April 21: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 753 BC - Romulus founds Rome (traditional date).
2. 1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
3. 1782 - The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
4. 1898 - Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
5. 1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
6. 1934 - The "Surgeon's Photograph", the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
7. 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 Texas A&M graduates who are under his command), while 1.8 million pounds of shells pounded the island over a 5-hour attack.
8. 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.
9. 1989 - Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
10. 1992 - The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Alexander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
11. Famous Birthdays: Michel Rolle (French mathematician), Alexander Anderson (American illustrator), Percy Williams Bridgman (American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate), Paul Karrer (Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate), Elizabeth II of The United Kingdom

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: April 20

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: April 22

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.