text:
August 21

Pre-1600

 * 959 – Eraclus becomes the 25th bishop of Liège.
 * 1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars.
 * 1169 – Battle of the Blacks: Uprising by the black African forces of the Fatimid army, along with a number of Egyptian emirs and commoners, against Saladin.
 * 1192 – Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Sei-i Taishōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: the 12th day of the seventh month in the third year of the Kenkyū (建久) era).
 * 1331 – King Stefan Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stefan Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia.
 * 1415 – Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Conquest of Ceuta.

1601–1900

 * 1680 – Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt.
 * 1689 – The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland.
 * 1716 – Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The arrival of naval reinforcements and the news of the Battle of Petrovaradin force the Ottomans to abandon the Siege of Corfu, thus preserving the Ionian Islands under Venetian rule.
 * 1770 – James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales.
 * 1772 – King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot.
 * 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry.
 * 1791 – A Vodou ceremony, led by Dutty Boukman, turns into a violent slave rebellion, beginning the Haitian Revolution.
 * 1808 – Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War.
 * 1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates.
 * 1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances.
 * 1831 – Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which will claim the lives of 55 to 65 whites and about twice that number of blacks.
 * 1852 – Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory.
 * 1858 – The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois.
 * 1862 – The Stadtpark, the first public park in Vienna, opens to the public.
 * 1863 – Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by pro-Confederate guerrillas known as Quantrill's Raiders.
 * 1878 – The American Bar Association is founded in Saratoga Springs, New York.
 * 1879 – The locals of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland report their having seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The apparition is later named “Our Lady of Knock” and the spot transformed into a Catholic pilgrimage site.
 * 1883 – An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
 * 1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.

1901–present

 * 1901 – Six hundred American school teachers, Thomasites, arrived in Manila on the USAT Thomas.
 * 1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee.
 * 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Charleroi, a successful German attack across the River Sambre that pre-empted a French offensive in the same area.
 * 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Somme begins.
 * 1942 – World War II: The Guadalcanal Campaign: American forces defeat an attack by Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in the Battle of the Tenaru.
 * 1944 – Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins.
 * 1944  – World War II: Canadian and Polish units capture the strategically important town of Falaise, Calvados, France.
 * 1945 – Physicist Harry Daghlian is fatally irradiated in a criticality accident during an experiment with the Demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
 * 1957 – The Soviet Union successfully conducts a long-range test flight of the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile.
 * 1959 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day.
 * 1963 – Xá Lợi Pagoda raids: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalizes Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead.
 * 1965 – The Socialist Republic of Romania is proclaimed, following the adoption of a new constitution.
 * 1968 – Cold War: Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.
 * 1968  – James Anderson Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.
 * 1971 – A bomb exploded in the Liberal Party campaign rally in Plaza Miranda, Manila, Philippines with several anti-Marcos political candidates injured.
 * 1982 – Lebanese Civil War: The first troops of a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the Palestine Liberation Organization's withdrawal from Lebanon.
 * 1983 – Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. is assassinated at Manila International Airport (now renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor).
 * 1986 – Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20 km range.
 * 1988 – The 6.9 Nepal earthquake shakes the Nepal–India border with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 709–1,450 people killed and thousands injured.
 * 1991 – Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940.
 * 1991  – Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.
 * 1993 – NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.
 * 1994 – Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 crashes in Douar Izounine, Morocco, killing all 44 people on board.
 * 1995 – Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, attempts to divert to West Georgia Regional Airport after the left engine fails, but the aircraft crashes in Carroll County near Carrollton, Georgia, killing nine of the 29 people on board.
 * 2000 – American golfer Tiger Woods wins the 82nd PGA Championship and becomes the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in a calendar year.
 * 2013 – Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.
 * 2017 – A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States.

Pre-1600

 * 1165 – Philip II of France (d. 1223)
 * 1481 – Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra (d. 1550)
 * 1535 – Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese general (d. 1619)
 * 1552 – Muhammad Qadiri, Founder of the Naushahia branch of the Qadri order (d. 1654)
 * 1567 – Francis de Sales, Swiss bishop and saint (d. 1622)
 * 1579 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (d. 1638)
 * 1597 – Roger Twysden, English historian and politician (d. 1672)

