September 21
Events
Pre-1600
- 455 - Emperor Avitus enters Italy with a Gallic army and consolidates his power.
- 1170 - Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland: The Kingdom of Dublin falls to Anglo-Norman invaders.
- 1217 - Livonian Crusade: The Estonian leader Lembitu and Livonian leader Caupo of Turaida are killed in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day.
- 1435 - The Treaty of Arras is promulgated, causing Burgundy to switch sides in the Hundred Years' War.
1601–1900
- 1745 - A British government army led by Sir John Cope is defeated in less than 15 minutes by the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
- 1776 - Part of New York City is burned shortly after being occupied by British forces.
- 1780 - American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
- 1792 - French Revolution: The National Convention abolishes the monarchy.
- 1809 - British Secretary of War Lord Castlereagh and Foreign Secretary George Canning meet in a duel on Putney Heath, with Castlereagh wounding Canning in the thigh.
- 1814 - War of 1812: British forces abandon their unsuccessful siege of Fort Erie.
- 1843 - The crew of schooner Ancud, led by John Williams Wilson, takes possession of the Strait of Magellan on behalf of the Chilean government.
- 1860 - Second Opium War: An Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the Battle of Palikao.
- 1862 - Taiping Rebellion: The Ever Victorious Army defeats Taiping forces at the Battle of Cixi.
- 1896 - Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan: British forces under the command of Horatio Kitchener take Dongola.
- 1898 - Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
1901–present
- 1921 - A storage silo in Oppau, Germany, explodes, killing 500–600 people.
- 1933 - Salvador Lutteroth establishes Mexican professional wrestling.
- 1934 - A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing more than 3,000 people.
- 1937 - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time.
- 1938 - The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500–700 people.
- 1939 - Romanian prime minister Armand Călinescu is assassinated by the Iron Guard.
- 1942 - The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis send over 1,000 Jews of Pidhaitsi to Bełżec extermination camp.
- 1942 - The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2,588 Jews.
- 1942 - The Holocaust in Poland: At the end of Yom Kippur, Germans order Jews to permanently move from Konstantynów to Biała Podlaska.
- 1942 - The Boeing B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
- 1953 - Lieutenant No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot, defects to South Korea with his jet fighter.
- 1957 - Pamir, a four-masted barque, was shipwrecked and sank off the Azores during Hurricane Carrie.
- 1964 - Malta gains independence from the United Kingdom, but remains in the Commonwealth.
- 1964 - The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's fastest bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
- 1965 - The Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.
- 1969 - Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801, a Boeing 727-100 passenger plane, crashes during a landing attempt in Mexico City, killing 27 of the 118 occupants.
- 1971 - Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.
- 1972 - Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos begins authoritarian rule by declaring martial law.
- 1976 - Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C., at the order of Augusto Pinochet.
- 1976 - Seychelles joins the United Nations.
- 1981 - Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
- 1984 - Brunei joins the United Nations.
- 1991 - Armenia gains independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1993 - Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.
- 1993 - A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-134 is shot down by a missile in the Black Sea near Sokhumi, Georgia.
- 1996 - The Defense of Marriage Act is passed by the United States Congress.
- 1997 - St. Olaf's Church, a stone church from the 16th century in Tyrvää, Finland, is burnt down by a burglar.
- 1999 - The 7.7-magnitude Chi-Chi earthquake strikes central Taiwan, killing 2,400 people.
- 2001 - America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
- 2001 - Ross Parker is murdered in Peterborough, England, by a gang of ten British Pakistani youths.
- 2003 - The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere.
- 2012 - Three Egyptian militants open fire on a group of Israeli soldiers in a southern Israel cross-border attack.
- 2013 - Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, killing at least 67 people.
- 2015 - Adventist Health System agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle allegations of fraud. It was the largest a hospital network has ever paid.
- 2018 - LGBT rights activist Zak Kostopoulos is beaten to death on a busy street in Athens
- 2019 - A 5.6 Mw earthquake shakes the Albanian port of Durrës. Forty-nine people are injured in the capital, Tirana.
