Here is a list, along with a brief description, of the important events in human history on 21 April.
The Wahhabi sacking of Karbala in 1801. The city is invaded by Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, the son of Muhammad bin Saud, the founder of the first Saudi state. Between 2000-5000 inhabitants of the city are killed and the city is plundered.
American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen-name ‘Mark Twain’ dies in 1910. ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ being his most famous work, Mark Twain was a strong supporter of women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. His novels, conspicuous mustache and social activism immortalised him as a part of western popular culture.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 regarding the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan is adopted in 1948. The resolution recommends Pakistan to withdraw troops, followed by an Indian reduction of troops sufficient only to sustain law & order. This would be followed by a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision. Pakistan and India have fought over the territory ever since.
The First Battle of Panipat takes place in 1526. Though heavily outnumbered but possessing field artillery firepower, Babur successfully defeated Ibrahim Lodhi, effectively ending the Lodhi Kingdom and establishing the Mughal Empire, which would ultimately expand and rule over the Indian subcontinent for centuries to come.
The German sociologist and political economist Max Weber is born in 1864. Famous for ‘The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,’ Weber revolutionised social research and is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century.
Emperor Xian of Han, personal name Liu Xie and often addressed as Bohe, the last emperor of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty dies in C.E. 234.
World War I German pilot Manfred von Richthofen, known as the ‘Red Baron’ or the ‘Aces-of-Aces’ who gained victories in over 80 dogfights, is shot down over France in 1918.
The present Queen of United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is born in 1926. Becoming the Queen in 1952, the 92-year-old is the longest reigning British monarch and the longest reigning female head of state.
Capitoline Wolf sculpture depicts the Roman legend of wolf suckling the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. Remus was killed, possibly by his brother, who went on to found the city of Rome in 753 B.C.E. The city, on the banks of Tiber river, would go on to become one of the largest and most powerful empires in history with control stretching from England to the Middle-East and North Africa.
