August 21st, 1940

Born on August 21st, 1940

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 30,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 437 days, exactly on July 6th, 2025, people who were born on August 21st, 1940 will be 31,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on August 21st?

August 21st, 2015

Passengers on a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris confronted and subdued an attacker who attempted a mass shooting.

August 21st, 2013

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.

August 21st, 1986

A limnic eruption of Lake Nyos in Cameroon released a cloud of carbon dioxide, suffocating 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock.

August 21st, 1963

South Vietnamese special forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, the brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm, raided and vandalised Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving hundreds dead.

August 21st, 1945

American physicist Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core, exposing himself to neutron radiation and later becoming the first Manhattan Project fatality due to a criticality accident.

August 21st, 1944

World War II: A combined Canadian–Polish force captured the town of Falaise, France, in the final offensive of the Battle of Normandy.

August 21st, 1942

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army lost the Battle of the Tenaru, the first of its three major land offensives during the Guadalcanal Campaign.

August 21st, 1911

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (pictured) was stolen from the Louvre by museum employee Vincenzo Peruggia and was not recovered until two years later.

August 21st, 1858

The first of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas (both pictured), candidates for an Illinois seat in the U.S. Senate, was held in Ottawa, Illinois.

August 21st, 1808

Peninsular War: British–Portuguese forces put an end to the first French invasion of Portugal at the Battle of Vimeiro.

August 21st, 1789

The national colours of Italy first appeared on a tricolour cockade in Genoa.

August 21st, 1717

Austro-Turkish War: Austrian troops under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy captured the strategically important city of Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire.

August 21st, 1716

Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: Ottoman forces suddenly abandoned their siege of Corfu, allowing the Republic of Venice to preserve its rule over the Ionian Islands.

August 21st, 1689

Jacobite risings: Jacobite clans clashed with a regiment of Covenanters in the streets of Dunkeld, Scotland.

August 21st, 1689

The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on August 21st

Born on August 21st, 1940

83

Endre Szemerédi

Hungarian-American mathematician and theoretical computer scientist

*August 21st, 1940, Budapest

83

François Bujon de l'Estang

Ambassador of France to the United States

*August 21st, 1940, Neuilly-sur-Seine

83

Laxma Goud

Indian artist

*August 21st, 1940, Nizampur

83

Joan Voss

American politician

*August 21st, 1940, New York City

83

Elio Costa

Italian politician and magistrate

*August 21st, 1940, Maierato

Same Day
Who's birthday is on August 21st?

33

Elīza Tīruma

Latvian luger

*August 21st, 1990, Sigulda

81

Clarence Williams III

American actor (1939–2021)

*August 21st, 1939, New York City †June 4th, 2021, Los Angeles

37

Malynda Hale

Musical artist

*August 21st, 1986, Santa Barbara

52

Wilken F. Dincklage

German musician, radio host, music producer, actor and entrepreneur

*August 21st, 1942, Hamburg †October 18th, 1994, Hamburg

64

Steve Alten

American writer

*August 21st, 1959, Philadelphia

81

Kenny Rogers

American country singer and songwriter (1938–2020)

*August 21st, 1938, Houston †March 20th, 2020, Sandy Springs

37

Usain Bolt

Jamaican sprinter

*August 21st, 1986, Sherwood Content

89

Geoffrey Keen

English actor (1916–2005)

*August 21st, 1916, Wallingford †November 3rd, 2005, Northwood

38

Roelof Dednam

Badminton player

*August 21st, 1985, Bloemfontein

57

Stephen Hillenburg

American marine science educator and artist (1961-2018)

*August 21st, 1961, Fort Sill †November 26th, 2018, San Marino

78

Patrick Demarchelier

French photographer

*August 21st, 1943, Eaubonne †March 31st, 2022, Saint Barthélemy

61

Herry Iman Pierngadi

Badminton coach from Indonesia

*August 21st, 1962, Pangkal Pinang City

89

Melvin Van Peebles

American filmmaker

*August 21st, 1932, Chicago †September 21st, 2021, Manhattan

84

Festus Mogae

Former President of Botswana

*August 21st, 1939, Serowe

89

John L. Hall

American physicist

*August 21st, 1934, Denver

76

Frédéric Mitterrand

French writer, director, television host and politician

*August 21st, 1947, 16th arrondissement of Paris †March 21st, 2024

63

Wilt Chamberlain

American basketball player (1936–1999)

*August 21st, 1936, Philadelphia †October 12th, 1999, Los Angeles

30

Kim Bruun

Badminton player

*August 21st, 1993, Seoul

36

Kimberley Ashton

Badminton player

*August 21st, 1987, Jersey

60

Nigel Pearson

English association football player and manager (born 1963)

*August 21st, 1963, Nottingham

Same year
Born in 1940

83

Onur Öymen

Turkish politician and diplomat

*October 18th, 1940, Kadıköy

84

Lorns Skjemstad

Norwegian cross-country skier

*March 10th, 1940, Inderøy Municipality

40

John Lennon

British musician (1940–1980)

*October 9th, 1940, Liverpool †December 8th, 1980, New York City

83

Jeannie Seely

American singer

*July 6th, 1940, Titusville

76

Al Jarreau

American singer (1940–2017)

*March 12th, 1940, Milwaukee †February 12th, 2017, Los Angeles

82

Pelé

Brazilian footballer (1940–2022)

*October 23rd, 1940, Três Corações †December 29th, 2022, Morumbi District

84

Al Pacino

American actor (born 1940)

*April 25th, 1940, Manhattan

77

Michael Parks

American actor (1940–2017)

*April 24th, 1940, Corona †May 9th, 2017, Los Angeles

83

Annie Ernaux

French writer (born 1940)

*September 1st, 1940, Lillebonne

82

James Caan

American actor (1940–2022)

*March 26th, 1940, The Bronx †July 6th, 2022, Los Angeles

80

Wolfgang Clement

German politician

*July 7th, 1940, Bochum †September 27th, 2020, Bonn

84

Nancy Pelosi

American politician (born 1940)

*March 26th, 1940, Baltimore

32

Bruce Lee

Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

*November 27th, 1940, San Francisco Chinese Hospital †July 20th, 1973, Kowloon Tong

84

Jana Brejchová

Czech actress

*January 20th, 1940, Prague

55

Joseph Brodsky

Russian-American poet (1940-1996)

*May 24th, 1940, Saint Petersburg †January 28th, 1996, Brooklyn

76

Manfred Jung

German singer and operatic tenor

*July 9th, 1940, Oberhausen †April 14th, 2017, Essen

79

Tilo Prückner

German actor and author

*October 26th, 1940, Augsburg †July 2nd, 2020, Berlin

83

Ringo Starr

British musician, drummer for the Beatles

*July 7th, 1940, Liverpool

83

Patrick Stewart

British actor (born 1940)

*July 13th, 1940, Mirfield

77

John Hurt

British actor (1940–2017)

*January 22nd, 1940, Chesterfield †January 25th, 2017, Norfolk

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on August 21st

Fixed holidays (Christian Feast Day) which are celebrated on August 21st.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Born on August 21st, 1940
Future birthdays

Leap year

Yes: 1940 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
August 1940