b. 1495)
1574 – Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
1699 – Jean Racine, French dramatist (b. 1639)
1701 – Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (b. 1667)
1719 – Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b. 1640)
1720 – Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b. 1646)
1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., historian of Colonial Virginia (b. 1673)
1792 – Tiradentes, Brazilian revolutionary (b. 1746)
1793 – John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724)
1815 – Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746)
1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathemattician (b. 1765)
1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
1868 – Henry James O Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
1910 – Mark Twain, American author and humorist (b. 1835)
1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German pilot (b. 1892)
1922 – Alessandro Moreschi, Italian castrato (b. 1858)
1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet (b. 1844)
1938 – Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883)
1956 – Charles MacArthur, American writer (b. 1895)
1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
1971 – François Papa Doc Duvalier, Haitian dictator (b. 1907)
1973 – Arthur Fadden, thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
1974 – Charles Chic Harley, American football player (b. 1895)
1977 – Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892)
1978 – Sandy Denny, British vocalist (b. 1947)
1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American civil rights advocate and agricultural engineer (b. 1877)
1980 – Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b. 1894)
1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Persian poet and painter (b. 1928)
1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian actor (b. 1902)
1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian fashion designer (b. 1922)
1985 – Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio pioneer (b. 1902)
1985 – Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Brazil banker and elected president (b. 1910)
1986 – Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (b. 1930)
1989 – Princess Dukhye of Korea (b. 1912)
1990 – Erté, French artist (b. 1892)
1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
1996 – Dzhokhar Dudaev, Chechen leader (b. 1944)
1998 – Jean Francois Lyotard, French philosopher and sociologist (b. 1924)
1996 – Jimmy The Greek Snyder, American bookie and sports broadcaster (b. 1919)
1999 – Charles Buddy Rogers, American actor and musician (b. 1904)
2000 – Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (b. 1929)
2003 – Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933)
2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
2005 – Gerry Marshall, British racing driver (b. 1941)
2006 – T.K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian football manager and former player (b. 1931)
2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist and songwriter (b. 1941)
2008 – Al Wilson, American singer (b. 1939)
Holidays and observances
Bahá í Faith – First day of the festival of Ridván.
Roman Empire – the Parilia was held in honor of Pales.
Rome – city birthday.
Tiradentes – Brazil.
Grounation Day in Rastafari movement.
San Jacinto Day – Texas state holiday.
Aggie Muster at Texas A&M University.
Holy Infant of Good Health
Saint Abdecalas
Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury
Saint Anastasius I
Saint Konrad von Parzham
Saint Wolbodo
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