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

1959

Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City

Born on This Day

Carrie Fisher Portrait Session 1985

Carrie Fisher

1956 - 2016

Actress best known for playing Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" franchise. Daughter of Debbie Reynolds and crooner Eddie Fisher.

2nd Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards - Winners Presentation

Celia Cruz

1925 - 2003

Grammy-winning Cuban-American singer dubbed the "Queen of Salsa" who also appeared in the 1992 film "The Mambo Kings."

The After 2023, Hosted By Diddy & Doja Cat; A Richie Akiva Production

Doja Cat

1995 -

Pop rapper who leapt to fame in the 2020s with hits like "Say So" and "Paint the Town Red."

1867

OCT

21

Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed. The talks, attended by more than 5,000 prominent chiefs and warriors, was one of the largest gatherings of Native American leaders for treaty negotiations in US history.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on October 21st

1797

USS Constitution launched

After two unsuccessful attempts, the USS Constitution is launched in Boston Harbor. The a 44-gun U.S. Navy frigate, built to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of Tripoli, performed commendably during those conflicts, and in 1805 a peace treaty with Tripoli was signed on the Constitution‘s deck. During the War of 1812, the Constitution won […]

1805

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the coast of Spain in 1805, was a pivotal moment in the Napoleonic wars that established England as a dominant naval power.

1861

Battle of Ball’s Bluff

On October 21, 1861, Union troops suffer a devastating defeat in the second major engagement of the Civil War. The Battle of Ball’s Bluff in Virginia produced the war’s first martyr and led to the creation of a Congressional committee to monitor the conduct of the war. After the Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, on […]

1941

Germans massacre men, women and children in Yugoslavia

Between October 18-October 21, 1941, German soldiers go on a rampage, killing thousands of Yugoslavian civilians, including whole classes of schoolboys, in what has become known as the Kragujevac massacre. Despite attempts to maintain neutrality at the outbreak of World War II, Yugoslavia finally succumbed to signing a “friendship treaty” with Germany in late 1940, […]

1966

Aberfan disaster kills 144 people and levels a Welsh mining village

On the morning of October 21, 1966, a landslide of coal waste crashes into a small Welsh mining village, killing 116 children and 28 adults. The accident left just five survivors and wiped out half the town’s youth. The Aberfan disaster became one of the UK’s worst coal mining accidents. The landslide sent 140,000 cubic […]

1967

Thousands protest the war in Vietnam

In Washington, D.C. nearly 100,000 people gather to protest the American war effort in Vietnam. More than 50,000 of the protesters marched to the Pentagon to ask for an end to the conflict. The protest was the most dramatic sign of waning U.S. support for President Lyndon Johnson’s war in Vietnam. Polls taken in the […]

History Every Day

Sign Up for "This Day in History"

Uncover fascinating moments from the past every day! Learn something new with key events in history, from the American Revolution to pop culture, crime and more.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us