What happened on October 21? There are more than 253 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

Interesting Facts & Myths About October 21

October 21 In HistoryOctober 21 is the 295th day of the year 2024. There are 71 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday. This day falls under the 43rd week of the year 2024.

On this day in Sinai, South Dakota 57061 sunrise occured at 07:50 AM and sunset occured at 06:35 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Libra. The modern birthstone for this month is Opal while the mystical birthstone is Jasper.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 100 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).

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Historical Events For October 21

  • 1096
    People’s Crusade: The Turkish army annihilates the People’s Army of the West.
  • 1097
    First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
  • 1209
    Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
  • 1392
    Nanboku-chō: Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
  • 1512
    Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
  • 1520
    Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan.
  • 1520
    João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of “Islands of the 11,000 Virgins”.
  • 1600
    Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara, which marks the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate that in effect rules Japan until the mid-nineteenth century.
  • 1774
    First display of the word “Liberty” on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
  • 1797
    In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
  • 1805
    Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain under Admiral Villeneuve. It signals almost the end of French maritime power and leaves Britain’s navy unchallenged until the 20th century.
  • 1816
    The Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by the Rev Hutchings. It is the oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia.
  • 1824
    Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement.
  • 1854
    Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
  • 1861
    American Civil War: Battle of Ball’s Bluff – Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is killed in the fighting.
  • 1867
    Manifest Destiny: Medicine Lodge Treaty – Near Medicine Lodge, Kansas a landmark treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate a reservation in western Oklahoma.
  • 1892
    Opening ceremonies for the World’s Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893.
  • 1895
    The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.
  • 1902
    In the United States, a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.
  • 1912
    During the First Balkan War, Kardzhali is liberated by Bulgarian forces
  • 1921
    George Melford’s silent film, The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, premiers.
  • 1921
    President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting President against lynching in the deep south.
  • 1931
    The Sakurakai, a secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
  • 1944
    World War II: Battle of Aachen: The city of Aachen falls to American forces after three weeks of fighting, making it the first German city to fall to the Allies.
  • 1944
    World War II: The first kamikaze attack: A Japanese plane carrying a 200 kg bomb attacks HMAS Australia off Leyte Island, as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.
  • 1945
    Women’s suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
  • 1950
    Korean War: heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and the North Korean 239th Regiment during the Battle of Yongju.
  • 1956
    Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is captured by the British Army, signalling the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau Uprising, and essentially ending the British military campaign.
  • 1959
    In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
  • 1959
    President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA.
  • 1965
    Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun.
  • 1966
    Aberfan disaster: A slag heap collapses on the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.
  • 1967
    Vietnam War: More than 100,000 war protesters gather in Washington, D.C. A peaceful rally at the Lincoln Memorial is followed by a march to The Pentagon and clashes with soldiers and United States Marshals protecting the facility. Similar demonstrations occurred simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe.
  • 1969
    A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power.
  • 1971
    A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, near Glasgow, Scotland.
  • 1973
    Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
  • 1973
    John Paul Getty III’s ear is cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a newspaper in Rome; it doesn't arrive until November 8.
  • 1977
    The European Patent Institute is founded.
  • 1978
    Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
  • 1979
    Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs.
  • 1983
    The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
  • 1986
    In Lebanon, pro-Iranian kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).
  • 1987
    Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 70 ethnic Tamil patients, doctors and nurses.
  • 1994
    In Seoul, 32 people are killed when the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
  • 1994
    North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea and the United States sign an agreement that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.
  • 2003
    Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz.

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Who Were Born On October 21?

