1421

January–December

• February 2 - Yongle Emperor, third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, shifts the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing.
• March 3 - Zheng He receives imperial order from Yongle Emperor to bring imperial letters, silk products, and other gifts to various rulers of countries around the Indian Ocean.
• March 21 - Battle of Baugé: 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's flood: The coastal area near Dordrecht in the Netherlands is flooded, due to the extremely high tide of the North Sea; 72 villages are drowned, killing about 10,000 people.

  Date unknown

• 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.
• Portuguese sailors sent by Henry the Navigator cross Cape Non, going as far as Cape Bojador.
• Traditional date - Larabanga Mosque is founded, in modern-day northern Ghana.