This Day in HistoryOctober 21

1797

The USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides,” is launched in Boston, Massachusetts—it is the world’s oldest commissioned naval vessel that is still afloat

1805

In one of the most important naval battles in history, British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar

1805

British Admiral Horatio Nelson is killed by enemy fire on the HMS Victory during his most important victory, the Battle of Trafalgar

1854

English nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, with a staff of 38 nurses, is sent to the Crimean War in Turkey to assist the wounded

1879

American inventor Thomas Edison successfully tests the incandescent electric light bulb for the first time at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey

1921

President Warren G. Harding delivers a speech in Alabama which publicly condemns lynchings—illegal killings committed primarily by white supremacists against African Americans in the Deep South

1941

In Yugoslavia in World War II, German soldiers massacre thousands of civilians, including whole classes of schoolboys, because of public protests against the alliance Yugoslavia had formed with Germany in 1940

1959

The Guggenheim Museum, housed in a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and home to one of the world’s top collections of contemporary art, opens in New York City

1964

The Braves ask the National League for permission to move from Milwaukee to Atlanta—the team had moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953 and would move to Atlanta for the 1966 season

1967

More than 100,000 people gather in Washington, D.C., to protest America’s role in the Vietnam War—half of the protestors famously marched to the Pentagon, demanding an end to the war

1989

The Houston Cougars become the first college football team to gain over 1,000 yards in a game, gaining 1,021 yards in 95-21 victory over SMU—Houston’s quarterback Andre Ware would win the Heisman Trophy that season

1998

The New York Yankees complete a 4-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in the World Series, setting an MLB record with 125 total wins in a season

2001

The “United We Stand” benefit concert is held in Washington, D.C., to benefit victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—the concert was organized by Michael Jackson and featured 24 different acts

2019

On the day the trial was set to begin, four drug companies reach a $260 million settlement with two Ohio counties who sued them over opioid production and distribution practices

2020

The Horse Fire near Prescott has now burned over 9,000 acres and forced the evacuation of Crown King and other communities—over 350 firefighters are working to put out the wildfire, which is 21% contained

2020

Researchers in London, England, announced today that they are preparing to intentionally infect 90 healthy young volunteers with the coronavirus in order to better understand the virus and potentially speed up development of an effective vaccine

2020

Tropical Storm Epsilon, the 26th named storm of the busy 2020 hurricane season, is currently spinning hundreds of miles of the coast of the U.S. in the Atlantic Ocean—it could become a hurricane by the time it reaches the island of Bermuda later this week

2020

Arizona economic leaders express concernsover the coronavirus border closure between the U.S. and Canada—Canadian winter visitors bring more than $1 billion dollars to the state each year