  • 1449
    George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV and Richard III (d. 1478)
  • 1527
    Louis I, Cardinal of Guise, French cardinal (d. 1578)
  • 1581
    Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (d. 1641)
  • 1650
    Jean Bart, French admiral (d. 1702)
  • 1660
    Georg Ernst Stahl, German scientist (d. 1734)
  • 1675
    Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (d. 1710)
  • 1687
    Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1759)
  • 1712
    Sir James Denham-Steuart, British economist (d. 1780)
  • 1725
    Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (d. 1801)
  • 1757
    Pierre Augereau, Marshal of France and duc de Castiglione (d. 1816)
  • 1762
    Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (d. 1818)
  • 1772
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge, British poet (d. 1834)
  • 1775
    Giuseppe Baini, Italian composer (d. 1844)
  • 1790
    Alphonse de Lamartine, French writer (d. 1869)
  • 1833
    Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
  • 1845
    Will Carleton, American poet (d. 1912)
  • 1847
    Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian writer (d. 1906)
  • 1851
    George Ulyett, English cricketer (d. 1898)
  • 1884
    Claire Waldoff, German singer and entertainer (d. 1957)
  • 1886
    Eugene Burton Ely, American aviation pioneer (d. 1911)
  • 1894
    Edogawa Rampo, Japanese author and critic (d. 1965)
  • 1895
    Edna Purviance, American actress (d. 1958)
  • 1898
    Eduard Pütsep, Estonian wrestler and Olympic medalist (d. 1960)
  • 1907
    Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (d. 1985)
  • 1911
    Mary Blair, American artist and illustrator, best remembered for her Disney work (d. 1978)
  • 1912
    Alfredo Pián, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
  • 1912
    Don Byas, American jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1972)
  • 1912
    Sir Georg Solti, Hungarian conductor (d. 1997)
  • 1914
    Martin Gardner, American mathematician and writer (d. 2010)
  • 1917
    Dizzy Gillespie, American jazz musician (d. 1993)
  • 1918
    Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer (d. 2006)
  • 1921
    Sena Jurinac, Bosnian operatic soprano (d. 2011)
  • 1921
    Sir Malcolm Arnold, British composer (d. 2006)
  • 1922
    Liliane Bettencourt, heir to L'Oreal
  • 1924
    Celia Cruz, Cuban singer, Queen of Salsa (d. 2003)
  • 1924
    Joyce Randolph, American actress
  • 1926
    Leonard Rossiter, English Comedian/Actor (d. 1984)
  • 1927
    Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer who made the first ascent of Broad Peak
  • 1928
    Whitey Ford, American baseball player
  • 1929
    Ursula K. Le Guin, American author
  • 1930
    Ivan Stepanovich Silayev, Last prime minister of the Soviet Union
  • 1931
    Shammi Kapoor, Indian Actor (d. 2011)
  • 1931
    Vivian Pickles, English actress
  • 1935
    Derek Bell, Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist, and composer(d. 2002)
  • 1938
    Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)
  • 1940
    Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
  • 1940
    Geoff Boycott, English cricketer
  • 1940
    Manfred Mann, English musician
  • 1941
    Steve Cropper, American musician
  • 1942
    Allan Grice, Australian racing driver
  • 1942
    Elvin Bishop, American musician
  • 1942
    Judith Sheindlin, American judge (“Judge Judy”)
  • 1942
    Lou Lamoriello, New Jersey Devils General Manager
  • 1943
    Tariq Ali, Pakistani author and historian
  • 1945
    Everett McGill, American actor
  • 1946
    Jim Hill, American sportscaster
  • 1946
    Lee Loughnane, American musician
  • 1946
    Lux Interior, American singer (The Cramps) (d. 2009)
  • 1948
    Allen Vigneron, American Catholic Archbishop of Detroit
  • 1948
    Shaye Cohen, Historian and Professor at Harvard University
  • 1948
    Tom Everett, American actor
  • 1949
    Benjamin Netanyahu, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1949
    Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1971)
  • 1949
    Mike Keenan, Canadian ice hockey coach
  • 1950
    Ronald McNair, American astronaut (d. 1986)
  • 1952
    Allen Hoey, American poet and novelist
  • 1952
    Brent Mydland, American keyboardist (Grateful Dead) (d. 1990)
  • 1952
    Patti Davis, American actress and novelist, daughter of Ronald Reagan
  • 1952
    Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer
  • 1953
    Charlotte Caffey, American musician (The Go-Go’s)
  • 1953
    Keith Green, American musician (d. 1982)
  • 1953
    Marc Johnson, American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader
  • 1953
    Peter Mandelson, British politician
  • 1954
    Brian Tobin, Canadian premier of Newfoundland
  • 1955
    Dick DeVos, American businessman
  • 1955
    Fred Hersch, American jazz pianist
  • 1955
    Rich Mullins, American musician (d. 1997)
  • 1956
    Carrie Fisher, American actress and writer
  • 1957
    Julian Cope, English musician and writer
  • 1957
    Steve Lukather, American musician
  • 1957
    Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist, Nobel laureate
  • 1959
    Andy Picheta, English film director
  • 1959
    George Bell, Dominican baseball player
  • 1959
    Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor
  • 1959
    Rose McDowall, Scottish musician
  • 1959
    Tony Ganios, American Actor
  • 1962
    David Campese, Australian rugby union footballer
  • 1964
    Jon Carin, American musician (Pink Floyd, The Who)
  • 1965
    Hisashi Imai, Japanese musician (BUCK-TICK, Lucy)
  • 1965
    Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer
  • 1966
    Arne Sandstø, Norwegian footballer
  • 1967
    Paul Ince, English footballer
  • 1968
    Alexandros Alexandris, Greek footballer
  • 1968
    Kerstin Andreae, German politician
  • 1968
    Melora Walters, American actress
  • 1969
    Michael Hancock, Australian rugby league footballer
  • 1969
    Mo Lewis, American football player
  • 1969
    Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain
  • 1970
    Louis Koo, Hong Kong actor
  • 1971
    Conor O'Shea, Irish rugby player
  • 1971
    Damien Martyn, Australian cricketer
  • 1971
    Hal Duncan, Scottish writer
  • 1971
    Jade Jagger, socialite and jewellery Designer
  • 1971
    Nick Oliveri, American musician
  • 1971
    Paul Norman Telfer, Scottish footballer
  • 1971
    Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler
  • 1972
    Evhen Tsybulenko, Ukrainian professor of international law
  • 1972
    Felicity Andersen, Australian actress
  • 1972
    Masakazu Morita, seiyu and actor
  • 1972
    Matthew Friedberger, American musician (The Fiery Furnaces)
  • 1973
    Charlie Lowell, pianist with the group Jars of Clay
  • 1973
    Lera Auerbach, Russian composer
  • 1974
    Costel Busuioc, Romanian tenor
  • 1975
    Henrique Hilário, Portuguese footballer
  • 1975
    Toby Hall, American baseball player
  • 1976
    Jeremy Miller, American actor
  • 1976
    Josh Ritter, American musician
  • 1976
    Lavinia Miloşovici, Romanian gymnast
  • 1976
    Mélanie Turgeon, Canadian alpine skier
  • 1978
    Henrik Klingenberg, Member of Finnish band, Sonata Arctica
  • 1978
    Joey Harrington, American football player
  • 1978
    Will Estes, American actor
  • 1979
    Gabe Gross, American baseball player
  • 1979
    Khalil Greene, American baseball player
  • 1980
    Brian Pittman, American musician (Relient K)
  • 1980
    Kim Kardashian, American socialite, model and reality television star
  • 1981
    Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentine-born Italian rugby player
  • 1981
    Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer
  • 1982
    James White, American basketball player
  • 1982
    Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton player
  • 1982
    Matt Dallas, American actor
  • 1982
    Ray Ventrone, American football player
  • 1982
    Tim Wildsmith, American musician
  • 1983
    Andy Marté, Dominican baseball player
  • 1983
    Charlotte Sullivan, Canadian actress
  • 1983
    Ninet Tayeb, Israeli singer
  • 1983
    Shelden Williams, American basketball player
  • 1983
    Zack Greinke, American baseball player
  • 1984
    Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canadian speed skater
  • 1984
    Kenny Cooper, American soccer player
  • 1984
    Kieran Richardson, English footballer
  • 1984
    Marvin Mitchell, American football player
  • 1984
    Tom Brandstater, American football player
  • 1986
    Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
  • 1986
    Christopher Uckermann, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (RBD)
  • 1986
    Natalee Holloway, American missing person (missing since 2005)
  • 1990
    Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
  • 1992
    Bernard Tomic, Australian tennis player

