September 21st - Important events on this day in history, Ferdinand Magellan, Railroad Bond, Simon Wiesenthal

Today in History - September 21st

1792 – The French National Convention votes to abolish the monarchy
1897 – The New York Sun runs an editorial that answered a question from 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon: "Is there a Santa Claus?"
1937 – "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien is published

1949 – The People's Republic of China is proclaimed by its Communist leaders
1957 – "Perry Mason," starring Raymond Burr, premieres on CBS
1970 – "NFL Monday Night Football" debuts on ABC
1977 – President Jimmy Carter's budget director, Bert Lance, resigns amid controversy over past business and banking practices
1982 – National Football League players begin a 57-day strike
1996 – John F. Kennedy Jr. marries Carolyn Bessette
1996 – The board of Virginia Military Institute votes to admit women
1998 – President Bill Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony is publicly broadcast. In it, Clinton sparred with prosecutors about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, at one point answering a question by saying, "It depends on what the meaning of 'is' is."
1999 – A powerful earthquake strikes Taiwan, killing at least 2,400 people
2001 – Congress approves $15 billion to help an airline industry reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
2003 – NASA's Galileo spacecraft plunges into Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, bringing a fiery conclusion to a 14-year exploration of the solar system's largest planet and its moons

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