Important Events From This day in History May 21st

 

21 May, 1927 France Charles Lindbergh

1927 : Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris, completing the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight. Lindbergh was the dark horse when he entered a competition for a $25,000 prize to anyone able to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. More about the first Non-Stop Transatlantic Flight

21 May, 1881 U.S.A. American Red Cross

1881 : Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross, to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters as part of the International Federation of Red Cross Societies.

21 May, 1958 England Direct Dial Phone Calls Announced

1958 : The Postmaster General Ernest Marples has announces that from next year the new automated telephone connection which will make calls easier and cheaper because no telephone operator will be needed will begin in Bristol and slowly be rolled out countrywide in the next 10 years. The price of a direct dial call will start at 2d ( less than 1p )and a three-minute call will cost 2s 6d, ( 12 1/2p ).

21 May, 1932 Ireland Amelia Earhart

1932 : Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to make a solo air crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Ireland.

21 May, 1924 Leopold and Loeb Murder Bobby Franks

1924 : Leopold and Loeb two wealthy University of Chicago students murder a 14-year-old boy Bobby Franks believing they could commit the perfect crime. They were caught because a pair of eyeglasses found near the body had an unusual hinge mechanism only bought by 3 people in Chicago and one of those was Nathan Leopold.

21 May, 1961 U.S.A. "Freedom Riders"

1961 : Following the attacks on a busload of "Freedom Riders" the day before, martial law is imposed in the town of Montgomery, Alabama after violent clashes between blacks and whites.

1924 Britain Robinson Crusoe

1924 : The old flintlock musket of Robinson Crusoe believed to be the authentic musket owned by Alexander Selkirk who was stranded on Juan Fernadez island for 4 years which inspired Defoe's celebrated story (Robinson Crusoe) was sold at auction for 250 pounds sterling in London.

1935 Germany Adolf Hitler

1935 : In Germany people are rallying behind Adolf Hitler as he tells the world he will stop building up arms only if Germany is recognized as an equal in Europe and by the world. He also stated Jews and non-Aryan will be subject to duty in the new Germany.

1947 U.S.A. Lynching Trial

1947 : 28 acquitted of lynching a black man after taking him from the county jail in South Carolina for stabbing a white taxi driver after the defense council who criticized northern interference and demanded acquittal to show the north it should stay out of South Carolina and let us run our counties he also said he is dead and more like him should be dead.

1950 Unusual Tornado Southern England

1950 : Violent storms and a tornado devastate southern England causing damage to property around London. The tornado touched down in late afternoon in Linslade, Buckinghamshire the tornado traveled 66 miles and remains the longest trail on record for a tornado in England leaving hundreds of roof's damaged in it's path and lifting cars, cattle and horses.

1950 Fangio wins his first Grand Prix

1950 : Juan Manuel Fangio wins the Monaco Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo this is his first Formula One victory and the first of his 24-Grand Prix victories. During his career he won five Formula One World Driver's Championships with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati).

1960 Chile Earthquake

1960 : An 8.5-magnitude quake hits Valdivia, Chile. The earthquake caused huge landslides to fall down the mountains of the region, as well as a series of tsunamis including a 26-foot wave which strikes the coastal region of Chile. The quake and after affects including the giant wave leaves 5,000 people dead and another 2 million homeless.

1966 Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) vs Henry Cooper

1966 : American boxer Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) ends the hopes of British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper winning the world heavyweight titles when the bout is stopped in Round 6 because of a severe cut above Henry Cooper's Left eye.

1968 U.S. Submarine Scorpion

1968 : The nuclear-powered U.S. submarine Scorpion while heading back to Naval Base Norfolk from the Azores is heard from for the last time. The Scorpion and her crew of 99 was officially declared lost on June 5th, 1968. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)

1979 U.S.A. The Twinkie defense

1979 : Dan White who had gone to see Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk to ask for his old job back, when they refuse to give him back his job he shot and killed them both. He is convicted of voluntary manslaughter ( Rather Than First Degree Murder ) after his defense lawyers argue his mental state at the time of the killings was one of diminished capacity due to depression, caused by his consumption of sugary junk food. White's defense was labeled by the press as "the Twinkie defense."

1982 Falkland Islands HMS Ardent

1982 : Argentine planes sink HMS Ardent with the loss of 22 lives in the Falklands War.

1986 U.S.A. Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia

1986 : President Reagan vetoed a resolution blocking arms sales to Saudi Arabia stating the Saudi's have helped in the war on terrorism and are vital to our strategic, political and economic interests in the middle east.

1991 India Rajiv Gandhi Assassinated

1991 : Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated when a bomb explodes during election campaigning in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

1992 Johnny Carson Last Tonight Show

1992 : Johnny Carson performed his last tonight show before an invited audience of celebrities and family after 3 decades.

1998 U.S.A. Thurston High School Shootings

1998 : After shooting and killing his parents the day before student Kipland "Kip" Kinkel a 15-year-old student takes a .22 caliber rifle, a .22 caliber handgun, and a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol to Thurston High School in Springfield, Ore., where he murders two classmates, Ben Walker and Mikael Nicklauson, and injured 25 others.

2005 Montenegro Votes for Independence

2005 : Voters in Montenegro voted to secede from their union with Serbia. The voter turnout was over eighty-five percent, with 55.4% of voters in favor of independence from Serbia. The secession would have drastic economic and social consequences for both Serbia and Montenegro, and if Montenegro were to become independent it would mark the first time since the end World War I that it was an independent nation.

2009 Accused Witches Burned in Kenya

2009 : Eleven people accused of being witches were burned to death in Kenya. Villagers formed a mob and attacked the elderly people, eventually killing the eight women and three men who were all over the age of eighty.

2010 US Scientists Create Artificial Life

2010 : Scientists in the United States successfully created artificial life by creating the first live cell to be controlled by synthetic DNA.

2011 Iceland Grimsvotn Volcano Begins Erupting

2011 : The most active volcano in Iceland, Grimsvotn, began erupting according to scientists. The volcano last erupted in 2004 and is located under the Vatnajokull glacier in the southeastern part of Iceland. The eruption was expected to produce ash plumes that would possibly disrupt air travel in the area, which had already been banned.

2012 Mali President Attacked by Protesters

2012 : Dioncounda Traore, the interim president of Mali, was beaten up by protesters and was taken to the hospital for a head wound. People who had supported a coup that happened in March had gathered in massive protests after a deal was made that would keep Traore in power for another year.

2013 Tunisian Man Killed by Coronavirus

2013 : A Tunisian man who had recently visited Saudi Arabia died after being infected with the new deadly coronavirus (NCoV). This was though to be the first case of the virus in Africa. At this point only forty-one cases had been reported worldwide and of those forty-one, twenty had died from the virus.

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