|
What happened in history on this day: October 21?
On October 21 in ...
- 310 - Saint Eusebius ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
- 686 - Conon begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
- 1449 - Birth of George, Duke of Clarence, in Dublin Castle.
- 1520 - Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan discovers the strait separating Tierra del Fuego and the continental mainland, near the tip of South America.
- 1553 - Volumes of the Talmud are burned.
- 1681 - English King Charles II instructs Massachusetts General Court to desist minting coins.
- 1772 - Birth of Samuel Taylor Coleridge in England; poet (Rime of the Ancient Mariner) (dies 1834).
- 1790 - Birth of Alphonse-Marie Louis de Lamartine in Macon, France; writer (René).
- 1797 - The US Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched in Boston harbor.
- 1805 - The Royal Navy, led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, attacks the Franco-Spanish Fleet at Cape Trafalgar. The British capture or destroy 22 of the 33 ships, with no British ship losses. An estimated 14,000 allied forces are killed wounded, or captured, with British losses totalling 1690. Admiral Nelson is struck by a bullet and is killed.
- 1833 - Birth of Alfred Bernhard Nobel in Stockholm, Sweden; created dynamite and Peace Prizes (dies 1896).
- 1858 - The Austrian Empire demonetizes the Maria Theresa talers.
- 1868 - Severe earthquake at 7:53 AM, centered in Hayward, California.
- 1871 - First US amateur outdoor athletic games (New York).
- 1872 - The Treaty of Washington is signed by Canada and the USA, settling the "Pig War" of 1859, establishing the final boundary between the USA and Canada, granting the USA sole and permanent possession of San Juan Island, south of Vancouver Island.
- 1879 - In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Alva Edison succeeds in creating an electric lamp, with carbonized cotton filament, burning for 14.5 hours.
- 1897 - Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago is dedicated.
- 1905 - England Pilgrim Association beats All New York 11, 7-1 in soccer at Polo Grounds.
- 1908 - Birth of Alexander Schneider in Vilna (Lithuania) Russia; violinist (Budapest String Quartet).
- 1911 - Birth of Mary Robinson in McAlester, Oklahoma, USA; Disney artist (It's a Small World), worked on Disney animation and live films, and parks, named Disney Legend in 1991.
- 1912 - Birth of Georg Solti in Budapest, Hungary; conductor (Fidelio) (dies 1997).
- 1914 - Birth of Martin Gardner; Scientific American math and puzzles columnist.
- 1915 - The first transatlantic radiotelephone message is transmitted from Arlington, Virginia to Paris, France.
- 1915 - Birth of Owen Bradley; influential Nashville-sound record producer (Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, Buddy Holly, Conway Twitty).
- 1917 - First Americans see action on the front lines of European war.
- 1917 - Birth of Dizzy Gillespie in South Carolina, USA; jazz and bebop trumpeter.
- 1918 - Margaret Owen sets world typing speed record of 170 words per minute for one minute.
- 1921 - Birth of Malcolm Arnold in Northampton, England; composer (The Bridge over the River Kwai).
- 1921 - Birth of Robert Clothier in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada; actor (Relic - Beachcombers).
- 1923 - Deutsches Museum, München, first Walther Bauersfeld Zeiss Planetarium.
- 1925 - Birth of Joyce Randolph in Detroit, Michigan, USA; actress (Trixie - The Honeymooners).
- 1926 - Birth of Leonard Rossiter in Liverpool, England; actor (Britannia Hospital).
- 1928 - Birth of Edward "Whitey" Ford; hall of fame pitcher (New York Yankees).
- 1929 - Birth of Ursula LeGuin; American writer (Lathe of Heaven).
- 1933 - German Chancellor Adolf Hitler withdraws Germany from the League of Nations.
- 1933 - Birth of Georgia Brown; actress (Study in Terror, The Fixer).
- 1935 - Hank Greenberg is unanimously selected as American League Most Valuable Player.
- 1936 - Siege of Madrid begins in Spanish Civil War.
- 1938 - Adolf Hitler instructs the German armed forces to prepare "the liquidation of Czechoslovakia".
- 1938 - Japanese troops capture Canton, main southern China port.
- 1940 - Birth of Frances FitzGerald in New York City, New York, USA; journalist/author (Fire in the Lake).
- 1940 - Birth of Manfred Mann; rocker ("The Mighty Quinn").
- 1940 - Birth of Osamu Watanabe in Japan; featherweight (Olympic-gold-1964).
