21 November History


Month:                           Date:     

  • 1620    -    Leaders of the Mayflower expedition frame the "Mayflower Compact," designed to bolster unity among the settlers.
  • 1783    -    Jean de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes make the first free-flight ascent in a balloon to over 500 feet in Paris.
  • 1789    -    North Carolina ratifies the Constitution, becoming the 12th state to do it.
  • 1855    -    Franklin Colman, a pro-slavery Missourian, guns down Charles Dow, a Free Stater from Ohio, near Lawrence, Kansas.
  • 1864    -    From Georgia, Confederate General John B. Hood launches the Franklin-Nashville Campaign into Tennessee.
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  • 1904    -    Motorized omnibuses replace horse-drawn cars in Paris.
  • 1906    -    In San Juan, President Theodore Roosevelt pledges citizenship for Puerto Rican people.
  • 1907    -    Cunard liner Mauritania sets a new speed record for steamship travel, 624 nautical miles in a one day run.
  • 1911    -    Suffragettes storm Parliament in London. All are arrested and all choose prison terms.
  • 1917    -    German ace Rudolf von Eschwege is killed over Macedonia when he attacks a booby-trapped observation balloon packed with explosives.
  • 1918    -    The last German troops leave Alsace-Lorraine, France.
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  • 1927    -    Police turn machine guns on striking Colorado mine workers, killing five and wounding 20.
  • 1934    -    A New York court rules Gloria Vanderbilt unfit for custody of her daughter.
  • 1934    -    Cole Porter's musical Anything Goes premieres at New York's Alvin Theatre.
  • 1949    -    The United Nations grants Libya its independence by 1952.
  • 1967    -    President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the air quality act, allotting $428 million for the fight against pollution.
  • 1970    -    U.S. planes conduct widespread bombing raids in North Vietnam.
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  • 1986    -    The Justice Department begins an inquiry into the National Security Council into what will become known as the Iran-Contra scandal.

  • 21 November Birthdays

  • 1694    -    Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), French philosopher, historian, poet, dramatist and novelist.
  • 1898    -    Rene Magritte, surrealist painter (Golconda).
  • 1904    -    Coleman Hawkins, jazz saxophonist.
  • 1908    -    Elizabeth G. Speare, writer of historical novels for children.
  • 1920    -    Stan "The Man" Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • 1929    -    Marilyn French, novelist and critic (The Women's Room).