Date·Lore

On This Day · The 325th day of the year

November 21

November 21 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1877 and 2012. Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.

♏ZodiacScorpio ◈BirthstoneTopaz ❀Birth flowerChrysanthemum

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on November 21?

November 21 is the 325th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1877 and 2012. Famous people born on November 21 include Pope Benedict XV, René Magritte and Voltaire.

The shape of the day

As calendar dates go, November 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.

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

Released on November 21

Movies, games, albums & shows

2024

  • Game Wall Town Wonders
  • Game Loco Motive
  • Movie Moana 2

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1877

    Thomas Edison

    Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.

  2. 1920

    Irish War of Independence

    Irish War of Independence: On "Bloody Sunday" in Dublin, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassinated a group of British Intelligence agents, and British forces killed 14 civilians at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park.

  3. 1922

    Rebecca Latimer Felton

    Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator.

  4. 1961

    La Ronde (restaurant)

    "La Ronde" opens in Honolulu, the first revolving restaurant in the United States.

  5. 1964

    Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge

    The Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. At the time it is the world's longest bridge span.

  6. 1967

    Vietnam War

    Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing."

  7. 1974

    Birmingham pub bombings

    The Birmingham pub bombings kill 21 people. The Birmingham Six are sentenced to life in prison for the crime but are later exonerated.

  8. 1980

    MGM Grand fire

    A deadly fire breaks out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada (now Bally's Las Vegas). Eighty-five people are killed and more than 650 are injured in the worst disaster in Nevada history.

  9. 2009

    2009 Heilongjiang mine explosion

    A mine explosion in Heilongjiang, China kills 108.

  10. 2012

    2012 Tel Aviv bus bombing

    At least 28 are wounded after a bomb is thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv.

Famous birthday twins

Born on November 21

Pope Benedict XV

b. 1854

Head of the Catholic Church from 1914 to 1922

René Magritte

b. 1898

Belgian painter

Voltaire

b. 1694

French writer and philosopher

Georgie Twigg

b. 1990

English field hockey player

Björk

b. 1965

Icelandic singer-songwriter

Carly Rae Jepsen

b. 1985

Canadian singer-songwriter and actress

Michel Suleiman

b. 1948

Lebanese general and politician, 16th President of Lebanon

Gustav Radbruch

b. 1878

German lawyer and politician, German Minister of Justice

Deaths

  • 2000Emil Zátopek
  • 1996Abdus Salam
  • 1916Franz Joseph I
  • 1811Heinrich von Kleist
  • 1695Henry Purcell
  • 1361Philip I, Duke of Burgundy

Holidays & observances

  • —Armed Forces Day (Bangladesh)
  • —Christian feast days: Amelberga of Susteren
  • —Christian feast days: Digain
  • —Christian feast days: Maurus of Parentium
  • —Christian feast days: Pope Gelasius I
  • —Christian feast days: Franciszka Siedliska
  • —Christian feast days: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • —Christian feast days: Rufus of Rome (no. 7 in list)

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted 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.

Born on this day?

Make your birthday card.

Drop in your birth year and we'll work out your exact age, the day of the week you were born, your Chinese zodiac, your generation, and the countdown to your next candle.