On August 21, 1754, Banastre Tarleton is born as the fourth child of John Tarleton, the former lord mayor of Liverpool, and a money lender, merchant and slave trader. After completing his education at Oxford, Tarleton became the most feared officer in the British army during the War for American Independence, memorialized in portraits by […]

Believing himself chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery, Nat Turner launches the largest-ever insurrection by enslaved people in the United States. Turner, an enslaved man and educated minister, planned to capture Virginia’s Southampton county armory and then march 30 miles to Dismal Swamp, where his rebels would be able to elude their […]

On August 21, 1897, Ransom Eli Olds of Lansing, Michigan, founds Olds Motor Vehicle Company, which will later become Olds Motor Werks and then Oldsmobile. Born in Geneva, Ohio, in 1864, Olds went to work for his family’s machine-repair and engine-building business in 1883. In 1896, Olds completed his first gasoline-powered vehicle, and the following […]

Daphne Milne, wife of writer A.A. Milne, gives birth to a son, who the couple name Christopher Robin Milne on August 21, 1920. Christopher Robin will be immortalized in A.A. Milne’s books Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. A.A. Milne was born in London in 1882, the youngest of three sons. His parents were […]

On August 22, 1950, officials of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) accept Althea Gibson into their annual championship at Forest Hills, New York, making her the first African American player to compete in a U.S. national tennis competition.

Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the Kenyan independence movement, is released by British colonial authorities after nearly nine years of imprisonment and detention. Two years later, Kenya achieved independence and Kenyatta became prime minister. Once portrayed as a menacing symbol of African nationalism, he brought stability to the country and defended Western interests during his 15 […]

Antiwar protesters associated with the Catholic Left raid draft offices in Buffalo, New York, and Camden, New Jersey, to confiscate and destroy draft records. The FBI and local police, tipped off by an informant, arrested 25 protesters, including two Catholic priests, in the midst of destroying and removing draft files. The FBI said the raiders […]

On August 21, 1980, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is incorporated by animal rights advocates Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. Rising from humble beginnings, PETA will soon become the world’s foremost and most controversial animal rights organization. Newkirk’s interest in protecting animals began 11 years prior, when she found some abandoned kittens and […]

Just three days after it began, the coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev collapses. Despite his success in avoiding removal from office, Gorbachev’s days in power were numbered. The Soviet Union would soon cease to exist as a nation and as a Cold War threat to the United States. The coup against Gorbachev began on […]

On August 21, 2004, American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his eighth medal of the 2004 Athens Olympics in spite of sitting out his eighth scheduled event, the final of the 4 x 100-meter medley relay. Phelps left Athens with six gold and two bronze medals. His eight total medals tied him with Soviet gymnast Aleksandr […]