1601–1900

 * 1625 – John Claypole, English politician (d. 1688)
 * 1643 – Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
 * 1660 – Hubert Gautier, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1737)
 * 1665 – Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1729)
 * 1670 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (d. 1734)
 * 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter and educator (d. 1805)
 * 1754 – William Murdoch, Scottish engineer and inventor, created gas lighting (d. 1839)
 * 1754  – Banastre Tarleton, English general and politician (d. 1833)
 * 1765 – William IV of the United Kingdom (d. 1837)
 * 1789 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (d. 1857)
 * 1798 – Jules Michelet, French historian and philosopher (d. 1874)
 * 1800 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (d. 1880)
 * 1801 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (d. 1876)
 * 1813 – Jean Stas, Belgian chemist and physician (d. 1891)
 * 1816 – Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist and academic (d. 1856)
 * 1823 – Nathaniel Everett Green, English painter and astronomer (d. 1899)
 * 1826 – Carl Gegenbaur, German anatomist and academic (d. 1903)
 * 1829 – Otto Goldschmidt, German composer, conductor and pianist (d. 1907)
 * 1840 – Ferdinand Hamer, Dutch bishop and missionary (d. 1900)
 * 1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1939)
 * 1856 – Medora de Vallombrosa, Marquise de Morès, American heiress (d. 1921)
 * 1858 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (d. 1889)
 * 1862 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (d. 1911)
 * 1869 – William Henry Ogilvie, Scottish-Australian poet and author (d. 1963)
 * 1872 – Aubrey Beardsley, English author and illustrator (d. 1898)
 * 1878 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (d. 1963)
 * 1879 – Claude Grahame-White, English pilot and engineer (d. 1959)
 * 1884 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (d. 1936)
 * 1885 – Édouard Fabre, Canadian runner (d. 1939)
 * 1886 – Ruth Manning-Sanders, Welsh-English author and poet (d. 1988)
 * 1887 – James Paul Moody, English sailor (d. 1912)
 * 1891 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (d. 2007)
 * 1892 – Charles Vanel, French actor and director (d. 1989)
 * 1894 – Christian Schad, German painter (d. 1982)
 * 1895 – Blossom Rock, American actress (d. 1978)
 * 1897 – Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Scottish soldier and peer (d. 1966)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Angel Karaliychev, Bulgarian author (d. 1972)
 * 1903 – Kostas Giannidis, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1984)
 * 1904 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
 * 1905 – Bipin Gupta, Indian actor and producer (d. 1981)
 * 1906 – Friz Freleng, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1995)
 * 1907 – P. Jeevanandham, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 1963)
 * 1909 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1992)
 * 1912 – Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
 * 1914 – Doug Wright, English cricketer and coach (d. 1998)
 * 1916 – Bill Lee, American actor and singer (d. 1980)
 * 1916  – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (d. 2005)
 * 1917 – Leonid Hurwicz, Russian economist and mathematician (d. 2008)
 * 1918 – Billy Reay, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
 * 1921 – Reuven Feuerstein, Romanian-Israeli psychologist and academic (d. 2014)
 * 1922 – Albert Irvin, English soldier and painter (d. 2015)
 * 1923 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
 * 1924 – Jack Buck, American sportscaster (d. 2002)
 * 1924  – Jack Weston, American actor (d. 1996)
 * 1926 – Can Yücel, Turkish poet and translator (d. 1999)
 * 1927 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 2018)
 * 1928 – Addison Farmer, American bassist (d. 1963)
 * 1928  – Art Farmer, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1999)
 * 1928  – Bud McFadin, American football player (d. 2006)
 * 1929 – Herman Badillo, Puerto Rican-American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
 * 1929  – X. J. Kennedy, American poet, translator, anthologist, editor
 * 1929  – Ahmed Kathrada, South African politician and political prisoner (d. 2017)
 * 1930 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
 * 1930  – Frank Perry, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
 * 1932 – Menashe Kadishman, Israeli sculptor and painter (d. 2015)
 * 1932  – Melvin Van Peebles, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2021)
 * 1933 – Janet Baker, English soprano and educator
 * 1933  – Michael Dacher, German mountaineer (d. 1994)
 * 1933  – Barry Norman, English author and critic (d. 2017)
 * 1933  – Erik Paaske, Danish actor and singer (d. 1992)
 * 1934 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian lawyer and politician, 13th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2001)
 * 1934  – Paul Panhuysen, Dutch composer (d. 2015)
 * 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (d. 1999)
 * 1936  – Radish Tordia, Georgian painter and educator
 * 1937 – Donald Dewar, Scottish politician, first First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
 * 1937  – Gustavo Noboa, Ecuadorian academic and politician, 51st President of Ecuador (d. 2021)
 * 1937  – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (d. 2015)
 * 1938 – Steve Cowper, American politician, 6th Governor of Alaska
 * 1938  – Kenny Rogers, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2020)
 * 1938  – Mike Weston, English rugby player (d. 2023)
 * 1939 – James Burton, American Hall of Fame guitarist
 * 1939  – Festus Mogae, Botswana economist and politician, third President of Botswana
 * 1939  – Clarence Williams III, American actor (d. 2021)
 * 1940 – Dominick Harrod, English journalist, historian, and author (d. 2013)
 * 1940  – Endre Szemerédi, Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist
 * 1941 – Jackie DeShannon, American singer-songwriter
 * 1943 – Patrick Demarchelier, French photographer (d. 2022)
 * 1943  – Jonathan Schell, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
 * 1943  – Lucius Shepard, American author and critic (d. 2014)
 * 1943  – Hugh Wilson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
 * 1944 – Perry Christie, Bahamian politician, third Prime Minister of the Bahamas
 * 1944  – Peter Weir, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1945 – Basil Poledouris, Greek-American composer, conductor (d. 2006)
 * 1945  – Celia Brayfield, English journalist and author
 * 1945  – Jerry DaVanon, American baseball player
 * 1945  – Willie Lanier, American football player
 * 1945  – Patty McCormack, American actress
 * 1947 – Carl Giammarese, American singer-songwriter and musician
 * 1949 – Loretta Devine, American actress and singer
 * 1949  – Daniel Sivan, Israeli scholar and academic
 * 1950 – Patrick Juvet, Swiss singer-songwriter and model (d. 2021)
 * 1950  – Arthur Bremer, American attempted assassin of George Wallace
 * 1951 – Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
 * 1951  – Glenn Hughes, English musician
 * 1951  – Yana Mintoff, Maltese politician, economist and educator
 * 1951  – Chesley V. Morton, American businessman and politician
 * 1952 – Keith Hart, Canadian firefighter, wrestler, and trainer
 * 1952  – Jiří Paroubek, Czech soldier and politician, sixth Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
 * 1952  – Bernadette Porter, English nun and educator
 * 1952  – Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
 * 1953 – Ivan Stang, American author, publisher, and director
 * 1954 – Archie Griffin, American football player
 * 1954  – Steve Smith, American drummer
 * 1954  – Mark Williams, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
 * 1956 – Kim Cattrall, English-Canadian actress
 * 1956  – Jon Tester, American farmer and politician
 * 1957 – Frank Pastore, American baseball player and radio host (d. 2012)
 * 1958 – Steve Case, American businessman, co-founder of America Online (AOL)
 * 1958  – Mark Williams, Australian footballer and coach
 * 1959 – Anne Hobbs, English tennis player and coach
 * 1959  – Jim McMahon, American football player and coach
 * 1961 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player and coach (d. 2001)
 * 1961  – V. B. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer and coach (d. 2019)
 * 1961  – Stephen Hillenburg, American marine biologist, cartoonist, animator and creator of SpongeBob SquarePants (d. 2018)
 * 1962 – Cleo King, American actress
 * 1962  – John Korfas, Greek-American basketball player and coach
 * 1962  – Gilberto Santa Rosa, Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero
 * 1962  – Pete Weber, American bowler
 * 1963 – Mohammed VI of Morocco, King of Morocco
 * 1963  – Nigel Pearson, English footballer and manager
 * 1964 – Gary Elkerton, Australian surfer
 * 1965 – Jim Bullinger, American baseball player
 * 1966 – John Wetteland, American baseball player and coach
 * 1967 – Darren Bewick, Australian footballer
 * 1967  – Charb, French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
 * 1967  – Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress
 * 1967  – Serj Tankian, Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
 * 1968 – Dina Carroll, English singer-songwriter
 * 1968  – Goran Ćurko, Serbian footballer
 * 1968  – Laura Trevelyan, English journalist and author
 * 1969 – Bruce Anstey, New Zealand motorcycle racer
 * 1969  – Josée Chouinard, Canadian figure skater
 * 1970 – Craig Counsell, American baseball player and coach
 * 1970  – Erik Dekker, Dutch cyclist and manager
 * 1970  – Cathy Weseluck, Canadian actress
 * 1971 – Mamadou Diallo, Senegalese footballer
 * 1971  – Robert Harvey, Australian footballer and coach
 * 1971  – Liam Howlett, English keyboard player, DJ, and producer
 * 1973 – Sergey Brin, Russian-American computer scientist and businessman, co-founded Google
 * 1973  – Steve McKenna, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1974 – Martin Andanar, Filipino journalist and radio host
 * 1974  – Paul Mellor, Australian rugby league player and referee
 * 1975 – Simon Katich, Australian cricketer and manager
 * 1975  – Alicia Witt, American actress and musician
 * 1976 – Alex Brooks, American ice hockey player and scout
 * 1976  – Jeff Cunningham, Jamaican-American soccer player
 * 1976  – Robert Miles, Australian rugby league player
 * 1976  – Ramón Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
 * 1978 – Peter Buxton, English rugby player and manager
 * 1978  – Reuben Droughns, American football player and coach
 * 1978  – Lee Gronkiewicz, American baseball player and coach
 * 1978  – Alan Lee, Irish footballer and coach
 * 1978  – Jason Marquis, American baseball player
 * 1979 – Kelis, American singer-songwriter, producer, chef and author
 * 1979  – Diego Klattenhoff, Canadian actor
 * 1980 – Bryan Allen, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1980  – Burney Lamar, American race car driver
 * 1980  – Paul Menard, American race car driver
 * 1980  – Jasmin Wöhr, German tennis player
 * 1981 – Jarrod Lyle, Australian golfer (d. 2018)
 * 1981  – Cameron Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
 * 1981  – Tyler Winklevoss, American rower and businessman, co-founded ConnectU
 * 1981  – Ross Thomas, American actor
 * 1982 – Jason Eaton, New Zealand rugby player
 * 1982  – Omar Sachedina, Canadian television journalist, correspondent, and news anchor
 * 1983 – Brody Jenner, American television personality and model
 * 1983  – Scott McDonald, Australian footballer
 * 1984 – Neil Dexter, South African cricketer
 * 1984  – Melvin Upton, Jr., American baseball player
 * 1985 – Nicolás Almagro, Spanish tennis player
 * 1985  – Aleksandra Kiryashova, Russian pole vaulter
 * 1985  – Alizée, French singer
 * 1986 – Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
 * 1986  – Wout Brama, Dutch footballer
 * 1986  – Koki Sakamoto, Japanese gymnast
 * 1986  – Brooks Wheelan, American comedian and actor
 * 1987 – DeWanna Bonner, American-Macedonian basketball player
 * 1987  – Cody Kasch, American actor
 * 1987  – J. D. Martinez, American baseball player
 * 1987  – Jodie Meeks, American basketball player and coach
 * 1988 – Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer
 * 1988  – Kacey Musgraves, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1989 – Charlison Benschop, Dutch footballer
 * 1989  – James Davey, English rugby league player
 * 1989  – Matteo Gentili, Italian footballer
 * 1989  – Hayden Panettiere, American actress
 * 1989  – Aleix Vidal, Spanish footballer
 * 1990 – Bo Burnham, American comedian, musician, actor, filmmaker and poet
 * 1990  – Christian Vázquez, Puerto Rican baseball player
 * 1991 – Leandro Bacuna, Dutch footballer
 * 1992 – Brandon Drury, American baseball player
 * 1992  – RJ Mitte, American actor
 * 1992  – Felipe Nasr, Brazilian race car driver
 * 1993 – Millie Bright, English footballer
 * 1993  – Mike Evans, American football player
 * 1995 – Dominik Kubalík, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1996 – Karolína Muchová, Czech tennis player
 * 1999 – Maxim Knight, American actor
 * 2000 – Corbin Carroll, American baseball player