Births
Pre-1600
- 580 - Pope Vitalian
- 953 - Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, Buyid prince
- 1051 - Bertha of Savoy
- 1371 - Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg
- 1407 - Leonello d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, Italian noble
- 1411 - Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, English politician, Lord Protector of England
- 1415 - Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1428 - Jingtai Emperor of China
- 1433 - Guillaume Fichet, French scholar and academic
- 1452 - Girolamo Savonarola, Italian priest and philosopher
- 1457 - Hedwig Jagiellon, Duchess of Bavaria, Polish princess
- 1552 - Barbara Longhi, Italian painter
- 1559 - Cigoli, Italian painter and architect
1601–1900
- 1629 - Philip Howard, English cardinal
- 1640 - Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger son of Louis XIII of France and his wife
- 1645 - Louis Jolliet, Canadian explorer
- 1706 - Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg
- 1758 - Christopher Gore, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 8th Governor of Massachusetts
- 1760 - Ivan Dmitriev, Russian poet and politician, Minister of Justice for Imperial Russia
- 1761 - Antoine Barnave, French politician and orator
- 1776 - John Fitchett, English poet
- 1819 - Princess Louise Marie Thérèse of Artois
- 1840 - Murad V, Ottoman sultan
- 1842 - Abdul Hamid II, 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
- 1846 - Mihály Kolossa, Hungarian-Slovene author and poet
- 1849 - Maurice Barrymore, American actor
- 1851 - Fanny Searls, American biologist
- 1853 - Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1859 - Francesc Macià, Catalan colonel and politician, 122nd President of Catalonia
- 1862 - James E. Talmage, English-American religious leader and author
- 1863 - John Bunny, American actor
- 1866 - Charles Nicolle, French-Tunisian microbiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1866 - H. G. Wells, English novelist, historian, and critic
- 1867 - Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, English politician, 4th Governor-General of New Zealand
- 1867 - Henry L. Stimson, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 46th United States Secretary of State
- 1872 - Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer on the RMS Titanic
- 1873 - Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader
- 1874 - Gustav Holst, English composer and educator
- 1878 - Peter McWilliam, Scottish-English footballer and manager
- 1882 - Geevarghese Ivanios, Indian metropolitan
- 1884 - Dénes Kőnig, Hungarian mathematician and theorist
- 1890 - Max Immelmann, German lieutenant and pilot
- 1890 - Charles William Train, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient
- 1893 - Erna Scheffler, German lawyer and justice of the Federal Constitutional Court
- 1894 - Anton Piëch, Austrian lawyer and businessman
- 1898 - Frances Mary Albrier, American civil rights activist
- 1899 - Frederick Coutts, Scottish 8th General of The Salvation Army
1901–present
- 1902 - Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet and critic
- 1902 - Allen Lane, English publisher, founded Penguin Books
- 1902 - Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1903 - Preston Tucker, American engineer and businessman, designed the Tucker Sedan
- 1904 - Hans Hartung, German-French painter
- 1905 - Robert Lebel, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1906 - Henry Beachell, American biologist and botanist
- 1909 - Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanaian educator and politician, 1st President of Ghana
- 1910 - Meinrad Schütter, Swiss composer
- 1912 - Chuck Jones, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1912 - György Sándor, Hungarian pianist and composer
- 1916 - Françoise Giroud, Swiss-French journalist and politician, French Minister of Culture
- 1917 - Phyllis Nicolson, English mathematician and academic
- 1918 - John Gofman, American physicist, chemist, and biologist
- 1918 - Karl Slover, American actor
- 1918 - Juan José Arreola, Mexican writer and academic
- 1919 - Mario Bunge, Argentinian-Canadian physicist and philosopher
- 1919 - Herman Fowlkes, Jr., American trumpet player and educator
- 1919 - Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani philosopher and scholar
- 1920 - Kenneth McAlpine, British race car driver
