8 / 21 History Vault
Discover public domain milestones, art masterworks, and wisdom quotes. (13)
Las Meninas
Las Meninas is a world-class museum collection item preserved at Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Diego Velázquez (Oil on canvas)
Famous Pioneer Born on 8/21
Born under Leo (♌ Leo), possessing unique vision and inspiration.
"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
—— Leo Pioneer
Historical Milestone of 8/21
On this day in history (8/21), significant global milestones and breakthroughs were recorded across science, culture, and human society.
Six people were killed during an escape attempt and riot at San Quentin State Prison in California; the subsequent trial of six inmates was the longest in state history at the time.
The San Quentin Six were six inmates—Fleeta Drumgo, David Johnson, Hugo Pinell, Johnny Spain, Willie Tate, and Luis Talamantez—at California's San Quentin State Prison who were charged with criminal actions related to an August 21, 1971, escape attempt and prison riot. The riot resulted in six deaths and at least two people seriously wounded. Among those killed was George Jackson, a co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family and a famous author and radical prisoner.
A limnic eruption of Lake Nyos in Cameroon released a cloud of carbon dioxide, suffocating 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.
A limnic eruption, also known as a lake overturn, is an extremely rare type of natural hazard in which dissolved carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas cloud capable of asphyxiating wildlife, livestock, and humans. Scientists believe earthquakes, volcanic activity, and other explosive events can serve as triggers for limnic eruptions as the rising CO2 ejects water from the lake. Lakes in which such activity occurs are referred to as limnically active lakes or exploding lakes. Some features of limnically active lakes include:CO2-saturated incoming water A cool lake bottom indicating an absence of direct volcanic heat with lake waters. An upper and lower thermal layer with differing CO2 saturations Proximity to areas with volcanic activity
Karolína_Muchová Born
Karolína Muchová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 6 by the WTA, achieved in July 2026, and a best doubles ranking of No. 156, reached in January 2026. Muchová has won three WTA Tour singles titles, including a WTA 1000 event at the 2026 Qatar Ladies Open. She has contested two major singles finals, at the 2023 French Open and 2026 Wimbledon Championships.
「Karolína Muchová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles...」
—— Karolína_Muchová
Maxim_Knight Born
Maxim Knight is an American actor and voice actor who started acting at the age of seven. He is perhaps best known for his supporting role on the TNT television series Falling Skies (2011–2015).
「Maxim Knight is an American actor and voice actor who started acting at the age of se...」
—— Maxim_Knight
Corbin_Carroll Born
Corbin Franklin Carroll is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Diamondbacks selected Carroll 16th overall in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2022. In 2023, Carroll was an MLB All-Star and was named the National League Rookie of the Year en route to winning Arizona's first National League pennant since 2001. Carroll was again named an All-Star in 2025 and 2026.
「Corbin Franklin Carroll is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Arizo...」
—— Corbin_Carroll
Kenji_Fan Born
Kenji Fan is a Hong Kong fashion model, actor and singer. He was a former water polo player for the Hong Kong water polo team. He is the son of former professional footballer Fan Chun Yip. His first film is My First of May starring Aaron Kwok. He is known for starring in the series The Promise of the Soul, as well as for hosting Taste Hunter and Brain Fog Research.
「Kenji Fan is a Hong Kong fashion model, actor and singer. He was a former water polo ...」
—— Kenji_Fan
BioShock was released in North America, becoming a critical success and a demonstration of video games as an art form.
BioShock is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the BioShock series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 platforms in August 2007; a PlayStation 3 port by Irrational, 2K Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes was released in October 2008. The game follows player character Jack, who discovers the underwater city of Rapture, built by business magnate Andrew Ryan to be an isolated utopia. The discovery of ADAM, a genetic material which grants superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline. Jack attempts to escape Rapture, fighting its mutated and mechanical denizens, while engaging with the few sane survivors left and learning of the city's past. The player can defeat foes in several ways by using weapons, utilizing plasmids that give unique powers, and by turning Rapture's defenses against them through hacking.
Syrian civil war: Areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in Ghouta, Damascus, were attacked by rockets (launcher pictured) containing sarin, killing at least 281 people.
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring. The Assad regime responded to the protests with lethal force, which led to a series of defections, the emergence of armed opposition groups, and the civilian uprising descending into a civil war. The war lasted almost 14 years and culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Many sources regard this as the end of the civil war even though clashes have continued into 2026.
Passengers on a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris confronted and subdued an attacker who attempted a mass shooting.
Thalys was a brand name used for high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord and both Amsterdam Centraal and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Dortmund, both via Brussels-South.
A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States.
A total solar eclipse, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse" by some media, occurred on August 21, 2017. It was visible within a band that spanned the contiguous United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. It was also visible as a partial solar eclipse from as far north as Nunavut in northern Canada to as far south as northern South America. In northwestern Europe and Africa, it was partially visible in the late evening. In northeastern Asia, it was partially visible at sunrise.
Solar_eclipse_of_August_21,_2017
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