1921

Events in 1921 74

• 1835 – 1921 Camille Saint-Saëns French Romantic composer French composer of the Carnival of the Animals, Organ Symphony and the opera Samson et Dalila. One of the most versatile composers of the 19th century.
• 1840 – 1921 John Boyd Dunlop (1840-1921) Died 23 October 1921, aged 81 John Boyd Dunlop, the Scottish inventor who developed and patented the practical pneumatic tyre, died in Dublin. His invention transformed cycling and later the automobile industry, and the company that bore his name grew into a major global tyre manufacturer. He had largely stepped back from the business decades before his death.
• 1841 – 1921 Nicholas I of Montenegro (1841-1921) Died 1 March 1921, aged 79 Nicholas I, the last king of Montenegro, died in exile in Antibes, France, having ruled first as prince and then as king from 1860 until his kingdom was absorbed into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918. He was known across Europe's royal houses as the "father-in-law of Europe" for marrying his daughters into several reigning dynasties. He never returned to Montenegro after fleeing the Austro-Hungarian invasion of 1916.
• 1842 – 1921 Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) Died 8 February 1921, aged 78 Peter Kropotkin, the Russian prince turned anarchist philosopher and geographer, died near Moscow. His writings on mutual aid and anarchist communism influenced radical movements across Europe. His funeral in Moscow drew one of the last large public demonstrations tolerated by the Bolshevik government.
• 1862 – 1921 Georges Feydeau (1862-1921) Died 5 June 1921, aged 58 Georges Feydeau, the French playwright celebrated for his farces of mistaken identity and marital intrigue, died in Rueil-Malmaison near Paris. Plays such as "A Flea in Her Ear" made him the most successful writer of boulevard comedy in his era. His farces remain frequently revived in French and international theatre.
• 1873 – 1921 Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) Died 2 August 1921, aged 48 Enrico Caruso, the Italian operatic tenor renowned as the most celebrated singer of his generation, died in Naples of complications from a lung infection. His recordings had made him one of the first global celebrities of the phonograph era. He had starred at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for nearly two decades.
• 1880 – 1921 Alexander Blok (1880-1921) Died 7 August 1921, aged 40 Alexander Blok, a leading poet of the Russian Symbolist movement, died in Petrograd after a long illness worsened by wartime hardship. His poem "The Twelve," written after the 1917 revolution, remains one of the best-known works of Russian modernist verse. His death is often seen as marking the end of the Symbolist era in Russian poetry.
• 1886 – 1921 Nikolai Gumilyov (1886-1921) Died 26 August 1921, aged 35 Nikolai Gumilyov, a founder of the Acmeist school of Russian poetry and former husband of poet Anna Akhmatova, was executed by the Cheka after being accused of involvement in an anti-Bolshevik conspiracy. He was one of the first major Russian writers killed by the Soviet state. His execution shocked the Russian literary world.
• 1921 – 1967 Donald Campbell (1921-1967) Died 4 January 1967, aged 45 The British speed record holder died when his boat Bluebird K7 flipped and disintegrated on Coniston Water during an attempt to break his own water speed record. He remains the only person to set both land and water speed records in the same year.
• 1921 – 1944 Hannah Szenes (1921-1944) Died 7 November 1944, aged 23 Hungarian-born Jewish poet who emigrated to Palestine and joined British SOE as a parachutist. She was captured after crossing into Hungary on a mission to help Jews facing deportation. She was executed by firing squad in Budapest and is a national heroine in Israel.
• 1921 Insulin discovered Insulin discovered Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated a pancreatic extract that lowered blood sugar at the University of Toronto in the summer of 1921, working in J. J. R. Macleod's laboratory with James Collip purifying it for human use. Fourteen-year-old Leonard Thompson was treated in January 1922. The discoverers sold the patent for one dollar so the drug would stay cheap.
• 1921 – 1965 Judy Holliday (1921-1965) Died 7 June 1965, aged 43 Judy Holliday was an American actress and singer who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Born Yesterday. She was also known for her work on Broadway and her comic timing. She died of breast cancer in New York City on 7 June 1965.
• 1921 – 2005 King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (1921-2005) Died 1 August 2005, aged 84 King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who ruled Saudi Arabia from 1982 until his death on 1 August 2005, died after a long illness that had left half-brother Crown Prince Abdullah as de facto ruler for years. His reign saw the first Gulf War and rapid modernization alongside continued close ties with the United States. Abdullah succeeded him as king.
