The Spiral Museum on Fifth Avenue
On October 21, 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright's spiral museum opened on Fifth Avenue — six months after the architect's death.
On October 21
The Night the Light Bulb Stayed Lit
On October 21, 1879, a carbonized cotton thread filament burned for 13½ hours in Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, proving the practical light bulb.
Magellan Finds the Strait at the End of the World
On October 21, 1520, Ferdinand Magellan's fleet entered the strait at the tip of South America, opening the first known sea passage to the Pacific.