Historical Events on February 21

  • 1431: The first day of interrogation begins for Joan of Arc during her heresy trial.
  • 1431: The first day of interrogation begins for Joan of Arc during her heresy trial.
  • 1782: It’s recommended that a U.S Mint be established by the United States Congress.
  • 1792: The Presidential Succession Act is passed by the United States Congress.
  • 1795: Under the French Constitution, Freedom of Worship is established.
  • 1797: Trinidad surrenders to British forces.
  • 1797: 500 British reservists defeat over 1,400 French soldiers when they invade Britain at Fishguard.
  • 1842: The first United States’ Patent is given to John Greenough for the sewing machine.
  • 1848: The Communist Manifesto is published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels on this day.
  • 1862: Around Fort Craig in the New Mexico Territory, the Battle of Valverde is fought during the American Civil War.
  • 1874: The first edition of the Oakland Daily Tribune is published on this day.
  • 1878: A telephone directory is issued for New Haven, Connecticut. It’s the first telephone directory to be issued in the U.S.
  • 1885: The Washington Monument is dedicated on this day.
  • 1918: The Carolina parakeet officially goes extinct when the last one dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio.

Famous Birthdays on February 21

  • American publisher Charles Scribner is born in 1821.
  • Austrian-American actress Celia Lovsky is born in 1893.
  • Danish biochemist, physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate, Henrik Dam is born in 1895.
  • American actress and singer, Tyne Daly is born in 1946.
  • English actor Anthony Daniels is born in 1946.
  • English actor and director, Alan Rickman is born in 1946.
  • American actor Larry Drake is born in 1949.
  • American actor Kelsey Grammer is born in 1955.
  • English actress Sophie Turner is born in 1996.