2021-05-21

The Greenfield tornado, estimated to have produced winds in excess of 309 miles per hour (497 km/h), moved across Iowa.

Islamic State militants entered the ancient city of Palmyra.

A Taiwanese man carried out a stabbing spree on a Taipei Metro train, killing four people and injuring 24 others.

The world's tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka, opened at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, U.S.

Indonesian president Suharto resigned after a collapse of support for his presidency amid economic and political crises, ending 32 years in power.

Former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

While working with a mass of plutonium known as the demon core, Manhattan Project physicist Louis Slotin accidentally exposed himself to a lethal dose of hard radiation, making him the second victim of a criticality accident in history.

Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, American aviator Charles Lindbergh (pictured) completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, flying from Roosevelt Field near New York City to Paris–Le Bourget Airport.

The opera Doktor Faust, unfinished when composer Ferruccio Busoni (pictured) died, was premiered in Dresden.

University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb (both pictured) murdered a 14-year-old boy in a thrill killing out of a desire to commit a "perfect crime".