TODAY IN HISTORY Ten years ago One year ago
Today is Saturday, Oct. 21, the 294th day of 2017. There are 71 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On Oct. 21, 1917, members of the 1st Division of the U.S. Army training in Luneville, France, became the first Americans to see action on the front lines of World War I.
On this date
1797 — The U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” was christened in Boston’s harbor. 1805 — A British fleet commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a FrenchSpanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar; Nelson, however, was killed. 1892 — Schoolchildren across the U.S. observed Columbus Day (according to the Gregorian date) by reciting, for the first time, the original version of “The Pledge of Allegiance,” written by Francis Bellamy for The Youth’s Companion. 1917 — Legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. 1941 — Superheroine Wonder Woman made her debut in All-Star Comics issue No. 8, published by All-American Comics, Inc. of New York. 1942 — The MGM musical “For Me and My Gal,” starring Judy Garland and featuring the film debut of Gene Kelly, premiered in New York. 1959 — The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened to the public in New York. 1966 — 144 people, 116 of them children, were killed when a coal waste landslide engulfed a school and some 20 houses in Aberfan, Wales. 1967 — The Israeli destroyer INS Eilat was sunk by Egyptian missile boats near Port Said; 47 Israeli crew members were lost. 1971 — President Richard Nixon nominated Lewis F. Powell and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Both nominees were confirmed.) 1986 — Pro-Iranian kidnappers in Lebanon abducted American Edward Tracy (he was released in Aug. 1991). 1991 — American hostage Jesse Turner was freed by his kidnappers in Lebanon after nearly five years in captivity. Wildfires driven by powerful Santa Ana winds killed one person near San Diego and destroyed several homes and a church in Malibu.
Vice President Dick Cheney said in a speech to The Washington Institute for Near East Policy that the United States and other nations would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Cyberattacks on server farms of a key internet firm repeatedly disrupted access to major websites and online services including Twitter, Netflix and PayPal across the United States.
The United Nations celebrated Wonder Woman’s 75th birthday by naming the comic book character as its new Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Woman and Girls, a decision that prompted protests from both inside and outside the world organization (the designation was rescinded in Dec. 2016).
Today’s Birthdays
Actress Joyce Randolph is 93. Author Ursula K. Le Guin is 88. Rock singer Manfred Mann is 77. Musician Lee Loughnane (Chicago) is 71. Actor Dick Christie is 69. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 68. Actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson is 68. Musician Charlotte Caffey (The Go-Go’s) is 64. Movie director Catherine Hardwicke is 62. Singer Julian Cope is 60. Rock musician Steve Lukather (Toto) is 60. Actor Ken Watanabe is 58. Rock singer-musician Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator) is 46. Country singer Matthew Ramsey (Old Dominion) is 40. Actor Will Estes is 39. Actor Michael McMillian is 39. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West is 37. Actor Matt Dallas is 35. Actress Charlotte Sullivan is 34. Actor Aaron Tveit is 34. Actor Glenn Powell is 29. Country singer Kane Brown is 24.
Thought for today ‘A man is what he thinks about all day long.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson American essayist, poet and philosopher (1803-1882)