October 21

Historic Events

2021

A shooting occurs on the set of the film Rust, in which actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon which had been loaded, killing the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director Joel Souza. ›

2019

Thirty people are killed in a fiery bus crash in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. ›

2019

In Canada, the 2019 Canadian federal election ends, resulting in incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remaining in office, albeit with the Liberal Party in a minority government. ›

2018

A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187. ›

2011

Iraq War: President Barack Obama announces that the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq will be complete by the end of the year. ›

2007

Finnish race drivers Kimi Räikkönen of Scuderia Ferrari won the Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula One. With this result, Räikkönen became world champion, surpassing McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point in the drivers' standings. ›

2003

Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery. ›

1994

North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections. ›

1994

In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses. ›

1989

In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the nation's capital Tegucigalpa. ›

1987

The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients, doctors and nurses. ›

1986

In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991). ›

1984

Niki Lauda claims his third and final Formula One Drivers' Championship Title by half a point ahead of McLaren team-mate Alain Prost at the Portuguese Grand Prix. ›

1983

The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. ›

1981

Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces. ›

1979

Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs. ›

1978

Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft. ›

1973

Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game. ›

1971

A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland. ›

1969

The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration. ›

1967

The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organizes a march of fifty thousand people from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon. ›

1966

A colliery spoil tip slips onto houses and a school in the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, 116 of whom were schoolchildren. ›

1965

Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun. ›

1959

In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. ›

1959

President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves the transfer of all US Army space-related activities to NASA, including most of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. ›

1956

The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated. ›

1950

Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces and North Koreans during the Battle of Yongju. ›

1945

In the 1945 French legislative election French women vote for the first time. ›

1944

World War II: The first kamikaze attack damages HMAS Australia as the Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. ›

1944

World War II: The Nemmersdorf massacre against German civilians takes place. ›

1944

World War II: The city of Aachen falls to American forces after three weeks of fighting, the first German city to fall to the Allies. ›

1943

World War II: The Provisional Government of Free India is formally established in Japanese-occupied Singapore. ›

1941

World War II: The Kragujevac massacre against Serbian men and boys takes place. ›

1940

The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published. ›

1931

A secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army launches an abortive coup d'état attempt. ›

1921

President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South. ›

1912

First Balkan War: The Greek navy completes the capture of the island of Lemnos for use as a forward base against the Dardanelles. ›

1910

HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy. ›

1907

The 1907 Qaratog earthquake hits the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, killing between 12,000 and 15,000 people. ›

1895

The capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan. ›

1892

Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893. ›

1888

The Swiss Social Democratic Party is founded. ›

1879

Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. ›

1867

The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in the western Indian Territory. ›

1861

American Civil War: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. ›

1854

Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War. ›

1824

Portland cement is patented. ›

1805

Napoleonic Wars: A British fleet led by Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve in the Battle of Trafalgar. ›

1797

In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched. ›

1774

The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty". ›

1600

Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara and becomes shōgun of Japan. ›

1520

João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins". ›

1512

Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. ›

1392

Japanese Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu. ›

1187

Election of Gregory VIII following the death of Pope Urban III. ›

1139

Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, takes Baalbek from the Burid dynasty. ›

1097

First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. ›

1096

A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot. ›

1094

El Cid and his forces defeat a larger army of the Almoravids in the battle of Cuarte. ›

685

Election of Pope Conon following the death of Pope John V. ›

310

Sixty-five days after being exiled by the Emperor Maxentius to Sicily, Pope Eusebius dies. ›