21 October: Remembering significant events that took place on this day

Thomas Alva Edison and his collaborators tested at least 3,000 different theories between the years of 1878 and 1880 to O create an effective incandescent lamp. Edison was attempting to develop a high-resistance system that would use far less electricity than an arc lamp did. In his lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey, on 21 October 1879, Edison created the first high-resistance incandescent electric light. It functioned by delivering electricity to a thin platinum filament inside a glass vacuum bulb, delaying the melting of the filament.

On 21 October 1986, a group of American scientists reported that they had discovered strong evidence that the mystery hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica is being caused by a chemical process. The scientists added that information from recent atmospheric observations weakened any alternative theories about the recurring depletion of the ozone layer across the southernmost section of the globe, according to remarks received by satellite from McMurdo Station in Antarctica. As per a statement from McMurdoo, the depletion was triggered by upward winds or intense solar activity, while the hole’s creation was primarily caused by a chemical process.  This discovery later led to the Montreal Protocol, which called for regulation of use and production of ozone-depleting chemicals.

The devastating collapse of a colliery spoil tip, known as the Aberfan disaster, occurred on 21 October 1966. The tip, which covered a natural spring, was built on a mountainside above the Welsh village of Aberfan. As many as 116 children and 28 adults were killed when the tip suddenly fell downhill as a slurry and buried Pantglas Junior School and a row of homes after a spell of heavy rain caused a buildup of water within the tip. The National Coal Board (NCB) was in charge of the tip, and the investigation that followed blamed the organisation and nine specific personnel for the catastrophe.

Here are some other notable events that occurred on 21 October:

• In 1959, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum opened for the general public in New York City.
• In 2018, the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, one of the top awards in comedy, was officially presented to American actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for her work in sitcoms like Seinfeld and Veep. 

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