This Day in History- April 21

43 BC: Battle of Mutina
Aulus Hirtius, who was dead, defeated Mark Antony in battle once more. Antony was unable to apprehend Mutina, and Decimus Brutus was assassinated soon afterwards.

1689: William III & Mary Stuart
William III and Mary Stuart were proclaimed King and Queen of England on April 21, 1689.

1785: Charter to the Nobility
Catherine II of Russia bestowed the “Charter to the Nobility” on the nobility, enhancing the influence of the landed oligarchs.

1792: Tiradentes was hanged
Tiradentes, a Brazilian revolutionary, was hanged, drawn, and quartered in Rio de Janeiro on April 21, 1792.

1820: Hans Christian identified electromagnetism
When a compass needle caught his eye, Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted recognised electromagnetism for the first time.

1898: Spanish–American War
On April 21, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States.

1918: World War I
The Red Baron, German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, was shot down and killed over Vaux Sur Somme, France, by Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown.

1933: Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher, was elected rector of the University of Freiburg.

1954: Georgi Malenkov
Georgi Malenkov was elected President of the Soviet Union on April 21, 1954.

1956: #1 in the Charts
“Heartbreak Hotel,” Elvis Presley’s first hit single, reached number one.

1963: For the first time, The Beatles met The Rolling Stones.

1970: The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 
On April 21, 1970, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) was formed in an effort to unite Catholics and Protestants in favour of moderate policies in Northern Ireland.

1976: The Swine Flu vaccine
The non-epidemic Swine Flu vaccine went into trials on April 21, 1976.

1984: Footloose knocks off Thriller
“Footloose” dethroned Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” after 37 weeks as the best-selling record.

1989: George W. Bush and Edward W. Rose
George W. Bush and Edward W. Rose became the joint CEOs of the Texas Rangers.

1994: Extrasolar planets
Astronomer Alexander Wolszczan revealed the first extrasolar planet discoveries on April 21, 1994

2016: Barack Obama visited the UK
With Michelle Obama, US President Barack Obama began a four-day visit to the United Kingdom.

2017: Taliban attacked an army base in Mazar-e-Sharif
More than 100 people were killed when the Taliban attacked an army base in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan on April 21, 2017

2019: Greta Thunberg spoke at an Extinction Rebellion protest
Greta Thunberg, a teen climate activist, spoke at an Extinction Rebellion rally in London on April 21, 2019, as part of a city-wide climate protest that saw Waterloo Bridge occupied for four days.

2020: 25,000 additional people died during the COVID-19 pandemic
According to recent mortality estimates, at least 25,000 additional people died during the COVID-19 pandemic in 11 countries that were not previously counted.

1838: John Muir
John Muir was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the protection of wilderness in the United States of America. He was also known as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks.”

1864: Max Weber
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber was a sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economist who is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the history of modern Western society.

1879: Raden Adjeng Kartini
Raden Adjeng Kartini, also known as Raden Ayu Kartini, was a well-known Indonesian national hero from the island of Java. She was a trailblazer in the field of female education and Indonesian women’s rights and was born on April  21, 1879.

1926: Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II reigns over the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth countries. Elizabeth was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York and was born in Mayfair, London.

1979: James McAvoy
James McAvoy is a Scottish actor best known for playing Professor Charles Xavier in the superhero films of X-Men Series by Marvel.