May 21: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign
On May 21, 1927, a 25-year-old American named Charles Lindbergh touched down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, becoming the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic — and changing aviation forever.
About May 21
May 21 is a day that celebrates cultural diversity and national identity on multiple fronts. The United Nations recognizes it as World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, while Montenegro marks its 2006 independence referendum, when 55% of voters chose to break from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. In Colombia, Afro-Colombian Day commemorates the 1851 abolition of slavery in that nation, honoring the enormous contributions of Afro-Colombian communities. Meanwhile, the Circassian people observe a solemn Day of Mourning, remembering the 1864 end of the Russo-Circassian War and the subsequent forced exile of countless Circassians from their homeland.
Aviation milestones define this date as well. Five years after Lindbergh's legendary Paris landing, Amelia Earhart was forced by bad weather to put down in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland — making her the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight. The spirit of exploration extended into space in 2010, when Japan's JAXA launched IKAROS, the first spacecraft to deploy a solar sail in deep space, aboard an H-IIA rocket.
From the founding of FIFA in Paris in 1904 to the enactment of France's Taubira law in 2001 — which officially recognized the Atlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity — May 21 has repeatedly been a date when the world took steps, large and small, toward connection, recognition, and progress.
Holidays & Observances on May 21
- Afro-Colombian Day (Colombia)
- Circassian Day of Mourning (Circassians)
- Day of Patriots and Military (Hungary)
- Independence Day, celebrates the Montenegrin independence referendum in 2006, celebrated until the next day. (Montenegro)
- International Tea Day (International)
- Navy Day (Chile)
- Saint Helena Day, celebrates the discovery of Saint Helena in 1502. (Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha)
- World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (International)
Fun & National Days on May 21
- American Red Cross Founder's Day — Honor Clara Barton's legacy by learning basic first aid or donating to disaster relief efforts near you.
- International Chardonnay Day — Pour a glass of your favorite Chardonnay and toast the world's most versatile white wine grape.
- National Strawberries and Cream Day — Slice fresh strawberries over whipped cream for a simple, irresistible late-spring treat.
- National Notebook Day — Grab a blank journal and start jotting — today celebrates the timeless joy of putting pen to paper.
- Global Accessibility Awareness Day — Take a few minutes to learn how digital accessibility shapes everyday experiences for millions of users.
- Brown Bag It Thursday
- I Need a Patch for That Day
- National Apéritif Day
- National Memo Day
On This Day in History
- 293 — Diocletian and Maximian named Galerius as Caesar, launching the Tetrarchy — Rome's innovative four-ruler system of governance.
- 996 — Otto III, just sixteen years old, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, placing immense authority in remarkably young hands.
- 1403 — Henry III of Castile dispatched envoy Ruy González de Clavijo to Timur's court, seeking a strategic alliance against the Ottoman Empire.
- 1674 — The Polish nobility elected John Sobieski as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, choosing a celebrated military commander.
- 1703 — Daniel Defoe was jailed on charges of seditious libel — the same writer who later penned 'Robinson Crusoe' spent time behind bars first.
- 1851 — Colombia officially abolished slavery, a milestone now honored annually as Afro-Colombian Day.
- 1904 — The Fédération Internationale de Football Association — FIFA — was established in Paris, creating the body that would govern world soccer.
- 1927 — Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1932 — Bad weather forced Amelia Earhart to land in a Northern Ireland pasture, making her the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
- 1991 — Ethiopian president Mengistu Haile Mariam fled the country, effectively ending the long and devastating Ethiopian Civil War.
- 2001 — France enacted the Taubira law, officially recognizing the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.
- 2006 — Montenegro held a referendum on independence from Serbia and Montenegro, with 55% of voters choosing to go it alone.
Famous Birthdays on May 21
- 1471 — Albrecht Dürer, German Renaissance master of painting and engraving whose detailed self-portraits changed European art forever.
- 1799 — Mary Anning, English paleontologist who uncovered extraordinary Jurassic fossils along the Lyme Regis coast, reshaping early geology.
- 1904 — Fats Waller, American jazz pianist and songwriter whose exuberant stride style and humor made him a 20th-century music icon.
- 1917 — Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor best known as television's Perry Mason and Ironside, commanding screens for decades.
- 1921 — Andrei Sakharov, Russian nuclear physicist turned dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his courageous human-rights advocacy.
- 1952 — Mr. T, American actor and wrestler who became a pop-culture phenomenon as Clubber Lang in Rocky III and on The A-Team.
- 1980 — Gotye, Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter behind the global smash 'Somebody That I Used to Know,' which topped charts worldwide.
- 1994 — Tom Daley, English diver who won Olympic gold and became a prominent LGBTQ+ advocate while competing at the highest level.