On This Day: August 21st

A solar eclipse traverses the continental United States.

Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.

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.

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.

Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 crashes in Douar Izounine, Morocco, killing all 44 people on board.

NASA loses contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft.

Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940.

Coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev collapses.

The 6.9 Mw Nepal earthquake shakes the Nepal–India border with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 709–1,450 people killed and thousands injured.

Carbon dioxide gas erupts from volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, killing up to 1,800 people within a 20-kilometre (12 mi) range.