Happy Birthday February 21

Jeanne Calment was born on February 21, 1875. She had the longest confirmed age span in history, living to the age of 122 years, 164 days. Calment lived in Arles, France for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson.

English pilot Douglas Bader was born on February 21, 1910 in St John's Wood, London, to Frederick Roberts Bader, a civil engineer, and his wife Jessie. Douglas attended St Edward's School where he received his secondary education. Fellow RAF night fighter and bomber pilot Guy Gibson also attended the same school. In 1928, Bader joined the RAF as an officer cadet at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in rural Lincolnshire. He came 19th out of 21 in his class examinations.

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was born February 21, 1924. He became the President of Zimbabwe in 1987. When Shimon Peres stepped down as Israel’s president in July 2014, Mugabe assumed the mantle of the world’s oldest head of state. On November 15, 2017, President Robert Mugabe was placed under house arrest as Zimbabwe's military took control in a coup. He resigned the Presidency a week later.

For more February 21 anniversaries, including the publication of The Communist Manifesto, the first recorded aircraft hijack and the design of the peace symbol, check out OnThatDay.