Calendar date · June

What happened on June 21

On June 21, 533: A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarios sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily.

Events

50

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Cancer

Featured moment · 533

A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarios sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily.

Flavius Belisarius was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I. Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders of Byzantium and in history generally.

People

Born on June 21

Lil Bub 2011– Internet celebrity cat (2011–2019)
Alexandra Obolentseva 2001– Russian chess player (born 2001)
Dylan Brown 2000– New Zealand international rugby league footballer
Ky Rodwell 1999– Australian rugby league footballer
Isabel Atkin 1998– British-American freestyle skier
Rebecca Black 1997– American YouTuber, singer, songwriter, and DJ (born 1997)
Derrius Guice 1997– American football player (born 1997)
Tyrone May 1996– Samoa international rugby league footballer
Scottie Scheffler 1996– American professional golfer (born 1996)
Show 9 more — notable births on June 21
Başak Eraydın 1994– Turkish tennis player (born 1994)
Hungrybox 1993– Argentine-American professional esports player
MAX 1992– American singer (born 1992)
Hussein El Shahat 1992– Egyptian footballer (born 1992)
Gaël Kakuta 1991– Footballer (born 1991)
Lee Min-young 1991– South Korean singer (born 1991)
Ričardas Berankis 1990– Lithuanian tennis player
Sergei Matsenko 1990– Russian chess player
François Moubandje 1990– Swiss footballer (born 1990)

People

Died on June 21

Frederick Crews American essayist and literary critic (1933–2024)
Winnie Ewing Scottish politician (1929–2023)
Charles Krauthammer American psychiatrist and journalist (1950–2018)
Pierre Lalonde Canadian entertainer (1941–2016)
Darryl Hamilton American baseball player and analyst (1964–2015)
Veijo Meri Finnish writer
Remo Remotti Italian actor, playwright, artist, and poet
Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski East German politician (1932–2015)
Gunther Schuller American musician (1925–2015)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on June 21
Yozo Ishikawa Japanese politician (1925–2014)
Walter Kieber Prime Minister of Liechtenstein from 1974 to 1978
Wong Ho Leng Malaysian politician
James P. Gordon American physicist
Elliott Reid American actor (1920–2013)
Richard Adler American lyricist, writer, composer and producer (1921–2012)
Abid Hussain Indian economist, civil servant and diplomat (1926–2012)
Sunil Janah Indian-American photojournalist and documentary photographer
Anna Schwartz American economist (1915–2012)

Timeline

Every June 21 on record

  1. 533 A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarios sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily.

    6th-century Byzantine general

    Flavius Belisarius was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I. Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders of Byzantium and in history generally.

  2. 1307 Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols and Wuzong of the Yuan.

    Emperor of Yuan dynasty from 1307 to 1311

    Külüg Khan, born Khayishan, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Wuzong of Yuan, was an emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China. Apart from being the Emperor of China, he is regarded as the seventh Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, although it was only nominal due to the division of the empire. His regnal name "Külüg Khan" means "warrior Khan" or "fine horse Khan" in the Mongolian language.

  3. 1529 French forces are driven out of northern Italy by Spain at the Battle of Landriano during the War of the League of Cognac.

    Country in Western Europe (843–1792; 1815–1848)

    The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from the High Middle Ages to 1848 during its dissolution. It was also an early colonial power, with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America geographically centred on the Great Lakes.

  4. 1582 Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful of the Japanese daimyōs, is forced to commit suicide by his own general Akechi Mitsuhide.

    Period of Japanese history from 1467 to 1615

    The Sengoku period was the period in Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or Meiō incident (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start date, but there are many competing historiographies for its end date, ranging from 1568, the date of Oda Nobunaga's march on Kyoto, to the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what was traditionally considered the Edo period. Regardless of the dates chosen, the Sengoku period overlaps substantially with the Muromachi period (1336–1573).

  5. 1621 Execution of 27 Czech noblemen on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.

    1621 public execution of leaders of the Bohemian Revolt in Prague

    Old Town Square execution was the execution of 27 Bohemian leaders of the Bohemian Revolt by the Austrian House of Habsburg that took place on 21 June 1621 at the Old Town Square in Prague.

  6. 1734 In Montreal, New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of setting the fire that destroyed much of the city.
  7. 1749 Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded.
  8. 1768 James Otis Jr. offends the King and Parliament in a speech to the Massachusetts General Court.
  9. 1788 New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
  10. 1791 King Louis XVI and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during the French Revolution.
  11. 1798 Irish Rebellion of 1798: The British Army defeats Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill.
  12. 1813 Peninsular War: Wellington defeats Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Vitoria.
  13. 1824 Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea.
  14. 1826 Maniots defeat Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in the Battle of Vergas.
  15. 1848 In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell issue the Proclamation of Islaz and create a new republican government.
Show 15 earlier entries from June 21
  1. 1864 American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins.
  2. 1898 The United States captures Guam from Spain. The few warning shots fired by the U.S. naval vessels are misinterpreted as salutes by the Spanish garrison, which was unaware that the two nations were at war.
  3. 1900 Boxer Rebellion: China formally declares war on the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from the Empress Dowager Cixi.
  4. 1915 The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down Oklahoma grandfather clause legislation which had the effect of denying the right to vote to blacks.
  5. 1919 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg general strike.
  6. 1919 Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I.
  7. 1921 The Irish village of Knockcroghery was burned by British forces.
  8. 1929 An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico.
  9. 1930 One-year conscription comes into force in France.
  10. 1940 World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France.
  11. 1942 World War II: Tobruk falls to Italian and German forces; 33,000 Allied troops are taken prisoner.
  12. 1942 World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by Japan against the United States mainland.
  13. 1945 World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island.
  14. 1952 The Philippine School of Commerce, through a republic act, is converted to Philippine College of Commerce, later to be the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
  15. 1957 Ellen Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first female Cabinet Minister.

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