1721

Events 
 Pope Innocent XIII becomes pope
 Johann Sebastian Bach composes the Brandenburg Concertos
 April 4 – Robert Walpole becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 September 10 – Treaty of Nystad is signed, bringing an end to the Great Northern War
 November 2 – Peter I is proclaimed Emperor of All the Russias

 Births 
 April 19 - Roger Sherman, signer of the American Declaration of Independence (d.  1803)

 Deaths 
 July 18 - Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
 September 2 - Kwon Sang-ha, Korean writer
 September 17 - Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
 December 13 - Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor (original "Robinson Crusoe") (b. 1676)