• 1921 Lasker resigns title to Capablanca End of 27-year reign Lasker resigned his title before completing the match with Capablanca in Havana, citing ill health. He had lost four games without winning one.
• 1921 – 1959 Mario Lanza (1921-1959) Died 7 October 1959, aged 38 Lanza was an American tenor and film actor whose powerful voice and starring role in The Great Caruso made him one of the most popular singers of his era. His recordings introduced operatic and classical repertoire to a mass audience. He died in Italy from a heart attack.
• 1921 – 1943 Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) Died 22 February 1943, aged 21 Sophie Scholl was a German student and member of the White Rose resistance group in Munich. She and her brother Hans were caught distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at the University of Munich. The People's Court condemned them, and they were guillotined the same day.
• 1921 – 1971 Whitney Young (1921-1971) Died 11 March 1971, aged 49 Whitney Young led the National Urban League and was a key strategist of the American civil rights movement, working to open corporate and government employment to Black Americans. He helped plan the 1963 March on Washington. He died of a heart attack while swimming in Lagos, Nigeria.
• 1921 – 1990 Friedrich Dürrenmatt The Visit Renowned playwright and novelist whose work explored the dark comedy and morality of the 20th century.
• 1921 – 1995 Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) Died 4 February 1995, aged 74 Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist best known for psychological thrillers including Strangers on a Train and the Ripley series. Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film adaptation of Strangers on a Train brought her early fame. She spent much of her later life in Europe and remained a prolific writer until her death.
• 1921 – 1983 Barney Clark (1921-1983) Died 23 March 1983, aged 61 Barney Clark was an American dentist who became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik-7, in a landmark 1982 operation. He survived 112 days after the implant, a milestone in the development of mechanical heart devices. His case drew worldwide medical and public attention.
• 1921 The Kid released Charlie Chaplin's first full-length film premieres Charlie Chaplin's silent film "The Kid," starring Chaplin and child actor Jackie Coogan, premiered in New York. It combined slapstick comedy with sentimental drama and became one of the most successful films of the silent era. The film established the feature-length format for Chaplin's later career.
• 1921 – 1986 Donna Reed (1921-1986) American actress, Mary Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life and star of The Donna Reed Show.
• 1921 – 2006 Betty Friedan (1921-2006) Died 4 February 2006, aged 85 Betty Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique" and co-founder of the National Organization for Women, died on her 85th birthday. Her 1963 book is widely credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism. She remained an influential feminist voice until her death.
• 1921 – 1995 Lana Turner (1921-1995) American actress, one of MGM's biggest stars, known for The Postman Always Rings Twice and Imitation of Life.
• 1921 – 1981 Vera-Ellen (1921-1981) American dancer and actress, partner of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Danny Kaye.
• 1921 – 2002 John Rawls (1921-2002) Died 24 November 2002, aged 81 The American philosopher John Rawls revived political philosophy with A Theory of Justice in 1971, arguing that fair principles are those people would choose behind a 'veil of ignorance' about their own place in society. His idea of justice as fairness became the central reference point for debates on liberalism, equality and rights. He taught at Harvard for most of his career.
• 1921 – 2007 Betty Hutton (1921-2007) American actress and singer, Paramount's high-energy musical star of the 1940s.
• 1921 Kronstadt rebellion suppressed Bolshevik forces crush the sailors' uprising at Kronstadt naval base Sailors and workers at the Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd rose up demanding political freedoms and an end to Bolshevik one-party rule. The Red Army under Mikhail Tukhachevsky stormed the fortress across the ice, crushing the revolt after roughly ten days of fighting. Thousands were killed or later executed, and the episode pushed Lenin toward the New Economic Policy.
• 1921 Cairo Conference British officials redraw the postwar Middle East British colonial officials, including Winston Churchill and T. E. Lawrence, met in Cairo to settle the administration of Britain's new Middle Eastern mandates. The conference recommended installing Faisal as king of Iraq and his brother Abdullah as ruler of Transjordan. Its decisions shaped the borders and monarchies of the region for decades.
• 1921 – 1986 Gordon MacRae (1921-1986) American baritone and actor, Curly in Oklahoma! and Billy Bigelow in Carousel.
