August 21

August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 132 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-1600

• 1192 – Minamoto no Yoritomo is appointed shogun of Japan, establishing the Kamakura shogunate and effectively beginning the shogunate era in Japanese history.

1601–1900

• 1831 – Nat Turner's slave rebellion begins in Southampton County, Virginia, led by enslaved African American Nat Turner.
• 1863 – The Lawrence Massacre occurs when Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill and his Raiders attack the town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing nearly 200 men and boys.

1901–2000

• 1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris by Vincenzo Perugia, who hides the painting under his coat and walks out of the building.
• 1959 – Hawaii is admitted as the 50th state of the United States, following a referendum and an act of the U.S. Congress.
• 1986 – A limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in Cameroon releases a massive cloud of carbon dioxide, suffocating over 1,700 people and thousands of livestock in nearby villages.

2001–present

• 2013 – The Ghouta chemical attack occurs during the Syrian Civil War, when sarin gas is fired into the suburbs of Damascus, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties.
• 2017 – A total solar eclipse, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse," is visible across the contiguous United States, from Oregon to South Carolina, marking the first total solar eclipse visible from the U.S. mainland in 99 years.

Births

Pre-1900

• 1765 – William IV, King of the United Kingdom and of Hanover (d. 1837)
• 1789 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1857)
• 1862 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (d. 1964)

1901–1950

• 1916 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican songwriter and pianist (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine general and politician, 39th President of Argentina (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Kenny Rogers, American singer, songwriter, and actor (d. 2020)

1951–present

• 1959 – Stephen Fry, English actor, comedian, and writer
• 1986 – Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter and multiple Olympic gold medalist
• 1988 – Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer

Deaths

Pre-1900

• 1568 – Jean Parisot de la Valette, French military leader, 49th Grand Master of the Knights of Malta (b. 1495)
• 1814 – Anton Lampa, Czech-Austrian physicist and academic (b. 1775)

1901–2000

• 1940 – Leon Trotsky, Russian Marxist revolutionary and political theorist (b. 1879)
• 1982 – Sobhuza II, King of Eswatini (b. 1899)

2001–present

• 2012 – William Windom, American actor (b. 1923)
• 2018 – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor and singer (b. 1975)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Pope Pius X, Jane Frances de Chantal, Private
• Hawaii Admission Day (Hawaii, United States)
• Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)
• National Senior Citizens Day (United States)
• World Organ Donation Day