November 21 facts for kids

November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 40 days remain until the end of the year.

November 21st is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from important discoveries and political changes to the birthdays of famous people. Let's explore some of the key moments that happened on this date.

Events

Important Moments in History

• 164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem. This special event is remembered every year during the festival of Hanukkah.
• 235 – Pope Anterus became the nineteenth pope of the Catholic Church.
• 1386 – Timur of Samarkand captured Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and took King Bagrat V of Georgia as a prisoner.
• 1620 – The Plymouth Colony settlers, who arrived on the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact. This was an important agreement for their new colony.
• 1676 – Danish astronomer Ole Rømer shared the first scientific measurements of the speed of light.
• 1783 – In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes made the first ever free hot air balloon flight.
• 1789 – North Carolina officially approved the United States Constitution. It became the 12th U.S. state.
• 1851 – A group of rebels took control of the Chilean colony of Punta Arenas.
• 1861 – During the American Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis chose Judah Benjamin to be his Secretary of War.
• 1877 – Thomas Edison announced his amazing invention: the phonograph. This machine could record and play sounds!
• 1894 – Port Arthur, China, was taken by the Japanese during the First Sino-Japanese War.
• 1900 – Famous artist Claude Monet showed his paintings at the Gallery Durand-Ruel in Paris.

Modern Era Milestones

• 1902 – The Philadelphia Football Athletics played and won the first professional American football night game.
• 1905 – Albert Einstein published his famous paper that included the equation E = mc². This formula explains how mass and energy are related.
• 1910 – Sailors on Brazilian warships started a rebellion known as the Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash).
• 1916 – During the First World War, the large ship HMHS Britannic sank after hitting mines.
• 1918 – The Flag of Estonia, which had been used by people wanting independence, was officially made the national flag of Estonia.
• 1918 – The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 was passed in the UK. This law allowed women to become members of Parliament.
• 1922 – Rebecca Latimer Felton from Georgia became the first woman to serve as a United States Senator.
• 1927 – During a coal miners' strike at the Columbine Mine, there were reports of attacks on the striking workers.
• 1942 – The completion of the Alaska Highway was celebrated. This important road connected Alaska to the rest of the United States.
• 1944 – During World War II, the American submarine USS Sealion sank two Japanese ships in the Formosa Strait.
• 1945 – The United Auto Workers union went on strike at many General Motors plants, asking for higher wages for workers.
• 1950 – Two Canadian National Railway trains crashed in British Columbia, causing a tragic accident.
• 1953 – The Natural History Museum, London announced that the "Piltdown Man" skull, once thought to be a very old human fossil, was actually a hoax.
• 1959 – American disc jockey Alan Freed, who helped make "rock and roll" music popular, was fired from his radio job.
• 1961 – The "La Ronde" restaurant opened in Honolulu. It was the first revolving restaurant in the United States.
• 1962 – The Chinese People's Liberation Army announced a ceasefire (a stop to fighting) in the Sino-Indian War.
• 1964 – The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened to traffic. At that time, it was the longest bridge span in the world.
• 1964 – The third session of the Second Vatican Council, an important meeting for the Roman Catholic Church, came to an end.
• 1967 – During the Vietnam War, American General William Westmoreland told reporters that the enemy was "certainly losing."
• 1969 – U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agreed that Okinawa would be returned to Japanese control in 1972.
• 1969 – The first permanent ARPANET link was made between UCLA and SRI. This was a big step for the internet!
• 1970 – In the Vietnam War, a joint U.S. team carried out Operation Ivory Coast to try and free American prisoners of war.
• 1971 – Indian troops, with help from Mukti Bahini fighters, defeated the Pakistan army in the Battle of Garibpur.
• 1972 – Voters in South Korea approved a new constitution, which gave more power to President Park Chung Hee.
• 1977 – New Zealand announced that its national anthems would be "God Save the Queen" and "God Defend New Zealand."
• 1979 – The United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, was attacked and set on fire.
• 1980 – A large fire broke out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Paradise, Nevada, causing many injuries and deaths.
• 1985 – U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard was arrested for spying after sharing secret information with Israel.
• 1986 – National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary began destroying documents related to the Iran–Contra affair.
• 1992 – A major tornado hit the Houston, Texas area. Over the next two days, more than 100 tornadoes occurred across the US.
• 1995 – The Dayton Agreement was signed, bringing an end to three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1996 – An explosion at a shoe shop in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico resulted in many deaths.
• 2002 – NATO invited Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.
• 2004 – The second round of the Ukrainian presidential election was held, leading to large protests and questions about the election's fairness.
• 2004 – Dominica was hit by a very strong earthquake, causing a lot of damage, especially in Portsmouth.
• 2004 – The Paris Club agreed to cancel a large part of Iraq's debt.
• 2006 – Lebanese politician Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in Beirut.
• 2009 – A mine explosion in Heilongjiang, China caused many deaths.
• 2012 – A bomb was thrown onto a bus in Tel Aviv, injuring many people.
• 2013 – The roof of a shopping center collapsed in Riga, Latvia, leading to many deaths.
• 2013 – Large protests, known as Euromaidan, began in Ukraine after the President stopped signing an agreement with the European Union.
• 2014 – A stampede happened in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, causing many injuries and deaths.
• 2017 – Robert Mugabe officially stepped down as President of Zimbabwe after thirty-seven years in office.
• 2019 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
• 2019 – Tesla launched its new SUV, the Cybertruck. During the event, its "unbreakable" windows accidentally shattered.
• 2022 – A strong earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Java, causing many deaths.

