http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
753 BC - Rome Founded
According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C.
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus.
Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity, they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was named "Rome" after him.
To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. Tatius' early death, perhaps perpetrated by Romulus, left the Roman as the sole king again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans. Around 509 B.C., the Roman republic was established.
Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably composed by Homer in the eighth century B.C., Aeneas was the only major Trojan hero to survive the Greek destruction of Troy. A passage told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.
In the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that Aeneas settled at Rome, which was then still a small city-state. In the fourth century B.C., Rome began to expand within the Italian peninsula, and Romans, coming into greater contact with the Greeks, embraced the suggestion that Aeneas had a role in the foundation of their great city. In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil developed the Aeneas myth in his epic poem the Aeneid, which told of Aeneas' journey to Rome. Augustus, the first Roman emperor and emperor during Virgil's time, and Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and predecessor as Roman ruler, were said to be descended from Aeneas.
Apr 21, 1836: The Battle of San Jacinto
During the Texan War for Independence, the Texas militia under Sam Houston launches a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna along the San Jacinto River. The Mexicans were thoroughly routed, and hundreds were taken prisoner, including General Santa Anna himself.
After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to sparsely populated Texas, and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F. Austin settled along the Brazos River. The Americans soon outnumbered the resident Mexicans, and by the 1830s attempts by the Mexican government to regulate these semi-autonomous American communities led to rebellion. In March 1836, in the midst of armed conflict with the Mexican government, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.
The Texas volunteers initially suffered defeat against the forces of Santa Anna--Sam Houston's troops were forced into an eastward retreat, and the Alamo fell. However, in late April, Houston's army surprised a Mexican force at San Jacinto, and Santa Anna was captured, bringing an end to Mexico's effort to subdue Texas. In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna recognized Texas's independence; although the treaty was later abrogated and tensions built up along the Texas-Mexico border. The citizens of the so-called Lone Star Republic elected Sam Houston as president and endorsed the entrance of Texas into the United States. However, the likelihood of Texas joining the Union as a slave state delayed any formal action by the U.S. Congress for more than a decade. Finally, in 1845, President John Tyler orchestrated a compromise in which Texas would join the United States as a slave state. On December 29, 1845, Texas entered the United States as the 28th state, broadening the irrepressible differences in the U.S. over the issue of slavery and igniting the Mexican-American War.
Apr 21, 1777: British attack Danbury, Connecticut
On this day in 1777, British troops under the command of General William Tryon attack the town of Danbury, Connecticut, and begin destroying everything in sight. Facing little, if any, opposition from Patriot forces, the British went on a rampage, setting fire to homes, farmhouse, storehouses and more than 1,500 tents.
The British destruction continued for nearly a week before word of it reached Continental Army leaders, including General Benedict Arnold, who was stationed in nearby New Haven. Along with General David Wooster and General Gold Silliman, Arnold led a contingent of more than 500 American troops in a surprise attack on the British forces as they began withdrawing from Danbury.
Although they prevented the complete destruction of Danbury, the outnumbered American troops were unable to stop the British retreat. The British continued marching through Ridgefield and Compo Hill, Connecticut, en route to their ships anchored at Long Island Sound.
General Wooster was hit by a musket ball during the action; he died from his injuries May 2. General Arnold survived and notoriously became a traitor to his nation, plotting to turn over West Point and with it the Hudson River to the British in 1780. General Gold Silliman also survived, but two years later was kidnapped from his home and imprisoned by a gang of local Loyalists.
Silliman's wife, Mary Silliman, kept a detailed diary of her experiences during the American Revolution. Accounts of her life in The Way of Duty by Richard and Joy Day Buel and the subsequent documentary, Mary Silliman's War, reveal the internecine nature of the revolution in Connecticut--General Gold Silliman's own Loyalist neighbors, not British Redcoats or foreign mercenaries, kidnapped him. Mary Silliman's diary also demonstrates the ways in which the war affected all colonists, including non-combatants, pregnant mothers and farm wives like Mary. On her own, Mary Silliman managed to run her family farm, flee attack from the British army and negotiate her husband's release from his Loyalist captors. She also nursed her own midwife and neighbor, after the woman was raped by Redcoats for refusing to relinquish her house to their control.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date).
