On This Day
What Happened on November 21 in History
8 events that happened on November 21, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1783
Two Frenchmen made the first untethered manned flight in a hot air balloon.
Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes rose over Paris in a balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers. They traveled about 5.5 miles in roughly 25 minutes.
Source: history.com; grc.nasa.gov
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1789
North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the twelfth state.
A convention meeting in Fayetteville approved the Constitution after the state had declined to ratify it in 1788. The addition of a Bill of Rights helped win over the delegates.
Source: dncr.nc.gov; avalon.law.yale.edu
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1934
A teenage Ella Fitzgerald won Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater.
She had planned to dance but chose to sing instead. The win launched a career that soon took her to Chick Webb's band and made her one of America's great jazz singers.
The Cold War
1964
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened between Brooklyn and Staten Island.
When it opened, its main span was the longest of any suspension bridge in the world. The bridge links Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn with Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island across the Narrows of New York Harbor.
Source: everydaymatters.rpi.edu
1970
U.S. special forces raided the Son Tay prison camp near Hanoi to free American POWs.
The joint special operations force flew in from bases in Thailand but recovered no prisoners. The POWs had been moved out of the camp months earlier.
Source: army.mil
1976
The boxing film Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone, premiered in New York City.
The story of an underdog fighter became a box office hit and earned ten Academy Award nominations. It won three Oscars, including Best Picture.
Source: history.com
1980
A huge TV audience tuned in to Dallas to learn who shot J.R. Ewing.
The cliffhanger had kept viewers guessing since the previous March. The episode that solved the mystery drew an estimated 350 million people worldwide.
Source: history.com
The Modern Era
1995
Balkan leaders agreed to the Dayton peace deal, ending the war in Bosnia.
The presidents of three rival Balkan states reached the agreement at talks held in Dayton, Ohio. The war in Bosnia had lasted nearly four years.
Source: archive.nytimes.com