Events on Apr 21
- 0953Otto I the Great gives Utrecht fishing rights
- 1420Treaty of Saint Maartens Dike
- 1453Turkish fleet sinks ships Golden Receiver in Constantinople
- 1509Henry the VIII becomes King of England
- 1521Battle at Villalar: Emperor Charles I beats Communards
- 1526Battle at Panipat: Mogol Emperor Babur beats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi
- 1572France and England sign anti-Spanish military covenant
- 1649Maryland Toleration Act passed, allowing all freedom of worship
- 1654England and Sweden sign trade agreement
- 1689William III and Mary Stuart proclaimed King and Queen of England
- 1739Spain and Naples-Austria sign peace accord
- 1785Russian tsarina Catharina II ends noble privileges
- 1789John Adams sworn in as 1st US VP (9 days before Washington)
- 1794New York City formally declares coast of Ellis Island publically owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
- 1828Noah Webster publishes 1st American dictionary
- 1857Alexander Douglas patents the bustle
- 1862Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorado
- 1878New York installs 1st firehouse pole
- 1878Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili
- 1878Ship Azor leaves Charleston with 206 blacks for Liberia
- 1884Potters Field reopened as Madison Park
- 1892Black Longshoremen strike for higher wages in St. Louis, Missouri
- 1898Spanish-American War begins
- 1904Ty Cobb makes his pro debut for Augusta (South Atlantic League)
- 1910Cleveland Naps play 1st game at League Park, lose to Detroit Tigers 5-0
- 1913German passenger ship Imperator runs aground
- 1913Gideon Sundback of Sweden patents the zipper
- 1914US marines occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico, stay 6 months
- 1925Chuvash Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Chuvash ASSR
- 1930Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 322
Born on Apr 21
- 1488Ulrich von Hutten: German poet / humanist / patriot
- 1546Arcangelo Crivelli: Composer
- 1619John A van Riebeeck: Colonial director / founder (Cape Colony)
- 1672Johann Philipp Kafer: Composer
- 1713Louis Duke de Noailles: Marshal of France
- 1729Catharina II [the Great]: Writer / emperess of Russia (1762-96)
- 1730Antonin Kammel: Composer
- 1749Johann Michael Malzat: Composer
- 1774Jean-Baptiste Biot: French physicist / astronomer (balloonist)
- 1775Alexander Anderson: United States -- Engraver / illustrator (Shakespeare)
- 1779William Knyvett: Composer
- 1795Vincenzo Pallotti: Italian Saint
- 1803Levin Minn Powell: Commander (Union Navy), died in 1885
- 1806Peter van Schendel: Dutch painter
- 1809Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter: Secy State (Confederacy)
- 1814Beni Egressy: Composer
- 1816Louis Trezevant Wigfall: Confederate Army, died in 1874
- 1824Anselmo Clave: Composer
- 1828Hippolyte Taine: French philosopher / historian (Voyage in Italy)
- 1834William Rufus Terrill: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
- 1837Fredrik Bajer: Denmark -- Politican / feminist / pacifist (Nobel 1908)
- 1840Franz Xaver Haberl: German priest / musicologist (Magister choralis)
- 1849Oskar Hertwig: Germany -- Embryologist - discovered fertilization
- 1853Charles-Theodore Malherbe: Composer
- 1854Eusapia Palladino: Napolitanse with parergische phenomenons
- 1854Wladyslaw Rzepko: Composer
- 1864Max Weber: German sociologist / economist / historian (Ancient Judaism)
- 1867Benjamin A Jesurun: Antillian literary
- 1871Leo Blech: Composer
- 1871Vojtech Rihovsky: Composer
Died on Apr 21
- 1073Alexander II [Anselmo da Baggio]: Pope (1061-73)
- 1109Anselmus: Philosopher / Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1509Henry VII: 1st Tudor King of England (1485-1509), dies at 52
- 1552Peter Apianus [Bennewitz / Bienewitz]: German astronomer, dies at 50
- 1652Pietro Della Valle: Composer, dies at 66
- 1696Andres de Sola: Composer, dies at 61
- 1730Jan Palfijn: Flemish Physician / inventor (forceps), dies at 79
- 1736Frans Eugenius: Duke / prince of Savoye, dies at 72
- 1871Elisabeth Grube: Writer
- 1878Temistocle Solera: Composer, dies at 62
- 1898Louis Theodore Gouvy: Composer, dies at 78
- 1899Heinrich Kiepert: German cartographer / geographer, dies at 80
- 1900Heinrich Vogl: Composer, dies at 55
- 1910Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens]: Auther (Huckleberry Finn), dies at 74
- 1918"Red Baron" [Manfred von Richtofen]: Shot down in WWI at 25
- 1924Eleanora Duse: Ital actress (La Gioconda, La Locandiera), dies at 64
- 1930Christine [Elizabeth C] Poolman: Dutch actress (Mother), dies at 79
- 1930Robert S Bridges: Poet laureate (Testament of beauty), dies at 85
- 1938Muhammad Iqbal: Brt E Indies lawyer / Pakistan national hero, dies at 65
- 1939Herman Finck: Composer, dies at 66
- 1946John M Keynes: English economist (How to pay for the war?), dies at 62
- 1948Carlos Lopez Buchardo: Composer, dies at 66
- 1952[Richard] Stafford Cripps: English Minister of Plane-manufacturing, dies at 62
- 1952Leslie Banks: Actor (Henry V, 21 Days, Eye Witness), dies at 61
- 1961James Melton: Opera tenor (Ford Festival), dies at 57
- 1962Frederick Handley Page: Designer of 1st big airplane (40 seats)
- 1965Edward V Appleton: English physicist (Nobel Prize 1947), dies at 72
- 1968Norman Demuth: Composer, dies at 69
- 1968Toby Halicki: Car-crash film producer 48, killed shooting stunt
- 1971Edmund Lowe: Actor (Front Page Detective), dies at 81
Historical events on April 22
- 0296St. Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0536St. Agapitus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1056Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye
- 1073Pope Alexander II buried / Ildebrando chosen as Pope Gregory VII
- 1164Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
- 1370Bastille begins being built in Paris
- 1500Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil and claims it for Portugal
- 1509Henry VIII ascended to throne of England
- 1521French King Francois I declares war on Spain
- 15261st slave revolt occurs in South Carolina
- 1529Treaty of Saragosa: Spain and Portugal divide eastern hemisphere
- 1648English army claims King Charles I responsible for bloodshed
- 1659Lord protector Cromwell disbands English parliament
- 1662Royal Society incorporates
- 1671King Charles II sits in on English parliament
- 1676Battle of Etna - Netherlands / Spain vs. France, M de Ruyter fatally wounded
- 1677Battle at Catania: between French and Dutch fleet
- 1692Edward Bishop is jailed for proposong flogging as cure for witchcraft
- 172219 VOC "komplotteurs" in Batavia executed
- 1796Napoleon defeats Piedmontese at Battle of Mondovi
- 1804Gioacchino Rossini (12) performs in Imola
- 1817Curacao prohibits use of white paint due to fierce sunlight
- 1823Baltic Club (Exchange) forms in London
- 1823R J Tyers patents roller skates
- 1838English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC after Atlantic crossing
- 1861Robert E Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces
- 1864US mints 2 cent coin (1st appearance of "In God We Trust")
- 18761st NL game, Boston Braves beat Philadelphia Athletics 6-5
- 1876Tsjaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
- 1884Thomas Stevens starts 1st bike trip around world (2 yrs 9 mos)
Born on April 22
- 1357Johan I: King of Portugal (1383-1433)
- 1451Isabella I [of Castile]: Spain -- Queen of Spain (1479-1504), Patron of Columbus
- 1610Alexander VIII [Pietro Ottoboni]: Italy -- Lawyer / Pope (1689-91)
- 1640Mariana Alcoforado: Portugal -- Nun
- 1658Giuseppe Torelli: Italy -- Composer (Concert Grossi op 8)
- 1682Willem I Kerricx the Young: Flemish architect / sculptor / painter
- 1690John Carteret: Earl Granville (C), English Chief Minister (1722-42)
- 1707Henry Fielding: England, United Kingdom -- Novelist (Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones)
- 1724Immanuel Kant: Konigsberg, Germany -- Philosopher (Critique of Pure Reason)
- 1773Jean V Baron de Rebecque: Swiss / Dutch army leader
- 1775Georg Hermes: German philosopher / theologist (Hermenianen)
- 1781Christian Friedrich Hermann Uber: Composer
