an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, and Mystique, as well as the antiheroine Black Cat. Cockrum was a prolific and inventive costume designer who updated the uniforms of the Legion of Super-Heroes and the X-Men in the 1970s and early 1980s.

On this day in:

1620 The Mayflower Compact was signed (Nov 21 by the new Gregorian Calendar).

1790 Chrysanthemums were introduced to England from China. Both the greens and blossoms are edible, and are particularly popular in Japan, China and Vietnam.

1873 John T. Dorrance was born (died Sept 21, 1930).  An American chemist, he developed a method to make condensed soup, and served as president of Campbell Soup Co. from 1914 to 1930.

1885 Dr. John M. Riggs died (born Oct 25, 1811). First surgeon to operate on a patient under anaesthesia when he extracted a tooth using nitrous oxide (laughing gas) on Dec 11, 1844 in Hartford, Connecticut.

1918 Karen Hess, culinary historian was born (died May 15, 2007). Some of her books were 'The Taste of America' (1977) and 'Carolina Rice Kitchen: The African Connection' (1992). She also annotated Mary Randolph's 'Virginia Housewife' (1983).

1933 The first great dust storm occurred on the Great Plains. The 'Black Blizzard' buried roads and vehicles from Texas to Canada under drifts as deep as 6 feet.

1938 Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon) died at North Brother Island, New York City. She was an infamous household cook who was responsible for major outbreaks of typhoid in the New York City area in 1904, 1907, and 1914. She was immune to typhoid, but was a carrier of the bacillus, and spread it wherever she worked as a household cook.

1945 Vincent Martell of the music group 'Vanilla Fudge' was born.

1995 The Smashing Pumpkins' album 'Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness' was number 1 on the charts.

2006 A Hong Kong real estate tycoon and his wife paid $160,000 for a 3.3 pound Italian Alba white truffle.