- 1941 - Birth of Steve Cropper; guitarist (Booker T. and the M-G's).
- 1942 - Birth of Elvin Bishop in Oklahoma, USA; rocker ("Fooled Around and Fell in Love").
- 1942 - Birth of Judy Sheindlin; TV judge (Judge Judy).
- 1943 - Birth of Paula Kelly in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; dancer/actress (Liz - Night Court).
- 1944 - US troops capture Aachen, first large German city to fall.
- 1945 - Birth of Kathy Young; rocker ("Thousand Stars in the Sky").
- 1945 - Women in France are allowed to vote for the first time.
- 1945 - Birth of Everett McGill; actor (Twin Peaks).
- 1946 - Birth of Lee Loughnane; trumpeter (Chicago).
- 1948 - The first facsimile (FAX) is demonstrated through high-speed radio transmission, in Washington D.C.
- 1949 - Birth of Benjamin Netanyahu; Israeli politician.
- 1950 - Birth of Ronald E McNair in Lake City, South Carolina, USA; astronaut (STS 41B, 51L-Challenger disaster).
- 1950 - Chinese forces occupy Tibet.
- 1953 - Birth of Charlotte Caffey; singer, guitarist (The Go-Gos - "Our Lips are Sealed").
- 1956 - Birth of Carrie Fisher in Beverly Hills, California, USA; actress (Princess Lelia - Star Wars).
- 1957 - Birth of Julian Cope; rocker (My Nation Underground).
- 1957 - Birth of Steve Lukather; guitarist (Toto).
- 1959 - Birth of George Bell in the Dominican Republic; outfielder (Toronto Blue Jays, 1987 American League Most Valuable Player).
- 1959 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists to NASA.
- 1959 - In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of contemporary art, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
- 1966 - In Aberfan village, Wales, UK, heavy rains dislodge 2 million tons of coal waste, setting off avalanche killing 144 people, including 111 children.
- 1966 - Death of Gertrude Hoffman at age 95; actress (Mrs Odetts - My Little Margie TV show).
- 1967 - Thousands opposing Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon.
- 1969 - Bloodless coup in Somalia.
- 1969 - Willy Brandt of the SPD is elected the fourth chancellor of West Germany. Walter Scheel (FDP) becomes the vice chancellor and foreign minister.
- 1970 - 777 Unification church couples wed in Korea.
- 1970 - Caledonian Airways takes over British United Airways.
- 1971 - US President Richard Nixon nominates Lewis F Powell and William H Rehnquist to US Supreme Court, following resignations of Justices Hugo Black and John Harlan.
- 1971 - Birth of Nick Oliveri; singer-bassist (Queens Of The Stone Age).
- 1973 - The Oakland Athletics' win the 70th World Series defeating the New York Mets, 5-2 in Game 7.
- 1973 - Birth of Charlie Lowell; keyboardist (Jars of Clay).
- 1974 - First New York Islanders' shut-out opponent-Billy Smith 5-0 vs Washington Capitals.
- 1975 - Mexico City's first major subway accident takes 26 lives.
- 1975 - Boston Red Sox Carlton Fisk's 12th inning home run beats Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in game six of World Series.
- 1975 - Venera 9, first craft to orbit the planet Venus.
- 1975 - Elton John receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 1976 - American Saul Bellow wins Nobel Prize for Literature.
- 1976 - Birth of Jeremy Miller in West Covina, California; actor (Ben - Growing Pains).
- 1976 - Cincinnati Reds sweep New York Yankees in 73rd World Series.
- 1976 - New York Knicks retire first number, 19, Willis Reed.
- 1977 - US recalls William Bowdler, ambassador to South Africa.
- 1978 - Birth of Will Estes; actor (American Dreams).
- 1979 - Greta Waitz wins woman participation in New York City marathon (2:27:33).
- 1980 - In Game six in front of 65,838 fans at Veterans Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies win their first World Series ever in the 98-year history of the franchise by defeating the Kansas City Royals, 4-1.
- 1981 - Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
- 1981 - Birth of Kim Kardashian; actress (Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Dancing With the Stars).
- 1983 - At the 17th General Conference on Weights and Measures, the metre is defined in terms of the speed of light as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
- 1983 - Birth of Matt Dallas; actor (Kyle XY).
- 1984 - Steve Jones runs Chicago Marathon in world record 2:08:05.
- 1986 - The Compact of Free Association between the USA and the Marshall Islands becomes effective.
