What are the important events that happened on February 21? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
February 21: Facts & Myths About This Day
February 21 is the 52nd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 314 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 8, 2024 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,474,560 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘pentacontadigon’ day.
Pisces is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Amethyst is the modern birthstone for this month. Bloodstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 343 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,079 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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February 21: This Day In History
In addition, it’s the first day of the astronomical winter.
February 21 Historical Events
362 –
Athanasius returns to Alexandria.
1842 –
John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
1874 –
The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition.
1885 –
The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.
1916 –
World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.
1921 –
Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country’s first constitution.
1945 –
World War II: Japanese Kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier Bismarck Sea and damage the Saratoga.
1958 –
The Peace symbol, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.
1975 –
Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.
1995 –
Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
Who were born on February 21?
1909 –
Hans Erni, Swiss painter
1937 –
King Harald V of Norway
1961 –
Christopher Atkins, American actor
1974 –
Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
1977 –
Kevin Rose, American television host and Internet entrepreneur
1982 –
Bernhard Auinger, Austrian racing driver
1984 –
David Odonkor, German footballer
1986 –
Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
1987 –
Ashley Greene, American model and actress
1989 –
Jem Karacan, English-born Turkish footballer
Who died on February 21?
1471 –
John of Rokycan, Czech Catholic archbishop
1677 –
Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher (b. 1632)
1900 –
Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African Gunmaker (b. 1853)
1941 –
Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1891)
1968 –
Howard Walter Florey, Australian-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1898)
1991 –
Dame Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (b. 1919)
2003 –
Eddie Thomson, Scottish football player and coach (b. 1947)
2005 –
Ara Berberian, American opera singer (b. 1930)
2005 –
Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban novelist (b. 1929)
2011 –
Bernard Nathanson, American abortionist turned pro-life activist (b. 1926)
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