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October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 71 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
1096 - Turkish army annihilates the People's Army of the West, part of the First Crusade .1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg .1520 - Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan .1600 - Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara , which marks the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate , who in effect rule Japan until the mid-nineteenth century.1774 - First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag , raised by colonists in Taunton , Massachusetts and which was in defiance of British rule in Colonial America .1797 - In Boston Harbor , the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.1805 - Napoleonic Wars : Battle of Trafalgar : A British fleet led by Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain under Admiral Villeneuve . It signalled the virtual end of French maritime power and left Britain navally unchallenged until the twentieth century .1805 - Napoleonic Wars : Austrian General Mack surrenders his army to the Grand Army of Napoleon at Ulm , reaping Napoleon over 30,000 prisoners and inflicting 10,000 casualties on the losers. Ulm was considered to be one of Napoleon's finest hours.
1816 - The Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by the Rev Hutchings. It is the oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia.1824 - Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement .1854 - Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses were sent to the Crimean War .1861 - American Civil War : Battle of Ball's Bluff - Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln , is killed in the fighting.1867 - Manifest Destiny : Medicine Lodge Treaty - Near Medicine Lodge , Kansas a landmark treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate a reservation in western Oklahoma .1879 - Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (it lasted 13½ hours before burning out).1892 - Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition were held in Chicago , though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1 , 1893 .1895 - The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.1902 - In the United States , a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.1912 - During the First Balkan War , Kardzhali was liberated by Bulgarian forces1921 - President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting President against lynching in the deep south. George Melford 's silent film, The Sheik Rudolph Valentino , premiers.1944 - The first kamikaze attack: HMAS Australia was hit by a Japanese plane carrying a 200 kg (441 pound) bomb off Leyte Island , as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.1945 - Women's suffrage : Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.1945 - Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón married actress Evita .
1959 - In New York City , the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright .1959 - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA .
1965 - Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun.1966 - Aberfan disaster : A coal tip falls on the village of Aberfan in Wales , killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.1967 - Vietnam War : More than 100,000 war protesters gather in Washington, DC . A peaceful rally at the Lincoln Memorial is followed by a march to The Pentagon and clashes with soldiers and United States Marshals protecting the facility (event lasts until October 23 ; 683 people were arrested). Similar demonstrations occurred simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe .1969 - A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power.1971 - Pablo Neruda wins Nobel Prize for Literature .1973 - John Paul Getty III 's ear is cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a newspaper in Rome ; it doesn't arrive until November 8 .1973 - Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
1977 - The European Patent Institute is founded.1978 - Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne , after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.1979 - Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs.1983 - The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures in terms of the speed of light as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.1986 - In Lebanon , pro-Iranian kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he was released in August 1991).1990 - The first Apple Day , is held in Covent Garden , London .1994 - North Korea nuclear weapons program : North Korea and the United States sign an agreement that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.1994 - In Seoul , 32 people are killed when the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
