Today
Friday August 21 2026
- Day of the year
- 233/ 365
- Week
- 342,026
- Days left
- 13264%
- Moon
- 65%Waxing gibbous
Today is Friday, August 21, 2026. It is day 233 of 2026, a year of 365 days: 132 remain, and 64% of the year has gone. Under ISO 8601 this date falls in week 34.
What's celebrated on this date
International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism
WorldwideUnited Nations — International Days
Saints and name days
Saints whose feast falls on this date, most widely known first.
- Pius XPope of the Catholic Church from 1903 to 1914, saint
- Jude the Apostleone of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus; traditionally identified with Jude the brother of Jesus
- Sidonius ApollinarisGaulish poet, aristocrat and bishop (430-489)
- Athanasios III of ConstantinopleEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
- Abraham of Smolenska Russian monk and priest
Sources : Wikidata (P841) · CC0 1.0
Astronomy
New York
- Sunrise
- 06:13
- Sunset
- 19:46
- Length of day
- 13h 33m−2 min vs yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:59
Times shown for America/New_York
Season
Summer
began on June 21, 2026
Next season
Autumn — 32 days, September 22, 2026 (September equinox)
Public holidays — United States
Not a public holiday in the United States.
Next public holiday : Labor Day — September 7, 2026
National holidays only. Regions, provinces and Länder add their own.
Moon
Waxing gibbous
Illumination : 65%
Moon age : 8.9 days
- Next full moon
- August 28, 2026
- Next new moon
- September 11, 2026
Astrology
Today's zodiac sign
Leo
until August 23, 2026 — Virgo
Zodiac dates are an astrological convention, not the Sun's actual position among the constellations. The astronomy above is measured; this is not.
On this day in history
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). Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
1863
Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by pro-Confederate guerrillas known as Quantrill's Raiders. Wikipedia
1911
The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee. Wikipedia
Show more (4)
1944
Dumbarton Oaks Conference, prelude to the United Nations, begins. Wikipedia
1986
Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometre (12 mi) range. Wikipedia
1991
Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940. Wikipedia
1991
Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses. Wikipedia
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
Births and deaths
Born on this day August 21
- 1165Philip II of France (died 1223)
- 1535Shimazu Yoshihiro, Japanese general (died 1619)
- 1567Francis de Sales, Swiss bishop and saint (died 1622)
- 1725Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter and educator (died 1805)
- 1765William IV, King of the United Kingdom (died 1837)
- 1939Festus Mogae, Botswana economist and politician, third President of Botswana (died 2026)
- 1961Stephen Hillenburg, American marine biologist, cartoonist, animator and creator of SpongeBob SquarePants (died 2018)
- 1963Mohammed VI of Morocco, King of Moroccoturns 63 years
Died on this day August 21
- 1131King Baldwin II of Jerusalemaged 56 years
- 1157Alfonso VII of León and Castile (born 1105)aged 52 years
- 1568Jean Parisot de Valette, 49th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (born 1495)aged 74 years
- 1614Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and purported serial killer (born 1560)aged 54 years
- 1940Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (born 1879)aged 61 years
- 1943Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1857)aged 86 years
- 2005Robert Moog, American businessman, founded Moog Music (born 1934)aged 71 years
- 2018Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor and singer (born 1975)aged 43 years
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
The day in words
In New York the sun rises at 06:13 and sets at 19:46, giving 13h 33m of daylight — 2 minutes less than yesterday. It has been summer since June 21, 2026; autumn opens in 32 days, on September 22, 2026 (September equinox).
The moon is waxing gibbous, 65% illuminated. The next full moon falls on August 28, 2026 and the next new moon on September 11, 2026.
The saints' calendar attaches August 21 to Pius X, Jude the Apostle and Sidonius Apollinaris.
August 21 is International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, designated by the United Nations or one of its agencies.
It is not a public holiday in the United States.
On this day in history: Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Sei-i Taishōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan (1192); 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 (1772). English Wikipedia records 10 events for this date.
Philip II of France was born on August 21, 1165; King Baldwin II of Jerusalem died on August 21, 1131.
126 days remain until Christmas and 133 until New Year's Day.
In astrology — kept separate from the measured astronomy above, deliberately — August 21 falls under the sign of Leo.
Calendar
By the numbers
- 64%
- of the year elapsed
- 126
- until Christmas
- 133
- until New Year
- 557
- until the next 29 February
2026 — Common year (365 days)
Work with dates
Sources
Every block on this page names where its data comes from. Nothing here is generated when the source is silent.
- United Nations — International Days— What's celebrated today
- Wikidata (P841)— Saints and name days · CC0 1.0
- Wikipedia (en)— On this day in history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26