1421 ( MCDXXI ) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar , the 1421st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 421st year of the 2nd millennium , the 21st year of the 15th century , and the 2nd year of the 1420s decade. As of the start of 1421, the Gregorian calendar was 9 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which was the dominant calendar of the time.

Events [ change | change source ]

• March 21 ? Battle of Bauge . A small French force surprises and defeats a smaller English force under Thomas, Duke of Clarence , a brother of Henry V of England , in Normandy .
• May 26 ? Mehmed I , Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Murad II .
• November 17?19 ? St. Elizabeth flood . The coastal area near Dordrecht in the Netherlands was flooded due to an extremely high tide of the North Sea . 72 villages were drowned, killing about 10,000 people.
• John III of Dampierre , Marquis of Namur , sells his estates to Philip the Good , Duke of Burgundy .
• The first patent is issued by the Republic of Florence . ^[1]
• In a theory proposed by Gavin Menzies, supposedly the year that Chinese explorer Hong Bao and Zhou Wen discovered the Americas, beating Columbus by about 70 years.

Births [ change | change source ]

• July 25 ? Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland , English politician (died 1461 )
• December 6 ? King Henry VI of England (died 1471 )
• date unknown
  • Sogi , Buddhist priest and Japanese poet (died 1502 )
  • Agnes Sorel , mistress of Charles VII of France
  • Ponhea Yat , ruler of the Khmer Empire (died 1467 )

Deaths [ change | change source ]

• January 21 ? Niccolo I Trinci , lord of Foligno (assassinated)
• March 22 ? Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence , second son of Henry IV of England (killed in battle) (born 1388 )
• May ? Bal?a III , ruler of Zeta
• May 26 ? Mehmed I , Ottoman Sultan (b. 1389 )
• date unknown ? John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (born 1385 )

References [ change | change source ]