Pre-1600

 * 672 – Emperor Kōbun of Japan (b. 648)
 * 784 – Alberic, archbishop of Utrecht
 * 913 – Tang Daoxi, Chinese general
 * 1131 – King Baldwin II of Jerusalem
 * 1148 – William II, Count of Nevers (b. c. 1089)
 * 1157 – Alfonso VII of León and Castile (b. 1105)
 * 1245 – Alexander of Hales, English theologian
 * 1271 – Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (b. 1220)
 * 1534 – Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, 44th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (b. 1464)
 * 1568 – Jean Parisot de Valette, 49th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (b. 1495)

1601–1900

 * 1614 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and purported serial killer (b. 1560)
 * 1622 – Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana, Spanish poet and politician (b. 1582)
 * 1627 – Jacques Mauduit, French composer and academic (b. 1557)
 * 1673 – Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford, English soldier (b. 1599)
 * 1689 – William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier (b. 1661)
 * 1762 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1689)
 * 1763 – Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710)
 * 1775 – Zahir al-Umar, Arabian ruler (b. 1690)
 * 1796 – John McKinly, American physician and politician, first Governor of Delaware (b. 1721)
 * 1814 – Benjamin Thompson, American-English physicist and colonel (b. 1753)
 * 1835 – John MacCulloch, Scottish geologist and academic (b. 1773)
 * 1836 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (b. 1785)
 * 1838 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German botanist and poet (b. 1781)
 * 1853 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (b. 1783)
 * 1854 – Thomas Clayton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1777)
 * 1867 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (b. 1790)
 * 1870 – Ma Xinyi, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (b. 1821)
 * 1888 – James Farnell, Australian politician, eighth Premier of New South Wales (b. 1825)

1901–present

 * 1905 – Alexander von Oettingen, Estonian theologian and statistician (b. 1827)
 * 1910 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (b. 1835)
 * 1911 – Mahboob Ali Khan, sixth Nizam of Hyderabad State (b. 1866)
 * 1919 – Laurence Doherty, English tennis player (b. 1875)
 * 1935 – John Hartley, English tennis player (b. 1849)
 * 1940 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
 * 1940  – Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (b. 1863)
 * 1940  – Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (b. 1879)
 * 1943 – Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
 * 1947 – Ettore Bugatti, Italian-French engineer and businessman, founded Bugatti (b. 1881)
 * 1951 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (b. 1905)
 * 1957 – Mait Metsanurk, Estonian author and playwright (b. 1879)
 * 1957  – Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
 * 1957  – Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
 * 1960 – David B. Steinman, American engineer, designed the Mackinac Bridge (b. 1886)
 * 1964 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (b. 1893)
 * 1968 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1893)
 * 1971 – George Jackson, American activist and author, co-founded the Black Guerrilla Family (b. 1941)
 * 1974 – Buford Pusser, American police officer (b. 1937)
 * 1974  – Kirpal Singh, Indian spiritual master (b. 1894)
 * 1978 – Charles Eames, American architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1907)
 * 1979 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1910)
 * 1981 – Kaka Kalelkar, Indian Hindi Writer(b. 1885)
 * 1983 – Benigno Aquino Jr., Filipino journalist and politician (b. 1932)
 * 1988 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (b. 1963)
 * 1988  – Ray Eames, American architect, co-designed the Eames House (b. 1912)
 * 1989 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1945)
 * 1993 – Tatiana Troyanos, American soprano and actress (b. 1938)
 * 1995 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian-American astrophysicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
 * 1995  – Chuck Stevenson, American race car driver (b. 1919)
 * 1996 – Mary Two-Axe Earley, Canadian indigenous women's rights activist (b. 1911)
 * 2000 – Tomata du Plenty, American singer-songwriter and playwright (b. 1948)
 * 2000  – Daniel Lisulo, Zambian politician, third Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
 * 2000  – Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1928)
 * 2001 – Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
 * 2003 – John Coplans, British artist (b. 1920)
 * 2003  – Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and academic (b. 1946)
 * 2004 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (b. 1916)
 * 2005 – Martin Dillon, American tenor and educator (b. 1957)
 * 2005  – Robert Moog, American businessman, founded Moog Music (b. 1934)
 * 2005  – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet and translator (b. 1936)
 * 2005 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
 * 2006 – Bismillah Khan, Indian musician, Bharat Ratna recipient (b. 1916)
 * 2006 – Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
 * 2007 – Frank Bowe, American academic (b. 1947)
 * 2007  – Siobhan Dowd, British author (b. 1960)
 * 2007  – Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American general (b. 1918)
 * 2008 – Jerry Finn, American engineer and producer (b. 1969)
 * 2009 – Rex Shelley, Singaporean engineer and author (b. 1930)
 * 2010 – Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean sociologist and author (b. 1941)
 * 2012 – Georg Leber, German soldier and politician, Federal Minister of Defence for Germany (b. 1920)
 * 2012  – J. Frank Raley Jr., American soldier and politician (b. 1926)
 * 2012  – Don Raleigh, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1926)
 * 2012  – Guy Spitaels, Belgian academic and politician, seventh Minister-President of Wallonia (b. 1931)
 * 2012  – William Thurston, American mathematician and academic (b. 1946)
 * 2013 – Jean Berkey, American lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
 * 2013  – Sid Bernstein, American record producer (b. 1918)
 * 2013  – C. Gordon Fullerton, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1936)
 * 2013  – Fred Martin, Scottish footballer (b. 1929)
 * 2013  – Enos Nkala, Zimbabwean politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (b. 1932)
 * 2014 – Gerry Anderson, Irish radio and television host (b. 1944)
 * 2014  – Helen Bamber, English psychotherapist and academic (b. 1925)
 * 2014  – Steven R. Nagel, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1946)
 * 2014  – Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
 * 2014  – Albert Reynolds, Irish businessman and politician, ninth Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1932)
 * 2015 – Colin Beyer, New Zealand lawyer and businessman (b. 1938)
 * 2015  – Wang Dongxing, Chinese commander and politician (b. 1916)
 * 2015  – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (b. 1924)
 * 2017 – Bajram Rexhepi, First Kosovan Prime Ministers of UN mission administration in Kosovo (b. 1954)
 * 2018 – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor and singer (b. 1975)
 * 2019 – Celso Piña, Mexican singer, composer, arranger, and accordionist (b. 1953)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian Feast Day:
 * Abraham of Smolensk (Eastern Orthodox Church)
 * Euprepius of Verona
 * Maximilian of Antioch
 * Our Lady of Knock
 * Pope Pius X
 * Sidonius Apollinaris
 * August 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Ninoy Aquino Day (Philippines)
 * Youth Day (Morocco)
 * World Senior Citizen's Day

