April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (112th in Leap Year s). There are 254 days remaining.
- 753 BC - Romulus And Remus found Rome ( Traditional ).
- 1509 - Henry VIII accends 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 and Quartered .
- – Republic Of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López De Santa Anna .
- 1863 - Bahá'u'lláh declares his mission as " He Whom God Shall Make Manifest ". Considered the founder of the Bahá'í Faith .
- 1863 - Quantrill's Raiders launch a reprisal raid Lawrence, Kansas in the Battle Of Lawrence , killing a number of civilians.
- 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.
- , on April 25 , recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of this date.
- 1912 - The New York Giants and New York Yankees play an exhibition game to benefit survivors of the RMS ''Titanic'' .
- fighter ace Manfred Von Richthofen , known as " The Red Baron ", is shot down and killed over Vaux Sur Somme in France .
- 1930 - A fire at a Columbus, Ohio , USA , penitentiary kills 320 people.
- 1944 - Women in France receive the right to vote.
- forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
- 1952 - Secretary's Day (now Administrative Professionals' Day ) is first celebrated.
- 1955 - Bob Hope 's radio program airs its last segment.
- 1956 - Elvis Presley 's song " Heartbreak Hotel " becomes the "King's" first song to reach the top of the Cash Box Magazine {Link without Title} music charts.
- of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio De Janeiro .
- 1960 - Founding of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in Washington, DC .
- 1962 - The Seattle World's Fair ( Century 21 Exposition ) opens. It is the first World's Fair in the U.S. since World War II . {Link without Title}
- 1965 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its second and final season.
- 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.
- of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon , as Xuan Loc , the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnam ese assault on Saigon , falls.
- 1980 - Rosie Ruiz pretends to win the Boston Marathon , but officials conclude she skipped the majority of the race, entering the last half mile to sprint to the finish.
- 1985 - Ayrton Senna wins the first of 41 Formula One championship races at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril .
- 1986 - Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on live television and finds nothing.
- 1987 - The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a Car Bomb that explodes in the Sri Lanka n Capital of Colombo , killing 106 people.
- , around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate the late Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang .
- , convicted murderer Robert Alton Harris is executed in California 's Gas Chamber .
- 1994 - The first discoveries of Extrasolar Planet s are announced by Astronomer Alexander Wolszczan .
- 2005 - John Negroponte becomes the first United States Director Of National Intelligence .
- 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 )
- 1713 - Louis, 4th Duc De Noailles , Marshal of France (d. 1793 )
- 1729 - Empress Catherine II Of Russia (d. 1796 )
- 1774 - Jean-Baptiste Biot , French physicist (d. 1862 )
- 1775 - Alexander Anderson , American wood-engraver and illustrator (d. 1870 )
- 1810 - John Putnam Chapin , Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864 )
- 1811 - Alson Sherman , Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903 )
- 1814 - Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts , English philanthropist (d. 1906 )
- 1816 - Charlotte Brontë , English author (d. 1855 )
- 1837 - Fredrik Bajer , Danish politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1922 )
- 1838 - John Muir , American environmentalist (d. 1914 )
- 1851 - Charles Barrois , French geologist (d. 1939 )
- 1864 - Max Weber , German economist and sociologist (d. 1920 )
- 1870 - Edwin S. Porter , American film pioneer (d. 1941 )
- 1879 - Kartini , Indonesian national heroine (d. 1904 )
- 1882 - Percy Williams Bridgman , American physicist, Nobel Prize winner (d. 1961 )
- 1889 - Paul Karrer , Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971 )
- 1905 - Pat Brown , American politician (d. 1996 )
- 1911 - Ivan Combe , American inventor (d. 2000 )
- 1912 - Marcel Camus , French film director (d. 1982 )
- 1915 - Anthony Quinn , Mexican-born actor (d. 2001 )
- 1919 - Don Cornell , American singer (d. 2004 )
- 1922 - Alistair MacLean , Scottish author (d. 1987 )
- 1923 - John Mortimer , English barrister and writer
- 1926 - Queen Elizabeth II Of The United Kingdom
- 1927 - Gerald Flood , British actor (d. 1989 )
- 1930 - Silvana Mangano , Italian actress (d. 1989 )
- 1932 - Elaine May , American comedian, writer, director, and actress
- 1935 - Charles Grodin , American actor and journalist
- 1935 - Thomas Kean , Governor of New Jersey
- 1936 - James Dobson , American evangelist
- 1939 - Helen Prejean , American nun and writer
- 1947 - Iggy Pop , American musician ( The Stooges )
- 1948 - Gary Condit , American politician
- 1949 - Patti Lupone , American singer and actress
- 1951 - Tony Danza , American actor and talk show host
- 1951 - Michael Hartley Freedman , American mathematician
- 1951 - Steve Vickers , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1958 - Andie MacDowell , American actress
- 1959 - Gene Callahan , American writer
- 1959 - Robert Smith , British musician, singer, and songwriter ( The Cure )
- 1959 - Michael Timmins , Canadian folk/rock guitarist, songwriter ( Cowboy Junkies )
- 1960 - Michel Goulet , Canadian Ice Hockey player
- 1963 - Ken Caminiti , baseball player (d. 2004 )
- 1963 - Roy Dupuis , Canadian actor
- 1964 - Ludmila Engquist , Russian-born Swedish athlete
- 1965 - Ed Belfour , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 - Karen Foster , American model ( Playboy )
- 1970 - Rob Riggle , American comedian
- 1970 - Nicole Sullivan , American actress, comedian, and writer
- 1971 - Eric Mabius , American actor
- 1971 - Michael Turner , American comic book artist
- 1977 - Jamie Salé , Canadian figure skater
- 1978 - Jukka Nevalainen , drummer of Finnish heavy metal band Nightwish
- 1980 - Vincent Lecavalier , Canadian hockey player
- 1982 - Carnell "Cadillac" Williams , American football player
- 748 - Empress Gensho of Japan (b. 680 )
- 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 )
- 1793 - John Michell , English seismologist (b. 1724 )
- 1815 - Joseph Winston , U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746 )
- 1868 - Henry James O'Farrell , Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke Of Edinburgh (hanged)
- 1910 - Mark Twain , American author and humorist (b. 1835 )
- 1918 - Manfred Von Richthofen , German pilot (b. 1892 )
- 1924 - Eleonora Duse , Italian actress (b. 1858 )
- 1930 - Robert Bridges , English poet (b. 1844 )
- 1938 - Allama Iqbal , Indian philosopher and poet (b. 1877 )
- 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 )
- 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
- 1980 - Aleksandr Oparin , Russian biochemist (b. 1894 )
- 1983 - Walter Slezak , Austrian actor (b. 1902 )
- 1985 - Rudi Gernreich , Austrian fashion designer (b. 1922 )
- 1985 - Tancredo De Almeida Neves , Brazil banker and elected president (b. 1910 )
- 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 )
- 1996 - Jimmy The Greek , 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 - Telê Santana , Brazilian football manager (b. 1931 )
April 20 - April 22 - March 21 - May 21 -- Listing Of All Days
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