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Who Died On October 21?

  • 1125
    Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian writer
  • 1204
    Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English nobleman
  • 1221
    Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1201)
  • 1266
    Birger jarl, Swedish statesman (b. 1210)
  • 1422
    King Charles VI of France (b. 1368)
  • 1500
    Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1442)
  • 1505
    Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician
  • 1558
    Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian scholar (b. 1484)
  • 1600
    Toda Katsushige, Japanese warlord (b. 1557)
  • 1623
    William Wade, English statesman and diplomat (b. 1546)
  • 1662
    Henry Lawes, English composer (b. 1595)
  • 1687
    Sir Edmund Waller, English poet (b. 1606)
  • 1765
    Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Italian painter and architect (b. 1691)
  • 1775
    Peyton Randolph, American president of the Continental Congress (b. 1721)
  • 1777
    Samuel Foote, English dramatist and actor (b. 1720)
  • 1805
    George Duff, Royal Navy Captain, killed in action at the Battle of Trafalgar (b.1764)
  • 1805
    Horatio Nelson, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1758)
  • 1805
    John Cooke, Royal Navy Captain, killed in action at the Battle of Trafalgar (b.1763)
  • 1821
    Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (b. 1752)
  • 1872
    Jacques Babinet, French physicist (b. 1794)
  • 1873
    Johann Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian poet (b. 1807)
  • 1896
    James Henry Greathead, British engineer (b. 1844)
  • 1903
    Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (b. 1829)
  • 1904
    Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (b. 1877)
  • 1907
    Jules Chevalier, French priest (b. 1824)
  • 1931
    Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian writer (b. 1862)
  • 1938
    Dorothy Hale, American socialite and actress (b. 1905)
  • 1940
    William G. Conley, Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)
  • 1944
    Alois Kayser, German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)
  • 1952
    Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (b. 1871)
  • 1963
    Józef Franczak, last cursed soldier – anticommunist underground in Poland (b. 1918)
  • 1965
    Bill Black, American musician (b. 1926)
  • 1969
    Jack Kerouac, American novelist (b. 1922)
  • 1969
    Waclaw Sierpinski, Polish mathematician (b. 1882)
  • 1973
    Nasif Estéfano, Argentine racing driver (b. 1932)
  • 1975
    Charles Reidpath, American athlete (b. 1887)
  • 1978
    Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet politician (b. 1895)
  • 1980
    Hans Asperger, Austrian psychologist (b. 1906)
  • 1984
    François Truffaut, French film director (b. 1932)
  • 1985
    Dan White, American politician, assailant in the Moscone-Milk assassinations (b. 1946)
  • 1986
    Lionel Murphy, Australian politician and judge (b. 1922)
  • 1989
    Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (b. 1910)
  • 1990
    Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1921)
  • 1991
    Lorenc Antoni, Kosovo Albanian composer (b. 1909)
  • 1992
    Jim Garrison, American attorney (b. 1921)
  • 1993
    Sam Zolotow, American theater reporter (b. 1899)
  • 1995
    Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (b. 1919)
  • 1995
    Maxene Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (b. 1916)
  • 1995
    Shannon Hoon, American singer (Blind Melon) (b. 1967)
  • 1996
    Georgios Zoitakis, Greek Army general and regent (b. 1910)
  • 1998
    Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)
  • 1999
    Lars Bo, Danish artist and writer (b. 1924)
  • 2003
    Elliott Smith, American musician (b. 1969)
  • 2003
    Fred Berry, American actor (b. 1951)
  • 2003
    Louise Day Hicks, American politician (b. 1916)
  • 2003
    Luis A. Ferré, Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1904)
  • 2006
    Sandy West, American musician (The Runaways) (b. 1959)
  • 2007
    Paul Fox, English musician and singer (The Ruts) (b. 1951)
  • 2010
    A. Ayyappan, Indian poet (b. 1949)

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