title: August 21


text:
Dodo (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

The Dodo is a fictional character appearing in Chapters 2 and 3 of the 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). The Dodo is a caricature of the author. A popular but unsubstantiated belief is that Dodgson chose the particular animal to represent himself because of his stammer, and thus would accidentally introduce himself as "Do-do-dodgson".

Historically, the dodo was a flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It became extinct in the mid 17th century during the colonisation of the island by the Dutch.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
In this passage Lewis Carroll incorporated references to the original boating expedition of 4 July 1862 during which Alice's Adventures were first told, with Alice as herself, and the others represented by birds: the Lory was Lorina Liddell, the Eaglet was Edith Liddell, the Dodo was Dodgson, and the Duck was Rev. Robinson Duckworth. In order to get dry after a swim, the Dodo proposes that everyone run a Caucus race – where the participants run in patterns of any shape, starting and leaving off whenever they like, so that everyone wins. At the end of the race, Alice distributes comfits from her pocket to all as prizes. However this leaves no prize for herself. The Dodo inquires what else she has in her pocket. As she has only a thimble, the Dodo requests it from her and then awards it to Alice as her prize. The Caucus Race, as depicted by Carroll, is a satire on the political caucus system, mocking its lack of clarity and decisiveness.

Disney animated film version
In the Disney film, the Dodo plays a much greater role in the story than in the book. He is merged with the character of Pat the Gardener, which leads to him sometimes being nicknamed Pat the Dodo, but this name is never mentioned in the film. The Dodo is also the leader of the caucus race. He has the appearance and personality of a sea captain. The Dodo is voiced by Bill Thompson and animated by Milt Kahl.

Dodo is first seen as Alice is floating on the sea in a bottle. Dodo is seen singing, but when Alice asks him for help, he does not notice her. On shore, Dodo is seen on a rock, organizing a caucus race. This race involves running around until one gets dry, but the attempts are hampered by incoming waves.

Dodo is later summoned by the White Rabbit, when the rabbit believes a monster, actually Alice having magically grown to a giant size, is inside his home. Dodo brings Bill the Lizard, and attempts to get him to go down the chimney. Bill refuses at first, but Dodo is able to convince him otherwise. However, the soot causes Alice to sneeze, sending Bill high up into the sky. Dodo then decides to burn the house down, much to the chagrin of the White Rabbit. He begins gathering wood, such as the furniture, for this purpose. However, Alice is soon able to return to a smaller size and exit the house.

The White Rabbit soon leaves, while Dodo asks for matches, not realizing that the situation has been resolved. He then asks Alice for a match, but when she doesn't have any, Dodo complains about the lack of cooperation and uses his pipe to light the fire.

The Dodo later appears briefly at the end of the film, conducting another Caucus Race while Alice is being chased by the Queen of Hearts and her card soldiers.

In Alice's Wonderland Bakery, appears Captain Dodo, being unknown if he is the same character from the film, or a descendant as is the case of other characters from Wonderland in the series (the plot placed several decades after the events in the film). Captain Dodo also has a son named Jojo.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland version
In Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, the Dodo's appearance retains the subtle apparent nature from John Tenniel's illustration. He bears a down of brilliant blue and wears a navy blue waistcoat and white spats along with glasses and a cane. He is one of Alice's good-willed advisers, taking first note of her abilities as the true Alice. He is also one of the oldest inhabitants. His name is Uilleam, and he is portrayed by Michael Gough. He goes with the White Rabbit, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and Dormouse to take Alice to Caterpillar to decide whether Alice is the real one. He is later captured by the Red Queen's forces. When Alice came to the Red Queen's castle, he was seen at the Red Queen's castle yard as a caddy for the Queen's croquet game. After the Red Queen orders the release of the Jubjub bird to kill all her subjects from rebelling, he is then seen briefly running from it when the Tweedles went to hide from it and escaped but was snatched by the Jubjub and was never seen again throughout the film.

His name may be based on a lecture on William the Conqueror from Chapter Three of the original novel. The character is voiced by Michael Gough in his final feature film role before his death in 2011. Gough came out of retirement to appear in the film but the character only speaks three lines, so Gough managed to record in one day.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Dodo (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)


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Lory (disambiguation)

A Lory is a small to medium-sized arboreal parrot.

Lory may also refer to:

People

 * Al De Lory (1930–2012), an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician
 * Donna De Lory (born 1964), an American singer, dancer and songwriter
 * Milo B. Lory (1903–1974), an American sound editor

Other uses

 * Lory, a fictional parrot, a minor character in the Alice series by Lewis Carroll
 * Lory Lake, in Minnesota, U.S.
 * Lory State Park, near Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.

title: Lory (disambiguation)


text:
Albert

Albert may refer to:

Companies

 * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s
 * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
 * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
 * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
 * Albert Music, an Australian music company now known as Alberts
 * Albert Productions, a record label

Entertainment

 * Albert (1985 film), a Czechoslovak film directed by František Vláčil
 * Albert (2015 film), a film by Karsten Kiilerich
 * Albert (2016 film), an American TV movie
 * Albert (album), by Ed Hall, 1988
 * "Albert" (short story), by Leo Tolstoy
 * Albert (comics), a character in Marvel Comics
 * Albert (Discworld), a character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
 * Albert, a character in Dario Argento's 1977 film Suspiria

People

 * Albert (given name)
 * Albert (surname)
 * Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
 * Albert (dancer) (François-Ferdinand 1789–1865), French ballet dancer
 * Albert, a ring name of professional wrestler Matt Bloom (born 1972)

Canada

 * Albert (1846–1973 electoral district), a provincial electoral district in New Brunswick from 1846 to 1973
 * Albert (federal electoral district), a federal electoral district in New Brunswick from 1867 to 1903
 * Albert (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district in New Brunswick
 * Albert County, New Brunswick
 * Rural Municipality of Albert, Manitoba, Canada

United States

 * Albert, Kansas
 * Albert Township, Michigan
 * Albert, Oklahoma
 * Albert, Texas, a ghost town
 * The Albert (Detroit), formerly the Griswold Building, an American apartment block