43 BC - Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in
battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and
Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
953 - Otto I the Great gives Utrecht fishing rights
1420 - Treaty of Saint Maartens Dike
1453 - Turkish fleet sinks ships Golden Receiver in
Constantinople
1509 - Henry VIII becomes King of England
1521 - Battle at Villalar: Emperor Charles I beats
Communards
1526 - Battle at Panipat: Mogol Emperor Babur beats sultan
Ibrahim Lodi
1572 - France & England sign anti-Spanish military
covenant
1600 - 1st date in James Clavell's novel Shogun (OS)
1649 - Maryland Toleration Act passed, allowing all freedom
of worship
1654 - England & Sweden sign trade agreement
1689 - William III & Mary Stuart proclaimed king &
queen of England
1739 - Spain & Naples-Austria sign peace accord
1785 - Russian tsarina Catharina II ends noble privileges
1789 - John Adams sworn in as 1st US VP (9 days before
Washington)
1792 - Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading movement for
Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
1794 - NYC formally declares coast of Ellis Island
publically owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
1796 - Napoleon and the French defeat the Piedmontese at
Battle of Mondovi
1818 - Franz Grillparzer's "Sappho" premieres in
Vienna
1836 - Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins
independence from Mexico
1855 - 1st train crosses Miss River's 1st bridge, Rock Is
Ill-Davenport Ia
1857 - Alexander Douglas patents the bustle
1862 - Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Co
1862 - Ellen Price Wood's "East Lynne" premieres
in Boston
1863 - Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, enters
gardens of Rivden, near Baghdad. Makes the declaration of aha'u'llah during 12
days spent there
US President Abraham LincolnUS President Abraham Lincoln
1865 - Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Washington
1878 - First Lady Lucy Hayes begins egg rolling contest on
White House lawn
1878 - NY installs 1st firehouse pole
1878 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili
1878 - Ship Azor leaves Charleston with 206 blacks for
Liberia
1884 - Potters Field reopened as Madison Park
1892 - Black longshoremen strike for higher wages in St
Louis, Mo
1894 - George Bernard Shaw's "Arms & the Man"
premieres in London
1898 - Phillies' pitcher Bill Duggleby hits a grand slam on
1st at bat
1898 - Spanish-American War: The U.S. Congress, on April 25,
recognizes that a state of war exists between the United States and Spain as of
this date.
1904 - Ty Cobb makes his pro debut for Augusta (South
Atlantic League)
1908 - Frederick A Cook claims to reach North Pole (He
didn't)
1910 - Cleve Naps play 1st game at League Park, lose to Det
Tigers 5-0
1913 - German passenger ship Imperator runs aground
1914 - US marines occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico, stay 6 months
Pilot The Red BaronPilot The Red Baron 1918 - World War I:
German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red
Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. Canadian
pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown was credited with the kill.
1920 - John Galsworthy's "Skin Game" premieres in
London
1921 - Ottawa Senators beat Vanc Millionaires 3 games to 2
for Stanley Cup [or 4/4]
1922 - The first Aggie Muster is held as a remembrance for
fellow Aggies who had died in the previous year.
1925 - Chuvash Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Chuvash
ASSR
1925 - No baseball games played in NL due to Charles Ebbets'
funeral
1925 - Noel Coward's "Fallen Angels" premieres in
London
1930 - Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 322
1930 - Vladimir Mayakovsky's "Moskva Golid"
premieres in Moscow
1934 - Moe Berg, Senators catcher, plays AL record 117th
cons errorless game
1935 - King Boris of Bulgaria forbids all political parties
1940 - 1st $64 Question, "Take It or Leave It," on
CBS Radio
1940 - Netherlands beats Belgium 4-2 in soccer
1941 - Greece surrenders to nazi-Germany
1944 - NFL Chic Cardinals & Pittsburgh Steelers merge
(dissolves on Dec 3)
Playwright George Bernard ShawPlaywright George Bernard Shaw
1945 - Allied troops occupy German nuclear laboratory
1945 - He Shima Okinawa conquered in 5 days, 5,000 die
1945 - Ivor Novello's "Perchance to Dream"
premieres in London
1945 - Russian army arrives at outskirts of Berlin
1945 - US 7th Army occupies Neurenberg
1946 - Socialistic Einheitspartei Germany forms in East
Germany
1948 - 2nd NBA Championship: Balt Bullets beat Phila
Warriors, 4 games to 2
1951 - 5th NBA Championship: Rochester Royals beat NY
Knicks, 4 games to 3
1951 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montreal
Canadiens, 4 games to 1
1952 - BOAC begins 1st passenger service with jets
(London-Rome route)
1952 - Secretaryies' Day (now Administrative Professionals'
Day) is first celebrated.
1954 - Gregori Malenkov becomes premier of USSR
1954 - USAF flies French battalion to Vietnam
1955 - Brooklyn Dodgers win, then record 10th straight game
to begin a season
1955 - J Lawrence & R E Lee's "Inherit the
Wind" premieres in NYC
1955 - Minas Gerais Argentina tunnel caves in; 30 die
Singer & Cultural Icon Elvis PresleySinger &
Cultural Icon Elvis Presley 1956 - Elvis Presley's 1st hit record,
"Heartbreak Hotel", becomes #1
1957 - Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf
Open
1957 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Fidei Donum
1959 - 1211-kg great white shark becomes largest fish ever
caught on a rod
1959 - Alf Dean using a rod & reel hooks a 2,664lb, 16'
10" white shark
1960 - Brasilia becomes capital of Brazil
1960 - Founding of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in Washington,
D.C.
1961 - Dirk Stikker chosen as secretary general of NATO
1961 - French army revolts in Algeria
1961 - USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 32,000 m
1962 - Century 21 Exposition opens in Seattle, Washington
1963 - Beatles meet Rolling Stones for 1st time
1963 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sunshine Women's Golf Open
1963 - The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Faith is
elected for the first time.
1964 - Pirates & Cubs combine for 9 HRs, Pirates win 8-5
1965 - New York World's Fair reopens for 2nd & final
season
1966 - Emperor Haile Selassie (Ethiopia) visits Kingston
Jamaica
1967 - Dodgers 1st rain out in Los Angeles (after 737
consecutive games)
1967 - Evangelical Broadcasting begins in Netherlands
1967 - Military coup in Greece, Konstantinos Kollias becomes
premier
1967 - Svetlana Alliluyeva, Josef Stalin's daughter defects
to the US in NYC
1968 - 22nd Tony Awards: Rosencranz & Guilderstern &
Hallelujah Baby! win
1968 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open
1969 - 73rd Boston Marathon won by Yoshiaki Unetani of Japan
in 2:13:49
1970 - Reds clout 7 HRs by 6 batters, Braves counter with 3
HRs, 6 for one team & 9 different batters for two teams, all tie or set
records
1970 - The Principality of Hutt River (previously Hutt River
Province) secedes from Australia - it remains unrecognised by Australia or
other nations
1971 - Original Codex Reguis (with Edda-liederen) returns to
Iceland
1972 - John Young & Charles Duke explores Moon (Apollo
16)
1972 - Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 4 (Copernicus)
launched
1974 - 28th Tony Awards: River Niger & Raisin win
1974 - 3rd Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Jo
Ann Prentice
1975 - 4th Boston Women's Marathon won by Liane Winter of W
Germ in 2:42:24
1975 - 79th Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Mass in
2:09:55
Vietnamese Politican Nguyen Van ThieuVietnamese Politican
Nguyen Van Thieu 1975 - Last South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu resigns
after 10 years
1975 - Liane Winter wins world record female Boston marathon
(2:42:24)
1976 - Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing
1976 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern
Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1977 - Billy Martin pulls Yankee line-up out of a hat, beats
Blue Jays 8-6
1977 - C Strouse & M Charnins musical "Annie"
opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 2377 performances
1977 - Zia ur-Rahman appointed president of Bangladesh
1979 - "Carmelina" closes at St James Theater NYC
after 17 performances
1980 - 84th Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Mass in
2:12:11
1980 - Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWWW Detroit Mich
1980 - 9th Boston Women's Marathon won by Jacqueline Gareau
of Can in 2:34:28 Rosie Ruiz disqualified as women's champ she hadn't run
entire course
1981 - US furnish $1 billion in arms to Saudi-Arabia
1982 - Atlanta Braves win their 13th straight game
1982 - Dr Michael E Bakey performs 1st successful heart
implant
1982 - Dutch Queen Beatrice addresses US Congress
1983 - 1 pound coin introduced in United Kingdom
1984 - "Nightline" reverts back from 1 hour to ½
hour
1984 - After 37 weeks "Thriller" is knocked off as
top album by "Footloose"
1984 - Centers for Disease Cont says virus discovered in
France causes AIDS
1984 - Franz Weber of Austria skis downhill at a record
209.8 kph
1984 - Montreal Expo David Palmer no-hits St Louis Cards,
4-0 in a perfect 5 inn game
1985 - Bomb attacks in NATO/AEG-Telefunken building in
Brussels
1985 - Flyers 5-Isles 2-Patrick Div Finals-Flyers hold 2-0
lead
1985 - Ingrid Kristiansen wins London Marathon in a record
2:21:06
1985 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA J&B Scotch Pro-Am Golf
Tournament
1986 - 15th Boston Women's Marathon won by I Kristiansen of
Norway in 2:24:55
1986 - 90th Boston Marathon won by Rob de Castella of
Australia in 2:07:51
1986 - Bob Hering sets Formula One power boat record
(165.338 mph, Ariz)
1986 - Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on TV &
finds nothing
1987 - Brewers lose, ending AL season-opening winning streak
at 13 games
1987 - Dow Jones Average soared 664.7; 2nd biggest one-day
gain in history
1987 - Milwaukee Brewers lose after 13th straight victory to
start season
1987 - Richard Hadlee makes highest Test Cricket score of
151* (v Sri Lanka)
1987 - Tamil bomb attack in Colombo Sri Lanka, 115 killed
1988 - 1st four-day games in County Cricket Championship
commence
Singer-songwriter & Actress Barbra
StreisandSinger-songwriter & Actress Barbra Streisand 1988 - Barbra
Streisand records "You'll Never Know"
1989 - George W Bush & Edward W Rose become CEO of Texas
Rangers
1989 - Thousands of Chinese crowd into Beijing's Tiananmen
Square cheering students demanding greater political freedom
1990 - "Cartoon All Stars to Rescue" shown on all
4 TV networks
1990 - National League umpire is arrested for stealing
baseball cards
1990 - Reds win running their record to 9-0, best start in
club history
1991 - 52nd PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Jack Nicklaus
1991 - Jakov Tolstikov wins 4th World Cup marathon (2:09:17)
1991 - Rosa Mota wins 4th World Cup female marathon
(2:26:14)
1991 - Greatest extra-inning comeback, Pitts scores 6 in
bottom of 11th erasing 5 run Cub lead, Pirates also trailed 7-2 in bottom of
9th
1992 - "High Rollers" opens at Helen Hayes theater
on Broadway
1992 - Mobil Oil tug with 12,000 gallons of oil run aground
in Arthur Kill (a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York City from
mainland New Jersey, USA)
1992 - Robert Alton Harris is put to death in the California
Gas Chamber for 3 murders.
1993 - "Wilder, Wilder, Wilder" opens at Circle in
Sq NYC for 30 perfs
1993 - Brazil votes against a monarchy
1994 - "Picnic" opens at Criterion Theater NYC for
45 performances
1994 - Eddie Murray sets record for switch hit HRS in a
games (11 times)
1994 - Serbian army bombs distress clinic in Goradze Bosnia,
28 killed
1994 - The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are
announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
1995 - Boston Celtics final game at Boston Gardens, NY
Knicks win 98-92
1995 - FBI arrested Timothy McVeigh & charge him with
Oklahoma City bombing
1996 - "Delicate Balance" opens at Plymouth
Theater NYC
1996 - 57th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Hale Irwin
1996 - Barb Mucha wins LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Golf
Championship
1996 - Chicago Bulls win NBA record 72 games (72-8)
1996 - Matabeleland beat Mashonaland Country Dist to win
Logan Cup
1996 - Wayne James scores 99 & 99 & ct 11 stp 2 in
Logan Cup Final
1997 - 101st Boston Marathon won by Lameck Aguta of Kenya in
2:10:34
1997 - 26th Boston Women's Marathon won by Fatuma Roba of
Ethopia in 2:26:23
1997 - Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry
launched into orbit
Singer Shania TwainSinger Shania Twain 2004 - 38th CMT
Flameworthy Video Music Awards: Toby Keith, Shania Twain & Kenny Chesney
wins
2008 - The United States Air Force retires the F-117
Nighthawk.
2012 - Two trains in Sloterdijk, Netherlands, injure 117
people in a head on collision
2012 - Chicago White Sox pitcher, Philip Humber, pitches the
21st MLB perfect game against the Seattle Mariners
2013 - 185 people are killed in a conflict between Islamic
extremists and the Nigerian military
2013 - Horacio Cartes is elected President of Paraguay
2013 - Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Formula One Bahrain
Grand Prix
2013 - Tsegaye Kebede and Priscah Jeptoo win the 2013 London
Marathon
753 BC - Today is the traditional date of the foundation of Rome. 43 BC - Marcus Antonius was defeated by Octavian near Modena, Italy. 1526 - Mongol Emperor Babur annihilated the Indian Army of Ibrahim Lodi. 1649 - The Maryland Toleration Act was passed, allowing all freedom of worship. 1689 - William III and Mary II were crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. 1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President. 1836 - General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. This battle decided the independence of Texas. 1856 - The Mississippi River was crossed by a rail train for the first time (between Davenport, IA, and Rock Island, IL). 1862 - The U.S. Congress established the U.S. Mint in Denver, CO. 1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left Washington. 1892 - The first Buffalo was born in Golden Gate Park. 1898 - The Spanish-American War began. 1914 - U.S. Marines occupied Vera Cruz, Mexico. The troops stayed for six months. 1916 - Bill Carlisle, the infamous ‘last train robber,’ robbed a train in Hanna, WY. 1918 - German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron," was shot down and killed during World War I. 1940 - "Take It or Leave It" premiered on CBS Radio. 1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt announced that several Doolittle pilots had been executed by the Japanese. 1953 - In New York, the Sidney Janis Gallery held the Dada exhibition. 1956 - Leonard Ross, age 10, became the youngest prizewinner on the "The Big Surprise". He won $100,000. 1959 - The largest fish ever hooked by a rod and reel was caught by Alf Dean. It was a 16-foot, 10-inch white shark that weighed 2,664 pounds. 1960 - Brasilia became the capital of Brazil. 1961 - The French army revolted in Algeria. 1967 - Svetlana Alliluyeva (Svetlana Stalina) defected in New York City. She was the daughter of Joseph Stalin. 1967 - In Athens, Army colonels took over the government and installed Constantine Kollias as premier. 1972 - Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the surface of the moon. 1975 - South Vietnam president, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigned, condemning the United States. 1977 - "Annie" opened on Broadway. 1984 - In France, it was announced that doctors had found virus believed to cause AIDS. 1985 - Manuel Ortega proposed a cease-fire for Nicaragua. 1986 - Geraldo Rivera opened a vault that belonged to Al Capone at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Nothing of interest was found inside. 1987 - Special occasion stamps were offered for the first time by the U.S. Postal Service. "Happy Birthday" and "Get Well" were among the first to be offered. 1992 - Robert Alton Harris became the first person executed by the state of California in 25 years. He was put to death for the 1978 murder of two teen-age boys. 1994 - Jackie Parker became the first woman to qualify to fly an F-16 combat plane. 1998 - Astronomers announced in Washington that they had discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away. 2000 - In Sinking Spring, PA, a man chased his estranged girlfriend through town and then forced her car into the path of an oncoming train. The woman and her 3 passengers were killed. 2000 - North Carolina researchers announced that the heart of a 66 million-year-old dinosaur was more like a mammal or bird than that of a reptile. 2000 - The 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act went into effect. 2002 - In the city of General Santos, 14 people were killed and 69 were injured in a bomb attack on a department store. The attack was blamed on Muslim extremists. 2003 - North and South Korea agreed to hold Cabinet-level talks the following week. 2009 - UNESCO launched The World Digital Library. The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.
1836 Texan army under Sam Houston defeated Mexicans in the Battle of San Jacinto. 1910 Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), author of the novel Huckleberry Finn, died at the age of 74. 1918 Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the notorious World War I German flying ace known as the "Red Baron," was killed in action today. 1960 Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia. 1975 South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned. 1980 Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. She was later disqualified for cheating. 1995 Timothy McVeigh was arrested in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing. 1997 The ashes of Timothy Leary, Gene Roddenberry, and 22 others blasted into space for the first space funerals.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr21.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
The very biggest single significant thing that happened on this date in history was the founding of the Roman Empire, at least according to tradition. To that end, www.history.com (The History Channel's website) wrote a brief synopsis about it, and I figured that I would offer it here, as well as the link below. I will continue with the rest of the "On This Day in History" below all of that:
753 BC - Rome Founded (see description below, taken from the www.history.com website:
According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C.
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus.
Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity, they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was named "Rome" after him.
To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. Tatius' early death, perhaps perpetrated by Romulus, left the Roman as the sole king again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans. Around 509 B.C., the Roman republic was established.
Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably composed by Homer in the eighth century B.C., Aeneas was the only major Trojan hero to survive the Greek destruction of Troy. A passage told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.
In the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that Aeneas settled at Rome, which was then still a small city-state. In the fourth century B.C., Rome began to expand within the Italian peninsula, and Romans, coming into greater contact with the Greeks, embraced the suggestion that Aeneas had a role in the foundation of their great city. In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil developed the Aeneas myth in his epic poem the Aeneid, which told of Aeneas' journey to Rome. Augustus, the first Roman emperor and emperor during Virgil's time, and Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and predecessor as Roman ruler, were said to be descended from Aeneas.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rome-founded
Okay, so, there was quite a bit on the significance of this date with the founding of Rome. But other things have happened on this date in history, as well. Here is the list compiled:
43 BC - Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
1453 - Turkish fleet sinks ships Golden Receiver in Constantinople
1509 - Henry the VIII becomes King of England
1521 - Battle at Villalar: Emperor Charles I beats Communards
1526 - Battle at Panipat: Mogol Emperor Babur soundly defeats the Indian Army of sultan Ibrahim Lodi
1572 - France & England sign anti-Spanish military covenant
1649 - The Maryland Toleration Act was passed, allowing all freedom of worship for Christians, and an important step towards greater religious tolerance in general.
1689 - William III and Mary II were crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1785 - Russian tsarina Catharina II ends noble privileges
1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States - nine days before Washington was sworn in as first President.
1792 - Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
1794 - NYC formally declares coast of Ellis Island publicly owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
1816 - Charlotte Bronte, author of "Jane Eyre," was born in Thornton, England.
1828 - Noah Webster publishes 1st American dictionary
1836 - Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins independence from Mexico, with Sam Houston leading the way.
1856 - The Mississippi River was crossed by a rail train for the first time (between Davenport, IA, and Rock Island, IL).
1862 - The U.S. Congress established the U.S. Mint in Denver, Colorado
1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train left Washington.
1898 - The Spanish-American War began
1910 - Famed writer and speaker Samuel Anghorne Clemmens, better known as Mark Twain, died at the age of 75.
1918 - German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron," was shot down and killed during World War I.
1941 - Greece surrenders to Germany
1943 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt announced that several Doolittle pilots had been executed by the Japanese.
1945 - Allied troops occupy German nuclear laboratory; He Shima Okinawa conquered in 5 days, 5,000 die; Ivor Nivello's "Perchance to Dream," premieres in London; Russian army arrives at outskirts of Berlin; US 7th Army occupies Neurenberg
1956 - Elvis Presley's first hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel," becomes #1
1960 - Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.
1961 - The French army revolted in Algeria.
1967 - In Athens, Army colonels took over the government and installed Constantine Kollias as premier.
1972 - Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the surface of the moon.
1975 - South Vietnam president, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigned, condemning the United States.
2000 - North Carolina researchers announced that the heart of a 66 million-year-old dinosaur was more like a mammal or bird than that of a reptile.
2009 - UNESCO launched The World Digital Library. The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.
http://www.historyorb.com/today/
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on-this-day/april-21/
http://www.historyorb.com/day/april/21
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr21.htm
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