Date·Lore

On This Day · The 52nd day of the year

February 21

As calendar dates go, February 21 keeps a short memory — its record stays close to the present. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet

Pisces is the sign for February 21 — read more on the Pisces page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on February 21?

February 21 is the 52nd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1828 and 1974. Famous people born on February 21 include Corbin Bleu, Robert Mugabe and Steve Leo Beleck.

Released on February 21

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
  • Game Garten of Banban 0

2024

  • Game Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story
  • Game Slave Zero X
  • Game Myth of Empires
  • Game Last Epoch
  • Game Penny's Big Breakaway

2023

  • Game Atomic Heart

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1828

    Cherokee Phoenix

  2. 1848

    Karl Marx

  3. 1862

    American Civil War

  4. 1916

    World War I

  5. 1945

    World War II

  6. 1952

    Bengali language movement

  7. 1952

    Winston Churchill

  8. 1972

    Richard Nixon

  9. 1972

    Soviet Union

  10. 1974

    Suez Canal

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 21

Corbin Bleu

b. 1989

Robert Mugabe

b. 1924

Steve Leo Beleck

b. 1993

Eni Aluko

b. 1987

Thelma Estrin

b. 1924

Olympia Snowe

b. 1947

Brendan Sexton III

b. 1980

John Henry Newman

b. 1801

Deaths

  • 1999Gertrude B. Elion
  • 1995Robert Bolt
  • 1984Mikhail Sholokhov
  • 1965Malcolm X
  • 1677Baruch Spinoza
  • 1437James I of Scotland

Holidays & observances

  • —Armed Forces Day (South Africa)
  • —Birthday of King Harald V (Norway)
  • —Christian feast day: Felix of Hadrumetum
  • —Christian feast day: Pepin of Landen
  • —Christian feast day: Peter Damian
  • —Christian feast day: Randoald of Grandval
  • —Christian feast day: February 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Father Lini Day (Vanuatu)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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