Put away the oil lamps and candles. Thomas Edison perfects a workable electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

2001A postal worker in Washington D.C. dies from inhaled anthrax as officials begin testing thousands of postal employees. Another worker dies the following day, both among the five victims in the America’s anthrax scare just weeks after the September 11th attacks.

1805Britain gains supremacy over the seas in the Battle of Trafalgar of the coast of Spain, that’s where a British Fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats a joint French and Spanish Fleet. Nelson is killed in the battle but the victory foils Napoleon’s plans to invade the Britain.

And 1956“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.”

Actress and author Carrie Fisher, princess Leia in the Star Wars movies is born in Los Angeles.

Today in History, October 21st, Mike Gracia, the Associated Press.