- 1987 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 10.15 percent.
- 1988 - Boston Celtics beat Yugoslavia 113-85 in Madrid, Spain.
- 1988 - Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos indicted on racketeering charges.
- 1989 - Betram Lee and Peter Bynoe purchase Denver Nuggets for US$65 million.
- 1989 - Buck Helm found alive after being buried four days, in San Francisco earthquake.
- 1989 - Houston becomes first major college football team to gain 1000 yards in a game.
- 1989 - The Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations issue the Langkawi Declaration on the Environment, making environmental sustainability one of the Commonwealth's main priorities.
- 1991 - The Oakland Hills firestorm in California kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments.
- 1992 - Death of Jackson Weaver of complications from diabetes; actor, voice of Smokey the Bear.
- 1995 - Death of Maxene (Angelyn) Andrews at age 79 of a heart attack; American singer (The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön", "Rum and Coca Cola", "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy").
- 1995 - Death of Shannon Hoon, found dead on his tour bus from an accidental drug overdose at age 28; singer (Blind Melon - "No Rain" (1993)).
- 1997 - The Guinness Book of Records declares Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997", to be the biggest-selling single record of all time (31.8 million copies sold in 37 days).
- 1998 - The New York Yankees defeat the San Diego Padres to sweep them in the baseball World Series. The Yankees had a magical season with 114 regular-season wins and 11 postseason victories (125 total - the most by any team in 123 years of Major League Baseball).
- 1998 - Konami releases the Metal Gear Solid video game for the PlayStation in the USA. 350,000 copies are sold in the first three days. Total sales over its lifetime: six million copies.
- 1998 - In Japan, Nintendo releases the Game Boy Color portable video game system. It features 2.1 MHz processor, and 32 kB RAM. It can display 56 colors simultaneously from a palette of 32,000. Size is 3 x 5.25 x 1 inches; weight is 6.7 ounces.
- 2000 - Fifteen Arab leaders convene in Cairo, Egypt, for their first summit in four years; the Libyan delegation walks out, angry over signs the summit will stop short of calling for breaking ties with Israel.
- 2000 - Death of Reginald Kray, leading figure in organised crime in London, United Kingdom (born 1933).
- 2001 - What More Can I Give benefit concert held in Washington D.C., featuring performances by Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, James Brown, Al Green, Carole King, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, P!nk, and others.
- 2003 - Death of Fred Berry at age 52 of heart trouble; actor (Rerun - What's Happening TV show).
- 2004 - The British Ministry of Defence approves the deployment of the Black Watch regiment of the British Army to Baghdad, Iraq after a request for assistance by the U.S. government.
- 2004 - The Saint Louis Cardinals defeat the Houston Astros in game seven to win the National League Championship Series, advancing to the World Series for the first time in 17 years.
- 2004 - The Royal Canadian Mint releases a circulating 25-cent coin featuring a black and red colored poppy. This is the world's first colorized business-strike coin in circulation.
- 2005 - Lyn Knight auction of Series 1890 $1000 US Treasury "Grand Watermelon" note sells for record US$1,092,500.
- 2006 - Death of Sandy West, drummer for The Runaways (born 1959).
- 2007 - Parliamentary elections are held in Switzerland. Of the 200 seats in the lower house, Swiss People's Party wins 62, Socialists wins 43, Free Democrats wins 31, Christian Democrats wins 31, Liveral Greens wins 23, and the Green Party wins 20.
- 2007 - Parliamentary elections are held in Poland. Civic Platform party wins 41 percent, 209 seats of 460 member lower house, with leader Donald Tusk. Law and Justice party wins 166 seats, Democratic Left Alliance wins 53, and the People's Party wins 31.
- 2007 - Kimi Räikkönen is crowned world champion as the 2007 Formula One season ends at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
- 2007 - First round of the presidential elections in Slovenia.
- 2008 - The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is officially inaugurated. It is a collaboration of over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.
- 2014 - Death of Gough Whitlam, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (born 1916).
- 2019 - Thailand king Maha Vajiralongkorn strips all titles and honors from official mistress royal noble consort Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, for "ingratitude, misbehaviour, and disloyalty".
- 2020 - Heavy rains brought by tropical storm Linfa cause landslides at the Rao Trang 3 hydroelectric plant in Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam, killing 17 construction workers and 13 soldiers who were on a rescue mission.
|
|
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.
Bookmark this URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/ and revisit each day.
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)
Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
|