September 21 in history — What Happened Today in History

Russian president Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.

A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-134 is shot down by a missile in the Black Sea near Sokhumi, Georgia.

Armenia gains independence from the Soviet Union.

Brunei joins the United Nations.

Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.

Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.

Malév Flight 203 crashes near Urziceni, Romania, killing 29 people.

Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. by Michael Townley, linked to the National Intelligence Directorate of Chile.

Seychelles joins the United Nations.

Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos begins authoritarian rule by declaring martial law.

Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.

Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801, a Boeing 727-100 passenger plane, crashes during a landing attempt in Mexico City, killing 27 of the 118 occupants.

The Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.

Malta gains independence from the United Kingdom, but remains in the Commonwealth.

The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's fastest bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.

Pamir, a four-masted barque, was shipwrecked and sank off the Azores during Hurricane Carrie.

Lieutenant No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot, defects to South Korea with his jet fighter.

The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis send over 1,000 Jews from Pidhaitsi to Bełżec extermination camp.

The Holocaust in Ukraine: In Dunaivtsi, Ukraine, Nazis murder 2,588 Jews.

The Holocaust in Poland: At the end of Yom Kippur, Germans order Jews to permanently move from Konstantynów to Biała Podlaska.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.

Romanian prime minister Armand Călinescu is assassinated by the Iron Guard.

The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500–700 people.

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time. (September 22 is celebrated by some fans as Hobbit Day, however.)

A large typhoon hits western Honshū, Japan, killing more than 3,000 people.

Salvador Lutteroth establishes Mexican professional wrestling.

A storage silo in Oppau, Germany, explodes, killing 500–600 people.

Empress Dowager Cixi seizes power and ends the Hundred Days' Reform in China.

Rodrigo Godínez, Mexican footballer

Devyn Marble, American basketball player

Anastassia Kovalenko, Estonian motorcycle racer

Carlos Martínez, Dominican baseball player

Al-Farouq Aminu, American basketball player

Danny Batth, English footballer

Rob Cross, English darts player

Ivan Dorschner, American-Filipino model and actor

Sam Kasiano, New Zealand rugby league player

Allison Scagliotti, American actress and musician

Christian Serratos, American actress

Jason Derulo, American singer-songwriter

Sandor Earl, Australian rugby league player

Yoram Gross, Polish-Australian director and producer (born 1926)

Ray Warleigh, Australian-English saxophonist and flute player (born 1938)

Richard Williamson, American footballer and coach (born 1941)

Michael Harari, Israeli intelligence officer (born 1927)

Caldwell Jones, American basketball player and coach (born 1950)

Sheldon Patinkin, American director and playwright (born 1935)

Kofi Awoonor, Ghanaian author, poet, and diplomat (born 1935)

Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1928)

Harl H. Haas, Jr., American lawyer, jurist, and politician (born 1932)

Walter Wallmann, German lawyer and politician, Minister-President of Hesse (born 1932)

Ko Wierenga, Dutch lawyer and politician (born 1933)

José Curbelo, Cuban-American pianist and manager (born 1917)

Yehuda Elkana, Israeli historian and philosopher (born 1934)