September 21
September 21 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 101 days remain until the year's end. It falls in summer (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Virgo.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On September 21 the Sun's declination is approximately -0.6°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a September 21.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Autumnal equinox observances in the Northern Hemisphere, vernal equinox observances in the Southern Hemisphere (see September 22): Spring Day (Argentina)
- Christian feast day: Cadoc
- Christian feast day: Ephigenia of Ethiopia
- Christian feast day: Laurent-Joseph-Marius Imbert (one of the Korean Martyrs)
- Christian feast day: Matthew the Evangelist (Western Church)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2019 — A 5.6 Mw earthquake shakes the Albanian port of Durrës. Forty-nine people are injured in the capital, Tirana. ↗(7 years ago)more
On 26 November 2019 at 03:54 CET (UTC+1), northwestern Albania was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake with an epicentre 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west-southwest of Mamurras. The earthquake lasted at least 50 seconds and was felt in Albania's capital Tirana, and in places as far away as Bari, Taranto and Belgrade, 370 kilometres (230 mi) northeast of the ep...
2018 — LGBT rights activist Zak Kostopoulos is beaten to death on a busy street in Athens ↗(8 years ago)more
Zacharias "Zak" Kostopoulos was a Greek-American activist, defending the rights of LGBT people, HIV-positive people, sex workers, and refugees. He worked as a drag performer under the stage name Zackie Oh. He was killed on a busy street near Omonoia Square, Athens in broad daylight on 21 September 2018.
2015 — Adventist Health System agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle allegations of fraud. It was the largest a hospital network has ever paid. ↗(11 years ago)more
Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation is an American hospital network headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, that operates health care facilities across multiple states in the United States. It is the largest Protestant nonprofit organization in the country, and is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
2013 — Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, killing at least 67 people. ↗(13 years ago)more
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, simply known as Al-Shabaab, is a Sunni Islamist political and militant organization based in Somalia. It is involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War and controls territory in south and southwestern Somalia, which is referred to as the Islamic Wilayat of Somalia.
- 2012 — Three Egyptian militants open fire on a group of Israeli soldiers in a southern Israel cross-border attack. ↗(14 years ago)
more
Egyptians are an ethnic group native to the Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to the Mediterranean and enclosed by desert both to the east and to the west.
2003 — The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere. ↗(23 years ago)more
Galileo was an American robotic space probe that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as the asteroids Gaspra and Ida. Named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, it consisted of an orbiter and an entry probe. It was delivered into Earth orbit on October 18, 1989, by Space Shuttle Atlantis, during STS-34.
2001 — America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks. ↗(25 years ago)more
America: A Tribute to Heroes was a benefit concert created by the heads of the four major American broadcast networks; Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS. Joel Gallen was selected by them to produce and run the show. Actor George Clooney organized celebrities to perform and to staff the telephone bank.
2001 — Ross Parker is murdered in Peterborough, England, by a gang of ten British Pakistani youths. ↗(25 years ago)more
Ross Andrew Parker, from Peterborough, England, was a seventeen-year-old white English male murdered in an unprovoked racially motivated crime. He bled to death after being stabbed, beaten with a hammer and repeatedly kicked by a gang of British Pakistani men. The incident occurred in Millfield, Peterborough, ten days after the September 11 attacks.
1999 — The 7.7-magnitude Chi-Chi earthquake strikes central Taiwan, killing 2,400 people. ↗(27 years ago)more
The Chi-Chi earthquake, was a 7.3 ML or 7.7 Mw earthquake which occurred in Jiji (Chi-Chi), Nantou County, Taiwan on September 21, 1999, at 01:47:12 local time. 2,415 people were killed, 11,305 injured, and NT$300 billion worth of damage was done. It is the second-deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, after the 1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake.
1997 — St. Olaf's Church, a stone church from the 16th century in Tyrvää, Finland, is burnt down by a burglar. ↗(29 years ago)more
St. Olaf's Church in Tyrvää is a late medieval fieldstone church in Tyrvää, Sastamala, Finland. It is located on the shore of lake Rautavesi. The church was built approximately in 1510–1516 and burnt down by a burglar on 21 September 1997.
1996 — The Defense of Marriage Act is passed by the United States Congress. ↗(30 years ago)more
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marriage to the union of one man and one woman, and it further allowed states to refuse to recogn...
1993 — Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution. ↗(33 years ago)more
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to 1990. He later stood as a political independent, during which time he was viewed as being ideologically aligned with liberalism.
Notable births
2006 — Alisha Palmowski, British female racing driver ↗(20 years ago)more
Alisha Palmowski is a British racing driver who competes in F1 Academy for Campos Racing as part of the Red Bull Academy Programme.
1999 — Wang Junkai, Chinese singer ↗(27 years ago)more
Wang Junkai, also known as Karry Wang, is a Chinese singer and actor. He debuted as the leader of TFBoys in 2013.
1999 — Alexander Isak, Eritrean-Swedish professional footballer ↗(27 years ago)more
Alexander Isak is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the Sweden national team.
- 1998 — Máscara de Bronce, Mexican wrestler ↗(28 years ago)
more
Multibronce is a Mexican professional wrestler. He previously worked for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) as Máscara de Bronce as a tecnico. Multibronce has also previously worked for the International Wrestling League (IWL).
1998 — Yainer Díaz, Dominican baseball player ↗(28 years ago)more
Yainer Radhames Díaz is a Dominican professional baseball catcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).
1995 — Bruno Caboclo, Brazilian basketball player ↗(31 years ago)more
Bruno Correa Fernandes Caboclo is a Brazilian professional basketball player for Dubai Basketball of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He plays at the power forward and center positions.
Notable deaths
2024 — Raquel Blandón, Guatemalan lawyer and activist, First Lady of Guatemala (born 1943) ↗(2 years ago)more
Haydee Raquel Blandón Sandoval was a Guatemalan lawyer, activist, and political leader who served as the first lady of Guatemala from 1986 to 1991, as the wife of President Vinicio Cerezo. She was the nominee for the Renewed Democratic Liberty party for vice president of Guatemala in the 2011 election as Manuel Baldizón's running mate.
2024 — Benny Golson, American saxophonist and composer (born 1929) ↗(2 years ago)more
Benny Golson was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launching his solo career. Golson was known for co-founding and co-leading The Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer in 1959.
2024 — Eddie Low, New Zealand country singer and musician (born 1943) ↗(2 years ago)more
Edward Robert Low was a New Zealand country singer and musician, with a career spanning over 60 years. Low released a number of successful country albums and singles throughout the 1970s and 80s and performed in a number of groups since the 1960s including The Quin Tikis and the New Zealand Highwaymen.
2024 — Mercury Morris, American football player (born 1947) ↗(2 years ago)more
Eugene Edward "Mercury" Morris was an American professional football player who was a running back and kick returner. He played for eight years, primarily for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League (AFL) first as a rookie in 1969.
2023 — Walewska Oliveira, Brazilian volleyball player and Olympic champion (born 1979) ↗(3 years ago)more
Walewska Moreira de Oliveira was a Brazilian volleyball player in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000. She won a bronze medal with the women's national team in Sydney, Australia, and a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Walewska also claimed the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (265) | 5 × 53 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (101) | 101 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 21092026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -0.61° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 90 days |