October 19, 1781 – British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown effectively ending the Revolutionary War (although the final peace treaty is not signed until September 1783).
October 20, 1944 – During World War II in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur set foot on Philippine soil for the first time since his escape in 1942, fulfilling his promise, “I shall return.”
October 21, 1805 – The British thwart Napoleon’s invasion of England by defeating a combined French and Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar.
October 21, 1879 – Thomas Edison successfully tests an electric incandescent lamp at his Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory keeping it lit for 13 hours.
October 20, 1944 – During World War II in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur set foot on Philippine soil for the first time since his escape in 1942, fulfilling his promise, “I shall return.”
October 21, 1805 – The British thwart Napoleon’s invasion of England by defeating a combined French and Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar.
October 21, 1879 – Thomas Edison successfully tests an electric incandescent lamp at his Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory keeping it lit for 13 hours.