On this Day October 21st
OTD
October 21st is the 294th day of the year in the Gregorian
calendar; 71 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon,
Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of
Antioch.
1520 – João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint
Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing on them their original name of "Islands of
the 11,000 Virgins".
1774 – The Taunton, Massachusetts flag is the first to
include the word "Liberty."
1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy
frigate USS Constitution is launched.
1824 – Portland cement is patented.
1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are
sent to the Crimean War.
1879 – Thomas Edison applied for a patent for his design for
an incandescent light bulb.
1921 – President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech
by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South.
1940 – The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For
Whom the Bell Tolls is published.
1959 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the transfer
of all US Army space-related activities to NASA, including most of the Army
Ballistic Missile Agency.
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.
2005 – Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and
subsequently used in documenting its discovery.
Birthdays
1581 – Domenichino, Italian painter (d. 1641)
1712 – James Steuart, Scottish economist and author (d.
1780)
1775 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest, composer, and critic
(d. 1844)
1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented
dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
1911 – Mary Blair, American illustrator and animator (d.
1978)
1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer,
and bandleader (d. 1993)
1928 – Whitey Ford, American baseball player and coach (d.
2020)
1941 – American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
Steve Cropper.
1953 – Charlotte Caffey, American guitarist and songwriter
1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (d.
2016)
1983 – Zack Greinke, American baseball player.
Holiday Spotlight
Trafalgar Day
1805, France was the dominant military force, and Napoleon
was a great soldier. In Europe, however, the Royal Navy ruled the seas. On the
Franco-Spanish front were 33-line ships, five frigates, and two brigs, while
the Royal Navy had 27-line ships, four frigates, one schooner, and one cutter.
Due to intricate and impracticable tactics at sea, the Franco-Spanish navy,
under Admiral Pierre Villeneuve, was defeated. On October 20, 1805, the French
and Spanish ships sailed from Gibraltar to the southeast in three columns. The
same night, 18 British line ships were seen pursuing.
Admiral Villeneuve organized his fleet in a straight line in
the Atlantic Ocean near the Spanish coast from October 20 to 21. However,
Admiral Horatio Nelson of the British Navy took a different approach. The Royal
Navy fleet approached in a single line but split into two lines.
Admiral Nelson’s ships approached the single line of vessels
the French and Spanish forces created and separated it into three smaller, more
manageable portions. While a part of Admiral Villeneuve’s fleet was left alone,
the other two were pushed into close-quarters combat with Royal Navy vessels.
This approach permitted Royal Navy crews to engage in
skilled ship-to-ship combat. At the same time, by disrupting Admiral
Villeneuve’s forces’ single line, the Royal Navy broke simple communication
between Franco-Spanish ships. Several British ships were damaged in the combat.
Among the damaged ships was H.M.S. Victory, which had attacked the French
flagship Bucentaure and the Redoutable. Vice-Admiral Nelson captured 18 French vessels,
forcing Admiral Villeneuve to surrender at 13:45 on the same day. On October
21, 1805, at 16:30, the Battle of Trafalgar ended.
Others Include
Apple Day
Babbling Day
Back to the Future Day
Bridge Day
Caramel Apple Day
Celebration of the Mind Day
Check Your Meds Day
Count Your Buttons Day
Garbanzo Bean Day
Global Iodine Deficiency Disorder Prevention Day
International Day of the Nacho
International Independent Video Store Day
International Repair Day
National Fetch Day
National Pets for Veterans Day
Reptile Awareness Day
Sweetest Day
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