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Today in History: August 21, Nat Turner launches rebellion

inquirer.com · 4h · first reportShare

Today is Friday, Aug. 21, the 233rd day of 2026. There are 132 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 21, 1831, Nat Turner launched a violent slave rebellion in Virginia, resulting in the deaths of at least 55 white people; scores of Black people were killed in retribution after the rebellion, and Turner was later executed. Also on this date: In 1858, the first of seven debates took place between Illinois senatorial contenders Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. (It was recovered two years later in Italy.) In 1944, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened talks at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington that helped pave the way for establishment of the United Nations. In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation officially declaring Hawaii the 50th state. In 1983, Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated as he exited an aircraft at Manila In