Famous Birthdays

Many notable people were born on November 21st:

Born Before 1900

• 1495 – John Bale, an English bishop and historian.
• 1567 – Anne de Xainctonge, a French saint who founded a religious order.
• 1694 – Voltaire, a very famous French writer and philosopher.
• 1729 – Josiah Bartlett, an American physician and politician who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• 1787 – Samuel Cunard, a Canadian businessman who founded the Cunard Line shipping company.
• 1840 – Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria.
• 1877 – Sigfrid Karg-Elert, a German composer.
• 1898 – René Magritte, a well-known Belgian painter.

Born After 1900

• 1903 – Isaac Bashevis Singer, a Polish-American writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1904 – Coleman Hawkins, an influential American jazz saxophonist.
• 1908 – Elizabeth George Speare, an American author known for her children's books.
• 1920 – Stan Musial, a legendary American baseball player.
• 1924 – Christopher Tolkien, an English academic and the son of J.R.R. Tolkien, who helped publish his father's works.
• 1937 – Marlo Thomas, an American actress and producer.
• 1940 – Natalia Makarova, a famous Russian ballerina.
• 1945 – Goldie Hawn, a popular American actress and singer.
• 1952 – Lorna Luft, an American actress and singer, daughter of Judy Garland.
• 1953 – Tina Brown, an English-American journalist and author.
• 1965 – Björk, an iconic Icelandic singer-songwriter.
• 1966 – Troy Aikman, a famous American football player and sportscaster.
• 1969 – Ken Griffey Jr., a celebrated American baseball player.
• 1971 – Michael Strahan, an American football player and TV host.
• 1983 – Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, American professional wrestlers and TV personalities.
• 1985 – Carly Rae Jepsen, a Canadian singer-songwriter.

People We Remember

This day also marks the passing of many important figures:

Died Before 1900

• 615 – Columbanus, an Irish missionary and saint.
• 1555 – Georgius Agricola, a German scholar known for his work in mineralogy.
• 1579 – Thomas Gresham, an English merchant and financier.
• 1695 – Henry Purcell, a famous English composer.
• 1782 – Jacques de Vaucanson, a French engineer known for his automata.
• 1811 – Heinrich von Kleist, a German poet and author.
• 1844 – Ivan Krylov, a Russian poet and playwright.
• 1899 – Garret Hobart, the 24th Vice President of the United States.

Died After 1900

• 1916 – Franz Joseph I of Austria, the Emperor of Austria.
• 1938 – Leopold Godowsky, a Polish-American pianist and composer.
• 1945 – Robert Benchley, an American humorist and actor.
• 1958 – Mel Ott, an American baseball player and manager.
• 1959 – Max Baer, an American boxer and actor.
• 1970 – C. V. Raman, an Indian physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on light scattering.
• 1993 – Bill Bixby, an American actor.
• 1996 – Abdus Salam, a Pakistani-English physicist who also won the Nobel Prize.
• 2017 – David Cassidy, an American singer and actor.

Special Days

• Armed Forces Day (Bangladesh)
• Christian feast days:
  • Amelberga of Susteren
  • Digain
  • Maurus of Parentium
  • Pope Gelasius I
  • Franciszka Siedliska
  • Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Rufus of Rome
  • William Byrd, John Merbecke and Thomas Tallis (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • November 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• World Television Day (United Nations observance)

See also

In Spanish: 21 de noviembre para niños