- 1799Jean Poiseuille: Physician / physiologist (blood pressure)
- 1816Philip James Bailey: English poet (Festus)
- 1818Cadwallader Colden Washburn: Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1823Alfred Gibbs: Major General (Union Army), died in 1868
- 1827William Hopkins Morris: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
- 1828Guilherme Antonio Cossoul: Composer
- 1831Alexander McDowell McCook: Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1832Julius Sterling Morton: Nebraska, United States -- Governor of Nebraska that started Arbor Day
- 1839August W Eichler: German Botanist
- 1853Alphonse Bertillon: France -- Anthropologist - devised crime ID system
- 1854Henri-Marie Lafontaine: Belgium -- International lawyer (Nobel 1913)
- 1856[Marie] Louise Hens: Flemish actress (Two Orphans)
- 1858Ethel Mary Smyth: Composer
- 1863Cornelis A J van Dishoeck: Dutch publisher
- 1864Phil May: Wortley Yorkshire, United Kingdom -- Cartoonist
- 1866Hans von Seeckt: German General (Future of the Reich)
- 1868Jose Vianna da Motta: Composer
- 1873Ellen Anderson Glasgow: United States -- Novelist (Ancient Law, Pulitzer-1942)
Died on April 22
- 0536Agapitus I: Italian Pope (535-36)
- 1253Elias van Cortona: Italian General (1232-39), dies at about 53
- 1355Eleonora Plantagenet: Daughter of King Edward II, dies at 36
- 1462Gilbert of Lannoy: Master of Villerval / Tronchiennes / Santes
- 1592Bartolommeo Ammanati: Italian Sculptor / architect, dies at 80
- 1648Catharina Belgian van Nassau: Daughter of Willem, dies at 69
- 1662John Tradescant: Traveller / gardener
- 1672Georg Stiernhielm: Swed Scholar / Author / Poet (Hercules), dies at 73
- 1699Hans A baron von Abschatz: Silesian poet, dies at 53
- 1722Pieter Erberfeld: German / Thais Merchant on Java
- 1776Johann Adolph Scheibe: German music theroist / composer, dies at 67
- 1778James Hargreaves: Inventor (spinning jenny)
- 1782Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger: Composer, dies at 66
- 1788Zacharias H Alewijn: Dutch poet, dies at 46
- 1821John Crome [Old Crome]: English landscape Painter / etcher, dies at 52
- 1827Thomas Rowlandson: Caricaturist
- 1830Knud L Rahbek: Danish literary / historian, dies at 69
- 1833Richard Trevithick: Inventor (steam locomotive), dies at 62
- 1844Henri-Montan Berton: Composer, dies at 76
- 1864Joseph Gilbert Totten: US Union General Major, dies at 76
- 1865Francis Washburn: US Union Colonel / General Major, dies of injuries
- 1883Octave Fouque: Composer, dies at 38
- 1892Edouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo: Composer, dies at 69
- 1901William Stubbs: Historian / Bishop
- 1908Henry Campbell-Bannerman: British Premier (1905-08)
- 1925Andre Caplet: Composer, dies at 46
- 1929Odon Peter Jozsef de Mihalovich: Composer, dies at 86
- 1933Frederick Henry Royce: Motorcar pioneer
- 1944Mezio Agostini: Composer, dies at 68
- 1946Harlan Fiske Stone: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1941-46), dies at 73
Events on Apr 23
- 1014King Brian Boru of Ireland beats Danes at Battle of Clontarf
- 1154Damascus surrenders to Sultan Nur ad-Din van Aleppo
- 13481st English order of knighthood founded (Order of Garter)
- 1500Pedro Cabral lands and annexes Brazil (Terra da Vera Cruz)
- 1501Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral and 6 ships return to Lisbon
- 1504King Maximilian I routes troops to Bavaria
- 1616Netherlands buys De Briel / Vlissingen / Fort Rammekens from England
- 1633Sweden and Protestant German monarchy form Union of Heilbronn
- 1661English King Charles II crowned in London
- 1662Connecticut chartered as an English colony
- 1723Cornelis Steenoven elected Archbishop of Utrecht
- 1789President-elect George Washington moves into Franklin House, New York
- 1795William Hastings acquitted in England of high treason
- 1798Dutch Emperor accepts new Constitution
- 1826Missolonghi captured by Turks
- 1838English steamship "Great Western" crossing Atlantic docks in New York City
- 1851Canada issues its 1st postage stamps
