On Oct. 21, 1959, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened to the public in New York.
On this date:
In 1797, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides," was christened in Boston's harbor.
In 1805, a British fleet commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a French-Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar; Nelson, however, was killed.
In 1879, Thomas Edison perfected a workable electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J.
In 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.
In 1950, Chinese troops occupied Tibet.
Fifty years ago, in 1959, rocket designer Wernher von Braun and his team were transferred from the U.S. Army to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon clashed in their fourth and final presidential debate in New York.
In 1966, more than 140 people, mostly children, were killed when a coal waste landslide engulfed a school and several houses in Aberfan, Wales.
In 1967, the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat was sunk by Egyptian missile boats near Port Said; 47 Israeli crew members were lost. Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters marched in Washington, D.C.
Forty years ago, in 1969, beat poet and author Jack Kerouac died in St. Petersburg, Fla., at age 47.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon nominated Lewis F. Powell and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1975, Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk hit a ball that struck the left field foul pole in Boston's Fenway Park for a home run, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 victory in 12 innings over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 6 of the World Series.
In 1988, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, were indicted in New York on charges of fraud and racketeering.
In 1999, France's highest court upheld the conviction of Maurice Papon, the former Vichy official who'd fled France rather than face prison for his role in sending Jews to Nazi death camps; Papon was captured in Switzerland and deported the following day. (Papon ended up serving three years of a 10-year sentence; he died in 2007.)
In 2002, a car packed with explosives blew up next to a bus in northern Israel during rush hour; 14 people were killed in addition to two suicide attackers.
In 2003, invoking a hastily-passed law, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a feeding tube reinserted into Terry Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman at the center of a bitter right-to-die battle. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding that Israel tear down a barrier jutting into the West Bank.
In 2004, an Associated Press poll found President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry locked in a statistical tie for the popular vote. Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove, 21, died hours after being shot in the eye with a pepper-spray pellet fired by police trying to control a raucous crowd outside Fenway Park, where the Boston Red Sox had won the American League championship. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Houston Astros 5-2 to take Game 7 of the National League championship series.
In 2005, results from the Afghanistan parliamentary elections showed that Islamic conservatives and former jihad fighters made up at least half of the lower house.
In 2007, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, in one of the strongest warnings from Washington on the matter, said, "We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
In 2008, dozens of members of the Mongol motorcycle gang were arrested by federal agents in six states on a variety of charges following a three-year investigation in which undercover agents infiltrated the group. Iraq's Cabinet decided to ask the United States for changes to the draft agreement that would keep American troops there for three more years. The former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, was convicted in absentia of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison. U.S. President George Bush reportedly decided not to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba where the United States holds suspected terrorists, despite his stated desire to do so. Saudi Arabian officials said they had indicted nearly 1,000 suspected militants, saying the country was a target for an organized terror campaign. The campaign was said to be aimed at undermining the country's lifestyle and economy and had a direct link to al-Qaida.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Joyce Randolph is 85. Author Ursula K. Le Guin is 80. Rock singer Manfred Mann is 69. Musician Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the MG's) is 68. Singer Elvin Bishop is 67. TV's Judge Judy Sheindlin is 67. Actor Everett McGill is 64. Musician Lee Loughnane (Chicago) is 63. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 60. Musician Charlotte Caffey (The Go-Go's) is 56. Movie director Catherine Hardwicke is 54. Actress-author Carrie Fisher is 53. Singer Julian Cope is 52. Rock musician Steve Lukather (Toto) is 52. Actor Ken Watanabe is 50. Actress Melora Walters is 49. Rock musician Che Colovita Lemon is 39. Rock singer-musician Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator) is 38. Christian rock musician Charlie Lowell (Jars of Clay) is 36. Actor Jeremy Miller is 33. Actor Will Estes is 31. Actor Michael McMillian is 31. Personality [Is that what the kids are calling it these days? — Ed.] Kim Kardashian is 29. Actor Matt Dallas is 27.
Today In Entertainment History October 21
In 1958, Buddy Holly held what ended up being his last recording session. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," which he recorded in that session in one take, became a hit after he died.
In 1961, Bob Dylan recorded his first album for Columbia Records. The self-titled album was recorded in one day and cost $400.
In 1971, Mick and Bianca Jagger had a daughter, named Jade.
In 1972, after 17 years of recording rock classics, Chuck Berry finally got a number-one hit with "My Ding-A-Ling."
In 1992, Elton John filed a $35 million lawsuit in which he claimed a reporter for the TV show "Hard Copy" falsely stated John moved to Atlanta to be near an AIDS treatment center. The singer's lawyers said he moved to Atlanta because he likes the city. Madonna's erotic book "Sex" went on sale around the world. Americans paid up to $50 to see pictures reflecting her fantasies concerning sadism, masochism and bondage. New York protesters upset with Sinead O'Connor for ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live," used a steamroller to crush dozens of the Irish singer's CDs, records and tapes.
In 1995, singer Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon died of a cocaine overdose in New Orleans. He was 28.
In 1997, "Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John broke the record for the best-selling single of all time, just 37 days after its release. "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby had been the previous record-holder.
In 1999, Santana's "Supernatural" album hit number one on the Billboard album chart. It was Santana's first number one album since "Santana Three" in 1971.
Thought for Today: "A man is what he thinks about all day long." — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, poet and philosopher (1803-1882). [Nothing, y'hear, nothing! — Ed.]
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