August 21
1680 - Pueblo Indians drove out the Spanish and took possession of Santa Fe in present-day New Mexico.
1831 - Nat Turner launched a violent slave rebellion in Virginia, resulting in the deaths of at least 55 white people; scores of Black people were killed in retribution in the aftermath of the rebellion, and Turner was later executed.
1858 - The first of seven debates between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas began in Illinois.
1911 - The "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre museum in France by an Italian waiter, Vicenzo Perruggia in what is arguably the world's most famous art heist. (It was recovered two years later in Italy.)
1944 - The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened talks at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington that helped pave the way for establishment of the United Nations.
1945 - President Harry S. Truman announced the end of the Lend-Lease Program.
1959 - Hawaii became the 50th state.
1983 - Filipino politician Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated as he exited an aircraft at Manila International Airport. (His widow, Corazon Aquino, would become president of the Philippines three years later.)
1991 - Latvia declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
1991 - A hardline coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev collapsed in the face of a popular uprising led by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin.
1992 - An 11-day siege began at the cabin of white separatist Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Idaho as government agents tried to arrest Weaver for failing to appear in court on charges of selling two illegal sawed-off shotguns; on the first day of the siege, Weaver's teenage son, Samuel, and Deputy U.S. Marshal William Degan were killed.
1993 - In a serious setback for NASA, engineers lost contract with the Mars Observer spacecraft as it was about to reach the red planet on a $980 million mission.
2000 - Rescue efforts to reach the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk ended with divers announcing none of the 118 sailors had survived.
2010 - Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel into Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which Moscow promised to safeguard to prevent material at the site from being used in any potential weapons production.
2015 - A trio of Americans, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone, National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and college student Anthony Sadler, and a British businessman, Chris Norman, tackled and disarmed a Moroccan gunman on a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris.
2017 - Americans witnessed their first full-blown coast-to-coast solar eclipse since World War I, with eclipse watchers gathering along a path of totality extending 2,600 miles across the continent.
2018 - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations and other charges; Cohen said Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to fend off damage to his White House bid. (Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payments in May 2024.)
2020 - A former police officer who became known as the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, told victims and family members in a Sacramento court room that he was "truly sorry" before he was sentenced to multiple life sentences for a decade-long string of rapes and murders.
Birthdays
26 - Jade Chynoweth (model/actress)
30 - Alex Cooper (radio host)
34 - Bo Burnham (comedian)
35 - Hayden Panettiere (actress)
36 - Kacey Musgraves (singer)
38 - Usain Bolt (track and field athlete)
41 - Brody Jenner (reality star)
45 - Kelis (singer)
51 - Sergei Brin (co-founder of Google)
57 - Carrie-Anne Moss (actress)
65 - Jim McMahon (football player)
68 - Kim Cattrall (actress)
70 - Archie Griffin (football player)
75 - Loretta Devine (actress)
79 - Willie Lanier (football player)
80 - Peter Weir (director)
83 - Jackie DeShannon (singer)
85 - James Burton (singer)
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Today in Sports History - August 21
1901 - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Joe McGinnity is suspended from MLB for punching & spitting on umpire Tom Connolly in previous day's 5-2 loss to Detroit Tigers; lifetime suspension reduced to 12 days.
1929 - The Chicago Cardinals traveled out of town for training camp. They were the first professional football team to do this.
1931 - Babe Ruth hits his 600th career home run.
1971 - Laura Baugh, at the age of 16, won the United State's Women's Amateur Golf tournament. She was the youngest winner in the history of the tournament.
1984 - Victoria Roche, a reserve outfielder, became the first girl to ever compete in a Little League World Series game.
2006 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 725th career homerun.
2008 - The United States defeats Brazil 1-0 in extra time to win the gold medal in women's soccer at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
2009 - The Dallas Cowboys played their first game at their new stadium in Arlington, TX. During the preseason game, against the Tennessee Titans, the Titans' kicker hit the scoreboard hanging in the center of the stadium.
2016 - The United States men's basketball team defeats Serbia 96-66 to win gold at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
2020 - Scottie Scheffler makes birdie on 4 of final 5 holes to become 12th player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59 in 2nd round of the Northern Trust at TPC Boston.
