October 21

Facts & Historical Events On This Day

2021

Alec Baldwin accidentally used a live firearm during a movie rehearsal, during which he shot and killed a cinematographer.

2019

Major Australian newspapers blacked out their front pages in protest against press restrictions on printing whistleblower stories.

2019

The oldest natural pearl discovered off the Abu Dhabi coast was estimated to be 8,000 years old.

2012

Native American Kateri Tekakwitha became the first native to become a saint.

2001

The benefit concert 'United We Stand' led by Michael Jackson took place to stand up against terrorism.

1990

Apple Day started in Covent Garden, London.

1971

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ITOS-B weather satellite launched atop a Delta rocket.

1966

The catastrophic Tragedy of Aberfan occurred in South Wales, killing many who were in a local school, mostly children.

1964

The American musical comedy 'My Fair Lady,' starring Audrey Hepburn, was released in the US.

1915

The first radio message to go across the Atlantic Ocean was sent from Virginia to Paris.

1803

English chemist John Dalton read his first atomic theory paper to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical society.

1789

Following the women's march on Versailles, The National Assembly declared martial law in France to prevent future uprisings.

1520

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived at Cape Virgenes, becoming the first European to sail the Pacific Ocean.

1209

Otto IV was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.