Elsewhere

 * Albert (Belize House constituency), a Belize City-based electoral constituency
 * Albert, New South Wales, a town in Australia
 * Electoral district of Albert, a former electoral district in Queensland, Australia
 * Albert, Somme, a French commune

Transportation

 * Albert (automobile), a 1920s British light car
 * Albert (motorcycle), a 1920s German vehicle brand
 * Albert (tugboat), a 1979 U.S. tugboat

Other

 * 719 Albert, Amor asteroid
 * Albert (crater), a lunar crater
 * The Albert, a pub in London
 * Albert and Alberta Gator, mascots for the Florida Gators

title: Albert


text:
Albert I

Albert I may refer to:

Born before 1300

 * Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987)
 * Albert I, Count of Namur (c. 950–1011)
 * Albert I of Moha
 * Albert I of Brandenburg (c. 1100–1170), first margrave of Brandenburg
 * Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195)
 * Albert I of Käfernburg (c. 1170–1232), Archbishop of Magdeburg
 * Albert I of Pietengau (c. 1215–1260)
 * Albert I, Lord of Mecklenburg (after 1230–1265)
 * Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1236–1279), second duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
 * Albert I of Germany (1255–1308), king of Germany and archduke of Austria
 * Albert I, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (c. 1258–1316)

Born after 1300

 * Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (1336–1404), duke of Bavaria-Straubing, count of Holland, Hainault and Zealand
 * Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard
 * Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (c. 1339–1383)
 * Albert I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (1468–1511)
 * Albert I, Duke of Prussia (1490–1568), first Duke of Prussia
 * Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848–1922)
 * Albert I of Belgium (1875–1934), king of the Belgians
 * Albert I Kalonji Ditunga (1929–2015), Congolese politician

Other uses

 * Albert I, the first monkey used in a subspace rocket launch, June 11, 1948

title: Albert I


text:
Albert II

Albert II may refer to:

Monkeys

 * Albert II (monkey), first primate and first mammal in space, died on impact following V-2 flight June 14, 1949

People

 * Albert II, Count of Namur (died 1067)
 * Albert II, Count of Tyrol (died 1120s)
 * Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg (c. 1177–1220)
 * Albert II, Archbishop of Riga (1200–1273)
 * Albert II, Margrave of Meissen (1240–1314),
 * Albert II, Duke of Saxony (1250–1298)
 * Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (c. 1268–1318)
 * Albert II of Austria (1298–1358)
 * Albert II, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (died 1362)
 * Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg (1318–1379)
 * Albert II, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing (1368–1397)
 * Albert II, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1369–1403)
 * Albert II of Germany (1397–1439), King of Germany, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, Duke of Austria
 * Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1419–1485)
 * Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard (1400s)
 * Albert II, Count of Hoya (1526–1563)
 * Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1620–1667)
 * Albert II of Belgium (born 1934), King of the Belgians
 * Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), ruler of the principality of Monaco
 * Albert II, Prince of Thurn and Taxis (born 1983), Prince of Thurn und Taxis, German prince

title: Albert II


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Albert III

Albert III may refer to:
 * Albert III, Count of Namur (1048–1102)
 * Albert III, Count of Habsburg (died 1199)
 * Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel (c. 1250–1300)
 * Albert III, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1281–1308)
 * Albert III, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (died 1359)
 * Albert III, Count of Gorizia (died 1374)
 * Albert III of Mecklenburg (c. 1338 – 1412)
 * Albert III, Duke of Austria (1349–1395)
 * Albert III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg (1375/1380–1422)
 * Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (1414–1486)
 * Albert III, Duke of Bavaria (1438–1460)
 * Albert III, Duke of Saxony (1443–1500)

title: Albert III


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Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Albert II (Albrecht; 28 March 1522 – 8 January 1557) was the margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Brandenburg-Bayreuth) from 1527 to 1553. He was a member of the Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Because of his bellicose nature, Albert was given the cognomen Bellator ("the Warlike") during his lifetime. Posthumously, he became known as Alcibiades.

Biography
Albert was born in Ansbach and, losing his father Casimir in 1527, he came under the guardianship of his uncle George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a strong adherent of Protestantism.

In 1541, he received Bayreuth as his share of the family lands, but as the chief town of his principality was Kulmbach, he is sometimes referred to as the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. His restless and turbulent nature marked him out for a military career; and having collected a small band of soldiers, he assisted Emperor Charles V in his war with France in 1543.

The Peace of Crépy in September 1544 deprived him of this employment, but he won a considerable reputation, and when Charles was preparing to attack the Schmalkaldic League, he took pains to win Albert's assistance.

Sharing in the attack on the Electorate of Saxony, Albert was taken prisoner at Rochlitz in March 1547 by Elector John Frederick of Saxony, but was released as a result of the Emperor's victory at the Battle of Mühlberg in the succeeding April.

He then followed the fortunes of his friend Elector Maurice of Saxony, deserted Charles, and joined the league which proposed to overthrow the Emperor by an alliance with King Henry II of France.

He took part in the subsequent campaign, but when the Peace of Passau was signed in August 1552 he separated himself from his allies and began a crusade of plunder in Franconia, which led to the Second Margrave War.

Having extorted a large sum of money from the citizens of Nuremberg, he quarrelled with his supporter, the French King, and offered his services to the Emperor. Charles, anxious to secure such a famous fighter, gladly assented to Albert's demands and gave the imperial sanction to his possession of the lands taken from the bishops of Würzburg and Bamberg; and his conspicuous bravery was of great value to the Emperor on the retreat from the Siege of Metz in January 1553.

When Charles left Germany a few weeks later, Albert renewed his depredations in Franconia. These soon became so serious that a league was formed to crush him, and Maurice of Saxony led an army against his former comrade.

The rival forces met at Sievershausen on 9 July 1553, and after a combat of unusual ferocity Albert was put to flight. Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, then took command of the troops of the league, and after Albert had been placed under the Imperial ban in December 1553 he was defeated by Duke Henry, and compelled to flee to France. He there entered the service of Henry II of France and had undertaken a campaign to regain his lands when he died at Pforzheim on 8 January 1557.

He is defined by Thomas Carlyle as "a failure of a Fritz," with "features" of a Frederick the Great in him, "but who burnt away his splendid qualities as a mere temporary shine for the able editors, and never came to anything, full of fire, too much of it wildfire, not in the least like an Alcibiades except in the change of fortune he underwent". He had early two children: Frederick and Anna. He was buried at Heilsbronn Münster. His hymn "Was mein Got will, das g'scheh allzeit" was translated as "The will of God is always best".


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Albert the Bear

Albert the Bear (Albrecht der Bär; c. 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.

Life
Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika, daughter of Magnus Billung, Duke of Saxony. He inherited his father's valuable estates in northern Saxony in 1123, and on his mother's death, in 1142, succeeded to one-half of the lands of the house of Billung. Albert was a loyal vassal of his relation, Lothar I, Duke of Saxony, from whom, about 1123, he received the Margraviate of Lusatia, to the east; after Lothar became King of the Germans, he accompanied him on a disastrous expedition to Bohemia against the upstart, Soběslav I, Duke of Bohemia in 1126 at the Battle of Kulm, where he suffered a short imprisonment.

