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  • Shimabara Peninsula of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
    Tuesday May 21, 1782
    1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami

    Two large earthquakes were followed by a collapse of the eastern flank of Mount Unzen's Mayuyama dome

    Shimabara Peninsula of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
    Tuesday May 21, 1782

    On the night of 21 May, two large earthquakes were followed by a collapse of the eastern flank of Mount Unzen's Mayuyama dome, causing a landslide which swept through the city of Shimabara and into Ariake Bay, triggering a great tsunami.




  • Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
    Monday May 21, 1792
    Disasters with highest death tolls

    1792 Unzen Earthquake and Tsunami

    Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
    Monday May 21, 1792

    The 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami resulted from the volcanic activities of Mount Unzen (in the Shimabara Peninsula of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan) on 21 May. This caused the collapse of the southern flank of the Mayuyama dome in front of Mount Unzen, resulting in a tremendous megatsunami, killing 15,000 people altogether.




  • Lobau, Vienna, Austria
    Sunday May 21, 1809
    Napoleon

    Battle of Aspern-Essling

    Lobau, Vienna, Austria
    Sunday May 21, 1809

    On 21 May, the French made their first major effort to cross the Danube, precipitating the Battle of Aspern-Essling. The Austrians enjoyed a comfortable numerical superiority over the French throughout the battle. On the first day, Charles disposed of 110,000 soldiers against only 31,000 commanded by Napoleon. By the second day, reinforcements had boosted French numbers up to 70,000. It was the first defeat Napoleon suffered in a major set-piece battle, and it caused excitement throughout many parts of Europe because it proved that he could be beaten on the battlefield.




  • Semarang, Dutch East Indies (Present-Day Indonesia)
    Monday May 21, 1860
    Willem Einthoven

    Birth

    Semarang, Dutch East Indies (Present-Day Indonesia)
    Monday May 21, 1860

    Willem Einthoven was born in Semarang on Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), the son of Louise Marie Mathilde Caroline (de Vogel) and Jacob Einthoven.




  • Mexico City, Mexico
    Sunday May 21, 1911
    Mexican Revolution

    The Treaty of Ciudad Juárez

    Mexico City, Mexico
    Sunday May 21, 1911

    With the Federal Army defeated in a string of battles, Diaz's government began negotiations with the revolutionaries. One of Madero's representatives in the negotiations was his running mate in the 1910 elections, Francisco Vázquez Gómez. The talks culminated in the 21 May 1911 Treaty of Ciudad Juárez. The signed treaty stated that Díaz would abdicate the presidency along with his vice president Ramón Corral by the end of May 1911, to be replaced by an interim president, Francisco León de la Barra, until elections were held.




  • Shibuya Station, Tokyo, Japan
    Thursday May 21, 1925
    Hachikō

    The professor's Death

    Shibuya Station, Tokyo, Japan
    Thursday May 21, 1925

    Ueno would commute daily to work, and Hachikō would leave the house to greet him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued the daily routine until May 21, 1925, when Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, while he was giving a lecture to his class, and died without ever returning to the train station in which Hachikō waited.




  • Montcornet, France
    Tuesday May 21, 1940
    Charles de Gaulle

    De Gaulle gave a talk on French radio

    Montcornet, France
    Tuesday May 21, 1940

    On 21 May, at the request of propaganda officers, he gave a talk on French radio about his recent attack.


  • Kiev, U.S.S.R. (Present Day Kiev, Ukraine)
    Wednesday May 21, 1941
    03:41:00 AM
    World War II

    First Battle of Kiev

    Kiev, U.S.S.R. (Present Day Kiev, Ukraine)
    Wednesday May 21, 1941
    03:41:00 AM

    The Kiev offensive was overwhelmingly successful, resulting in encirclement and elimination of four Soviet armies, The First Battle of Kiev occurred from 23 August to 26 September, resulting German occupation to Kiev.


  • Okinawa, Japan
    Monday May 21, 1945
    Desmond Doss: Hacksaw Ridge

    Being Wounded

    Okinawa, Japan
    Monday May 21, 1945

    Doss was wounded four times in Okinawa and was evacuated on May 21, 1945, aboard the USS Mercy. Doss suffered a left arm fracture from a sniper's bullet and at one point had seventeen pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Okinawa.


  • Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Monday May 21, 1945
    Heinrich Himmler

    Himmler was arrested

    Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Monday May 21, 1945

    On 21 May, Himmler and two aides were stopped and detained at a checkpoint in Bremervörde set up by former Soviet POWs. Over the following two days, he was moved around to several camps.


  • Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, U.S.
    Tuesday May 21, 1946
    Atomic Bomb

    Physicist Louis Slotin received a lethal dose of radiation

    Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, U.S.
    Tuesday May 21, 1946

    21 May 1946: While conducting further impromptu experiments on the third plutonium core at Los Alamos National Laboratory, physicist Louis Slotin received a lethal dose of radiation. He died on 30 May 1946.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday May 21, 1955
    Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

    Daily Express published an editorial demanding that Buckingham Palace confirm or deny the rumors

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday May 21, 1955

    That spring Townsend for the first time spoke to the press: "I am sick of being made to hide in my apartment like a thief", but whether he could marry "involves more people than myself". He reportedly believed that his exile from Margaret would soon end, their love was strong, and that the British people would support marrying. Townsend received a bodyguard and police guard around his apartment after the Belgian government received threats on his life, but the British government still said nothing. Stating that people were more interested in the couple than the recent 1955 United Kingdom general election, on 29 May the Daily Express published an editorial demanding that Buckingham Palace confirm or deny the rumors.


  • Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, U.S.
    Monday May 21, 1962
    Neil Armstrong

    Armstrong was involved in the "Nellis Affair"

    Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, U.S.
    Monday May 21, 1962

    On May 21, 1962, Armstrong was involved in the "Nellis Affair". He was sent in an F-104 to inspect Delamar Dry Lake in southern Nevada, again for emergency landings. He misjudged his altitude, and did not realize that the landing gear had not fully extended. As he touched down, the landing gear began to retract; Armstrong applied full power to abort the landing, but the ventral fin and landing gear door struck the ground, damaging the radio and releasing hydraulic fluid. Without radio communication, Armstrong flew south to Nellis Air Force Base, past the control tower, and waggled his wings, the signal for a no-radio approach. The loss of hydraulic fluid caused the tailhook to release, and upon landing, he caught the arresting wire attached to an anchor chain, and dragged the chain along the runway.


  • Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica
    Thursday May 21, 1981
    Bob Marley

    State Funeral

    Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica
    Thursday May 21, 1981

    Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on 21 May 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his guitar, and the Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivered the final funeral eulogy to Marley.


  • Falklands
    Friday May 21, 1982
    Falklands War

    Operation Sutton

    Falklands
    Friday May 21, 1982

    During the night of 21 May, the British Amphibious Task Group under the command of Commodore Michael Clapp (Commodore, Amphibious Warfare – COMAW) mounted Operation Sutton, the amphibious landing on beaches around San Carlos Water, on the northwestern coast of East Falkland facing onto Falkland Sound.


  • United Kingdom
    Thursday May 21, 1987
    James Bond

    No Deals, Mr. Bond was published

    United Kingdom
    Thursday May 21, 1987

    No Deals, Mr. Bond, first published in 1987, was the sixth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond.


  • Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
    Sunday May 21, 2000
    Dwayne Johnson

    Judgment Day (2000)

    Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
    Sunday May 21, 2000

    On May 21, at Judgment Day, The Rock faced Triple H in an Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. With the score tied at five falls each, and with seconds left on the time limit, The Rock was disqualified when The Undertaker attacked Triple H, thus giving Triple H the 6–5 win and the title.


  • Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia
    Wednesday May 21, 2008
    Cristiano Ronaldo

    First Champions League final

    Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia
    Wednesday May 21, 2008

    First Champions League title awarded. The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 21 May 2008, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, to determine the winner of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. It was contested by Manchester United and Chelsea, making it an all-English club final for the first time in the history of the competition.


  • U.S.
    Thursday May 21, 2009
    Xerox

    Burns became the first African American woman to head a company the size of Xerox

    U.S.
    Thursday May 21, 2009

    On May 21, 2009, it was announced that Ursula Burns would succeed Anne Mulcahy as CEO of Xerox. On July 1, 2009, Burns became the first African American woman to head a company the size of Xerox.


  • Norway
    Monday May 21, 2012
    Harald V

    The constitutional amendment of 2012

    Norway
    Monday May 21, 2012

    Until 2012, the King of Norway was, according to the constitution, the formal head of the Church of Norway. The constitutional amendment of 21 May 2012 made the King no longer the formal head, but he is still required to be of the Evangelical Lutheran religion.


  • Buckingham Palace, London, England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday May 21, 2014
    Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

    Prince appeared in public with a bandage on his right hand after a "minor procedure"

    Buckingham Palace, London, England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday May 21, 2014

    On 21 May 2014, the Prince appeared in public with a bandage on his right hand after a "minor procedure" was performed in Buckingham Palace the preceding day.


  • Lower Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
    Wednesday May 21, 2014
    September 11 (9/11) Attacks

    National September 11 Museum

    Lower Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
    Wednesday May 21, 2014

    A museum also opened on site on May 21, 2014.


  • Paris, France
    Monday May 21, 2018
    Xiaomi

    First French store

    Paris, France
    Monday May 21, 2018

    On 22 May 2018, Xiaomi will open, in Paris, its first French store.


  • Argentina
    Tuesday May 21, 2019
    Lionel Messi

    2019 Copa América

    Argentina
    Tuesday May 21, 2019

    On 21 May 2019, Messi was included in the final 23-man Argentina squad for the 2019 Copa América.


  • California, U.S.
    Tuesday May 21, 2019
    Willem Einthoven

    Einthoven's 159th birthday

    California, U.S.
    Tuesday May 21, 2019

    On 21 May 2019, on Einthoven's 159th birthday, he was honored with a Google Doodle.


  • England
    Sunday May 21, 1471

    King Henry VI's death

    England
    Sunday May 21, 1471

    King Henry VI of England was executed in the Tower of London.


  • Nuremberg
    Sunday May 21, 1471

    Drer Brith

    Nuremberg
    Sunday May 21, 1471

    Drer, a German Renaissance painter and printmaker, was born in Nuremberg, Germany.


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