• 1921 First birth control clinic opens in Britain Marie Stopes opens the Mothers' Clinic in London Marie Stopes opened the Mothers' Clinic in Holloway, north London, offering free birth control advice to married women. It was the first clinic of its kind in the British Empire. The clinic's approach became a model for family planning services that spread across Britain in following decades.
• 1921 Treaty of Riga signed Peace treaty ends the Polish-Soviet War Poland and Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Riga, ending the Polish-Soviet War and fixing their common border for the next two decades. The treaty divided disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between the two states. It remained the basis of Poland's eastern frontier until the Soviet invasion of 1939.
• 1921 New Economic Policy introduced Lenin shifts Soviet Russia from war communism to limited markets The Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party adopted the New Economic Policy, replacing forced grain requisitioning with a tax in kind and permitting small private trade. The policy aimed to revive an economy devastated by civil war and war communism. It remained in force until Stalin's collectivization drive at the end of the 1920s.
• 1921 – 1985 Simone Signoret (1921-1985) Died 30 September 1985, aged 64 Signoret was a French actress who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Room at the Top in 1959. She was also known for her memoirs and her long marriage to singer Yves Montand. She died in Autheuil-Authouillet, France, on 30 September 1985.
• 1921 – 2000 Harold Nicholas (1921-2000) American dancer, one of the Nicholas Brothers, famous for acrobatic tap routines.
• 1921 – 2004 Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) Died 28 March 2004, aged 82 Ustinov was a British actor, writer, and raconteur who won two Academy Awards, for "Spartacus" and "Topkapi." He was also known for his wit as a talk-show guest and his long service as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
• 1921 – 1992 Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) Died 23 April 1992, aged 70 Satyajit Ray was an Indian filmmaker whose "Apu Trilogy" brought Bengali cinema to international acclaim. He received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement weeks before his death. His work influenced directors worldwide and remains central to the canon of world cinema.
• 1921 – 1989 Sugar Ray Robinson (1921-1989) Died 12 April 1989, aged 67 Sugar Ray Robinson was an American boxer widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, holding world titles at welterweight and middleweight. His fluid style and ring generalship set a benchmark for the sport. He compiled a professional record of 173 wins.
• 1921 Third Silesian Uprising Polish insurgents fight German forces over Upper Silesia Polish militias launched an armed uprising in Upper Silesia to contest a League of Nations plebiscite that had favored remaining with Germany in most districts. Fighting between Polish and German paramilitaries continued for weeks before an Allied-brokered ceasefire. The League ultimately partitioned Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland the following year.
• 1921 Emergency Quota Act United States imposes first numerical limits on immigration President Warren Harding signed the Emergency Quota Act, capping annual immigration from each country at three percent of that nationality's US population in 1910. The law sharply reduced immigration from southern and eastern Europe. It served as a precursor to the more restrictive Immigration Act of 1924.
• 1921 – 1989 Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989) Died 14 December 1989, aged 68 Andrei Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist who became a leading human rights dissident and advocate for disarmament. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 despite being barred from traveling to accept it. He returned to public life as a reformist deputy shortly before his death.
• 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre White mob destroys Greenwood, a prosperous Black district of Tulsa A white mob attacked the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the wealthiest Black communities in the United States, burning homes and businesses and killing an estimated one to three hundred people. Thousands of Black residents were left homeless and Greenwood was largely destroyed. It stands as one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history.
• 1921 – 2008 Suharto (1921-2008) Died 27 January 2008, aged 86 Indonesian army general who ruled as president for over three decades after seizing power in 1967. His authoritarian "New Order" regime brought economic growth alongside widespread human rights abuses, and ended amid the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
• 1921 – 2021 Prince Philip (1921-2021) Died 9 April 2021, aged 99 Duke of Edinburgh and consort to Queen Elizabeth II for seventy-three years, the longest-serving in British history.
• 1921 – 2015 Louis Jourdan (1921-2015) French actor, the romantic lead of Gigi and later a Bond villain in Octopussy.
• 1921 – 2011 Jane Russell (1921-2011) American actress and sex symbol, discovered by Howard Hughes for The Outlaw.
