✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 141st day of the year

May 21

A look at May 21 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Andrei Sakharov and Sara Goller, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♊ZodiacGemini ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2024

    Greenfield tornado

    The Greenfield tornado kills five and injures 35 across rural Iowa, United States. Wind speeds in excess of 480 kilometres per hour (300 mph) are estimated from measurements for the third time in history.

    2024 EF4 tornado in
  2. 2014

    2014 Taipei Metro attack

    Random killings occur on the Bannan Line of the Taipei MRT, killing four and injuring 24.

    Fatal stabbing spree in
  3. 2005

    Roller coaster

    The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey.

    Rail-based amusement park ride
  4. 1998

    Suharto

    President Suharto of Indonesia resigns following the killing of students from Trisakti University earlier that week by security forces and growing mass protests in Jakarta against his ongoing corrupt rule.

    President of Indonesia from
  5. 1927

    Charles Lindbergh

    Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

    American aviator (1902–1974)
  6. 1925

    Doktor Faust

    The opera Doktor Faust, unfinished when composer Ferruccio Busoni died, is premiered in Dresden.

    Opera by Ferruccio Busoni
  7. 1924

    University of Chicago

    University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks in a "thrill killing".

    Private university in Chicago,
  8. 1917

    Commonwealth War Graves Commission

    The Imperial War Graves Commission is established through royal charter to mark, record, and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of the British Empire's military forces.

    Commonwealth organisation responsible for
  9. 1863

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege.

    1861–1865 conflict in the
  10. 1703

    Daniel Defoe

    Daniel Defoe is imprisoned on charges of seditious libel.

    English writer, merchant and
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Famous birthday twins

Born on May 21

Andrei Sakharov

b. 1921

Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Sara Goller

b. 1984

German volleyball player

Albrecht Dürer

b. 1471

German painter, engraver, and mathematician

Lucie Hradecká

b. 1985

Czech tennis player

José Batlle y Ordóñez

b. 1856

Uruguayan journalist and politician, President of Uruguay

Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland

b. 1653

Queen of Poland , Duchess of Lorraine

Philip II of Spain

b. 1527

King of Spain and Portugal

Chris Benoit

b. 1967

Canadian professional wrestler

Deaths

  • 2012Douglas Rodríguez (boxer), Cuban boxer
  • 1991Rajiv Gandhi, Indian politician, 6th Prime Minister of India
  • 1964James Franck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932Marcel Boulenger, French fencer and author
  • 1686Otto von Guericke, German physicist and inventor of the Magdeburg Hemispheres
  • 1542Hernando de Soto, Spanish-American explorer

Holidays & observances

  • —Afro-Colombian Day (Colombia)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Adílio Daronch and Manuel Gómez González
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
  • —Christian feast day: Earliest day on which Corpus Christi can fall, while June 24 is the latest; held on Thursday after Trinity Sunday (often locally moved to Sunday). (Roman Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Eugène de Mazenod
  • —Christian feast day: Helena of Constantinople, also known as "Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the-Apostles." (Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Hemming of Turku
  • —Christian feast day: John Elliot (Episcopal Church)

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