Vintage News · Odd history for October 21

What Happened On October 21

Q: What happened on October 21?

1978: Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft. 1867: The first and second of three treaties were signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the United States federal government and several Native American tribes in the Great Plains, requiring them to relocate to areas in present-day western Oklahoma. 1858: French composer Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, featuring the music most associated with the can-can (audio featured), was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris. 1096: First Crusade: At the Battle of Civetot, the Seljuk forces of Kilij Arslan destroyed the army of the People's Crusade as it marched toward Nicaea. 1895: The capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan. 1879: Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. 1824: Portland cement is patented. 1774: The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty". 1097: First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. 1944: World War II: The three-week-long Battle of Aachen concluded, making the city the first on German soil to be captured by the Allies.

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10 odd things that happened on October 21

1978 Oddly true
Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1867 First ever
The first and second of three treaties were signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the United States federal government and several Native American tribes in the Great Plains, requiring them to relocate to areas in present-day western Oklahoma.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1858 First ever
French composer Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, featuring the music most associated with the can-can (audio featured), was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1096 First ever
First Crusade: At the Battle of Civetot, the Seljuk forces of Kilij Arslan destroyed the army of the People's Crusade as it marched toward Nicaea.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1895 Oddly true
The capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1879 Oddly true
Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1824 Oddly true
Portland cement is patented.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1774 First ever
The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty".
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1097 First ever
First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1944 First ever
World War II: The three-week-long Battle of Aachen concluded, making the city the first on German soil to be captured by the Allies.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2021A 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. Wikipedia →
2019Thirty people are killed in a fiery bus crash in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wikipedia →
2019In 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. Wikipedia →
2018A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187. Wikipedia →
2011Iraq War: President Barack Obama announces that the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq will be complete by the end of the year. Wikipedia →
2007Finnish 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. Wikipedia →
2003Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery. Wikipedia →
1994North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections. Wikipedia →
1994In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses. Wikipedia →
1989In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the nation's capital Tegucigalpa. Wikipedia →
1987The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients, doctors and nurses. Wikipedia →
1986In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991). Wikipedia →
1984Niki 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. Wikipedia →
1983The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. Wikipedia →
1981Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces. Wikipedia →
1979Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs. Wikipedia →
1978Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft. Wikipedia →
1973Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game. Wikipedia →
1971A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland. Wikipedia →
1969The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration. Wikipedia →
1967The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organizes a march of fifty thousand people from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon. Wikipedia →
1966A colliery spoil tip slips onto houses and a school in the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, 116 of whom were schoolchildren. Wikipedia →
1965Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun. Wikipedia →
1959In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. Wikipedia →
1959President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves the transfer of all US Army space-related activities to NASA, including most of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. Wikipedia →
1956The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated. Wikipedia →
1950Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces and North Koreans during the Battle of Yongju. Wikipedia →
1945In the 1945 French legislative election French women vote for the first time. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The first kamikaze attack damages HMAS Australia as the Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The Nemmersdorf massacre against German civilians takes place. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The city of Aachen falls to American forces after three weeks of fighting, the first German city to fall to the Allies. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: The Provisional Government of Free India is formally established in Japanese-occupied Singapore. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: The Kragujevac massacre against Serbian men and boys takes place. Wikipedia →
1940The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published. Wikipedia →
1931A secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army launches an abortive coup d'état attempt. Wikipedia →
1921President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South. Wikipedia →
1912First Balkan War: The Greek navy completes the capture of the island of Lemnos for use as a forward base against the Dardanelles. Wikipedia →
1910HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy. Wikipedia →
1907The 1907 Qaratog earthquake hits the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, killing between 12,000 and 15,000 people. Wikipedia →
1895The capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan. Wikipedia →
1892Opening 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. Wikipedia →
1888The Swiss Social Democratic Party is founded. Wikipedia →
1879Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. Wikipedia →
1867The 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. Wikipedia →
1861American Civil War: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Wikipedia →
1854Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War. Wikipedia →
1824Portland cement is patented. Wikipedia →
1805Napoleonic Wars: A British fleet led by Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve in the Battle of Trafalgar. Wikipedia →
1797In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched. Wikipedia →
1774The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty". Wikipedia →
1600Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara and becomes shōgun of Japan. Wikipedia →
1520João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins". Wikipedia →
1512Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Wikipedia →
1392Japanese Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu. Wikipedia →
1187Election of Gregory VIII following the death of Pope Urban III. Wikipedia →
1139Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, takes Baalbek from the Burid dynasty. Wikipedia →
1097First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. Wikipedia →
1096A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot. Wikipedia →
1094El Cid and his forces defeat a larger army of the Almoravids in the battle of Cuarte. Wikipedia →
685Election of Pope Conon following the death of Pope John V. Wikipedia →
310Sixty-five days after being exiled by the Emperor Maxentius to Sicily, Pope Eusebius dies. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2019The Guardian
'Society is suffering': Hong Kong protests spark mental health crisis
Nine suicides have been linked to the wave of unrest as young people grow frustrated and exhausted by the intense, mo…
Read on The Guardian →
2013The Guardian
Big airports need to grow, says aviation minister Robert Goodwill
Tory MP pushes case for expansion of London's biggest airports, saying UK needs capability and it is vital to support…
Read on The Guardian →
1939The New York Times
Spanish Cathedral Loot Is Recovered in Paris
Toledo (Spain) Cath; stolen objects found; C Mensdivier and wife held, Paris
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.