Albert's entanglements in Saxony stemmed from his desire to expand his inherited estates there. After the death of his brother-in-law, Henry II, Margrave of the Nordmark, who controlled a small area on the Elbe called the Saxon Northern March, in 1128, Albert, disappointed at not receiving this fief himself, attacked Udo V, Count of Stade, the heir, and was consequently deprived of Lusatia by Lothar. Udo, however, was said to have been assassinated by servants of Albert on 15 March 1130 near Aschersleben. In spite of this, Albert went to Italy in 1132 in the train of the king, and his services there were rewarded in 1134 by the investiture of the Northern March, which was again without a ruler.

In 1138 Conrad III, the Hohenstaufen King of the Germans, deprived Albert's cousin and nemesis, Henry the Proud, of his Saxon duchy, which was awarded to Albert if he could take it. After some initial success in his efforts to take possession, Albert was driven from Saxony, and also from his Northern March by a combined force of Henry and Jaxa of Köpenick, and compelled to take refuge in south Germany. Henry died in 1139 and an arrangement was found. Henry's son, Henry the Lion, received the duchy of Saxony in 1142. In the same year, Albert renounced the Saxon duchy and received the counties of Weimar and Orlamünde.

Once he was firmly established in the Northern March, Albert's covetous eye lay also on the thinly populated lands to the north and east. For three years he was occupied in campaigns against the Slavic Wends, who as pagans were considered fair game, and whose subjugation to Christianity was the aim of the Wendish Crusade of 1147 in which Albert took part. Albert was a part of the army that besieged Demmin, and at the end of the war, recovered Havelberg, which had been lost since 983. Diplomatic measures were more successful, and by an arrangement made with the last of the Wendish princes of Brandenburg, Pribislav-Henry of the Hevelli, Albert secured this district when the prince died in 1150. Taking the title "Margrave in Brandenburg", he pressed the crusade against the Wends, extended the area of his mark, encouraged Dutch and German settlement in the Elbe-Havel region (Ostsiedlung), established bishoprics under his protection, and so became the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1157, which his heirs — the House of Ascania — held until the line died out in 1320.

In 1158 a feud with Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, was interrupted by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On his return in 1160, he, with the consent of his sons, Siegfried not being mentioned, donated land to the Knights of Saint John in memory of his wife, Sofia, at Werben on the Elbe. Around this same time, he minted a pfennig in memory of his deceased wife. In 1162 Albert accompanied Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Italy, where he distinguished himself at the storming of Milan.

In 1164 Albert joined a league of princes formed against Henry the Lion, and peace being made in 1169, Albert divided his territories among his six sons. He died on 18 November 1170, and was buried at Ballenstedt.

Cognomen
Albert's personal qualities won for him the cognomen of the Bear, "not from his looks or qualities, for he was a tall handsome man, but from the cognisance on his shield, an able man, had a quick eye as well as a strong hand, and could pick what way was straightest among crooked things, was the shining figure and the great man of the North in his day, got much in the North and kept it, got Brandenburg for one there, a conspicuous country ever since," says Thomas Carlyle, who called Albert "a restless, much-managing, wide-warring man." He was also called "the Handsome."

Marriage and children
Albert was married in 1124 to Sophie of Winzenburg (died 25 March 1160) and they had the following children:
 * 1) Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg (1126/1128–7 March 1184)
 * 2) Count Hermann I of Orlamünde (died 1176), father of Siegfried III, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde
 * 3) Siegfried (died 24 October 1184), Bishop of Brandenburg from 1173 to 1180, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, the first ranked prince, from 1180 to 1184
 * 4) Heinrich (died after 1185), a canon in Magdeburg
 * 5) Count Albert of Ballenstedt (died after 6 December 1172)
 * 6) Count Dietrich of Werben (died after 5 September 1183)
 * 7) Count Bernhard of Anhalt (1138/1142–9 February 1212), Duke of Saxony from 1180 to 1212 as Bernard III
 * 8) Hedwig (d. 1203), married to Otto II, Margrave of Meissen
 * 9) Unknown daughter, married in c. 1153 to Duke Děpold of Moravia
 * 10) Unknown daughter, married c. 1153 to Vladislav of Olomouc, the eldest son of Soběslav I, Duke of Bohemia
 * 11) Adelheid (died before 1162), a nun in Lamspringe
 * 12) Unknown daughter, married before 1146 Otto the Younger, son of Otto of Salm
 * 13) Sybille (died c. 1170), Abbess of Quedlinburg

title: Albert the Bear


text:
Albert of Brandenburg

Albert of Brandenburg (Albrecht von Brandenburg; 28 June 1490 – 24 September 1545) was a German cardinal, elector, Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545.

Through his notorious sale of indulgences, he became the catalyst for Martin Luther's Reformation and its staunch opponent.

Career
Born in Cölln on the Spree, now a central part of Berlin, into the ruling House of Hohenzollern, Albert was the younger son of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and Margaret of Thuringia.

After their father's death in 1499, Albert's older brother Joachim I Nestor became elector of Brandenburg while Albert held only the title of a margrave of Brandenburg. Albert studied at the university of Frankfurt (Oder), and in 1513 became Archbishop of Magdeburg at the age of 23 and administrator of the Diocese of Halberstadt.

In 1514 he was also elected Archbishop of Mainz and thus sovereign of the Electorate of Mainz and archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire. By electing him, the Mainz cathedral chapter hoped for the support of the Elector of Brandenburg in defending the city of Erfurt, which belonged to the archbishopric of Mainz, against the expansionist efforts of the neighboring Saxon dukes. However, this choice violated the canonical prohibition to hold more than one bishopric. Albert also did not meet the requirements for taking over any diocese, since he had not yet reached the age, and he didn't have a college degree; therefore he received a study dispensation in 1513. Albert borrowed 20,000 guilders from Jacob Fugger to pay the confirmation fee to the Roman Curia (see: simony). In 1514 Albert suggested to Pope Leo X that a special indulgence be announced in his three dioceses as well as in his native diocese of Brandenburg and that half of the income should be used for the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica and half for Albert's own cash register. The papal bull was issued on 31 March 1515. The indulgence was entrusted to Albert in 1517 for publication in Saxony and Brandenburg. It cost him the considerable sum of ten thousand ducats, and Albert employed Johann Tetzel for the actual preaching of the indulgence. Later, Martin Luther addressed a letter of protest to Albert concerning the conduct of Tetzel.

Largely in reaction to Tetzel's actions, Luther wrote his famous Ninety-five Theses, which led to the Reformation. Luther sent these to Albert on 31 October 1517, and according to a disputable tradition, nailed a copy to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. Albert forwarded the theses to Rome, suspecting Luther of heresy.

As Archbishop of Mainz, he tried unsuccessfully in 1515 and 1516 to expel the Jews living in Mainz. In 1518, at the age of 28, he was made a cardinal. When the imperial election of 1519 drew near, partisans of the two leading candidates (kings Charles I of Spain and Francis I of France) eagerly solicited the vote of the Prince-Archbishop of Mainz, and Albert appears to have received a large amount of money for his vote. The electors eventually chose Charles, who became the Emperor Charles V.

Like other high-ranking clergymen of his time, Archbishop Albert lived in concubinage, gave his lovers gifts and favored his children as far as possible without causing much offense. Recent research assumes that he lived in a marriage-like relationship at first with Elisabeth "Leys" Schütz from Mainz and then with the Frankfurt widow Agnes Pless, née Strauss. With Leys Schütz he had a daughter named Anna, whom he married to his secretary Joachim Kirchner.