- 1921 - John McHale, American baseball player and manager
- 1923 - Fred Hunt, British jazz pianist
- 1924 - Hermann Buhl, Austrian mountaineer
- 1926 - Don Dunstan, Fijian-Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of South Australia
- 1926 - Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and neurobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 - Fereydoon Moshiri, Iranian poet and critic
- 1929 - Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer and manager
- 1929 - Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator
- 1929 - Bernard Williams, English-Italian philosopher and academic
- 1930 - John Morgan, Welsh-Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1930 - Bob Stokoe, English footballer and manager
- 1931 - Larry Hagman, American actor, director, and producer
- 1932 - Shirley Conran, English journalist and author
- 1932 - Marjorie Fletcher, English Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service
- 1932 - Don Preston, American keyboard player and composer
- 1933 - Allan Jeans, Australian footballer and coach
- 1933 - Dick Simon, American race car driver
- 1934 - Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer-songwriter and poet
- 1934 - María Rubio, Mexican actress
- 1935 - Jimmy Armfield, English footballer and manager
- 1935 - Henry Gibson, American actor
- 1936 - Ian Albery, English manager and producer
- 1936 - Dickey Lee, American pop-country singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1936 - Yury Luzhkov, Russian soldier and politician, 2nd Mayor of Moscow
- 1936 - Diane Rehm, American journalist and radio host
- 1937 - John D'Amico, Canadian ice hockey player and referee
- 1938 - Doug Moe, American basketball player and coach
- 1938 - Olu Falae, Nigerian politician and government official
- 1939 - Agnivesh, Indian philosopher, academic, and politician
- 1940 - Ron Fenton, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1940 - Hermann Knoflacher, Austrian engineer and academic
- 1940 - Bill Kurtis, American journalist and producer
- 1941 - Jack Brisco, American wrestler and manager
- 1941 - R. James Woolsey, Jr., American scholar and diplomat, 16th Director of Central Intelligence
- 1942 - Sam McDowell, American baseball player
- 1943 - David Hood, American session bassist and trombone player
- 1943 - Jerry Bruckheimer, American film and television producer
- 1944 - Steve Beshear, American lawyer and politician, 61st Governor of Kentucky
- 1944 - Marcus Binney, English historian and author
- 1944 - Fannie Flagg, American actress, comedian, and author
- 1944 - Hamilton Jordan, American politician, 8th White House Chief of Staff
- 1944 - Bobby Tench, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 - Richard Childress, American race car driver and businessman
- 1945 - Shaw Clifton, Northern Irish 18th General of The Salvation Army
- 1945 - Kay Ryan, American poet and educator
- 1946 - Rose Garrard, English sculptor and author
- 1946 - Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss lawyer and politician, 87th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1946 - Mart Siimann, Estonian psychologist and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1947 - Don Felder, American musician and songwriter
- 1947 - Keith Harris, English ventriloquist and singer
- 1947 - Rupert Hine, English musician, songwriter, and record producer
- 1947 - Stephen King, American author and screenwriter
- 1947 - Ed Nimmervoll, Austrian-Australian journalist, historian, and author
- 1947 - Marsha Norman, American playwright and author
- 1948 - Jack Dromey, English union leader and politician
- 1948 - Mitsuo Momota, Japanese wrestler
- 1948 - John B. O'Reilly Jr., American politician
- 1949 - Henry Butler, American pianist and photographer
- 1949 - Artis Gilmore, American basketball player and radio host
- 1949 - Odilo Scherer, Brazilian cardinal
- 1950 - Charles Clarke, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for Education
- 1950 - Bill Murray, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
- 1951 - Bruce Arena, American soccer player and manager
- 1951 - Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen general and politician, 3rd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
- 1952 - Dave Gregory, English guitarist and keyboard player