1995 - Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.2003 - Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown , Chad Trujillo , and David L. Rabinowitz .
Births
1449 - George, Duke of Clarence , brother of Edward IV and Richard III (d. 1478)1527 - Louis I, Cardinal of Guise , French cardinal (d. 1578)1581 - Domenico Zampieri , Italian painter (d. 1641)1650 - Jean Bart , French admiral (d. 1702)1660 - Georg Ernst Stahl , German scientist (d. 1734)1675 - Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (d. 1710)1687 - Nicolaus I Bernoulli , Swiss mathematician (d. 1759)1712 - Sir James Steuart , British economist (d. 1780)1725 - Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy , Austrian field marshal (d. 1801)1757 - Pierre Augereau , Marshal of France and duc de Castiglione (d. 1816)1762 - Herman Willem Daendels , Dutch statesman (d. 1818)1772 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge , British poet (d. 1834)1775 - Giuseppe Baini , Italian composer (d. 1844)1790 - Alphonse de Lamartine , French writer (d. 1869)1821 - Eduard Heine , German mathematician (d. 1881)1833 - Alfred Nobel , Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)1845 - Will Carleton , American poet (d. 1912)1847 - Giuseppe Giacosa , Italian writer (d. 1906)1851 - George Ulyett , English cricketer (d. 1898)1886 - Eugene Burton Ely , American aviation pioneer (d. 1911)1894 - Rampo Edogawa , Japanese author and critic (d. 1965)1895 - Edna Purviance , American actress (d. 1958)1898 - Eduard Pütsep , Estonian wresler and Olympic medalist (d. 1960)1904 - Patrick Kavanagh , Irish poet (d. 1967)1906 - Lillian Asplund , last American Titanic survivor (d. 2006)1907 - Nikos Engonopoulos , Greek painter and poet (d. 1985)1907 - Jules Chevalier , French priest (b. 1824)
1912 - Sir Georg Solti , Hungarian conductor (d. 1997)1912 - Alfredo Pián , Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
1914 - Martin Gardner , American mathematician and writer1917 - Dizzy Gillespie , American musician (d. 1993)1918 - Milton Himmelfarb , American sociographer (d. 2006)1921 - Sir Malcolm Arnold , British composer (d. 2006)1922 - Liliane de Bettencourt , heir to L'Oreal1924 - Celia Cruz , Cuban singer, Queen of Salsa. (d. 2003)1924 - Joyce Randolph , American actress
1925 - Louis J. Robichaud , Canadian premier of New Brunswick (d. 2005)1927 - Fritz Wintersteller , Austrian mountaineer who made the first ascent of Broad Peak 1928 - Whitey Ford , American baseball player1929 - Ursula K. Le Guin , American author1930 - Ivan Stepanovich Silayev , Last prime minister of the Soviet Union1931 - Vivian Pickles , English actress.1938 - Carl Brewer , Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)1940 - Geoff Boycott , English cricketer1940 - Manfred Mann , English musician
1940 - Frances FitzGerald , American journalist and author
1941 - Steve Cropper , American musician1942 - Elvin Bishop , American musician1942 - Judy Sheindlin , American judge ("Judge Judy ")
1942 - Allan Grice , Australian racing driver
1942 - Lou Lamoriello , New Jersey Devils General Manager
1943 - Tariq Ali , Pakistani author and historian1945 - Everett McGill , American actor1946 - Jim Hill , American sportscaster1946 - Lux Interior , American singer (The Cramps )
1946 - Lee Loughnane , American musician
1948 - Shaye Cohen , Historian and Professor at Harvard University 1948 - Tom Everett , American actor
1949 - Michel Brière , Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1971)1949 - Mike Keenan , Canadian ice hockey coach
1949 - Benjamin Netanyahu , 9th Prime Minister of Israel
1950 - Ronald McNair , American astronaut (d. 1986)1952 - Trevor Chappell , Australian cricketer1952 - Patti Davis , American actress and novelist
1952 - Allen Hoey , American poet and novelist
1952 - Brent Mydland , American keyboardist (Grateful Dead ) (d. 1990)
1953 - Keith Green , American musician (d. 1982)1953 - Peter Mandelson , British politician
1953 - Charlotte Caffey , American musician (The Go-Go's )
1954 - Brian Tobin , Canadian premier of Newfoundland 1955 - Rich Mullins , American musician (d. 1997)1956 - Carrie Fisher , American actress and writer1957 - Julian Cope , English musician and writer1957 - Wolfgang Ketterle , German physicist, Nobel laureate
1957 - Steve Lukather , American musician
1959 - George Bell , Dominican baseball player1959 - Tony Ganios , American Actor
1959 - Rose McDowall , Scottish musician
1959 - Ken Watanabe , Japanese actor
1962 - David Campese , Australian rugby union footballer1964 - Jon Carin , American musician (Pink Floyd , The Who )1965 - Ion Andoni Goikoetxea , Spanish footballer1967 - Paul Ince , English footballer1968 - Melora Walters , American actress1969 - Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa , crown prince of Bahrain 1969 - Mo Lewis , American football player
1969 - Michael Hancock , Australian rugby league footballer
