Timeline August 1921

Events in August 1921 9

• 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 US Championships 1921 Men: Bill Tilden · Women: Molla Mallory
• 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.