- 1952 - John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick, English lawyer and politician
- 1953 - Arie Luyendyk, Dutch race car driver and sportscaster
- 1953 - Reinhard Marx, German cardinal
- 1954 - Shinzo Abe, Japanese lawyer and politician, 90th Prime Minister of Japan
- 1954 – Julia Grant, British transgender activist
- 1954 - Thomas S. Ray, American ecologist and academic
- 1954 - Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, English rock drummer
- 1955 - Richard Hieb, American engineer and astronaut
- 1955 - Israel Katz, Israeli politician
- 1955 - Mika Kaurismäki, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1956 - Jack Givens, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1956 - Marta Kauffman, American screenwriter and producer
- 1956 - Ricky Morton, American wrestler
- 1957 - Ethan Coen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 - Mark Levin, American lawyer, radio host, and author
- 1957 - Sidney Moncrief, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 - Kevin Rudd, Australian politician and diplomat, 26th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1958 - Rick Mahorn, American basketball player and coach
- 1958 - Simon Mayo, English radio host
- 1959 - Crin Antonescu, Romanian educator and politician, former interim president of Romania
- 1959 - Andrzej Buncol, Polish footballer
- 1959 - Dave Coulier, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
- 1959 - Danny Cox, English-American baseball player and coach
- 1959 - Corinne Drewery, English singer-songwriter and fashion designer
- 1960 - David James Elliott, Canadian-American actor and director
- 1960 - Masoumeh Ebtekar, Iranian journalist, politician and scientist, first woman Vice President of Iran
- 1960 - Kelley Eskridge, American author and screenwriter
- 1960 - Musalia Mudavadi, Kenyan politician and Former Deputy Prime Minister
- 1960 - Graham Southern, English art dealer and gallery owner
- 1960 - Maurizio Cattelan, Italian sculptor
- 1961 - Billy Collins, Jr., American boxer
- 1961 - Dan Borislow, American businessman and inventor
- 1961 - Serena Scott Thomas, English actress and producer
- 1961 - Nancy Travis, American actress and producer
- 1962 - Rob Morrow, American actor
- 1963 - Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan cricketer and bass player
- 1963 - Cecil Fielder, American baseball player and manager
- 1963 - Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor and screenwriter
- 1963 - Mamoru Samuragochi, Japanese composer
- 1963 - Trevor Steven, English footballer
- 1963 - David J. Wales, British academic and educator
- 1964 - Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan singer-songwriter
- 1964 - Lester Quitzau, Canadian guitarist
- 1965 - Frédéric Beigbeder, French author and critic
- 1965 - Cheryl Hines, American actress
- 1965 - Johanna Vuoksenmaa, Finnish director and screenwriter
- 1966 - Kerrin Lee-Gartner, Canadian skier and journalist
- 1967 - Faith Hill, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1967 - Suman Pokhrel, Nepali poet, lyricist and playwright
- 1967 - Tyler Stewart, Canadian drummer
- 1968 - Kevin Buzzard, British mathematician
- 1968 - David Jude Jolicoeur, American rapper, songwriter, and producer
- 1968 - Ricki Lake, American actress, producer, and talk show host
- 1969 - Anne Burrell, American chef and television host
- 1969 - Jason Christiansen, American baseball player
- 1969 - Curtis Leschyshyn, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1969 - Billy Porter, American actor and singer
- 1970 - Rob Benedict, American actor, screenwriter, and musician
- 1970 - Melissa Ferrick, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 - Samantha Power, Irish-American journalist, academic, and diplomat, 28th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
- 1971 - John Crawley, English cricketer and academic
- 1971 - James Lesure, Americana actor
- 1971 - Alfonso Ribeiro, American actor, director, and comedian
- 1971 - Luke Wilson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1972 - Olivia Bonamy, French actress
- 1972 - Liam Gallagher, English singer-songwriter
- 1972 - Jon Kitna, American football player and coach
- 1973 - Vanessa Grigoriadis, American journalist and author
- 1973 - Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spanish tennis player
- 1973 - Oswaldo Sánchez, Mexican footballer
