On this Day... October 21

CEBU, Philippines –  In 1772, Britain’s most talkative poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, was born. Crossed in love at Cambridge University, he joined the Dragoons and soon established himself as the regimental idiot by constantly falling off his horse. Reputed to be a non-stop talker, he once caught essayist Charles Lamb in conversation by grabbing hold of a button on his coat. Lamb sliced the button off with a knife and escaped. When he returned five hours later, Coleridge was still rooted to the spot, talking to the button! While under the influence of opium, Coleridge composed the poem “Kublai Khan.” He started transcribing it but was interrupted by a visitor, and talked so much that the vision faded and the poem was never finished!

• In 1967, the first peace march took place when 35,000 people marched on Washington. When they attempted to get into the Pentagon, 647 anti-war demonstrators were arrested, while a huge crowd circled the building, held hands, and tried to levitate it!

— from Today’s the Day! By Jeremy Beadle

In Christian history

• In 1555, English Catholic Queen Mary Tudor began a series of fierce persecutions against Protestantism, in which more than 200 men, women and  children were put to death for there faith. Mary was startled to discover that the martyrdoms only intensified Protestant zeal.

— from This Day in Christian History

By William D. Blake

• In 2012, Pedro Calungsod was canonized in Vatican City, becoming the second Filipino saint.

— fromWikipedia.com

In the Philippines

• In 1964, Anthony Villanueva, a Filipino amateur boxer, won the silver medal after competing in the featherweight division of the 1964 Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. Villanueva was the first Filipino to win an Olympic silver medal. He missed the gold in this Olympics after losing a controversial final gold medal match against Stanislav Stepashkin of the of the Soviet Union. Acknowledged as one of the greatest Filipino athletes, he is the son of José Villanueva, a bronze medalist in the bantamweight division (54 kilograms) of the boxing competitions at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, USA. Likewise, the two Villanuevas hold the distinction of being the only father and son Olympic medalists in Philippine sports history.

— www.kahimyang.info

In Cebu

• In 1570, the Portuguese under the command of Gonzalo Pereira continued to lay siege on the fledging Spanish settlement in Cebu.

• In 1947, the first Cebu Girl Scouts Council was organized with Milagros V. Cuenco as its first president.

— from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos