June 21 facts for kids

June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 193 days remain until the end of the year. Every day is special, and June 21 is no exception! Throughout history, many important events have happened on this day, from the founding of cities to major scientific discoveries and the births of famous people. Let's explore some of the exciting things that have taken place on June 21.

Historical Events on June 21

Early Times (Before 1600)

• 533 – Around this time, a large fleet from the Byzantine Empire, led by General Belisarius, sailed from Constantinople. Their mission was to attack the Vandals in Africa.
• 1307 – Külüg Khan became the new leader, or Khagan, of the Mongols. He also became Emperor Wuzong of the Yuan dynasty in China.
• 1529 – During the War of the League of Cognac, French forces were pushed out of northern Italy by the Spanish army at the Battle of Landriano.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1621 – In Prague, many Czech noblemen faced severe consequences after the Battle of White Mountain. This event took place in the Old Town Square.
• 1734 – In Montreal, New France, a slave named Marie-Joseph Angélique was accused of starting a fire that destroyed a large part of the city. She was punished for this crime.
• 1749 – The city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada, was officially founded.
• 1768 – James Otis Jr. gave a speech to the Massachusetts General Court that upset the King and Parliament in England.
• 1788 – New Hampshire became the ninth state to approve the Constitution of the United States. This was a big step towards forming the United States as we know it.
• 1791 – King Louis XVI of France and his family tried to escape during the French Revolution. This event is known as the Flight to Varennes.
• 1798 – During the Irish rebellion of 1798, the British Army defeated Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill.
• 1813 – In the Peninsular War, the Duke of Wellington's forces defeated Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Vitoria.
• 1824 – During the Greek War of Independence, Egyptian forces captured the island of Psara in the Aegean Sea.
• 1848 – In the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell announced the Proclamation of Islaz. This led to the creation of a new republican government.
• 1898 – The United States took control of Guam from Spain. The Spanish soldiers there didn't even know the two countries were at war!

Modern Era (1901–Present)

• 1915 – The Supreme Court of the United States made a decision in Guinn v. United States. This ruling struck down laws in Oklahoma that made it harder for Black people to vote.
• 1929 – An agreement helped end the Cristero War in Mexico. This was thanks to the efforts of U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow.
• 1940 – During World War II, Italy began an attack on France, but it was not successful.
• 1942 – World War II: The city of Tobruk fell to Italian and German forces. Many Allied troops were captured.
• 1945 – World War II: The fierce Battle of Okinawa ended. Japanese forces stopped their organized fighting on the main island.
• 1957 – Ellen Fairclough became Canada's first female Cabinet Minister. This was a big step for women in Canadian politics.
• 1963 – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen to be Pope Paul VI.
• 1978 – The famous musical Evita, which tells the story of Eva Perón, opened in London.
• 1989 – The U.S. Supreme Court decided in Texas v. Johnson that burning the American flag is a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.
• 2000 – In Scotland, a law called Section 28, which limited the discussion of homosexuality, was removed.
• 2004 – SpaceShipOne made history as the first privately funded spaceplane to reach space.
• 2006 – Pluto's newly found moons were officially named Nix and Hydra.
• 2009 – Greenland gained more self-rule, giving it more control over its own affairs.
• 2024 – The highly anticipated DLC Shadow of the Erdtree was released for the popular video game Elden Ring.

Famous Births on June 21

Born Before 1900

• 1002 – Pope Leo IX, an important leader of the Catholic Church.
• 1377 – Edward III of England, a powerful English king.
• 1521 – John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev, a European duke.
• 1528 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, a significant royal figure.
• 1535 – Leonhard Rauwolf, a German doctor and botanist who studied plants.
• 1639 – Increase Mather, an important American minister and writer.
• 1732 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, a German pianist and composer.
• 1774 – Daniel D. Tompkins, who became the 6th Vice President of the United States.
• 1781 – Siméon Denis Poisson, a French mathematician and physicist.
• 1839 – Machado de Assis, a famous Brazilian author, poet, and playwright.
• 1850 – Daniel Carter Beard, an American author and illustrator who helped start the Boy Scouts of America.
• 1857 – Charles Alderton, an American pharmacist who created the popular drink Dr Pepper.
• 1859 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, an American-French painter.
• 1880 – Arnold Gesell, an American psychologist and pediatrician.
• 1882 – Lluís Companys, a Spanish lawyer and politician who was President of Catalonia.
• 1891 – Pier Luigi Nervi, an Italian architect and engineer who designed famous buildings like the Pirelli Tower.
• 1896 – Charles Momsen, an American admiral who invented the Momsen lung, a device for escaping submarines.

Born After 1900

• 1905 – Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous French philosopher and author.
• 1914 – William Vickrey, a Canadian-American economist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics.
• 1921 – Judy Holliday and Jane Russell, both well-known American actresses and singers.
• 1925 – Maureen Stapleton, an American actress.
• 1932 – Lalo Schifrin, an Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor, known for movie scores.
• 1935 – Françoise Sagan, a French author and playwright.
• 1944 – Ray Davies, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, famous for the band The Kinks.
• 1947 – Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross, American actors. Also, Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1948 – Ian McEwan, a British novelist and screenwriter.
• 1953 – Benazir Bhutto, a Pakistani politician who became Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• 1955 – Michel Platini, a famous French footballer and manager.
• 1957 – Berkeley Breathed, an American author and illustrator, known for the comic strip Bloom County.
• 1959 – Marcella Detroit, an American singer-songwriter, and Kathy Mattea, an American country singer.
• 1961 – Joko Widodo, the 7th President of Indonesia.
• 1965 – Yang Liwei, the first Chinese astronaut to go into space.
• 1966 – Gretchen Carlson, an American TV journalist and former Miss America.
• 1967 – Pierre Omidyar, a French-American businessman who founded eBay.
• 1973 – Juliette Lewis, an American actress and singer-songwriter.
• 1979 – Chris Pratt, a popular American actor.
• 1981 – Brandon Flowers, the lead singer of the band The Killers.
• 1982 – William, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the British throne.
• 1983 – Edward Snowden, an American activist.
• 1985 – Lana Del Rey, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1997 – Rebecca Black, an American singer-songwriter.

Notable Deaths on June 21

Passed Away Before 1900

• 1305 – Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, a king of Bohemia and Poland.
• 1377 – Edward III of England, a significant English king.
• 1527 – Niccolò Machiavelli, a famous Italian historian and writer.
• 1582 – Oda Nobunaga, a powerful Japanese warlord.
• 1631 – John Smith, an English admiral and explorer known for his role in Jamestown.
• 1652 – Inigo Jones, a famous English architect.
• 1874 – Anders Jonas Ångström, a Swedish physicist and astronomer.
• 1876 – Antonio López de Santa Anna, a Mexican general and politician who was President of Mexico.
• 1893 – Leland Stanford, an American businessman and politician who was Governor of California.

Passed Away After 1900

• 1908 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a famous Russian composer.
• 1914 – Bertha von Suttner, an Austrian journalist and author who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1940 – Smedley Butler, an American general and Medal of Honor recipient.
• 1954 – Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-American engineer who invented the zipper.
• 1957 – Johannes Stark, a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1964 – James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, American civil rights activists.
• 1970 – Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia.
• 1985 – Hector Boyardee, an Italian-American chef who founded Chef Boyardee.
• 2001 – John Lee Hooker, a famous American blues singer-songwriter, and Carroll O'Connor, an American actor.
• 2005 – Jaime Sin, a Filipino cardinal.
• 2018 – Charles Krauthammer, an American columnist and political commentator.
• 2023 – Winnie Ewing, a Scottish politician.

Holidays and Observances

• Father's Day (celebrated in some countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates)
• Go Skateboarding Day
• International Yoga Day
• National Aboriginal Day (Canada)
• Solstice-related observances:

* Day of Private Reflection (Northern Ireland) * International Surfing Day * National Day (Greenland) * We Tripantu, a winter solstice festival for the Mapuche people in southern Chile. * Willkakuti, an Andean-Amazonic New Year for the Aymara people. * Fête de la Musique (World Music Day)

• World Humanist Day
• World Hydrography Day

See also

In Spanish: 21 de junio para niños