November 21: Armed Forces Day in BangladeshAlan Freed1894 First Sino-Japanese War: After capturing the Chinese city of Port Arthur, the Japanese army began a massacre of the city's soldiers and civilians.1959 American disc jockey Alan Freed (pictured), who popularized the term rock and roll, was fired from WABC-AM for his role in the payola scandal.1964 The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, opened to traffic as the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.1974 Bombs exploded in two pubs in central Birmingham, England, killing 21 people and leading to the imprisonment of six people who were later exonerated.2009 An explosion in a coal mine in Heilongjiang, China, killed 108 miners.Voltaire (b.1694)Hetty Green (b.1834)Milka Planinc (b.1924)Catherine Bauer Wurster (d.1964)More anniversaries: November 20November 21November 22ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout