May 21
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Featured Event
Washington State Library/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (sn88085421); Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
On this day in 1908, some lucky audience members in Chicago watched the first horror movie in American history: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella was advertised as “thrilling” and “marvelous.” Because no copies of the film are known to survive, modern audiences can only imagine whether it lived up to the hype. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Keystone Pictures USA/age fotostock
Malcolm Fraser of the Liberal Party, born this day in 1930, served as prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, during which time he successfully reduced inflation and foreign debt but struggled to curb unemployment.
Famous Birthdays
More on May 21
© 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc./Scott Kowalchyk
2026
The final episode of the Late Show, hosted by Stephen Colbert, was broadcast. First aired in 1993 with David Letterman as its host, the show was canceled by CBS. [Find out what role late-night TV has played in the history of American political humor.]
© Erik S. Lesser—EPA/REX/Shutterstock.com
2017
After years of declining attendance—in part due to animal rights protests—the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave what it said would be its final performance. (In 2023 the circus returned with an animal-free show.) [Take our quiz about clowns.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2000
British author Dame Barbara Cartland—who wrote more than 700 books, mostly formulaic novels of romantic love set in the 19th century—died at age 98. [Test your knowledge of famous authors.]
Yutaka Nagata/UN Photo
1991
Indian politician Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the country’s prime minister (1984–89), was assassinated in a suicide bombing attack.
SCALA/Art Resource, New York
1972
Michelangelo’s Pietà, a sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ, was attacked and badly damaged in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. [How much do you know about Italian Renaissance art?]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1932
American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to pilot an airplane solo across the Atlantic Ocean. [Take our quiz about early aviation.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1927
American aviator Charles Lindbergh completed the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, traveling from New York to Paris in the monoplane Spirit of Saint Louis in about 33.5 hours. [Watch a brief video of Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis.]
S. Zal/Sygma
1921
Soviet nuclear theoretical physicist and human rights advocate Andrey Sakharov, who won the 1975 Nobel Prize for Peace, was born in Moscow. [Test your knowledge of Nobel laureates in literature.]
National Archives, Washington, D.C. (111-B-1857)
1881
Clara Barton founded the American Association of the Red Cross (later the American Red Cross).
Archives Photographiques, Paris
1871
The Commune of Paris revolted against the French national government under Adolphe Thiers, beginning a period of violence known as “Bloody Week.” [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about France.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1856
During the small civil war known as Bleeding Kansas—a dispute over control of the new U.S. territory of Kansas under the doctrine of popular sovereignty—the town of Lawrence was sacked by a pro-slavery mob intent on destroying the “hotbed of abolitionism.” [Test your knowledge of the history of slavery in North America.]
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, New York
1844
French painter Henri Rousseau—the archetype of the modern naive artist, known for his richly coloured and meticulously detailed pictures of lush jungles, wild beasts, and exotic figures—was born in Laval. [Take our quiz about painters and artists.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1542
Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto, the first European to discover the Mississippi River, died and was buried in the river in Louisiana. [Test your knowledge of human exploration and discovery.]