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 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 Sutton, Alaska 99674 sunrise occured at 08:54 AM and sunset occured at 06:23 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
- 1096People’s Crusade: The Turkish army annihilates the People’s Army of the West.
- 1097First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
- 1209Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
- 1392Nanboku-chō: Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
- 1512Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
- 1520Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan.
- 1520João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of “Islands of the 11,000 Virgins”.
- 1600Tokugawa 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.
- 1774First display of the word “Liberty” on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
- 1797In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
- 1805Napoleonic 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.
- 1816The Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by the Rev Hutchings. It is the oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia.
- 1824Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement.
- 1854Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
- 1861American 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.
- 1867Manifest 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.
- 1892Opening 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.
- 1895The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.
- 1902In the United States, a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.
- 1912During the First Balkan War, Kardzhali is liberated by Bulgarian forces
- 1921George Melford’s silent film, The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, premiers.
- 1921President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting President against lynching in the deep south.
- 1931The Sakurakai, a secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
- 1944World 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.
- 1944World 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.
- 1945Women’s suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
- 1950Korean 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.
- 1956Kenyan 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.
- 1959In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
- 1959President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA.
- 1965Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun.
- 1966Aberfan disaster: A slag heap collapses on the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.
- 1967Vietnam 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.
- 1969A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power.
- 1971A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, near Glasgow, Scotland.
- 1973Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
- 1973John 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.
- 1977The European Patent Institute is founded.
- 1978Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
- 1979Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs.
- 1983The 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.
- 1986In Lebanon, pro-Iranian kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).
- 1987Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 70 ethnic Tamil patients, doctors and nurses.
- 1994In Seoul, 32 people are killed when the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
- 1994North 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.
- 2003Images 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?
- 1449George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV and Richard III (d. 1478)
- 1527Louis I, Cardinal of Guise, French cardinal (d. 1578)
- 1581Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (d. 1641)
- 1650Jean Bart, French admiral (d. 1702)
- 1660Georg Ernst Stahl, German scientist (d. 1734)
- 1675Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (d. 1710)
- 1687Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1759)
- 1712Sir James Denham-Steuart, British economist (d. 1780)
- 1725Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (d. 1801)
- 1757Pierre Augereau, Marshal of France and duc de Castiglione (d. 1816)
- 1762Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (d. 1818)
- 1772Samuel Taylor Coleridge, British poet (d. 1834)
- 1775Giuseppe Baini, Italian composer (d. 1844)
- 1790Alphonse de Lamartine, French writer (d. 1869)
- 1833Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
- 1845Will Carleton, American poet (d. 1912)
- 1847Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian writer (d. 1906)
- 1851George Ulyett, English cricketer (d. 1898)
- 1884Claire Waldoff, German singer and entertainer (d. 1957)
- 1886Eugene Burton Ely, American aviation pioneer (d. 1911)
- 1894Edogawa Rampo, Japanese author and critic (d. 1965)
- 1895Edna Purviance, American actress (d. 1958)
- 1898Eduard Pütsep, Estonian wrestler and Olympic medalist (d. 1960)
- 1907Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (d. 1985)
- 1911Mary Blair, American artist and illustrator, best remembered for her Disney work (d. 1978)
- 1912Alfredo Pián, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
- 1912Don Byas, American jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1972)
- 1912Sir Georg Solti, Hungarian conductor (d. 1997)
- 1914Martin Gardner, American mathematician and writer (d. 2010)
- 1917Dizzy Gillespie, American jazz musician (d. 1993)
- 1918Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer (d. 2006)
- 1921Sena Jurinac, Bosnian operatic soprano (d. 2011)
- 1921Sir Malcolm Arnold, British composer (d. 2006)
- 1922Liliane Bettencourt, heir to L'Oreal
- 1924Celia Cruz, Cuban singer, Queen of Salsa (d. 2003)
- 1924Joyce Randolph, American actress
- 1926Leonard Rossiter, English Comedian/Actor (d. 1984)
- 1927Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer who made the first ascent of Broad Peak
- 1928Whitey Ford, American baseball player
- 1929Ursula K. Le Guin, American author
- 1930Ivan Stepanovich Silayev, Last prime minister of the Soviet Union
- 1931Shammi Kapoor, Indian Actor (d. 2011)
- 1931Vivian Pickles, English actress
- 1935Derek Bell, Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist, and composer(d. 2002)
- 1938Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)
- 1940Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
- 1940Geoff Boycott, English cricketer
- 1940Manfred Mann, English musician
- 1941Steve Cropper, American musician
- 1942Allan Grice, Australian racing driver
- 1942Elvin Bishop, American musician
- 1942Judith Sheindlin, American judge (“Judge Judy”)
- 1942Lou Lamoriello, New Jersey Devils General Manager
- 1943Tariq Ali, Pakistani author and historian
- 1945Everett McGill, American actor
- 1946Jim Hill, American sportscaster
- 1946Lee Loughnane, American musician
- 1946Lux Interior, American singer (The Cramps) (d. 2009)
- 1948Allen Vigneron, American Catholic Archbishop of Detroit
- 1948Shaye Cohen, Historian and Professor at Harvard University
- 1948Tom Everett, American actor
- 1949Benjamin Netanyahu, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
- 1949Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1971)
- 1949Mike Keenan, Canadian ice hockey coach
- 1950Ronald McNair, American astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1952Allen Hoey, American poet and novelist
- 1952Brent Mydland, American keyboardist (Grateful Dead) (d. 1990)
- 1952Patti Davis, American actress and novelist, daughter of Ronald Reagan
- 1952Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer
- 1953Charlotte Caffey, American musician (The Go-Go’s)
- 1953Keith Green, American musician (d. 1982)
- 1953Marc Johnson, American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader
- 1953Peter Mandelson, British politician
- 1954Brian Tobin, Canadian premier of Newfoundland
- 1955Dick DeVos, American businessman
- 1955Fred Hersch, American jazz pianist
- 1955Rich Mullins, American musician (d. 1997)
- 1956Carrie Fisher, American actress and writer
- 1957Julian Cope, English musician and writer
- 1957Steve Lukather, American musician
- 1957Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1959Andy Picheta, English film director
- 1959George Bell, Dominican baseball player
- 1959Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor
- 1959Rose McDowall, Scottish musician
- 1959Tony Ganios, American Actor
- 1962David Campese, Australian rugby union footballer
- 1964Jon Carin, American musician (Pink Floyd, The Who)
- 1965Hisashi Imai, Japanese musician (BUCK-TICK, Lucy)
- 1965Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer
- 1966Arne Sandstø, Norwegian footballer
- 1967Paul Ince, English footballer
- 1968Alexandros Alexandris, Greek footballer
- 1968Kerstin Andreae, German politician
- 1968Melora Walters, American actress
- 1969Michael Hancock, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1969Mo Lewis, American football player
- 1969Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain
- 1970Louis Koo, Hong Kong actor
- 1971Conor O'Shea, Irish rugby player
- 1971Damien Martyn, Australian cricketer
- 1971Hal Duncan, Scottish writer
- 1971Jade Jagger, socialite and jewellery Designer
- 1971Nick Oliveri, American musician
- 1971Paul Norman Telfer, Scottish footballer
- 1971Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler
- 1972Evhen Tsybulenko, Ukrainian professor of international law
- 1972Felicity Andersen, Australian actress
- 1972Masakazu Morita, seiyu and actor
- 1972Matthew Friedberger, American musician (The Fiery Furnaces)
- 1973Charlie Lowell, pianist with the group Jars of Clay
- 1973Lera Auerbach, Russian composer
- 1974Costel Busuioc, Romanian tenor
- 1975Henrique Hilário, Portuguese footballer
- 1975Toby Hall, American baseball player
- 1976Jeremy Miller, American actor
- 1976Josh Ritter, American musician
- 1976Lavinia Miloşovici, Romanian gymnast
- 1976Mélanie Turgeon, Canadian alpine skier
- 1978Henrik Klingenberg, Member of Finnish band, Sonata Arctica
- 1978Joey Harrington, American football player
- 1978Will Estes, American actor
- 1979Gabe Gross, American baseball player
- 1979Khalil Greene, American baseball player
- 1980Brian Pittman, American musician (Relient K)
- 1980Kim Kardashian, American socialite, model and reality television star
- 1981Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentine-born Italian rugby player
- 1981Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer
- 1982James White, American basketball player
- 1982Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton player
- 1982Matt Dallas, American actor
- 1982Ray Ventrone, American football player
- 1982Tim Wildsmith, American musician
- 1983Andy Marté, Dominican baseball player
- 1983Charlotte Sullivan, Canadian actress
- 1983Ninet Tayeb, Israeli singer
- 1983Shelden Williams, American basketball player
- 1983Zack Greinke, American baseball player
- 1984Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canadian speed skater
- 1984Kenny Cooper, American soccer player
- 1984Kieran Richardson, English footballer
- 1984Marvin Mitchell, American football player
- 1984Tom Brandstater, American football player
- 1986Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
- 1986Christopher Uckermann, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (RBD)
- 1986Natalee Holloway, American missing person (missing since 2005)
- 1990Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
- 1992Bernard Tomic, Australian tennis player
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Who Died On October 21?
- 1125Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian writer
- 1204Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English nobleman
- 1221Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1201)
- 1266Birger jarl, Swedish statesman (b. 1210)
- 1422King Charles VI of France (b. 1368)
- 1500Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1442)
- 1505Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician
- 1558Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian scholar (b. 1484)
- 1600Toda Katsushige, Japanese warlord (b. 1557)
- 1623William Wade, English statesman and diplomat (b. 1546)
- 1662Henry Lawes, English composer (b. 1595)
- 1687Sir Edmund Waller, English poet (b. 1606)
- 1765Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Italian painter and architect (b. 1691)
- 1775Peyton Randolph, American president of the Continental Congress (b. 1721)
- 1777Samuel Foote, English dramatist and actor (b. 1720)
- 1805George Duff, Royal Navy Captain, killed in action at the Battle of Trafalgar (b.1764)
- 1805Horatio Nelson, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1758)
- 1805John Cooke, Royal Navy Captain, killed in action at the Battle of Trafalgar (b.1763)
- 1821Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (b. 1752)
- 1872Jacques Babinet, French physicist (b. 1794)
- 1873Johann Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian poet (b. 1807)
- 1896James Henry Greathead, British engineer (b. 1844)
- 1903Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (b. 1829)
- 1904Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (b. 1877)
- 1907Jules Chevalier, French priest (b. 1824)
- 1931Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian writer (b. 1862)
- 1938Dorothy Hale, American socialite and actress (b. 1905)
- 1940William G. Conley, Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)
- 1944Alois Kayser, German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)
- 1952Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (b. 1871)
- 1963Józef Franczak, last cursed soldier – anticommunist underground in Poland (b. 1918)
- 1965Bill Black, American musician (b. 1926)
- 1969Jack Kerouac, American novelist (b. 1922)
- 1969Waclaw Sierpinski, Polish mathematician (b. 1882)
- 1973Nasif Estéfano, Argentine racing driver (b. 1932)
- 1975Charles Reidpath, American athlete (b. 1887)
- 1978Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet politician (b. 1895)
- 1980Hans Asperger, Austrian psychologist (b. 1906)
- 1984François Truffaut, French film director (b. 1932)
- 1985Dan White, American politician, assailant in the Moscone-Milk assassinations (b. 1946)
- 1986Lionel Murphy, Australian politician and judge (b. 1922)
- 1989Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (b. 1910)
- 1990Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1921)
- 1991Lorenc Antoni, Kosovo Albanian composer (b. 1909)
- 1992Jim Garrison, American attorney (b. 1921)
- 1993Sam Zolotow, American theater reporter (b. 1899)
- 1995Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (b. 1919)
- 1995Maxene Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (b. 1916)
- 1995Shannon Hoon, American singer (Blind Melon) (b. 1967)
- 1996Georgios Zoitakis, Greek Army general and regent (b. 1910)
- 1998Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)
- 1999Lars Bo, Danish artist and writer (b. 1924)
- 2003Elliott Smith, American musician (b. 1969)
- 2003Fred Berry, American actor (b. 1951)
- 2003Louise Day Hicks, American politician (b. 1916)
- 2003Luis A. Ferré, Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1904)
- 2006Sandy West, American musician (The Runaways) (b. 1959)
- 2007Paul Fox, English musician and singer (The Ruts) (b. 1951)
- 2010A. Ayyappan, Indian poet (b. 1949)
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