April 21: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
2. 1898 - Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
3. 1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
4. 1962 - The Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World's Fair in the United States since World War II.
5. 1992 - The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Alexander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
6. Famous Birthdays: Michel Rolle (French mathematician), Alexander Anderson (American illustrator), Percy Williams Bridgman (American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate), Paul Karrer (Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate), Elizabeth II of The United Kingdom

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: April 20

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: April 22

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.