Discover what happened on October 21 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

October 21

Discover what happened on October 21 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on October 21 | HISTORY

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1959

This Day In History: Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City

1966

1797

1805

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as America’s 16th president. Just weeks later, the newly formed Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, igniting the American Civil War. To fund the conflict, Congress enacted the country’s first income tax. Elsewhere in the world, multiple states on the Italian Peninsula united to form the Kingdom of Italy, while multiple European powers invaded Mexico to collect unpaid debts. Back in Britain, The Times gave readers the first-ever published weather forecast.

1861

Riots in Detroit… San Francisco's Summer of Love… the Six-Day War in the Middle East… Elvis and Priscilla's Vegas wedding... 1967 was a momentous year around the world. It also a year of firsts: the first successful human heart transplant in South Africa (the recipient lasted 18 days), the confirmation of the first Black Supreme Court Justice in the U.S. (Thurgood Marshall) and the first McDonald’s Big Mac (price: 45 cents).

1967

After the surprise December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. entered World War II. Earlier in the year, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and, in one of many Nazi atrocities, executed 30,000 Jews in the Babi Yar massacre. In the U.S., Mount Rushmore was completed, Wonder Woman made her debut, “Citizen Kane” launched at the box office and General Mills introduced a new breakfast cereal called Cheerioats.

1941

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

The years following the American Revolution were challenging for the new nation, which struggled with the Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, Federalism, the Alien and Sedition Acts and more.

Early U.S.

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."

1960s

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

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History.com Editors

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the dawn of the Cold War and the civil rights movement in the United States. At this time the U.S. economy was booming and more (mostly white) Americans could afford new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods. But the 1950s also saw great conflict and division, from the nascent civil rights movement to the crusade against communism at home and abroad in the Korean War.

1950s

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

This Day In History: October 21

Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City

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Aberfan disaster kills 144 people and levels a Welsh mining village

This Day in History Video: What Happened on October 21

USS Constitution launched

Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Ball’s Bluff

Thousands protest the war in Vietnam

Germans massacre men, women and children in Yugoslavia

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