What happened This day in History on February 21st

For Those With Birthdays 21st February looking for specific year these years are Included on this date 1922, 1933, 1947, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, Born This Day,
U.S.
1995 U.S.A. Steve Fossett Balloon Record 21st February, 1995 : Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, taking off from South Korea, and landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada. Fossett was reported missing on September 3, 2007 after the plane he was flying over the Nevada desert failed to return and his wife asked for him to be declared legally dead on November 26, 2007 . Find More What happened in 1995

U.S.
1947 U.S.A. Land Camera Demonstrated 21st February, 1947 : Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his instant camera and associated film. Called the Land Camera, , which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds. Two years later he put 57 Polaroid Land Cameras at Boston's Jordan Marsh department store before the Christmas holiday, and they sold out within the first day after the demonstration. Video is a cute 1980's Commercial for the Land Camera

U.S. 1922 U.S.A. Airship Crashes 21st February, 1922 : The Italian built airship Roma crashed to the ground in Norfolk Virginia after the explosion of the hydrogen caused by the airship coming into contact with power lines turned the dirigible into a blazing inferno causing it to crash 1000 ft to the ground. Only a few survived the crash by jumping from the airship before it hit the power lines .
Please Take the time to check out our new project featuring 2012 Festivals, Fairs, Shows, Arts and Crafts Listings and Other Fun Ideas for days out , Virginia Below as an Example


U.S. 1933 U.S.A. Texas Week 21st February, 1933 : Mariam A. Ferguson announced that February 26th through March 4th would be officially called “Texas Week”. This was the week in which March 2nd falls, which is Independence Day for the state of Texas.
This legislation had officially been passed in the previous year, and 1933 was the first time that “Texas Week” was made official. Another announcement was made as well on this day-that Arbor Day would be on February 22nd (for the state of Texas).

U.S. 1933 U.S.A. Horse Race Betting 21st February, 1933 : A hot debate had surrounded a wager bill. If this bill were to be passed, the pari-mutuel system of handling horse-race betting would be made legal.
The pari-mutuel betting system was a method by which winners would collect bets won, after all appropriate expenses were paid. After careful consideration, the wager bill which would legalize this system was withdrawn from Congress on this day.

Cuba 1960 Cuba Industry Nationalised 21st February, 1960 : Following Fidel Castro who believed in communism coming to power, Havana orders all Cuban industry under direct control of the government.

U.S. 1965 U.S.A. Malcolm X Assassinated 21st February, 1965 : African American leader Malcolm X was assassinated while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City.

France 1970 France US / North Vietnam Peace Talks 21st February, 1970 : Henry Kissinger begins secret peace talks with North Vietnamese representative Le Duc Tho at a villa outside Paris hoping for a mutual withdrawal of forces from South Vietnam which was refused by North Vietnam .

U.S. 1971 U.S.A. Winter Storm 21st February, 1971 : One of Oklahoma worst winter storms had occurred on this day. More than two feet of snow had fallen in Northwest Oklahoma, and snowdrifts reached as high as 15 feet in the South-Central area. Winds increased to a maximum of 50 miles per hour.
Two deaths so far occurred as a result of this storm. Hundreds of others (travelers) were stranded.

U.S. 1971 U.S.A. Twister Mississippi 21st February, 1971 : A twister was reported to have killed 73 people in the South. A total of 68 of these tornado deaths had occurred in Mississippi, and the other five had occurred in Louisiana. Additionally, damage was done in Texas, but no deaths were reported as of this time.

China 1972 China Richard Nixon arrives in China 21st February, 1972 : US President Richard Nixon arrives in China at the start of a week-long summit aimed at ending 20 years of difficult relations between the US and China.

U.S. 1972 U.S.A. 21st February, 1972 : A South Carolina professor was endorsed by the University of South Carolina school newspaper as a political candidate. He was running for the office of U.S. Senate on the Democratic ticket.


