This Day in History - April 21st

753BC: Traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus.

According to legend, on 21April 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother Remus found Rome on the site where the twins were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Romulus would later murder Remus and name the settlement after himself. Over the next 1,000 years, the city of Rome grew steadily from a regional power to the heart of the great Roman Empire. After centuries of domination in the classical world, Emperor Constantine transferred the empire's capital to Constantinople in 330 A.D., and the mighty city of Rome fell prey to barbarian invasions. Although the papacy stood firm in Rome into the Middle Ages, it was not until the 15th century that Pope Nicholas V began to restore Rome to its former grandeur.

Also On This Day

2005

John Negroponte is sworn as the first United States Director of National Intelligence.

2004

Mordechai Vanunu is released from prison after serving an 18 year sentence for leaking Israel’s nuclear weapons secrets.

1994

In Britain, Paul Hill, one of the ‘Guildford Four’, has another conviction quashed for the murder of a former soldier in 1974.

1989

In China, 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square, Beijing to commemorate the life of Hu Yaobang, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

1987

A car bomb planted by the Tamil Tigers in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo kills more than 100 people.

1975

The Vietnam War: South Vietnam’s president, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigns.

1967

Colonel George Papadopoulos stages a coup d'etat in Greece.

1966

Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia visits Jamaica. This day subsequently becomes a Rastafari holy day called Grounation Day.

1960

Brasilia becomes the official capital of Brazil.

1956

Elvis Presley scores his first number hit in America with ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’

1955

Britain’s newspapers return to the streets after a month out of circulation due to a maintenance workers' strike.

1945

The Second World War: Red Army troops enter the suburbs of Berlin.

1944

In France, women receive the right to vote.

1918

The First World War: Manfred von Richthofen, the German flying ace known as “The Red Baron”, is killed by Allied fire.

1836

During the Texas Revolution, Republic of Texas troops defeat the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto.