Peace - Public Domain

After China suffered defeats in the first and second Opium Wars as well as the First Sino-Japanese War , the Guangxu Emperor began issuing edicts ordering a series of reforms which were intended to cause widespread changes in Chinese society, culture, ideology, education a and institutions. This did not sit well with the old guard and on September 21, 1898 Empress Dowager Cixi seized power in a coup d'etat, ending the Hundred Day's Reform (or Wuxu Reform) which had actually lasted 103 days.

Fifty-one years later, on September 21, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed.

On this day in history:

1776 – Part of New York City burned shortly after being occupied by British forces.
1792 – The French National Convention abolished the monarchy.
1843 – John Williams Wilson took possession of the Strait of Magellan on behalf of the Chilean government.
1860 – An Anglo-French force defeated Chinese troops at the Battle of Palikao.
1898 – Empress Dowager Cixi seized power and ended the Hundred Days' Reform in China.
1937 – J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit was published.
1949 – The People's Republic of China was proclaimed.
1964 – Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom
1972 – Ferdinand Marcos began authoritarian rule by declaring martial law.
1976 – Orlando Letelier was assassinated in Washington, D.C. He had been a member of the Allende government. It is not certain whether the CIA has been involved in his assassination, like they were in the overthrow and murder of Allende, or not.
1981 – Belize was granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
1981 – Sandra Day O'Connor was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
1996 – The Defense of Marriage Act was passed by the United States Congress.

Born this day in:

051 – Bertha of Savoy
1452 – Girolamo Savonarola, puritanical Christo-fascist burned by the pope
1552 – Barbara Longhi, painter
1559 – Cigoli, painter and architect
1645 – Louis Jolliet, explorer
1853 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, physicist and academic,
1866 – H. G. Wells, novelist, historian, and critic
1873 – Papa Jack Laine, drummer and bandleader
1884 – Dénes Konig, mathematician and theorist
1898 – Frances Mary Albrier, civil rights activist
1902 – Allen Lane, publisher, founded Penguin Books
1903 – Preston Tucker, engineer and businessman, designed the Tucker Sedan
1904 – Hans Hartung, painter
1912 – György Sándor, pianist and composer
1917 – Phyllis Nicolson, mathematician and academic
1918 – John Gofman, physicist, chemist, and biologist
1919 – Herman Fowlkes, Jr., trumpet player and educator
1923 – Fred Hunt, jazz pianist
1926 – Donald A. Glaser, physicist and neurobiologist
1932 – Don Preston, keyboard player and composer
1934 – Leonard Cohen, singer, songwriter ,and poet
1936 – Dickey Lee, pop-country singer, songwriter ,and guitarist
1943 – David Hood, session bassist and trombone player
1944 – Bobby Tench, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1947 – Don Felder, musician and songwriter
1947 – Rupert Hine, musician, songwriter, and record producer
1949 – Henry Butler, pianist and photographer
1952 – Dave Gregory, guitarist and keyboard player
1954 – Thomas S. Ray, ecologist and academic
1954 – Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, rock drummer
1959 – Corinne Drewery, singer, songwriter, and fashion designer
1964 – Jorge Drexler, singer & songwriter
1964 – Lester Quitzau, guitarist
1967 – Faith Hill, singer, songwriter, producer, and actress
1967 – Tyler Stewart, drummer
1968 – Kevin Buzzard, mathematician

Died this day in:

“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”

-- Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays and Aphorisms

19 BC – Virgil, poet
1576 – Gerolamo Cardano, mathematician, physician, and astrologer
1860 – Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher and author
1905 – Nikolay Benardos, inventor
1926 – Léon Charles Thévenin, engineer
1962 – Bo Carter, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1987 – Jaco Pastorius, bass player, composer, and producer
2002 – Robert L. Forward, physicist and science fiction author
2011 – John Du Cann, guitarist
2012 – José Curbelo, pianist and manager
2015 – Ray Warleigh, saxophonist and flute player

Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
International Day of Peace (International)
National Pecan Cookie Day (United States)
World Gratitude Day

Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies