People look at the remains of a destroyed house on Mahahual's beach, 80 km from Chetumal, 22 August 2007, after the passage of Hurricane Dean., which made landfall in the beaches of Mexico on August 21, 2007.placeholder image
People look at the remains of a destroyed house on Mahahual's beach, 80 km from Chetumal, 22 August 2007, after the passage of Hurricane Dean., which made landfall in the beaches of Mexico on August 21, 2007.

On this day: 12 historical events that took place on August 21

By Matthew Elder
Published 21st Aug 2020, 17:14 BST

A look back through time from Hurricane Dean to the Battle of Dunkeld

Take a scroll through a selection of historical events that took place on August 21.

Hurricane Dean made its first landfall in Costa Maya, Mexico, with winds of 165mph. Dean was the first storm since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to make landfall as a Category 5.

1. 2007

Hurricane Dean made its first landfall in Costa Maya, Mexico, with winds of 165mph. Dean was the first storm since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to make landfall as a Category 5. Photo: NOAA via Getty Images

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An Israeli air strike in Rafah killed three of Hamas’s top commanders – Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al Atar and Mohammed Barhoum.

2. 2014

An Israeli air strike in Rafah killed three of Hamas’s top commanders – Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al Atar and Mohammed Barhoum. Photo: SAID KHATIB

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Soviet coup collapsed. Boris Yeltsin took over troops and Supreme Soviet legislative bodies reinstated president Mikhail Gorbachev as he returned from house arrest in the Crimea region.

3. 1991

Soviet coup collapsed. Boris Yeltsin took over troops and Supreme Soviet legislative bodies reinstated president Mikhail Gorbachev as he returned from house arrest in the Crimea region. Photo: ANDRE DURAND

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100,000 gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square for first free commemoration of 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.

4. 1990

100,000 gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square for first free commemoration of 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Photo: LUBOMIR KOTEK

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