September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 101 days remaining until the end of the year.Events
* 1217 – Livonian Crusade: The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu and Livonian leader Kaupo are killed in Battle of St. Matthew's Day.
* 1435 – An agreement between Charles VII of France and Philip the Good ends the partnership between the English and Burgundy in Hundred Years' War.
* 1745 – Battle of Prestonpans: A Hanoverian army under the command of Sir John Cope is defeated, in ten minutes, by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart
* 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
* 1792 – The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the monarchy.
* 1827 – Joseph Smith, Jr. is reportedly visited by the angel Moroni, who gave him a record of gold plates, one-third of which Smith has translated into The Book of Mormon.
* 1860 – In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Baliqiao.
* 1896 – British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan.
* 1897 – The "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial is published in the New York Sun.
* 1898 – Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
* 1921 – A storage silo in Oppau, Germany, explodes, killing 500-600 people.
* 1934 – A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing 3,036 people.
* 1937 – J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published.
* 1938 – The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500-700 people.
* 1939 – Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu is assassinated by ultranationalist members of the Iron Guard.
* 1942 – On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis send over 1,000 Jews of Pidhaytsi (west Ukraine) to Belzec extermination camp.
* 1942 – In Poland, at the end of Yom Kippur, Germans order Jews to permanently evacuate Konstantynów and move to the Ghetto in Biała Podlaska, established to assemble Jews from seven nearby towns, including Janów Podlaski, Rossosz and Terespol.
* 1942 – In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2,588 Jews.
* 1942 – The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
* 1961 – Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter.
* 1964 – Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
* 1964 – The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's first Mach 3 bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
* 1965 – Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.
* 1971 – Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.
* 1972 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.
* 1976 – Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Chilean socialist government of Salvador Allende, overthrown in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet.
* 1976 – Seychelles joins the United Nations.
* 1981 – Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
* 1981 – Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
* 1984 – Brunei joins the United Nations.
* 1989 – Hurricane Hugo makes landfall in the U.S. state of South Carolina.
* 1991 – Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union.
* 1993 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and scraps the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
* 1999 – Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.
* 2001 – Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.
* 2001 – AZF chemical plant explodes in Toulouse, France, killing 31 people
* 2001 – America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the September 11 attack victims.
* 2003 – Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
* 2004 – The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India merge to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
* 2008 – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the two last remaining independent investment banks on Wall Street, become bank holding companies as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.
Births
* 1051 – Bertha of Savoy, German queen and Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1087)
* 1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
* 1411 – Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, claimant to the English throne (d. 1460)
* 1415 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493)
* 1428 – Jingtai Emperor of China (d. 1457)
* 1452 – Girolamo Savonarola, Dominican priest and ruler of Florence (d. 1498)
* 1559 – Cigoli, Florentine painter, architect, and sculptor (d. 1613)
* 1629 – Philip Howard, English Catholic cardinal (d. 1694)
* 1645 – Louis Joliet, Canadian explorer (d. 1700)
* 1706 – Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg, queen of Sardinia (d. 1735)
* 1756 – John MacAdam, Scottish engineer and road-builder (d. 1836)
* 1758 – Christopher Gore, 8th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1827)
* 1760 – Ivan Dmitriev, Russian statesman (d. 1837)
* 1819 – Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of France (d. 1864)
* 1839 – Henry George, American writer, politician and political economist (d. 1897)
* 1840 – Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1904)
* 1842 – Abd-ul-Hamid II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1918)
* 1849 – Maurice Barrymore, Indian-born patriarch of the Barrymore family (d. 1905)
* 1853 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
* 1859 – Francesc Macià i Llussà, Catalan politician (d. 1933)
* 1862 – James E. Talmage, LDS apostle and author (d. 1933)
* 1863 – John Bunny, American film comedian (d. 1915)
* 1866 – H. G. Wells, English writer (d. 1946)
* 1866 – Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1936)
* 1873 – Papa Jack Laine, American musician (d. 1966)
* 1874 – Gustav Holst, English composer (d. 1934)
* 1890 – Charles William Train, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1965)
* 1895 – Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
* 1896 – Walter Breuning, American supercentenarian
* 1899 – Frederick Coutts, the 8th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1986)
* 1902 – Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (d. 1963)
* 1902 – Sir Allen Lane, British founder of Penguin Books (d. 1970)
* 1905 – Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive (d. 1999)
* 1906 – Henry Beachell, American plant breeder (d. 2006)
* 1909 – Kwame Nkrumah, 1st President of Ghana (d. 1972)
* 1912 – Chuck Jones, American animator (d. 2002)
* 1912 – György Sándor, Hungarian pianist (d. 2005)
* 1916 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist and politician (d. 2003)
* 1917 – Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (d. 1968)
* 1918 – John Gofman, American Manhattan Project scientist and advocate (d. 2007)
* 1919 – Mario Bunge, Argentine philosopher and physicist
* 1919 – Fazlur Rahman, Pakistani scholar (d. 1988)
* 1921 – John McHale, American baseball player and executive (d. 2008)
* 1924 – Hermann Buhl, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1957)
* 1926 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1926 – Noor Jehan, Pakistani singer and actress (d. 2000)
* 1929 – Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (d. 1979)
* 1929 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher (d. 2003)
* 1931 – Larry Hagman, American actor
* 1933 – Dick Simon, American racing driver
* 1934 – Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer and songwriter
* 1935 – Jimmy Armfield, English footballer and manager
* 1935 – Henry Gibson, American actor (d. 2009)
* 1936 – Dickey Lee, American singer and songwriter
* 1936 – Yuriy Luzhkov, Russian politician, mayor of Moscow
* 1936 – Diane Rehm, American radio talk show host for National Public Radio
* 1937 – John D'Amico, Canadian NHL official (d. 2005)
* 1938 – Doug Moe, American basketball player and coach
* 1940 – Hermann Knoflacher, Austrian civil engineer
* 1940 – Bill Kurtis, American television journalist* 1941 – Jack Brisco, American professional wrestler
* 1941 – R. James Woolsey, Jr., Central Intelligence Agency director
* 1944 – Fannie Flagg, American actress and novelist
* 1944 – Hamilton Jordan, U.S. President Jimmy Carter's original chief of staff (d. 2008)
* 1944 – Steve Beshear, Democratic Governor of Kentucky.
* 1945 – Jerry Bruckheimer, American film and television producer
* 1945 – Richard Childress, NASCAR team owner
* 1945 – Shaw Clifton, the 18th General of The Salvation Army
* 1946 – Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Federal Councilor
* 1947 – Stephen King, American author
* 1947 – Marsha Norman, American playwright
* 1947 – Don Felder, American guitarist (Eagles)
* 1949 – Artis Gilmore, American basketball player
* 1950 – Charles Clarke, British politician
* 1950 – Bill Murray, American comedian and actor
* 1951 – Bruce Arena, American soccer coach
* 1951 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen rebel leader (d. 2005)
* 1952 – Dave Gregory, English guitar and keyboard player (XTC)
* 1952 – Anneliese Michel, German exorcism victim (d. 1976)
* 1953 – Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver
* 1954 – Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
* 1954 – Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, British musician (Motörhead)
* 1955 – François Cluzet, French actor
* 1955 – Richard Hieb, American astronaut
* 1955 – Mika Kaurismäki, Finnish director
* 1956 – Jack Givens, American basketball player
* 1956 – Marta Kauffman, American television producer
* 1956 – Ricky Morton, American professional wrestler
* 1957 – Ethan Coen, American film director
* 1957 – Sidney Moncrief, American basketball player
* 1957 – Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia
* 1957 – Penny Smith, English television presenter
* 1958 – Bruno Fitoussi, French poker player
* 1958 – Rick Mahorn, American basketball player
* 1959 – Dave Coulier, American actor
* 1959 – Danny Cox, American baseball player
* 1959 – Corinne Drewery, British singer (Swing Out Sister)
* 1960 – David James Elliott, Canadian actor
* 1961 – Nancy Travis, American actress
* 1962 – Rob Morrow, American actor
* 1963 – Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan West Indies cricketer
* 1963 – Cecil Fielder, American baseball player
* 1963 – Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor
* 1964 – Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan singer and composer
* 1965 – Frédéric Beigbeder, French writer and critic
* 1965 – Cheryl Hines, American actress
* 1965 – David Wenham, Australian actor
* 1965 – Johanna Vuoksenmaa, Finnish film director
* 1967 – Glen Benton, American musician (Deicide)
* 1967 – Faith Hill, American singer
* 1967 – Tyler Stewart, Canadian drummer (Barenaked Ladies)
* 1968 – Ricki Lake, American actress and talk show hostess
* 1969 – Jason Christiansen, American baseball player
* 1969 – Curtis Leschyshyn, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1970 – John Cudia, American actor
* 1971 – John Crawley, English cricketer
* 1971 – Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor
* 1971 – Luke Wilson, American actor
* 1972 – Olivia Bonamy, French actress
* 1972 – Liam Gallagher, English singer (Oasis)
* 1972 – Jon Kitna, American football player
* 1972 – David Silveria, American drummer (KoЯn)
* 1972 – Scott Spiezio, American baseball player
* 1973 – Vanessa Grigoriadis, American journalist
* 1973 – Oswaldo Sanchez, Mexican footballer
* 1974 – Bryce Drew, American basketball player
* 1974 – Taral Hicks, American musician
* 1974 – Jana Kandarr, German tennis player
* 1974 – Andy Todd, English footballer
* 1975 – Doug Davis, American baseball player
* 1976 – Jonas Bjerre, Danish singer and guitarist (Mew)
* 1976 – Poul Hübertz, Danish footballer
* 1977 – Brian Tallet, American baseball player
* 1978 – Doug Howlett, New Zealand rugby union footballer
* 1978 – Luke Godden, Australian rules footballer
* 1979 – Richard Dunne, Irish footballer
* 1979 – Chris Gayle, Jamaican West Indies cricketer
* 1979 – Julian Gray, English footballer
* 1979 – Jaymee Ong, Chinese-Australian model
* 1979 – James Allan, Scottish singer (Glasvegas)
* 1980 – Robert Hoffman, American actor
* 1980 – Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
* 1980 – Nyree Lewis, British Paralympic swimmer
* 1980 – Aleksa Palladino, American actress
* 1980 – Autumn Reeser, American actress
* 1980 – Tomas Scheckter, South African racing driver
* 1981 – Nicole Richie, American socialite
* 1981 – Rimi Sen, Indian actress
* 1981 – Meilinda Soerjoko, Indonesian-Australian actress
* 1982 – Eduardo Azevedo, Brazilian racing driver
* 1982 – Danny Kass, American snowboarder
* 1982 – Marat Izmailov, Russian footballer
* 1982 – Parvati Shallow, American reality show contestant
* 1982 – Christos Tapoutos, Greek footballer
* 1982 – Rowan Vine, English footballer
* 1983 – Fernando Cavenaghi, Argentinian footballer
* 1983 – Maggie Grace, American actress
