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What happened in history on this day: October 21?
On October 21 in ...
- 1797 - The US Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched in Boston harbor.
- 1861 - Battle of Balls Bluff, Virginia.
- 1868 - Severe earthquake at 7:53 AM, centered in Hayward, California.
- 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.
- 1892 - The World's Columbian Exposition is dedicated.
- 1897 - Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago is dedicated.
- 1915 - The first transatlantic radiotelephone message is transmitted from Arlington, Virginia to Paris, France.
- 1917 - First Americans see action on the front lines of European war.
- 1944 - US troops capture Aachen, first large German city to fall.
- 1948 - The first facsimile (FAX) is demonstrated through high-speed radio transmission, in Washington D.C.
- 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.
- 1967 - Thousands opposing Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon.
- 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.
- 1976 - American Saul Bellow wins Nobel Prize for Literature.
- 1977 - US recalls William Bowdler, ambassador to South Africa.
- 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.
- 1989 - Buck Helm found alive after being buried four days, in San Francisco earthquake.
- 1991 - The Oakland Hills firestorm in California kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments.
- 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.
- 2005 - Lyn Knight auction of Series 1890 $1000 US Treasury "Grand Watermelon" note sells for record US$1,092,500.
Births on October 21
- 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.
- 1917 - Birth of Dizzy Gillespie in South Carolina, USA; jazz and bebop trumpeter.
- 1925 - Birth of Joyce Randolph in Detroit, Michigan, USA; actress (Trixie - The Honeymooners).
- 1940 - Birth of Frances FitzGerald in New York City, New York, USA; journalist/author (Fire in the Lake).
- 1942 - Birth of Elvin Bishop in Oklahoma, USA; rocker ("Fooled Around and Fell in Love").
- 1943 - Birth of Paula Kelly in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; dancer/actress (Liz - Night Court).
- 1950 - Birth of Ronald E McNair in Lake City, South Carolina, USA; astronaut (STS 41B, 51L-Challenger disaster).
- 1956 - Birth of Carrie Fisher in Beverly Hills, California, USA; actress (Princess Lelia - Star Wars).
- 1976 - Birth of Jeremy Miller in West Covina, California; actor (Ben - Growing Pains).
Deaths on October 21
- 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)).
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