• 1921 Parliament of Northern Ireland opened King George V opens the new devolved parliament in Belfast King George V formally opened the Parliament of Northern Ireland in Belfast, established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. His speech appealed for reconciliation between Irish factions and helped pave the way toward truce talks in the wider War of Independence. The parliament governed Northern Ireland for the following half-century.
• 1921 – 2016 Nancy Reagan (1921-2016) Died 6 March 2016, aged 94 Reagan served as First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 during the presidency of her husband, Ronald Reagan. She was known for her "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign and her influence over White House staffing and scheduling. She remained a prominent figure in Republican politics after leaving the White House.
• 1921 – 2009 Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921-2009) Died 11 August 2009, aged 88 Shriver was an American philanthropist and member of the Kennedy family who founded the Special Olympics in 1968. Her advocacy work greatly expanded opportunities and public attention for people with intellectual disabilities worldwide. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.
• 1921 Anglo-Irish Truce Fighting halts in the Irish War of Independence The Irish Republican Army and British forces agreed to a truce, ending active fighting in the Irish War of Independence. The ceasefire opened the way for negotiations in London that autumn. Those talks produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December.
• 1921 – 2016 John Glenn (1921-2016) Died 8 December 2016, aged 95 Glenn was an American astronaut who became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 aboard Friendship 7. He later served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio for 24 years and returned to space in 1998 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery at age 77. He was the last surviving member of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts.
• 1921 Battle of Annual Rif fighters inflict a catastrophic defeat on the Spanish army Rif Berber forces under Abd el-Krim destroyed a Spanish colonial army near Annual in the Rif region of Morocco, killing thousands of soldiers in one of the worst defeats in modern Spanish military history. The disaster triggered a political crisis in Spain and fueled years of further fighting in the Rif War. It also boosted Abd el-Krim's prestige as leader of the short-lived Republic of the Rif.
• 1921 Chinese Communist Party founded Delegates convene the party's first congress in Shanghai A small group of delegates, including Mao Zedong, held the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Shanghai. The party began with only a few dozen members but would go on to rule mainland China after 1949. The meeting is now commemorated as the party's founding date.
• 1921 Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party Adolf Hitler assumes dictatorial control of the NSDAP Adolf Hitler forced a leadership vote in the National Socialist German Workers' Party, emerging with near-absolute authority and the title of Fuhrer of the party. He had joined the tiny party two years earlier and built it around his own oratory. The move consolidated his personal control over the movement that would later seize power in Germany.
• 1921 – 2005 Peter Benenson (1921-2005) Died 25 February 2006, aged 84 Peter Benenson, the British lawyer who founded Amnesty International in 1961, died in Oxford. His campaign began with a newspaper article calling for letters on behalf of political prisoners, growing into a global human rights movement. Amnesty International remains one of the world's largest human rights organizations.
• 1921 – 2013 Esther Williams (1921-2013) Died 6 June 2013, aged 91 Esther Williams was an American competitive swimmer turned actress who starred in a series of Hollywood aquamusicals in the 1940s and 1950s. She died in her sleep at her Beverly Hills home.
• 1921 – 1992 Alex Haley (1921-1992) Died 10 February 1992, aged 70 Alex Haley was an American author best known for "Roots: The Saga of an American Family," which traced his ancestry back to Africa and was adapted into a landmark television miniseries. The book won a Pulitzer Prize special citation and prompted widespread interest in genealogy. He also co-wrote "The Autobiography of Malcolm X."
• 1921 – 1991 Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) Died 24 October 1991, aged 70 Gene Roddenberry, creator of the Star Trek television franchise, died in Santa Monica, California. His optimistic vision of a united, exploratory future shaped decades of science fiction television and film. Star Trek: The Next Generation, which he helped launch, was airing its fifth season at the time of his death.
• 1921 Battle of Sakarya Turkish forces halt the Greek advance toward Ankara Turkish nationalist forces under Mustafa Kemal halted a Greek offensive at the Sakarya River, ending the Greek army's deepest advance into Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War. The three-week battle marked a turning point in the Turkish War of Independence. Mustafa Kemal was afterward given the title Gazi and promoted to marshal.
• 1921 Faisal I crowned King of Iraq British-backed monarchy is established in Baghdad Faisal bin Hussein, formerly king of Syria, was crowned King of Iraq in Baghdad under British sponsorship following the Cairo Conference. His coronation established the Hashemite monarchy that ruled Iraq until 1958. Britain retained a mandate over the new kingdom's foreign and military affairs.
