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Benedict Arnold commits treason

Born on This Day

Leonard Cohen

1934 - 2016

Influential Canadian singer-songwriter whose most-covered tune is the woeful ballad “Hallelujah.”

Stephen King

1947 -

Prolific author famed for page-turning horror novels like Carrie, The Shining and Misery that inspired Hollywood hits.

Billy Porter

1969 -

Actor, singer and style icon who became the first openly gay Black man to win the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for “Pose.”

Leonard CohenGetty Images

Stephen KingLeemage

Billy PorterGetty Images

1996

SEP21

John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette marry at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island, Georgia. Because the wedding starts late and the old building lacks electricity, the priest officiates by flashlight.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on September 21st

Monarchy abolished in France

In Revolutionary France, the Legislative Assembly votes to abolish the monarchy and establish the First Republic. The measure came one year after King Louis XVI reluctantly approved a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power. Louis ascended to the French throne in 1774 and from the start was unsuited to deal with […]

The great Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph dies in Washington

On September 21, 1904, the Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph dies on the Colville reservation in northern Washington at the age of 64. White settlers had described him as superhuman and a military genius. But in truth, the Nez Perce Chief Him-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (“Thunder Rolling Down from the Mountains”) was more of a diplomat than a […]

Stonehenge is sold at auction

In 1915, Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge, one of Britain’s most famous landmarks.

The Great New England Hurricane

Without warning, a powerful Category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and southern New England, causing 600 deaths and devastating coastal cities and towns. Also called the Long Island Express, the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century. The officially unnamed hurricane was […]

FDR urges repeal of Neutrality Act embargo provisions

On September 21, 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appears before Congress and asks that the Neutrality Acts, a series of laws passed earlier in the decade, be amended. Roosevelt hoped to lift an embargo against sending military aid to countries in Europe facing the onslaught of Nazi aggression during World War II. In 1936 and […]

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The Superfortress bomber takes flight

On September 21, 1942, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress makes its debut flight in Seattle, Washington. It was the largest bomber used in the war by any nation. The B-29 was conceived in 1939 by Gen. Hap Arnold, who was afraid a German victory in Europe would mean the United States would be devoid of bases […]

Mao Zedong outlines the new Chinese government

At the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Peking, Mao Zedong announces that the new Chinese government will be “under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.” The September 1949 conference in Peking was both a celebration of the communist victory in the long civil war against Nationalist Chinese forces and […]

The Daughters of Bilitis become the first lesbian rights group in the U.S.

On September 21, 1955—during an era when most homosexual people are deeply closeted—four lesbian couples meet at a private San Francisco house and launch America’s first lesbian-rights group. The eight women, including host Rosalie “Rose” Bamberger and her partner, Rosemary Sliepen, founded the Daughters of Bilitis initially as a social alternative to the frequently raided […]

A 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy is found dead

The mutilated body of 13-year-old paperboy Danny Joe Eberle is found in his hometown of Bellevue, Nebraska. Eberle had been stabbed multiple times, bound with rope and tortured to death. FBI investigators called in to help catch the vicious killer found only one clue that could help them: The rope that had been used to […]

George Clooney makes “Facts of Life” debut

On September 21, 1985, a little-known actor named George Clooney makes his first appearance as a handyman on the popular TV sitcom The Facts of Life. Clooney appeared in 17 episodes of the show, which aired from 1979 to 1988 and chronicled the lives of a group of young women who meet at a fictional […]

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Earthquake kills thousands in Taiwan

An earthquake in Taiwan on September 21, 1999 kills thousands of people, causes billions of dollars in damages and leaves an estimated 100,000 homeless. It was the worst earthquake to hit Taiwan since a 1935 tremor that killed 3,200 people. At 1:47 on the morning of September 21, with most people eagerly awaiting the annual […]

Last baseball game played at historic Yankee Stadium

On September 21, 2008, the last game at historic Yankee Stadium—”The House That Babe Ruth Built”—is played. In the finale, the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3, as future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera closes the game with a perfect ninth inning. “The way I feel emotionally right now and just physically so drained, […]

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