1970 - Louis Koo , Hong Kong actor.1971 - Damien Martyn , Australian cricketer1971 - Jade Jagger , Socialite and Jewellery Designer
1971 - Nick Oliveri , American musician
1971 - Paul Norman Telfer , Scottish footballer
1972 - Felicity Andersen , Australian actress1972 - Saffron Burrows , English actress
1972 - Masakazu Morita , seiyu and actor
1972 - Matthew Friedberger , American musician (The Fiery Furnaces )
1972 - Evhen Tsybulenko , Ukrainian professor of international law
1973 - Lera Auerbach , Russian composer1973 - Charlie Lowell , American Musician
1975 - Toby Hall , American baseball player1975 - Henrique Hilário , Portuguese footballer
1976 - Jeremy Miller , American actor1976 - Lavinia Miloşovici , Romanian gymnast
1976 - Josh Ritter , American musician
1976 - Mélanie Turgeon , Canadian alpine skier
1978 - Will Estes , American actor1978 - Joey Harrington , American football player
1978 - Henrik Klingenberg , Member of Finnish band, Sonata Arctica
1979 - Khalil Greene , American baseball player1979 - Gabe Gross , American baseball player
1980 - Kim Kardashian , American socialite1980 - Brian Pittman , American musician (Relient K )
1981 - Nemanja Vidić , Serbian footballer1982 - James White , American basketball player1982 - Matt Dallas , American actor
1983 - Zack Greinke , American baseball player1983 - Andy Marté , Dominican baseball player
1983 - Shelden Williams , American basketball player
1983 - Charlotte Sullivan , Canadian actress
1983 - Ninette Tayeb , Israeli singer
1984 - Anouk Leblanc-Boucher , Canadian speed skater1984 - Kenny Cooper , American footballer
1984 - Marvin Mitchell , American football player
1984 - Kieran Richardson , English footballer
1986 - Chibuzor Chilaka , Nigerian/English footballer1986 - Alex Kew , British actor
1986 - Natalee Holloway , American missing person (d. 2005)
1986 - Christopher Uckermann , Mexican actor and singer (RBD )
1990 - Ricky Rubio , Spanish basketball player
Deaths
1125 - Cosmas of Prague , Bohemian writer1204 - Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester , English nobleman1221 - Alix of Thouars , Duchess of Brittany (b. 1201)1266 - Birger jarl , Swedish statesman (b. 1210)1422 - King Charles VI of France (b. 1368)1500 - Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1442)1505 - Paul Scriptoris , German mathematician1558 - Julius Caesar Scaliger , Italian scholar (b. 1484)1600 - Toda Katsushige , Japanese warlord (b. 1557)1623 - William Wade , English statesman and diplomat (b. 1546)1662 - Henry Lawes , English composer (b. 1595)1687 - Sir Edmund Waller , English poet (b. 1606)1765 - Giovanni Paolo Pannini , Italian painter and architect (b. 1691)1775 - Peyton Randolph , American president of the Continental Congress (b. 1721)1777 - Samuel Foote , English dramatist and actor (b. 1720)1805 - Horatio Nelson , British admiral (b. 1758)1872 - Jacques Babinet , French physicist (b. 1794)1873 - Johann Sebastian Welhaven , Norwegian poet (b. 1807)1896 - James Henry Greathead , British engineer (b. 1844)1904 - Isabelle Eberhardt , Swiss explorer and writer (b. 1877)1931 - Arthur Schnitzler , Austrian writer (b. 1862)1940 - William G. Conley , Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)1944 - Alois Kayser , German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)1963 - Józef Franczak , last cursed soldier - anticommunist underground in Poland (b. 1918)1965 - Bill Black , American musician (b. 1926)1969 - Jack Kerouac , American novelist (b. 1922)1969 - Waclaw Sierpinski , Polish mathematician (b. 1882)
1973 - Nasif Estéfano , Argentine racing driver (b. 1932)1975 - Charles Reidpath , American athlete (b. 1887)1978 - Anastas Mikoyan , Soviet politician (b. 1895)1980 - Hans Asperger , Austrian psychologist (b. 1906)1984 - François Truffaut , French film director (b. 1932)1985 - Dan White , American politician, assailant in the Moscone-Milk assassinations (b. 1946)1986 - Lionel Murphy , Australian politician and judge (b. 1922)1989 - Jean Image , Hungarian-born French animator (b. 1910)1990 - Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar , Indian spiritual leader (b. 1921)1992 - Jim Garrison , American attorney (b. 1921)1995 - Shannon Hoon , American singer (Blind Melon ) (b. 1967)1995 - Jesús Blasco , Spanish comic book author (b. 1919)
1995 - Maxene Andrews , American singer (The Andrews Sisters ) (b. 1916)
1998 - Francis W. Sargent , 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)1999 - Lars Bo , Danish artist and writr (b. 1924)2003 - Fred Berry , American actor (b. 1951)2003 - Luis A. Ferré , Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1904)
2003 - Louise Day Hicks , American politician (b. 1916)
2003 - Elliott Smith , American musician (b. 1969)
2005 - Tara Correa-McMullen , American actress (b. 1989)2006 - Sandy West , American musician (The Runaways ) (b. 1959)2007 - Paul Fox , English musician and singer (The Ruts ) (b. 1951)
Holidays and observances
External links
