August 21st in History

1900: Allied forces overun Peking's inner city
1915: Italy declares war on Turkey
1958: Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States of America
1963: Martial law imposed in South Vietnam
1984: Widespread arrests on the eve of South African coloured elections
1986: A report on the Chernobyl disaster blames 'human error'
1991: Attempted coup against Mikial Gorbachev stopped by Boris Yeltsin

August 21st birthdays

1904: Count Baise, US bandleader and jazz player
1938: Kenny Rogers, American singer/songwriter