April 21st is

Bulldogs are Beautiful Day

Kindergarten Day *

Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day

National Day of Silence *

National Donate Life Day *

National Yellow Bat Day *

John Muir Day *

World Creativity and Innovation Day *
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MORE! Henry VIII, Charlotte Brontë and John Muir, click

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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

Bahá’i – First of 12 days of Ridván: celebration of Bahaullah Declaration that he is a Manifestation of God)

Rastafari – Grounation Day: Haile Selassie visits Jamaica, arriving on April 21, 1966 

Brazil – Tiradentes Day
(da Silva Xavier/independence hero *)

Falkland Islands – Queen’s Birthday
(actual day)

Indonesia – Kartini Day
(Raden Ayu Kartini, national hero *)

Kenya – National Tree Planting Day

Myanmar – New Year Week

United States – Texas: San Jacinto Day
(1836 Texas Independence battle *)
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On This Day in HISTORY

753 BC (traditional date) Romulus founds the city of Rome, makes a sacrifice to the gods and begins fortifying the Palatine, the most central of Rome’s Seven Hills

900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): ‘the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations’

1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II

1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end after the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics

1509 – Henry VIII becomes king of England

1649 – The Maryland Toleration Act, providing freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly

1782 – Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke

1782 – Friedrich Wilhelm Frobel born, German teacher credited with starting the first Kindergarten in 1837; now celebrated on this day as Kindergarten Day *

1792 –Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, called ‘Tiradentes,’ revolutionary leader of Brazil’s independence movement, is hanged, drawn and quartered by the Portuguese on this day, after a trial lasting almost three years; now Tiradentes Day * in Brazil

1816 – Charlotte Brontë born, English novelist and poet, eldest of the three Brontë sisters who were authors; author of Jane Eyre

1836 – The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna

1856 – Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day

1859 – Belle Case LaFollette born, American lawyer, suffragist and women’s rights activist primarily in Wisconsin

1863 –  Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, declares his mission as “He whom God shall make manifest”

1879 – Raden Ayu Kartini born, Javanese and Indonesian national heroine, women’s rights activist, pioneer in education for women and girls

1891 – Georgia Harkness born, American Christian theologian, first woman to become a full professor in a United States theological seminary, leader in the ecumenical movement and the movement to gain ordination for women in American Methodism

1899 – Randall Thompson born, American composer of choral works

1916 – Estella Diggs born, American businesswoman, author and politician

1925 – The Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals is published in Il Mondo, establishing the political and ideological foundations of Italian Fascism.

1926 – Elizabeth II, Queen regnant of The United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth of Nations, is born

1930 – Hilda Hilst born, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright

1932 – Elaine May born, American actress, director, and screenwriter, two time Academy Award nominee and recipient of the National Medal of Arts

1944 – The French provisional government gives the vote to Frenchwomen

1952 – BOAC begins passenger service on jet aircraft on their London-Rome route

1960 – Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro

1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair opens, the first World’s Fair in the U.S. since WWII

1967 – National Yellow Bat Day * commemorates the activation of the 265^th Army Security Agency at Fort Campbell KY, part of the 101^st Airborne; their insignia is a bat on a yellow ground symbolizing their motto “Through the Night”

1969 – Simon & Garfunkel’s single “The Boxer” is released

1977 – The musical Annie opens on Broadway

1988 – John Muir Day * proclaimed on the 150^th anniversary of his birth

1996 – Day of Silence * is launched, a student-led vow of silence for middle schools to colleges to raise awareness of the silencing effects of bullying on LGBTQ students, and the high rate of LGBTQ teen suicide

2001 – World Creativity and Innovation Day * is launched as the culmination of World Creativity and Innovation Week, which begins April 15 (Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday) with World Art Day

2003 – National Donate Life Day * is sponsored by Donate Life America to encourage Americans to register as organ donors – wear blue and green to show your support

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Visuals

• National Donate Life Day sticker
• International flags
• Ruins on top of Palatine Hill in Rome
• King Henry VIII of England
• Friedrich Wilhelm Frobel, play quote
• Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre quote
• Raden Ayu Kartini
• Elaine May, gravity quite
• National Yellow Bat Day header
• John Muir, nature quote
• Day of Silence poster
• World Creativity and Innovation Day banner

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