- 1974 - Bryce Drew, American basketball player and coach
- 1974 - Andy Todd, English footballer and manager
- 1975 - Doug Davis, American baseball player
- 1975 - Craig Thompson, American graphic novelist
- 1976 - Jonas Bjerre, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 - Poul Hübertz, Danish footballer and manager
- 1977 - Kārlis Lācis, Latvian pianist and composer
- 1977 - Andre Pärn, Estonian basketball player
- 1977 - Kohei Sato, Japanese wrestler
- 1977 - Brian Tallet, American baseball player
- 1978 - Paulo Costanzo, Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 1978 - Luke Godden, Australian footballer
- 1978 - Doug Howlett, New Zealand rugby player
- 1979 - James Allan, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 - Richard Dunne, Irish footballer
- 1979 - Chris Gayle, Jamaican cricketer
- 1979 - Julian Gray, English footballer
- 1979 - Monika Merl, German runner
- 1980 - Nyree Kindred, Welsh swimmer
- 1980 - Tomas Scheckter, South African race car driver
- 1980 - Autumn Reeser, American actress
- 1980 - Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
- 1981 - Nicole Richie, American actress, fashion designer, and author
- 1981 - Sarah Whatmore, English singer-songwriter
- 1982 - Eduardo Azevedo, Brazilian race car driver
- 1982 - Dominic Perrottet, Australian politician, 46th Premier of New South Wales
- 1982 - Christos Tapoutos, Greek basketball player
- 1982 - Rowan Vine, English footballer
- 1983 - Ndiss Kaba Badji, Senegalese athlete
- 1983 - Fernando Cavenaghi, Argentine footballer
- 1983 - Francesco Dracone, Italian race car driver
- 1983 - Scott Evans, American actor
- 1983 - Anna Favella, Italian actress
- 1983 - Maggie Grace, American actress
- 1983 - Cristian Hidalgo, Spanish footballer
- 1983 - Greg Jennings, American football player
- 1983 - Joseph Mazzello, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 - Anna Meares, Australian track cyclist
- 1983 - Reggie Nelson, American football player
- 1983 - Rafael Marques Pinto, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 - Dwayne Bowe, American football player
- 1984 - Jason Citron, American businessman, co-founded Discord
- 1984 - Ahna O'Reilly, American actress
- 1984 - Ben Wildman-Tobriner, American swimmer
- 1984 - Wale, American rapper
- 1985 - Justin Durant, American football player
- 1986 - Faris Badwan, English singer-songwriter
- 1986 - Lindsey Stirling, American violinist and composer
- 1987 - Jimmy Clausen, American football player
- 1987 - Anthony Don, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 - Marcelo Estigarribia, Paraguayan footballer
- 1987 - Ryan Guzman, American actor and model
- 1987 - Murilo Maccari, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 - Ashley Paris, American basketball player
- 1987 - Courtney Paris, American basketball player
- 1987 - Michał Pazdan, Polish footballer
- 1987 - Ivelisse Vélez, Puerto Rican wrestler
- 1988 - Doug Baldwin, American football player
- 1988 - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistani politician
- 1989 - Jason Derulo, American singer-songwriter
- 1989 - Sandor Earl, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 - Manny Harris, American basketball player
- 1989 - Emma Watkins, Australian singer and actress
- 1990 - Al-Farouq Aminu, American basketball player
- 1990 - Danny Batth, English footballer
- 1990 - Rob Cross, English darts player
- 1990 - Ivan Dorschner, American-Filipino model and actor
- 1990 - Sam Kasiano, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 - Allison Scagliotti, American actress and musician
- 1990 - Christian Serratos, American actress
- 1991 - Anastassia Kovalenko, Estonian motorcycle racer
- 1991 - Carlos Martínez, Dominican baseball player
- 1992 - Kim Jong-dae, South Korean singer-songwriter
- 1992 - Rodrigo Godínez, Mexican footballer
- 1992 - Devyn Marble, American basketball player
- 1993 - Kirsty Gilmour, Scottish badminton player
- 1993 - Kwon Mina, South Korean singer and actress
- 1993 - Ante Rebić, Croatian footballer
- 1994 - Devin Williams, American baseball player
- 1995 - Bruno Caboclo, Brazilian basketball player
- 1998 - Máscara de Bronce, Mexican wrestler
- 1998 - Yainer Díaz, Dominican baseball player
- 1999 - Wang Junkai, Chinese singer
- 1999 - Alexander Isak, Eritrean-Swedish professional footballer
- 2006 - Alisha Palmowski, British female racing driver