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 52^nd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 313 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 8, 2025 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 29,001,600 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 361 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 4,445 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

February 21: This Day In History

In addition, it’s the first day of the astronomical winter.

February 21 Historical Events

• 1862 –
  American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory.
• 1916 –
  World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.
• 1919 –
  Kurt Eisner, German socialist, is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.
• 1948 –
  NASCAR is incorporated.
• 1952 –
  “ভাষা আন্দোলন”, “Bengali Language Movement” occurred in East Pakistan(now Bangladesh).
• 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.
• 1965 –
  Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City by members of the Nation of Islam.
• 1971 –
  The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
• 1972 –
  The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.
• 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?

• 1875 –
  Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian and longest-lived human on record (d. 1997)
• 1880 –
  Waldemar Bonsels, German writer (d. 1952)
• 1893 –
  Celia Lovsky, Russian-born actress (d. 1979)
• 1925 –
  Sam Peckinpah, American director (d. 1984)
• 1969 –
  Eric Wilson, American musician
• 1974 –
  Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
• 1975 –
  Troy Slaten, American actor
• 1977 –
  Steve Francis, American basketball player
• 1984 –
  Andrew Ellis, New Zealand All Black rugby union player
• 1985 –
  Jarrod Atkinson, Australian rules footballer

Who died on February 21?

• 1788 –
  Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (b. 1723)
• 1920 –
  Jacinta Marto, witness of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima (b. 1910)
• 1938 –
  George Ellery Hale, American astronomer (b. 1868)
• 1958 –
  Duncan Edwards, English footballer (b. 1936)
• 1972 –
  Zhang Guohua, Chinese general and politician (b. 1914)
• 1974 –
  Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (b. 1930)
• 1994 –
  Johannes Steinhoff, German fighter pilot & NATO commander (b. 1913)
• 1995 –
  Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos, Brazilian Football Referee (b. 1954)
• 2000 –
  Antonio Díaz-Miguel, Spanish basketball coach (b. 1933)
• 2003 –
  Eddie Thomson, Scottish football player and coach (b. 1947)