* 1983 – Joseph Mazzello, American actor
* 1983 – Anna Meares, Australian cyclist
* 1984 – Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner, American swimmer
* 1985 – Maryam Hassouni, Dutch actor
* 1986 – Faris Badwan, British singer
* 1987 – Jimmy Clausen, American football player
* 1987 – Ashley Paris, American basketball player
* 1987 – Courtney Paris, American basketball player
* 1988 – Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician
* 1989 – Jason Derulo, American Pop singer
* 1990 – Christian Serratos, American actress, model and singer
* 1990 – Allison Scagliotti, American actress,
Deaths
* 19 BC – Virgil, Roman poet (b. 70 BC)
* 454 – Aëtius, Roman general (b. c.396)
* 1217 – Caupo of Turaida, Livonian military leader
* 1217 – Lembitu of Lehola, Estonian military leader
* 1327 – King Edward II of England (b. 1284)
* 1397 – Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, English military leader (executed) (b. 1346)
* 1542 – Juan Boscán Almogáver, Spanish poet
* 1558 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1500)
* 1576 – Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (b. 1501)
* 1586 – Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (b. 1517)
* 1626 – François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (b. 1543)
* 1719 – Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (b. 1647)
* 1743 – Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper (b. 1688)
* 1748 – John Balguy, English philosopher (b. 1686)
* 1796 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (b. 1769)
* 1798 – George Read, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1733)
* 1832 – Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
* 1860 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (b. 1788)
* 1874 – Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont, French geologist (b. 1794)
* 1897 – Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (b. 1819)
* 1904 – Chief Joseph, Nez Perce leader (b. 1840)
* 1906 – Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator (b. 1838)
* 1926 – Leon Charles Thevenin, French telegraph engineer (b. 1857)
* 1938 – Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic, Croatian writer (b. 1874)
* 1939 – Armand Călinescu, Romanian prime-minister (assassinated) (b. 1893)
* 1944 – Artur Phleps, German Waffen-SS officer (b. 1881)
* 1946 – Olga Engl, Austrian actress (b. 1871)
* 1948 – Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Founder of Pakistan (b. 1876)
* 1954 – Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese inventor (b. 1858)
* 1957 – King Haakon VII of Norway (b. 1872)
* 1963 – Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (b. 1899)
* 1966 – Paul Reynaud, French politician (b. 1878)
* 1971 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
* 1972 – Henry de Montherlant, French writer (b. 1896)
* 1974 – Walter Brennan, American actor (b. 1894)
* 1974 – Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (b. 1918)
* 1976 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean diplomat (b. 1932)
* 1982 – Hovhannes Bagramyan, Soviet general (b. 1897)
* 1985 – Gu Long, Taiwanese writer of wuxia novels (b. 1937)
* 1987 – Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
* 1988 – Glenn Robert Davis, member of United States Congress (b. 1914)
* 1990 – Takis Kanellopoulos, Greek film director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
* 1995 – Rudy Perpich, American politician (b. 1928)
* 1997 – Jennifer Holt, American actress (b. 1920)
* 1998 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (b. 1959)
* 2000 – Jacques Flynn, Canadian politician and senator (b. 1915)
* 2002 – Robert L. Forward, American physicist and writer (b. 1932)
* 2004 – Barry Noble Wakeman, American naturalist and educator (b. 1939)
* 2004 – Bob Mason, British actor (b. 1952)
* 2006 – Tasos Athanasiadis, Greek writer (b. 1913)
* 2006 – Boz Burrell, English rock musician (b. 1946)
* 2007 – Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian Olympic gold medalist (b. 1929)
* 2007 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (b. 1926)
* 2007 – Rex Humbard, American television evangelist (b. 1919)
Holidays and observances
* Christian Feast Dayo Matthew the Evangelist (Western Church)
o September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union in 1991.
* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Belize from the United Kingdom in 1981.
* Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Malta from the United Kingdom in 1964.
* International Day of Peace (International)
* Nativity of the Theotokos (Orthodox Church)
* The first day of Mabon (Neopaganism)