Israel 1973 Israel Israel Shoots Down Libyan Passenger Plane 21st February, 1973 : Israeli warplanes shoot down a Libyan passenger plane over the Sinai Desert

U.S. 1975 U.S.A. John Newton Mitchell 21st February, 1975 : Richard Nixon's aides John Newton Mitchell, the former U.S. Attorney General, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, former White House aides were sentenced to prison for involvement in covering up the Watergate scandal. .

China 1984 China Looking For Technology Help 21st February, 1984 : As the Soviet Union is trailing far behind the west and more specifically the United States and Japan , the communist party in China is looking to the US, Great Britain and Japan for the technology to help them catch up, they are enticing American, Japanese and British Companies to set up Industrial Plants believing that not only will it improve the economy it will also help improve the technology available in the country. But there are those in China who believe bringing in western technology, ideas and people will lead to problems later, this is the ultra conservative left but it looks like the modernizers will get their wishes and modernize this country with a massive work force available to work.

U.S. 1985 U.S.A. National Crisis Action Rally 21st February, 1985 : This was the day of the “National Crisis Action Rally”, which was held in Iowa. It was expected that farmers, ranchers, small-town business people, clergy members, and other concerned citizens would attend. People would be attending on behalf of 17 states. Several agricultural and commerce organizations were to be represented as well.

U.S. 1988 U.S.A. Evangelist Scandal 21st February, 1988 : TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart has resigned from his ministry after it was revealed he had been consorting with a prostitute.
This is the third in a series of high profile evangelist scandals including Martin Gorman and Rev Jim Bakker .

U.S. 1994 U.S.A. Aldrich Ames 21st February, 1994 : Aldrich Ames, a man who had worked for the CIA at this time, was arrested. He was charged of selling secrets to the Soviet Union, and was blamed of putting the lives of several other CIA agents in danger. Ten agents in all were killed in the Eastern bloc after Ames had disclosed their identities to the Soviets.

U.S. 2000 U.S.A. David Letterman 21st February, 2000 : David Letterman had returned to his show after having a multiple heart bypass surgery on this day. He is currently the host of the Late Show with David Letterman, which is a position he has held since 1993.

UK 2001 England Foot and Mouth 21st February, 2001 : An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in British pigs prompted a government ban Wednesday on exports of meat, milk and livestock and threatened serious damage to the country's farming industry

U.S. 2006 U.S.A. US Ports Sold To Middle East 21st February, 2006 : New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans U.S. seaports are to be taken over by the state owned business ( Dubai Ports World ) in the United Arab Emirates. The takeover has caused a major controversy due to the possible security implications.

U.S. 2008 U.S.A. Satellite Shot Down 21st February, 2008 : The US shoot down a disabled spy satellite 153 nautical miles above the earth using an SM-3 missile fired from a warship in waters west of Hawaii, proving that the country's missile defence system works.
This Day In History For Tomorrow February 22nd Day After February 23rd Or You Can Use Our Calendar at the top of the page to find the day or month you are looking for

Egypt   2011 Egypt Egypt Re-Opens Museums 21st February, 2011 :  Egypt re-opened some of its museums that were closed during the civilian protests that spurred the resignation of former President Mubarak. The country hoped to regain some lost tourism revenue that was lost during the uprising, as travelers return to the country.  
 

Australia 2012 Australia Australian Miners Find Largest Pink Diamond 21st February, 2012 : Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine in the East Kimberly region of Australia announced that they found a 12.76-carat pink diamond that they named the Argyle Pink Jubilee. The discovery makes it the largest rough pink diamond to be found in Australia and could be worth millions of dollars.

Bulgaria
2013 Bulgaria Bulgarian Prime Minister Resigns

21st February, 2013 : The Bulgarian parliament accepted Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's resignation with a vote of 209 to 5. Borisov's resignation was a surprise to many and was a response to protests against austerity measures. The early resignation meant that new elections would take place in April instead of July.