April 21: On this day in world history …. briefly
Interesting historic snippets and facts taken from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London.
1509: Henry VIII accedes to the English throne on the death of Henry VII.
1699: Death of Jean Racine, French dramatist and outstanding tragedian of the French classical period.
1790: One of independent America’s founding fathers Benjamin Franklin is buried in one of the most splendid funerals ever seen in Philadelphia.
1831: Texans vanquish the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto.
1901: Sculptor Auguste Rodin shocks Paris when his semi-nude statue of Victor Hugo is exhibited at the Grand Palais.
1910: Mark Twain, American journalist and author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn dies at age 74.
1914: American troops occupy the Mexican city of Vera Cruz in order to stop German weapons reaching the Mexican command.
1916: Former British consular official Roger Casement arrives in Ireland from a German submarine to lead the Sinn Fein rebellion but is arrested by the British.
1918: The most feared fighter pilot of WWI, Germany’s Baron Manfred von Richthofen, is killed by a single bullet. Competing claims for the deed were received from Roy Brown, Canadian pilot of 209 Squadron, as well as from British and Australian ground artillery. By the time of his death, the ‘Red Baron’ had notched up 80 ‘kills’ – most of them British.
1946: Death of John Maynard Keynes, British economist who argued that unemployment can only be eased by increased public spending.
1992: Eurodisney opens its doors in Paris.
2003: Nina Simone, singer and songwriter of jazz and blues music, dies aged 70.
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