1909: Six suffragettes, jailed for breaking windows in Whitehall, were released for insubordination, for kicking and biting female wardens and for going on strike.
1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen
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On this day in 1911 Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by three Italian handymen; it was not recovered until 1913, and the media sensation helped make it one of the world’s most famous paintings.
1974: The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is enacted on August 21, 1974 in America. The new law addressed civil rights issues in education, barring states from discriminating against students based on gender, race, color or nationality and requiring public schools to provide for students who do not speak English. In many ways, the EEOA was an extension of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial discrimination in schools as well as businesses and outlawed the segregation of schools.
1980: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is founded
On August 21, 1980: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is incorporated by animal rights advocates Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco. Rising from humble beginnings, PETA will soon become the world’s foremost and most controversial animal rights organization.
Newkirk’s interest in protecting animals began 11 years prior, when she found some abandoned kittens and was appalled by the conditions that awaited them at a New York City animal shelter. She set aside her plans to become a stockbroker and instead focused on animals, eventually becoming the first female poundmaster in the history of the District of Columbia. In 1980 she began dating Pacheco, a graduate student and activist who had sailed aboard a whale-protection ship, and the two co-founded PETA a short time later.
1986: Gas cloud kills Cameroon villagers
An eruption of lethal gas from Lake Nyos in Cameroon kills nearly 2,000 people and wipes out four villages on August 21, 1986. Carbon dioxide, though ubiquitous in Earth’s atmosphere, can be deadly in large quantities, as was evident in this disaster.
Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun are both crater lakes about a mile square located in remote mountain areas of northwest Cameroon, dominated by rock cliffs and lush vegetation. In August 1984, 37 people near Lake Monoun died suddenly, but the incident was largely covered up by the government. Since there is no electricity or telephone service in the area, it was not difficult to keep the incident secret and the 5,000 people who lived in villages near Lake Nyos were unaware of the potential danger of their own lake.
2000: Downing Street insisted they would not intervene after Home Secretary Jack Straw’s car was stopped by the police for speeding.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: August 21
Hafsat Abiola-Costello, 50 years
Hafsat Olaronke Abiola-Costello, in Lagos on 21 August 1974. She is a Nigerian human rights, civil rights and democracy activist, founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, which seeks to strengthen civil society and promote democracy in Nigeria.
Usain Bolt, 38 years
Usain St. Leo Bolt was born on August 21, 1986. He is without a doubt the best sprinter in history. He is a living legend, having won nine gold medals in track and field events in the Olympics, a feat no one else has ever accomplished. He has completed the ‘triple-triple,’ becoming the first man to win gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events at three consecutive Olympic Games.