- 1860Democratic Convention in Charleston SC divided over slavery
- 1861Arkansas troops seize Ft Smith
- 1861Battle of San Antonio, Texas
- 1867Queen Victoria and Napoleon III turn down plans for a channel tunnel
- 1871Blossom Rock in SF Bay blown up
- 18781st Dutch test drive of steam tram
- 1883John Heemskerk Azn forms Dutch government
- 1891Jews are expelled from Moscow Russia
- 1896Vitascope system of movie projection 1st demonstrated (NYC)
- 19001st know occurrence of word "hillbillie" (NY Journal)
- 1903New York Highlanders (Yankees) win their 1st game beating Washingston Senators 7-2
- 1904American Academy of Arts and Letters forms
- 1908Denmark, Germany, Engld, France, Netherlands and Sweden signs North Sea accord
Born on Apr 23
- 1464Johanna van Valois: Queen of France
- 1464Robert Fayrfax: Composer
- 1500Alexander Alesius [Aless / Alane]: System theologist / Physician
- 1598Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp: Naval commander
- 1623Jan Adam Reincken: Composer
- 1629John Commelin: Director (Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam)
- 1649Andreas Kneller: Composer
- 1697George Baron Anson: British Admiral / explorer
- 1708Friedrich von Hagedorn: German poet (Versuch einiger Poem)
- 1715Johann Friedrich Doles: Composer
- 1728Samuel Wallis: Explorer (Wallis Island)
- 1735Ildephons Haas: Composer
- 1747Alexandre-Auguste Robineau: Composer
- 1756Alexander Reinagle: Composer
- 1775Joseph Mallord Turner: England, United Kingdom -- Landscape painter (Shipwreck)
- 1791James Buchanan: Cove Gap, Pennsylvania -- (Fed / Dem), 15th US President (1857-61)
- 1791W Friedrich Olivier: German landscape painter / cartoonist
- 1804Guillaume Nerenburger: Belgian General (Triangulatie of Belgium)
- 1809Eugene-Prosper Prevost: Composer
- 1810Thomas Wright: Historian
- 1812Louis-Antoine Julien: Conductor
- 1813Stephen Arnold Douglas [Little giant]: US senator (Lincoln debates)
- 1818James Anthony Froude: Historian
- 1818John Gill Shorter: Gov (Confederacy), died in 1872
- 1821Pierre Dupont: Song writer
- 1827Johann F Ritter von Schulte: German Catholic lawyer
- 1828Albert FA: King of Saxon (1873-1902)
- 1838Alfred J Verwee: Flemish painter
- 1852Edwin Markham: United States -- Poet (1st winner of the American Academy of poets Award 1937)
- 1861Edmund Henry Hynman: 1st viscount Allenby of Megiddo / Field Marshal
Died on Apr 23
- 0034Christ: Crucified, according to Isaac Newton
- 0303George: Knight / Saint / Patron of England, beheaded
- 0871Ethelred I: King of Wessex / Brother of Alfred the Great
- 0990Ekkehart II [Palatinus]: Monk to St-Gallen / poet
- 0997Vojtech "Adalbert" of Prague: 2nd Bishop of Prague / apostle, dies at 40
- 1014Brian Boru: King of Ireland, dies in battle at 87
- 1014Sweyn Forkbeard: Viking King of England (1013-14)
- 1016Aethelbred II "the Unready": King of England (979-1016)
- 1416Blaise / Blasius of Parma: Ital astrologist / philosopher / algebra
- 1616Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Spanish writer (Don Quixote), dies at 69
- 1616William Shakesphere: Engl Author (Hamlet), dies on his 52nd birthday
- 1625Maurice of Nassau: Prince of Orange, dies at 57
- 1670Loreto Vittori: Composer, dies at 69
- 1695Henry Vaughan: Poet (Silex Scintillans), dies at 72
- 1728Tomas de Torrejon y Velasco: Composer, dies at 83
- 1732Cajetan Kolberer: Composer, dies at 63
- 1740Thomas Tickell: Poet
- 1742Mihael Omerza: Composer, dies at 62
- 1762Johann Samuel Endler: Composer, dies at 67
- 1774Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich: Painter
- 1786Alexander Cozens: English water colors painter, dies at about 68
- 1812Franz Sebastian Haindl: Composer, dies at 85
- 1827Johanna C Wattier-Ziesenis: Actress (Phaedra / Lady MacBeth), dies at 65
- 1847Erik Gustaf Geijer: Composer, dies at 64
- 1850William Wordsworth: Poet, dies at 80
- 1853Auguste Laurent: Chemist
- 1865James Dearing: US Confederate Brigadier General, dies at 24
- 1878Friedrich Preller: Landscape painter
- 1880Guess Saleh [Sarief Bastaman]: Javanese painter
- 1885William Henry Holmes: Composer, dies at 73