Today is Thursday, October 21, the 294th day of 2010. There are 71 days left in the year.
2137 B.C. ― First recorded total eclipse of the sun in China
1520 ― Magellan entered the strait which bears his name
1805 ― Battle of Trafalgar, Adm. Nelson defeats French & Spanish fleet, and dies
1879 ― Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb
1918 ― Margaret Owen sets world typing speed record of 170 words-per-minute for one minute
1945 ― Women in France allowed to vote for first time
1948 ― Facsimile high-speed radio transmission demonstrated (Washington, D.C.)
1950 ― Chinese forces occupy Tibet
1967 ― Thousands opposing Vietnam War try to storm the Pentagon
1970 ― 777 Unification Church couples wed in Korea