On This Day - What Happened On October 21 | Britannica

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1520 Magellan's discovery of gateway to circumnavigating the globe On this day in 1520, explorer Ferdinand Magellan and three Spanish ships entered the strait later named for him, sailing between the mainland tip of South America and the island of Tierra del Fuego toward the Pacific Ocean. Alinari—Art Resource/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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Dizzy Gillespie American musician bornOctober 21, 1917Cheraw, South CarolinadiedJanuary 6, 1993 (aged 75)Englewood, New JerseyUPI/Bettmann Archive 1980 Kim Kardashian American television personality and entrepreneur 1949 Benjamin Netanyahu prime minister of Israel 1942 Judy Sheindlin American jurist and television personality 1929 Ursula K. Le Guin American author 1922 Liliane Bettencourt French business executive See All Biographies On This Day

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2018 American actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who starred in such sitcoms as Seinfeld and Veep, was officially awarded the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the highest award in comedy. How much do you know about Seinfeld?© Andrea Renault—AFP/Getty Images 2012 American politician and liberal activist George McGovern, who ran unsuccessfully as a reformist Democratic challenger in the 1972 presidential race against incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon, died at age 90. Warren K. Leffler—U.S. News & World Report Magazine/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-19602) 1966 A landslide of mining waste destroyed a school in the Welsh village of Aberfan, killing 144 people. 1964 The American musical film My Fair Lady, starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn, had its world premiere, and it later won eight Academy Awards, including that for best picture. Test your knowledge of the Academy Awards© 1964 Warner Brothers, Inc.; photograph from a private collection 1960 John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debated for the fourth and final time before the 1960 U.S. presidential election. Take our U.S. presidents quizHulton Archive—Archive Photos/Getty Images 1959 The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City. Take our quiz about what you can find in museums© Photos.com/Jupiterimages 1940 American novelist Ernest Hemingway published his classic novel For Whom the Bell Tolls; it was later adapted into an acclaimed film. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous booksEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1907 Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow opened in New York City. How much do you know about the opera?Print Collector—Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1833 Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and other more powerful explosives and who also founded the Nobel Prizes, was born in Stockholm. Test your knowledge of the history of the Nobel Prize© Photos.com/Jupiterimages 1805 A fleet of 33 ships (18 French and 15 Spanish) under Admiral Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve fought and was defeated by a British fleet of 27 ships under Admiral Horatio Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar (combat was waged west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain). Take our history of warfare quizYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1981.25.554 1797 The Constitution, one of the first frigates built for the U.S. Navy, was launched in Boston. It became known as “Old Ironsides” after it carried U.S. sailors to victory over the British in a naval battle during the War of 1812. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about submarines, ships, and other watercraftAram Boghosian—The Boston Globe/Getty Images SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.