On This Day in History

May 21

Historical Events

1792 Mount Unzen on Japan's Shimabara Peninsula, erupts creating a tsunami, killing about 15,000; Japan's deadliest volcanic eruption.

1832 First US Democratic National Convention, is held in Baltimore.

1871 French Army attacks Paris beginning the Semaine Sanglante (Bloody Week), a weeklong battle that kills 10,000-15,000 and ends the Paris Commune.

1927 Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of Atlantic.

Amelia Earhart not long after she landed in Ireland in 1932, becoming the first woman to fly non-stop solo across the Atlantic

1932 After flying for 17 hours from Newfoundland, Amelia Earhart lands near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, completing the first transatlantic solo flight by a woman.

More Historical Events

Famous Birthdays

Aurelia Cotta 120 BC - 54 BC Philip II of Spain 1527 - 1598

Andrei Sakharov 1921 - 1989 Mr. T 72nd Birthday

Also Alexander Pope, Fats Waller and The Notorious B.I.G.

More Famous Birthdays

Famous Deaths

Jane Addams 1860 - 1935 Rajiv Gandhi 1944 - 1991

Also Henry VI of England and Hernando de Soto.

More Famous Deaths

Memories of Elvis

Only one actor has appeared on film with both the Beatles and Elvis Presley: the little-known Norman Rossington.

Norman Rossington’s Claim to Fame