1680 - Pueblo Indians drove out the Spanish and took possession of Santa Fe in present-day New Mexico.
1831 - Nat Turner launched a violent slave rebellion in Virginia, resulting in the deaths of at least 55 white people; scores of Black people were killed in retribution in the aftermath of the rebellion, and Turner was later executed.
1858 - The first of seven debates between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas began in Illinois.
1911 - The "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre museum in France by an Italian waiter, Vicenzo Perruggia in what is arguably the world's most famous art heist. (It was recovered two years later in Italy.)
1944 - The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened talks at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington that helped pave the way for establishment of the United Nations.
1945 - President Harry S. Truman announced the end of the Lend-Lease Program.
1959 - Hawaii became the 50th state.
1983 - Filipino politician Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated as he exited an aircraft at Manila International Airport. (His widow, Corazon Aquino, would become president of the Philippines three years later.)
1991 - Latvia declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
1991 - A hardline coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev collapsed in the face of a popular uprising led by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin.
1992 - An 11-day siege began at the cabin of white separatist Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Idaho as government agents tried to arrest Weaver for failing to appear in court on charges of selling two illegal sawed-off shotguns; on the first day of the siege, Weaver's teenage son, Samuel, and Deputy U.S. Marshal William Degan were killed.
1993 - In a serious setback for NASA, engineers lost contract with the Mars Observer spacecraft as it was about to reach the red planet on a $980 million mission.
2000 - Rescue efforts to reach the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk ended with divers announcing none of the 118 sailors had survived.
2010 - Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel into Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which Moscow promised to safeguard to prevent material at the site from being used in any potential weapons production.
2015 - A trio of Americans, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone, National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and college student Anthony Sadler, and a British businessman, Chris Norman, tackled and disarmed a Moroccan gunman on a high-speed train between Amsterdam and Paris.
2017 - Americans witnessed their first full-blown coast-to-coast solar eclipse since World War I, with eclipse watchers gathering along a path of totality extending 2,600 miles across the continent.
2018 - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations and other charges; Cohen said Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to fend off damage to his White House bid. (Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payments in May 2024.)
2020 - A former police officer who became known as the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, told victims and family members in a Sacramento court room that he was "truly sorry" before he was sentenced to multiple life sentences for a decade-long string of rapes and murders.
Birthdays
26 - Jade Chynoweth (model/actress)
30 - Alex Cooper (radio host)
34 - Bo Burnham (comedian)
35 - Hayden Panettiere (actress)
36 - Kacey Musgraves (singer)
38 - Usain Bolt (track and field athlete)
41 - Brody Jenner (reality star)
45 - Kelis (singer)
51 - Sergei Brin (co-founder of Google)
57 - Carrie-Anne Moss (actress)
65 - Jim McMahon (football player)
68 - Kim Cattrall (actress)
70 - Archie Griffin (football player)
75 - Loretta Devine (actress)
79 - Willie Lanier (football player)
80 - Peter Weir (director)
83 - Jackie DeShannon (singer)
85 - James Burton (singer)
==============================
Today in Sports History - August 21
1901 - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Joe McGinnity is suspended from MLB for punching & spitting on umpire Tom Connolly in previous day's 5-2 loss to Detroit Tigers; lifetime suspension reduced to 12 days.
1929 - The Chicago Cardinals traveled out of town for training camp. They were the first professional football team to do this.
1931 - Babe Ruth hits his 600th career home run.
1971 - Laura Baugh, at the age of 16, won the United State's Women's Amateur Golf tournament. She was the youngest winner in the history of the tournament.
1984 - Victoria Roche, a reserve outfielder, became the first girl to ever compete in a Little League World Series game.
2006 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 725th career homerun.
2008 - The United States defeats Brazil 1-0 in extra time to win the gold medal in women's soccer at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
2009 - The Dallas Cowboys played their first game at their new stadium in Arlington, TX. During the preseason game, against the Tennessee Titans, the Titans' kicker hit the scoreboard hanging in the center of the stadium.
2016 - The United States men's basketball team defeats Serbia 96-66 to win gold at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
2020 - Scottie Scheffler makes birdie on 4 of final 5 holes to become 12th player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59 in 2nd round of the Northern Trust at TPC Boston.
