On This Day - What Happened On April 21 | Britannica

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2002 French elections held French President Jacques Chirac faced a reelection challenge on this day in 2002 from extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of presidential voting but two weeks later handily defeated him to win a second term. © Markwaters/Dreamstime.com

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Elizabeth II queen of United Kingdom bornApril 21, 1926London, EnglanddiedSeptember 8, 2022 (aged 96)Balmoral Castle, ScotlandBill Ingalls/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA 1980 Tony Romo American football player 1971 Anwar al-Awlaki American radical cleric 1926 Elizabeth II queen of United Kingdom 1915 Anthony Quinn Mexican American actor 1864 Max Weber German sociologist See All Biographies On This Day

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2025 A day after appearing at Easter services, Pope Francis died at the age of 88; the first pope from the Western Hemisphere, the first from South America, and the first from the Jesuit order, he brought many reforms to the church and a reputation for humility. View his life in pictures© Franco Origlia/Getty Images 2016 American musician Prince—who created groundbreaking music that fused funk, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and pop and was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and '90s—died at age 57 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid. Test your knowledge of pop music© Dave Hogan—All Action/Retna Ltd. 1990 Russian-born artist and fashion designer Erté—a major figure in Art Deco, who created spectacular costumes and set designs for French music-hall revues—died at age 97. Take our fashion quiz© Sevenarts Limited 1986 In a much-hyped television special, American journalist Geraldo Rivera opened a vault that was found in the former headquarters of Chicago gangster Al Capone; however, he and an estimated 30 million TV viewers discovered that it was empty. How much do you know about Al Capone?MPI/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1977 Annie, a popular musical based on the newspaper comic strip Little Orphan Annie, first opened on Broadway. Test your knowledge of theatre 1966 The Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I, believed to be the Second Coming of Christ by many Rastas, arrived in Jamaica for a visit—an event since celebrated annually in Rastafari as Grounation Day.AP 1934 The Daily Mail printed a photograph that reportedly depicted the small head and neck of the Loch Ness monster; the iconic image, widely known as the “surgeon's photograph,” sparked an international sensation but was later revealed to be a hoax. Read about another famous hoax, which involved the Moon and winged creatures© Historia/Shutterstock.com 1918 Manfred, Freiherr (baron) von Richthofen, Germany's top flying ace in World War I, was shot down and killed during a battle near Amiens, France. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War IPictorial Parade 1838 American naturalist and writer John Muir—who, as an advocate of U.S. forest conservation, was largely responsible for the establishment of both Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park in California—was born in Scotland. Take our quiz about national parks and landmarksCourtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 1836 General Sam Houston led 800 Texans to victory over a Mexican army of 1,500 under General Antonio López de Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto, ensuring the Texans' independence from Mexico. Test your knowledge of the Texas RevolutionCourtesy of the San Jacinto Museum of History Association, San Jacinto Monument, Texas 1830 James Starley, an inventor and the father of the bicycle industry, was born in Albourne, Sussex, England. How much do you know about cycling?Science Museum, London, Crown copyright 1800 French forces under General Jean-Baptiste Kléber recaptured Cairo and initiated the brief French occupation of Egypt. Take our military history quizCourtesy of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris 1789 John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States, nine days before George Washington's presidential inauguration. Test your knowledge of American politicsSmithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Adams-Clement Collection, gift of Mary Louisa Adams Clement in memory of her mother, Louisa Catherine Adams Clement (object no. 1950.6.11) 1782 Friedrich Froebel, German educational reformer and the founder of the kindergarten, was born in Oberweissbach, Thuringia. Take our quiz about German historyC.W. Bardeen, Publisher, c1897/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-DIG-pga-00127) 1526 Bābur, the ruler of Kabul, led Mughal forces to victory against Sultan Ibrāhīm Lodī, establishing the Mughal dynasty in India. Learn about six important Mughal emperorsThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (Louis V. Bell Fund, 1967), www.metmuseum.org 1509 With the death of Henry VII, his eldest surviving son assumed the British throne as Henry VIII. Take our quiz about Henry VIII and his wives© duncan1890—DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.