February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 313 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about February 21st, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about February 21st in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- International Mother Language Day
- National Sticky Bun Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – February 21
1972: U.S. President Richard Nixon embarks on his historic visit to China
The first visit of a U.S. President in China was an important step in normalizing relations between the two countries.
1958: The peace symbol is designed by Gerald Holtom
The symbol was commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and combines the semaphore symbols for the letters N and D – an abbreviation of “Nuclear Disarmament”.
1878: The world’s first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut
The directory consisted of a single piece of cardboard and comprised 50 numbers.
1848: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish “The Communist Manifesto”
“Das Kommunistische Manifest” outlined the sociopolitical worldview today called “Marxism” and was translated from German into over 100 languages.
1804: The world’s first railway journey takes place in Wales
The first full-scale steam locomotive, built by Richard Trevithick, traveled from the Pen-y-darren ironworks near Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon.
1941: The Empire State Building as seen from New Jersey in 1941… photo by Andreas Feininger
1938: Moment when Boris Johnson is reminded Russia boycotted Hitler’s Olympics, but Great Britain didn’t. And the England football team were ordered by the Tory government to give the Naze salute(De. 1938)
1920: Enzo Ferrari driving an ALFA 40-60 at the 1920 Targa Florio
1884: Statue of Liberty towering over Paris just before it was disassembled and shipped to New York. (1884)
1878, The World’s First Telephone Directory Issued
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, February 21
1946: Alan Rickman, English actor
1933: Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist
1924: Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe
1907: W. H. Auden, English/American poet
1791: Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist, composer
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, February 21
1965: Malcolm X, American minister, activist
1949: Tan Malaka, Indonesian educator, activist
1941: Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, Nobel Prize laureate
1934: Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader
1677: Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher