History of 21 September
1931 – Britain went off the gold standard.
1931 – Japanese forces began occupying China’s northeast territory of Manchuria.
1937 – J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” was first published.
1941 – “The Second Mrs. Burton” premiered to the entire CBS Radio Network.
1948 – Milton Berle debuted as the host of “The Texaco Star Theater” on NBC-TV. The show later became “The Milton Berle Show.” Berle was the regular host until 1967.
1948 – “Life With Luigi” debuted on CBS Radio.
1949 – Communist leaders proclaimed The People’s Republic of China.
1957 – “Perry Mason”, the television series, made its debut on CBS-TV. The show was on for 9 years.
1961 – Antonio Abertondo swam the English Channel (in both directions) in 24 hours and 25 minutes.
1964 – Malta gained independence from Britain.
1966 – The Soviet probe Zond 5 returned to Earth. The spacecraft completed the first unmanned round-trip flight to the moon.
1970 – “NFL Monday Night Football” made its debut on ABC-TV. The game was between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets. The Browns won 31-21.
1973 – Henry Kissinger was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become 56th Secretary of State. He was the first naturalized citizen to hold the office of Secretary of State.
1981 – The U.S. Senate confirmed Sandra Day O’Connor to be the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
1981 – Belize gained full independence from Great Britain.
1982 – National Football League (NFL) players began a 57-day strike. It was their first regular-season walkout.
1982 – Amin Gemayel was elected president of Lebanon. He was the brother of Bashir Gemayel who was the president-elect when he was assassinated.
1984 – General Motors and the United Auto Workers union reached an agreement that would end the previous six days of spot strikes.
1985 – North and South Korea opened their borders for their family reunion program.
1993 – Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin announced that he was ousting the Communist-dominated Congress. The action was effectively seizing all state power.
1996 – The board of all-male Virginia Military Institute voted to admit women.
1996 – John F. Kennedy Jr. married Carolyn Bessette in a secret ceremony on Cumberland Island, GA.
1999 – The Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.
2001 – America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
2001 – Ross Parker is murdered in Peterborough, England, by a gang of ten British Pakistani youths
2003 – The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter’s atmosphere.
2012 – Three Egyptian militants open fire on a group of Israeli soldiers in a southern Israel cross-border attack.
2013 – Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, killing at least 67 people.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Nicole Richie, American actress, fashion designer, and author
- 1981 – Sarah Whatmore, English singer-songwriter
- 1982 – Eduardo Azevedo, Brazilian race car driver
- 1982 – Christos Tapoutos, Greek basketball player
- 1982 – Rowan Vine, English footballer
- 1983 – Ndiss Kaba Badji, Senegalese athlete
- 1983 – Alex Bailey, British footballer
- 1983 – Dwayne Barker, English rugby league player
- 1983 – Sarah Rees Brennan, Irish writer
- 1983 – Stipe Buljan, Croatian footballer
- 1983 – John Castillo, Colombian footballer
- 1983 – Fernando Cavenaghi, Argentine footballer
- 1983 – Wagner Diniz, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Moustapha Djallit, Algerian footballer
- 1983 – Francesco Dracone, Italian race car driver
- 1983 – Scott Evans, American actor
- 1983 – Anna Favella, Italian actress
- 1983 – Éder Monteiro Fernandes, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Kristian Gidlund, Swedish drummer and journalist (d. 2013)
- 1983 – Maggie Grace, American actress
- 1983 – Bryan Willis Hamilton, American musician
- 1983 – Liam Harrison, British rugby league player
- 1983 – Cristian Hidalgo, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Greg Jennings, American football player
- 1983 – Dorothea Kalpakidou, Greek discus thrower
- 1983 – Derek Landri, American footballer
- 1983 – C. S. Magaoay, an American researcher and activist
- 1983 – Joseph Mazzello, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Anna Meares, Italian track cyclist
- 1983 – Reggie Nelson, American footballer
- 1983 – Mark Nerkowski, American soccer player
- 1983 – Dênis Oliveira de Souza, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Rasmus Persson, Swedish radio personality
- 1983 – Marcin Piekarski, Polish luger
- 1983 – Rafael Marques Pinto, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Tori Polk, American athlete
- 1983 – Miguel Potes Mina, Colombian footballer
- 1983 – Javier Alejandro Rabbia, Argentine footballer
- 1983 – Wakakirin Shinichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, and mixed martial artist
- 1983 – Joana Soldado, Portuguese actress
- 1983 – Ben Richardson, British cinematographer
- 1983 – Asa Taccone, American musician
- 1983 – Ronny Toma, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Sanka Wijegunaratne, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1983 – Ycare, French singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Ben Wildman-Tobriner, American swimmer
- 1984 – Wale, American rapper
- 1985 – Justin Durant, American football player
- 1986 – Faris Badwan, English singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Lindsey Stirling, American violinist, and composer
- 1987 – Jimmy Clausen, American football player
- 1987 – Anthony Don, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Marcelo Estigarribia, Paraguayan footballer
- 1987 – Murilo Maccari, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Ashley Paris, American basketball player
- 1987 – Courtney Paris, American basketball player
- 1987 – Michał Pazdan, Polish footballer
- 1987 – Ivelisse Velez, Puerto Rican wrestler
- 1988 – Doug Baldwin, American football player
- 1988 – Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician
- 1989 – Jason Derulo, American singer-songwriter
- 1989 – Sandor Earl, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Emma Watkins, Australian singer, and actress
- 1990 – Al-Farouq Aminu, American basketball player
- 1990 – Danny Batth, English footballer
- 1990 – Rob Cross, English darts player
- 1990 – Ivan Dorschner, American-Filipino model, and actor
- 1990 – Sam Kasiano, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Anastassia Kovalenko, Estonian motorcycle racer
- 1992 – Kim Jong-Dae, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1992 – Rodrigo Godínez, Mexican footballer
- 1993 – Kwon Mina, South Korean singer, and actress
- 1993 – Derik Osede, Spanish footballer
- 1993 – Ante Rebic, Croatian footballer
- 1998 – Máscara de Bronce, Mexican wrestler
- 1999 – Wang Junkai, Chinese singer
- 1999 – Alexander Isak, Eritrean-Swedish professional footballer