On This Day: 21 June

21 June in Indian history

• 2012A boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsizes in the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island, killing 17 people and leaving 70 others missing.India

21 June in world history

• 2025A hot air balloon catches fire mid-flight and crashes in Praia Grande, Santa Catarina, Brazil, killing 8 of the 21 on board.
• 2009Greenland assumes self-rule.
• 2004SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
• 2000Section 28 (of the Local Government Act 1988), outlawing the 'promotion' of homosexuality in the United Kingdom, is repealed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote.
• 1978The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Evita, based on the life of Eva Perón, opens at the Prince Edward Theatre, London.
• 1973The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision in the landmark case Miller v. California, establishing the Miller test for determining what is obscene material.
• 1964Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, are murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States, by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
• 1945World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island.
• 1919Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttled the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow to prevent the ships from being seized and divided amongst the Allied Powers.
• 1915The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down Oklahoma grandfather clause legislation which had the effect of denying the right to vote to African-Americans.
• 1848In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell proclaimed a new republican government in present-day Romania.
• 1826Greek War of Independence: A combined Egyptian and Ottoman army began an invasion of the Mani Peninsula, but were initially held off by the Maniots at the fortifications of Vergas.
• 1788New Hampshire ratified the U.S. Constitution and was admitted as the ninth U.S. state.
• 1582Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful of the Japanese daimyōs, is forced to commit suicide by his own general Akechi Mitsuhide.
• 1575French Wars of Religion: Catholic forces defeated an armed group of Huguenots attempting to capture Besançon, from which they had previously been expelled.
• 1128William Clito defeated Thierry of Alsace in a battle over the succession to the title of Count of Flanders.
• 217 BCSecond Punic War: Commanded by Hannibal, the Carthaginians ambushed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, capturing or killing 25,000 men.

Born on 21 June

• 1972Irene van Dyk, South African-New Zealand netball player
• 1959Kathy Mattea, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1941Aloysius Paul D'Souza, Indian Catholic bishopIndia
• 1912Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (died 2009)India
• 1912Mary McCarthy, American novelist and critic (died 1989)
• 1798Alexander Thomson of Banchory, Scottish jurist, agriculturalist and religious activist (died 1868)

Died on 21 June

• 2024Frederick Crews, American essayist and literary critic (born 1933)
• 2012Sunil Janah, Indian photographer and journalist (born 1918)India
• 2012Abid Hussain, Indian economist and diplomat, Indian Ambassador to the United States (born 1926)India
• 1652Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen's House and Wilton House (born 1573)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 21 June in history?

2025: A hot air balloon catches fire mid-flight and crashes in Praia Grande, Santa Catarina, Brazil, killing 8 of the 21 on board. 2012: A boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsizes in the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island, killing 17 people and leaving 70 others missing. 2009: Greenland assumes self-rule. 2004: SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.

What happened on 21 June in Indian history?

2012: A boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsizes in the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island, killing 17 people and leaving 70 others missing.

Which famous people were born on 21 June?

Irene van Dyk, South African-New Zealand netball player (1972); Kathy Mattea, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (1959); Aloysius Paul D'Souza, Indian Catholic bishop (1941); Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (died 2009) (1912).

Which day is observed on 21 June?

International Day of Yoga; Day of the Martyrs (Togo); Father's Day (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates); Go Skateboarding Day; International Yoga Day (international).