May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 224 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about May 21st, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about May 21st in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- World Day for Cultural Diversity.
- International Tea Day
- World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
- Rapture Party Day
- National Waitstaff Day
- National Memo Day
- I Need A Patch For That Day
- International Plant a Lemon Tree Day
- World Whisky Day
- World Fiddle Day
- National Learn To Swim Day
- Armed Forces Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – May 21
2005: Montenegro voted to leave Serbia in a referendum in 2005.
1991: Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated when a bomb explodes during election campaigning in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in 1991.
1991: Former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, is assassinated
The attacker was a woman believed to be linked the Sri Lankan separatist militant organization, the Tamil Tigers. At least 14 people lost their lives in the suicide bombing.
1979: Violent clashes follow the lenient sentencing for Harvey Milk’s murderer
Milk, the first openly gay U.S. politician, had been shot and killed together with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. The assassin, Dan White, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter only, triggering the White Night Riots.
1951: The 9th Street Show opens in New York
The ground-breaking art exhibition showing works by artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning is considered the birth hour of the artistic avant-garde referred to as the New York School.
1932: American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to pilot an aeroplane solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.
1932: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic
The U.S. aviatress’ disappearance on an attempted round-the-world flight five years later is one of the most discussed unsolved mysteries in the history of flight.
1904 FIFA, the world governing body of association football, is founded
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is responsible for the organization of the World Cup, which is one of the world’s most viewed sporting events.
1905: Incandescent Luna Park, Coney Island, New York.
Army Aviation, College Park, Maryland. Tests of Curtiss aircraft for the military.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, May 21
1980: Gotye, Belgian/Australian singer-songwriter
1921: Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist
1844: Henri Rousseau, French painter
1527: Philip II of Spain
1471: Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, mathematician
The Notorious B.I.G. was born.
Philip II of Spain was born.
Aditya Chopra was born.
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, May 21
2006: Katherine Dunham, American dancer
2000: John Gielgud, English actor, director, producer
1991: Rajiv Gandhi, Indian politician, 6th Prime Minister of India
1935: Jane Addams, American social worker, Nobel Prize laureate
1771: Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, poet
Henry VI of England died.
Rajiv Gandhi died.
Williamina Fleming died.