May 21 in History

Historical Events on May 21

1674 The nobility elect John Sobieski King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.

1851 Slavery is abolished in Colombia, South America.

1856 Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces.

1863 American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege.

1871 French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of "Bloody Week", some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested.

1927 Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

1932 Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

1961 American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.

1982 Falklands War: A British amphibious assault during Operation Sutton leads to the Battle of San Carlos.

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Famous Birthdays on May 21

1953 Nora Aunor

1960 Mohanlal

1985 Mark Cavendish

1994 Tom Daley

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Famous Deaths on May 21

1920 Venustiano Carranza

1935 Jane Addams

2000 John Gielgud

2002 Niki de Saint Phalle

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