April 21

753 BC – Romulus founds Rome (traditional date). 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after. 900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations. 1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II 1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics. 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII. 1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat. 1615 – The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta. 1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. 1789 – John Adams sworn in as 1st US Vice President (nine days before George Washington) 1789 – George Washington's reception at Trenton is hosted by the Ladies of Trenton as he journeys to New York City for his first inauguration. 1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil's independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered. 1802 – Twelve thousand Wahhabis sack Karbala, killing over three thousand inhabitants. 1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa. 1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl. 1821 – Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile.