12 History Lessons + 5 Births & 5 Deaths for April 21, 2025
Today’s History:
- 753 BCE – According to legend, Rome is founded by Romulus and Remus.
- 1509 – Henry VIII becomes King of England after the death of his father, Henry VII.
- 1789 – John Adams is sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.
- 1836 – The Battle of San Jacinto ends the Texas Revolution as Sam Houston defeats Mexican General Santa Anna.
- 1910 – Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), iconic American author, dies the day after Halley’s Comet’s closest approach—just as he predicted.
- 1918 – Germany’s Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen), WWI flying ace, is shot down and killed.
- 1960 – Brasília is officially inaugurated as the new capital of Brazil.
- 1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens, introducing the Space Needle.
- 1989 – Thousands of students begin occupying Tiananmen Square in Beijing to call for political reform.
- 1995 – Timothy McVeigh is arrested for the Oklahoma City bombing just two days earlier.
- 2002 – The trial of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević resumes at The Hague.
- 2019 – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former comedian and actor, is elected President of Ukraine.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1933 – Elaine May, comedian, actress, and screenwriter (The Heartbreak Kid) (92)
- 1951 – Tony Danza, actor (Taxi, Who’s the Boss?) (74)
- 1958 – Andie MacDowell, actress (Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral) (67)
- 1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor (Atonement, X-Men) (46)
- 1988 – Robyn Rihanna Fenty (Rihanna), Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman (37)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1910 – Mark Twain, American humorist and author (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) (74)
- 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron), German WWI fighter ace (25)
- 1938 – Muhammad Iqbal, poet and philosopher considered the spiritual father of Pakistan (60)
- 1977 – Gummo Marx, comedian and original member of the Marx Brothers (83)
- 2016 – Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson), American pop icon and musical innovator (57)