October 21, 1805 -
The Battle of Trafalgar was a historic sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy - the battle, it self, was the most decisive British victory of the Napoleonic Wars and was a pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. Admiral Lord Nelsonwas mortally wounded during the battle, becoming and remaining Britain's greatest naval war hero. Nelson's body was placed in cask of brandy, mixed with camphor and myrrh, and returned to England for a spectacular funeral. An enduring rumor has evolved that the sailors aboard ship kept taking a sip from Nelson's liquory tomb hence the phrase "Nelson's blood' came into use for rum.
October 21, 1879 -
Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Alva Edison invented the incandescent electric lamp on this date. That invention was the fruit of study, hard work, and years of persistent experimentation, rendering it entirely inappropriate for discussion here.
More worthy of our attention is Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prize, born on this date in 1833.
Mr Nobel is interesting because his fortune was founded in large part on the commercial success of something he invented in 1866: dynamite.
Dynamite proved so lucrative for Mr Nobel that he was able to spend most of the rest of his life blowing things up in the interests of world peace. World peace was not achieved in his lifetime, however, so he endowed a foundation with millions of dollars to give prizes to the men and women of future generations who helped bring the world closer to peace by blowing things up.
October 21, 1973 -
John Paul Getty III's ear is cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a newspaper in Rome; It doesn't arrive until November 8.
So much for the Italians getting the trains to run on time.
October 21, 1995 -
Shannon Hoon, lead singer of the pop band Blind Melon, dies of a heroin overdose in New Orleans, inside the band's tour bus.
October 21, 1997 -
Suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian's messy practice of leaving corpses in Detroit area hotel rooms comes to the attention of local area Hotel owners and they meet to discuss the situation, on this date.
"Good Morning, Housekeeping..."
And so it goes
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