History of 21 October
1917 – The first U.S. soldiers entered combat during World War I near Nancy, France.
1918 – Margaret Owen set a typing speed record of 170 words per minute on a manual typewriter.
1925 – The photoelectric cell was first demonstrated at the Electric Show in New York City, NY.
1925 – The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had fined 29,620 people for prohibition (of alcohol) violations.
1927 – In New York City, construction began on the George Washington Bridge.
1944 – During World War II, the German city of Aachen was captured by U.S. troops.
1945 – Women in France were allowed to vote for the first time.
1950 – Chinese forces invaded Tibet.
1959 – The Guggenheim Museum was opened to the public in New York. The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
1967 – Thousands of demonstrators marched in Washington, DC, in opposition to the Vietnam War.
1980 – The Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series.
1983 – The Pentagon reported that 2,000 Marines were headed to Grenada to protect and evacuate Americans living there.
1986 – The U.S. ordered 55 Soviet diplomats to leave. The action was in reaction to the Soviet Union expelling five American diplomats.
1991 – Jesse Turner, an American hostage in Lebanon, was released after nearly five years of being imprisoned.
1993 – The play “The Twilight of the Golds” opened.
1994 – North Korea and the U.S. signed an agreement requiring North Korea to halt its nuclear program and agree to inspections.
1998 – The New York Yankees set a major league baseball record of 125 victories for the regular and postseason combined.
1998 – Cancer specialist Dr. Jane Henney became the FDA’s first female commissioner.
2003 – The U.S. Senate voted to ban what was known as partial-birth abortions.
2003 – North Korea rejected U.S. President George W. Bush’s offer of a written pledge not to attack in exchange for the communist nation agreeing to end its nuclear weapons program.
2005 – images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1981 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer
- 1982 – Matt Dallas, American actor
- 1982 – Jim Henderson, American baseball player
- 1982 – Antony Kay, English footballer
- 1982 – Hari Kondabolu, American comedian, actor, and podcaster
- 1982 – Ray Ventrone, American football player
- 1982 – Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton player
- 1982 – James White, American basketball player
- 1982 – Tim Wildsmith, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1983 – Casey Fien, American baseball player
- 1983 – Zack Greinke, American baseball player
- 1983 – Gonzalo Klusener, the Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Andy Marte, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1983 – Amber Rose, American model
- 1983 – Chris Sherrington, English-Scottish martial artist
- 1983 – Ninet Tayeb, Israeli singer
- 1983 – Shelden Williams, American basketball player
- 1984 – Anna Bogdanova, Russian heptathlete
- 1984 – Tom Brandstater, American football player
- 1984 – Kenny Cooper, American soccer player
- 1984 – Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canadian speed skater
- 1984 – José Lobatón, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 – Marvin Mitchell, American football player
- 1984 – Kieran Richardson, English footballer
- 1985 – Simone Bracalello, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Dean Collis, Australian rugby league player
- 1986 – Almen Abdi, Swiss footballer
- 1986 – Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
- 1986 – Scott Rendell, English footballer
- 1987 – Justin De Fratus, American baseball player
- 1987 – Andrey Grechin, Russian swimmer
- 1988 – Ricki Olsen, Danish footballer
- 1988 – Daniel Schorn, Austrian cyclist
- 1989 – Mads Dahm, Norwegian footballer
- 1989 – Luke Murphy, English footballer
- 1989 – Jonathan Viera, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Sam Vokes, English-Welsh footballer
- 1990 – Bengali-Fodé Koita, French footballer
- 1990 – Mathieu Peybernes, French footballer
- 1990 – Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
- 1991 – Tom Eastman, English footballer
- 1991 – Geoffry Hairemans, Belgian footballer
- 1991 – Rob Keogh, English cricketer
- 1991 – Vadaine Oliver, English footballer
- 1991 – Harry Pell, English footballer
- 1992 – Marzia Bisognin, Italian businessperson and former YouTuber
- 1992 – Bernard Tomic, German-Australian tennis player
- 1995 – Cameron Burgess, Scottish-Australian footballer
- 1995 – Antoinette Guedia Mouafo, Cameroonian swimmer