• 1921 – 1995 W.F. Hermans Novelist, essayist, geographer, 1921-1995 Willem Frederik Hermans (1921-1995) — one of the three great Dutch postwar writers, alongside Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve. Novelist, essayist, geographer and polemicist. Author of The Darkroom of Damocles (1958), Beyond Sleep (1966) and An Untouched House (1952). His work is defined by epistemological nihilism: the conviction that certainty is impossible and that human existence is fundamentally without meaning or redemption.
• 1921 First Miss America pageant Atlantic City beauty contest crowns Margaret Gorman Atlantic City held its first Miss America pageant, then called the "Inter-City Beauty" contest, as part of a fall festival aimed at extending the summer tourist season. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C. won the inaugural title. The contest grew into an annual American media institution.
• 1921 – 2007 Deborah Kerr (1921-2007) Scottish actress known for refined roles in Black Narcissus, From Here to Eternity and The King and I, with six Oscar nominations.
• 1921 – 1991 Yves Montand (1921-1991) Died 9 November 1991, aged 70 French actor and singer Yves Montand died of a heart attack near Paris. He starred in films including The Wages of Fear and Z, and was also known internationally as a singer and for his relationships with Edith Piaf and Marilyn Monroe. He remained one of postwar France's most recognizable cultural figures.
• 1921 – 1981 Georges Brassens (1921-1981) Died 29 October 1981, aged 60 French singer-songwriter and poet Georges Brassens died in Saint-Gély-du-Fesc, France, on 29 October 1981. He was one of the most influential figures in French chanson, celebrated for witty, literate lyrics set to simple guitar accompaniment. He remains widely studied in French schools.
• 1921 The Sheik released Rudolph Valentino film becomes a defining silent-era sensation The silent film "The Sheik," starring Rudolph Valentino, opened in the United States and became one of the year's biggest box-office successes. It cemented Valentino's status as a leading romantic idol of the silent era. The film's desert-romance formula was widely imitated in the years that followed.
• 1921 – 2003 Charles Bronson (1921-2003) Died 30 August 2003, aged 81 Charles Bronson was a film actor known for tough, laconic roles in Westerns, war films and thrillers, including 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Dirty Dozen', 'Once Upon a Time in the West' and the 'Death Wish' series. He became a major draw in Europe before achieving top billing in the United States.
• 1921 – 1977 James Jones (1921-1977) Died 9 May 1977, aged 55 James Jones was an American novelist best known for From Here to Eternity, drawn from his own military service before Pearl Harbor. The book won the National Book Award and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film.
• 1921 Washington Naval Conference opens Major powers meet to limit naval armaments Representatives of the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and other powers convened in Washington to negotiate limits on naval armaments and Pacific security arrangements. The talks led to the Five-Power Treaty and other agreements signed the following February. It was the first major international disarmament conference of the twentieth century.
• 1921 – 2004 Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) Died 5 October 2004, aged 82 Dangerfield was an American comedian famed for his self-deprecating catchphrase "I don't get no respect." He starred in films including "Caddyshack" and "Back to School" after decades as a stand-up performer.
• 1921 – 2013 Deanna Durbin (1921-2013) Canadian singer and actress whose musicals saved Universal in the 1930s, and who left Hollywood at 28.
• 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty signed Treaty establishes the Irish Free State Irish and British delegations signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London, ending the War of Independence and creating the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion. Six northern counties retained the option to remain part of the United Kingdom, which they exercised. The treaty's terms split the Irish nationalist movement and led to civil war the following year.
• 1921 – 2002 George Roy Hill (1921-2002) Died 27 December 2002, aged 81 George Roy Hill was an American director best known for two hits pairing Paul Newman and Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, the second of which won him the 1974 Academy Award for Best Director. A former Marine pilot, he also filmed Slaughterhouse-Five and The World According to Garp. His output was small but commercially and critically strong.
• 1921 – 2000 Steve Allen (1921-2000) Died 30 October 2000, aged 78 Steve Allen was an American entertainer who created and first hosted The Tonight Show in 1954, setting the template for the late-night talk format. A restless polymath, he wrote thousands of songs and dozens of books and hosted the series Meeting of Minds. His improvised, audience-driven comedy influenced generations of hosts.