2019 Albania earthquake
A 5.6 Mw earthquake shakes the Albanian port of Durrës. Forty-nine people are injured in the capital, Tirana.
What happened on September 21
36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1170 to 2024.
Standout on September 21
2015
AdventHealth
Adventist Health System agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle allegations of fraud. It was the largest a hospital network has ever paid.
About September 21
September 21 is the 264th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 264 of 365 (265 in leap years)101 days left in the year (101 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Monday in 2026, Tuesday in 2027, Thursday in 2028, Friday in 2029, Saturday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 39 of 2026 · Q3
- Zodiac sign
- ♍ Virgo (August 23 – September 22)Cusp date — the exact boundary shifts by a day in some years.
- Season
- Summer in the north · Winter in the south
- September birthstone
- Sapphirewisdom, loyalty and nobility
- September birth flower
- Aster / Morning glorypatience, wisdom and affection
- Next occurrence
- In 329 days
- Roman numerals
- XXI.IXday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 250thAmerican Revolutionary War1776
- 50thOrlando Letelier1976
- 50thSeychelles1976
- 30thDefense of Marriage Act1996
- 25thAmerica: A Tribute to Heroes2001
- 25thMurder of Ross Parker2001
- 25thPeterborough2001
- 20thAlisha Palmowski2006
September 21 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Nothing recorded
- 25 years ago2001
- America: A Tribute to Heroes · Murder of Ross Parker · Peterborough
- 50 years ago1976
- Orlando Letelier · Seychelles
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on September 21 — ages this year
- 2006Alisha Palmowskiturns 20
- 1999Wang Junkaiturns 27
- 1999Alexander Isakturns 27
- 1998Yainer Díazturns 28
- 1998Multibronceturns 28
- 1995Bruno Cabocloturns 31
Historical events 36
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Zak Kostopoulos
LGBT rights activist Zak Kostopoulos is beaten to death on a busy street in Athens.
AdventHealth
Adventist Health System agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle allegations of fraud. It was the largest a hospital network has ever paid.
Al-Shabaab (militant group)
Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, killing at least 67 people.
Westgate shopping mall attack
Unidentified gunmen began a three-day attack on the upmarket Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, resulting in the deaths of 67 people with at least another 175 wounded.
Egyptians
Three Egyptian militants open fire on a group of Israeli soldiers in a southern Israel cross-border attack.
Green Day
American rock band Green Day released their seventh studio album, American Idiot.
Galileo (spacecraft)
The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere.
America: A Tribute to Heroes
America: A Tribute to Heroes was broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
Murder of Ross Parker
Ross Parker is murdered in Peterborough, England, by a gang of ten British Pakistani youths.
Peterborough
Several British Muslim youths in Peterborough, England, murdered 17-year-old Ross Parker, leading to debate over whether the British media failed to cover racially motivated crimes with white victims.
1999 Jiji earthquake
The 7.7-magnitude Chi-Chi earthquake strikes central Taiwan, killing 2,400 people.
Naruto
The Japanese manga Naruto published its first chapter, later becoming one of the best-selling manga series.
Moment magnitude scale
A 7.7 Mw earthquake struck Jiji, Taiwan, killing 2,415 people, injuring more than 11,000 others and causing about NT$300 billion (US$10 billion) in damage across the island.
St. Olaf's Church, Tyrvää
St. Olaf's Church, a stone church from the 16th century in Tyrvää, Finland, is burnt down by a burglar.
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act was passed by the United States Congress, prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage, while allowing states to adopt any marital definition of their choosing.
Boris Yeltsin
Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.
1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks
A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-134 is shot down by a missile in the Black Sea near Sokhumi, Georgia.
Armenia
Armenia gains independence from the Soviet Union.
Brunei
Brunei joins the United Nations.
Belize
Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
Malév Flight 203
Malév Flight 203 crashes near Urziceni, killing 29 people.
Orlando Letelier
Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C., at the order of Augusto Pinochet.
Seychelles
Seychelles joins the United Nations.
Zond 5
The Soviet Union's Zond 5 landed in the Indian Ocean, becoming the first spacecraft to safely return to Earth after travelling around the Moon.
Rhodesian mission in Lisbon
Portugal accepted a diplomatic mission from Southern Rhodesia despite objections by Britain, which had required the colony to implement black majority rule as a condition of independence.
1938 New England hurricane
The Great New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island, New York, killing an estimated 682 people and injuring 1,754 others.
J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy children's novel The Hobbit, which later served as a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, was first published.
1934 Muroto typhoon
The Muroto typhoon, the strongest in Japanese history at the time, made landfall on the mainland, killing more than 3,000 and leaving around 200,000 homeless.
Chandrashekhar Agashe
Chandrashekhar Agashe established the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd., one of the oldest companies in India.
World War I
World War I: The Battle of Nazareth ended with the British Empire victorious over the Ottomans.
The Sun (New York City)
In response to a letter written by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, The New York Sun published an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church stating, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".
American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War: The Great Fire of New York (depicted) broke out during the British occupation of New York City, destroying up to 1,000 buildings.
Antonio de Vea
Led by Antonio de Vea, a Spanish naval expedition departed El Callao, Peru, for the fjords and channels of Patagonia to find whether rival colonial powers were in the region.
Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland
Norman invasion of Ireland: English and Irish forces conquered Dublin, forcing Ascall mac Ragnaill, the last Norse–Gaelic king of Dublin, into exile.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Raquel Blandón
Raquel Blandón, Guatemalan lawyer and activist, First Lady of Guatemala (born 1943)
Walewska Oliveira
Walewska Oliveira, Brazilian volleyball player and Olympic champion (born 1979)
Richard Williamson (American football)
Richard Williamson, American footballer and coach (born 1941)
Walter Wallmann
Walter Wallmann, German lawyer and politician, Minister-President of Hesse (born 1932)
Harl H. Haas Jr.
Harl H. Haas, Jr., American lawyer, jurist, and politician (born 1932)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Matthew the Apostle
Christian feast day: Matthew the Evangelist (Western Church)
Nativity of Mary
Christian feast day: Nativity of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian calendar)
Spring day
Autumnal equinox observances in the Northern Hemisphere, vernal equinox observances in the Southern Hemisphere (see September 22): Spring Day (Argentina)
September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: September 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Ephigenia of Ethiopia
Christian feast day: Ephigenia of Ethiopia
Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert
Christian feast day: Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert (one of the Korean Martyrs)
Maura of Troyes
Christian feast day: Maura of Troyes
Cadoc
Christian feast day: Cadoc
Spread across the centuries
- 12th century1
- 17th century1
- 18th century1
- 19th century1
- 20th century40
- 21st century32
Earliest: Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland (1170). Most recent: Benny Golson (2024).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about September 21
What day of the year is September 21?
September 21 is the 264th day of the year, with 101 days left after it.
What star sign is September 21?
September 21 falls under Virgo (August 23 – September 22), a earth sign ruled by Mercury. The birthstone for the month is Sapphire.
How many things happened on September 21?
We record 84 entries for September 21: 36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1170 to 2024.
Who was born on September 21?
Alisha Palmowski (2006) is among the notable births on September 21. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the September 21 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like September 21
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.