Albert's large and liberal ideas, his correspondence with leading humanists, his friendship with Ulrich von Hutten whom he drew to his court, and his political ambitions, appear to have raised hopes that he could be won over to Protestantism; but after the German Peasants' War of 1525 he ranged himself definitely among the supporters of Catholicism, and was among the princes who joined the League of Dessau in July 1525.

From 1514 until his flight on 21 February 1541, Albert ruled mostly from his residence Moritzburg in Halle. In 1531, he had a spacious new residential palace built there. Albert also needed a prestigious church that met his expectations at a central location in his residenz town. He feared for his peace of mind in heaven, and collected more than 8,100 relics and 42 holy skeletons which needed to be stored. From 1529, he had two parish churches standing next to each other demolished and only their four towers from c. 1400 with pointed helmets stood. Between these towers he had a large new nave built, which was named Market Church of Our Lady since she received a Marian patronage. However, these precious treasures, known as Hallesches Heilthum (the Halle sanctuary), indirectly related to the sale of indulgences which had triggered the Reformation a few years before because it should attract pilgrims willing to pay. Then, the cardinal and the Catholic members of the town council wanted to repress the growing influence of the Reformation by holding far grander Masses and services in a new church dedicated solely to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose excessive worship Luther disliked.

Albert's hostility towards the reformers, however, was not so extreme as that of his brother Joachim I; and he appears to have exerted himself towards peace, although he was a member of the League of Nuremberg, formed in 1538 as a counterpoise to the League of Schmalkalden. New doctrines nevertheless made considerable progress in his dominions, and he was compelled to grant religious liberty to the inhabitants of Magdeburg in return for 500,000 florins. In his later years, he showed more intolerance towards the Protestants, and favoured the teaching of the Jesuits in his dominions.

The Market Church of Our Lady in Halle, which had been built to defend against the spread of Reformation sympathies, was the spot where Justus Jonas officially introduced the Reformation into Halle with his Good Friday sermon in 1541. The service must have been at least partly conducted in the open air, because at that time construction had only been finished at the eastern end of the nave. Jonas began a successful preaching crusade and attracted so many people that the church overflowed. Albert left the town permanently after the estates in the city had announced that they would take over his enormous debt at the bank of Jakob Fugger. Halle became Protestant and in 1542 Jonas was appointed as priest to St. Mary's and, in 1544, bishop over the city.

Patron of the arts
He became a friend of science and a patron of the arts. As a patron of learning, he counted Erasmus among his friends. However, Albert's ideas about founding a Catholic university in Halle were not implemented. Nonetheless he adorned Halle Cathedral and Mainz Cathedral in sumptuous fashion, and took as his motto the words Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae (Latin for "I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house", from Psalm 25:8). Matthias Grünewald and Lucas Cranach the Elder created magnificent paintings for the Halle Cathedral which was decorated from 1519 to 1525 with 16 Passion altars with 140 pictures by Cranach and his workshop, the largest single commission in German art history. Grünewald contributed the famous wood painting Saint Erasmus and Saint Maurice. Albert also ordered paintings from Hans Baldung Grien and a cycle of 18 life-size statues of saints from Peter Schro in Mainz, which can still be admired in Halle Cathedral today. In 1526 he donated the market fountain in Mainz. In 1521, Martin Luther referred to the ever-growing collection of relics as the "idol of Halle".

When Albert left Halle for good in 1541 and moved to his residence in Aschaffenburg in the electoral state of Mainz, he took with him the collection of relics, his private art collection and a large part of the works of art he had donated to the cathedral and other Catholic churches that now became protestant. He sold parts of the treasure of relics in order to be able to settle claims of the cathedral chapters of Magdeburg and Halberstadt; the sanctuaries are scattered today. He took his private paintings with him to his residence in Johannisburg Castle, where a large part was plundered and destroyed in 1552 during the Second Margrave War. He had the works of art brought from Halle Cathedral hung in the St. Peter und Alexander's church, where they survived all wars until the Elector-Archbishop Carl Theodor von Dalberg had them brought to Johannisburg Castle in 1803. There they were evacuated in good time before the damaging fire caused by bombing in 1945. Today they can be seen in the reconstructed castle in the Staatsgalerie Aschaffenburg, which was reopened in 2023 after several years of renovation. Despite the losses caused by wars, looting and sales, the Aschaffenburg collection is considered the largest Cranach collection in Europe. In addition to 17 altar wings, some of which consist of several panels, and individual paintings from the Cranach workshop, 9 autographed works by the older and 2 by the younger Cranach are on display. In addition, a crucifixion group by Hans Baldung Grien and a large number of paintings by Cranach's students. Some other altars and paintings from the school are also preserved in the St. Peter und Alexander's church and its museum. Other paintings are in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

Death
Albert died at the Martinsburg, Mainz in 1545. His tomb is in Mainz Cathedral.

title: Albert of Brandenburg


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Albert, Duke of Prussia

Albert of Prussia (Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 1490 – 20 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th grand master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secularized state that emerged from the former Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. Albert was the first European ruler to establish Lutheranism, and thus Protestantism, as the official state religion of his lands. He proved instrumental in the political spread of Protestantism in its early stage, ruling the Prussian lands for nearly six decades (1510–1568).

Albert was great-grandson of the converted pagan ruler Jogaila of Poland and Lithuania, vanquisher of the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald. He was also a member of the Brandenburg-Ansbach branch of the House of Hohenzollern. He became grand master of the Teutonic Knights in their attempt to diplomatically win over the Polish-Lithuanian union. His skill in political administration and leadership ultimately succeeded in reversing the decline of the Teutonic Order. But Albert was sympathetic to the demands of Martin Luther, whose teachings had become popular in his lands. So he rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire by converting the Teutonic state into a Protestant and hereditary realm, the Duchy of Prussia, for which he paid homage to his uncle, Sigismund I, king of Poland. That arrangement was confirmed by the Treaty of Kraków in 1525. Albert pledged a personal oath to the king and in return was invested with the duchy for himself and his heirs.

Albert's rule in Prussia was fairly prosperous. Although he had some trouble with the peasantry, the confiscation of the lands and treasures of the Catholic Church enabled him to propitiate the nobles and provide for the expenses of the newly established Prussian court. He was active in imperial politics, joining the League of Torgau in 1526, and acted in unison with the Protestants in plotting to overthrow Emperor Charles V after the issue of the Augsburg Interim in May 1548. Albert established schools in every town and founded the University of Königsberg in 1544. He promoted culture and arts, patronising the works of Erasmus Reinhold and Caspar Hennenberger. During the final years of his rule, Albert was forced to raise taxes instead of further confiscating now-depleted church lands, causing peasant rebellion. The intrigues of the court favourites Johann Funck and Paul Skalić also led to various religious and political disputes. Albert spent his final years virtually deprived of power and died at Tapiau on 20 March 1568. His son, Albert Frederick, succeeded him as Duke of Prussia.

Early life
Albert was born in Ansbach in Franconia as the third son of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. His mother was Sophia, daughter of Casimir IV Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania and king of Poland, and his wife Elisabeth of Austria. His great-grandfather was Władysław II Jagiełło, the last pagan ruler in Europe, who defeated the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. He was raised for a career in the Church and spent some time at the court of Hermann IV of Hesse, Elector of Cologne, who appointed him canon of the Cologne Cathedral. Not only was he quite religious; he was also interested in mathematics and science and sometimes is claimed to have contradicted the teachings of the Church in favour of scientific theories. His career was forwarded by the Church, however, and institutions of the Catholic clerics supported his early advancement.

Turning to a more active life, Albert accompanied Emperor Maximilian I to Italy in 1508 and after his return spent some time in the Kingdom of Hungary.

Grand Master
Duke Frederick of Saxony, grand master of the Teutonic Order, died in December 1510. Albert was chosen as his successor early in 1511 in the hope that his relationship to his maternal uncle, Sigismund I the Old, Grand Duke of Lithuania and king of Poland, would facilitate a settlement of the disputes over eastern Prussia, which had been held by the order under Polish suzerainty since the Second Peace of Thorn (1466).

The new grand master, aware of his duties to the empire and to the papacy, refused to submit to the crown of Poland. As war over the order's existence appeared inevitable, Albert made strenuous efforts to secure allies and carried on protracted negotiations with Emperor Maximilian I. The ill-feeling, influenced by the ravages of members of the Order in Poland, culminated in a war which began in December 1519 and devastated Prussia. Albert was granted a four-year truce early in 1521.

The dispute was referred to Emperor Charles V and other princes, but as no settlement was reached Albert continued his efforts to obtain help in view of a renewal of the war. For this purpose he visited the Diet of Nuremberg in 1522, where he made the acquaintance of the Reformer Andreas Osiander, by whose influence Albert was won over to Protestantism.

The grand master then journeyed to Wittenberg, where he was advised by Martin Luther to abandon the rules of his order, to marry, and to convert Prussia into a hereditary duchy for himself. This proposal, which was understandably appealing to Albert, had already been discussed by some of his relatives; but it was necessary to proceed cautiously, and he assured Pope Adrian VI that he was anxious to reform the order and punish the knights who had adopted Lutheran doctrines. Luther for his part did not stop at the suggestion, but in order to facilitate the change made special efforts to spread his teaching among the Prussians, while Albert's brother, Margrave George of Brandenburg-Ansbach, laid the scheme before their uncle, Sigismund I the Old of Poland.

Duke in Prussia
After some delay Sigismund assented to the offer, with the provision that Prussia should be treated as a Polish fiefdom; and after this arrangement had been confirmed by a treaty concluded at Kraków, Albert pledged a personal oath to Sigismund I and was invested with the duchy for himself and his heirs on 10 February 1525.

The Estates of the land then met at Königsberg and took the oath of allegiance to the new duke, who used his full powers to promote the doctrines of Luther. This transition did not, however, take place without protest. Summoned before the imperial court of justice, Albert refused to appear and was proscribed, while the order elected a new grand master, Walter von Cronberg, who received Prussia as a fief at the imperial Diet of Augsburg. As the German princes were experiencing the tumult of the Reformation, the German Peasants' War, and the wars against the Ottoman Turks, they did not enforce the ban on the duke, and agitation against him soon died away.

In imperial politics Albert was fairly active. Joining the League of Torgau in 1526, he acted in unison with the Protestants, and was among the princes who banded and plotted together to overthrow Charles V after the issue of the Augsburg Interim in May 1548. For various reasons, however, poverty and personal inclination among others, he did not take a prominent part in the military operations of this period.

The early years of Albert's rule in Prussia were fairly prosperous. Although he had some trouble with the peasantry, the lands and treasures of the church enabled him to propitiate the nobles and for a time to provide for the expenses of the court. He did something for the furtherance of learning by establishing schools in every town and by freeing serfs who adopted a scholastic life. In 1544, in spite of some opposition, he founded Königsberg University, where he appointed his friend Andreas Osiander to a professorship in 1549. Albert also paid for the printing of the Astronomical "Prutenic Tables" compiled by Erasmus Reinhold and the first maps of Prussia by Caspar Hennenberger.

Osiander's appointment was the beginning of the troubles which clouded the closing years of Albert's reign. Osiander's divergence from Luther's doctrine of justification by faith involved him in a violent quarrel with Philip Melanchthon, who had adherents in Königsberg, and these theological disputes soon created an uproar in the town. The duke strenuously supported Osiander, and the area of the quarrel soon broadened. There were no longer church lands available with which to conciliate the nobles, the burden of taxation was heavy, and Albert's rule became unpopular.

After Osiander's death in 1552, Albert favoured a preacher named Johann Funck, who, with an adventurer named Paul Skalić, exercised great influence over him and obtained considerable wealth at public expense. The state of turmoil caused by these religious and political disputes was increased by the possibility of Albert's early death and the need, should that happen, to appoint a regent, as his only son, Albert Frederick was still a mere youth. The duke was forced to consent to a condemnation of the teaching of Osiander, and the climax came in 1566 when the Estates appealed to King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, Albert's cousin, who sent a commission to Königsberg. Skalić saved his life by flight, but Funck was executed. The question of the regency was settled, and a form of Lutheranism was adopted and declared binding on all teachers and preachers.

Virtually deprived of power, the duke lived for two more years, and died at Tapiau on 20 March 1568 of the plague, along with his wife. Cornelis Floris de Vriendt designed his tomb within Königsberg Cathedral.

Albert was a voluminous letter writer, and corresponded with many of the leading personages of the time.

Legacy

Albert was the first German noble to support Luther's ideas and in 1544 founded the University of Königsberg, the Albertina, as a rival to the Roman Catholic Krakow Academy. It was the second Lutheran university in the German states, after the University of Marburg.

A relief of Albert over the Renaissance-era portal of Königsberg Castle's southern wing was created by Andreas Hess in 1551 according to plans by Christoph Römer. Another relief by an unknown artist was included in the wall of the Albertina's original campus. This depiction, which showed the duke with his sword over his shoulder, was the popular "Albertus", the symbol of the university. The original was moved to Königsberg Public Library to protect it from the elements, while the sculptor Paul Kimritz created a duplicate for the wall. Another version of the "Albertus" by Lothar Sauer was included at the entrance of the Königsberg State and Royal Library.

In 1880 Friedrich Reusch created a sandstone bust of Albert at the Regierungsgebäude, the administrative building for Regierungsbezirk Königsberg. On 19 May 1891 Reusch premiered a famous statue of Albert at Königsberg Castle with the inscription: "Albert of Brandenburg, Last Grand Master, First Duke in Prussia". Albert Wolff also designed an equestrian statue of Albert located at the new campus of the Albertina. King's Gate contains a statue of Albert.

Albert was oft-honored in the quarter Maraunenhof in northern Königsberg. Its main street was named Herzog-Albrecht-Allee in 1906. Its town square, König-Ottokar-Platz, was renamed Herzog-Albrecht-Platz in 1934 to match its church, the Herzog-Albrecht-Gedächtniskirche.

Spouse and issue
Albert married first, to Dorothea (1 August 1504 – 11 April 1547), daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark, in 1526. They had six children:
 * Anna Sophia (11 June 1527 – 6 February 1591), married John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.
 * Katharina (b. and d. 24 February 1528).
 * Frederick Albert (5 December 1529 – 1 January 1530).
 * Lucia Dorothea (8 April 1531 – 1 February 1532).
 * Lucia (3 February 1537 – May 1539).
 * Albert (b. and d. March 1539).

He married secondly to Anna Maria (1532–20 March 1568), daughter of Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, in 1550. The couple had two children:
 * Elisabeth (20 May 1551 – 19 February 1596).
 * Albert Frederick (29 April 1553 – 18 August 1618), Duke of Prussia.

title: Albert, Duke of Prussia