August 21 is the 233rd day of the year. There are 132 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).
+ 1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
+ 1897 – Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobiles, is founded.
+ 1911 – The Mona Lisa is stolen by a Louvre employee.
+ 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
+ 1961 – American country music singer Patsy Cline returns to record producer Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville, Tennessee to record her vocals to Willie Nelson's "Crazy." Rib pain lingering from her near fatal car accident earlier in the year had kept her vocal range stifled the week prior. This time, Cline was successful in the first take. It marked the first and last time her vocals were dubbed to the Decca Records session musicians' previously recorded instrumental track. Prior to this event, Cline had always recorded with live accompaniment. Patsy Cline died prematurely in a plane crash on March 5, 1963, outside Camden, Tennessee. The recording of "Crazy" would become her signature song.
+ 1961 – Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
( Births )
+ 1924 – Jack Buck, American sportscaster (d. 2002)
+ 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (d. 1999)
+ 1959 – Jim McMahon, American football player and coach