✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 172nd day of the year

June 21

A look at June 21 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Françoise Sagan and Michel Platini, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2009

    Greenland

    Greenland assumes self-rule.

    Autonomous territory of Denmark
  2. 2006

    Pluto

    Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra.

    Largest dwarf planet
  3. 2001

    Alexandria, Virginia

    A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen.

    Independent city in Virginia,
  4. 1989

    Supreme Court of the United States

    The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, that American flag-burning is a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.

    Highest court of jurisdiction
  5. 1957

    Ellen Fairclough

    Ellen Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first female Cabinet Minister.

    Canadian politician (1905–2004)
  6. 1940

    World War II

    World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  7. 1919

    Ludwig von Reuter

    Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I.

    19/20th-century German naval officer
  8. 1848

    Wallachian Revolution of 1848

    In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell issue the Proclamation of Islaz and create a new republican government.

    Liberal and Romanian nationalist
  9. 1824

    Greek War of Independence

    Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea.

    Greek rebellion against the
  10. 1788

    New Hampshire

    New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.

    U.S. state
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Famous birthday twins

Born on June 21

Françoise Sagan

b. 1935

French author and playwright

Michel Platini

b. 1955

French footballer and manager

Clara Immerwahr

b. 1870

Jewish-German chemist and academic

Lluís Companys

b. 1882

Spanish lawyer and politician, 123rd President of Catalonia

Jean-Paul Sartre

b. 1905

French philosopher and author

Arnold Gesell

b. 1880

American psychologist and pediatrician

Rebecca Black

b. 1997

American singer-songwriter

Luis Antonio Tagle

b. 1957

Filipino cardinal

Deaths

  • 2001John Lee Hooker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1985Tage Erlander, Swedish lieutenant and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Sweden
  • 1969Maureen Connolly, American tennis player
  • 1957Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1914Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1527Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and author

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Alban of Mainz
  • —Christian feast day: Aloysius Gonzaga
  • —Christian feast day: Engelmund of Velsen
  • —Christian feast day: Martin of Tongres
  • —Christian feast day: Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran)
  • —Christian feast day: June 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Day of the Martyrs (Togo)
  • —Father's Day (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates)

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