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2024

October 21 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 71 days remain until the end of the year.

• 1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot.
• 1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
• 1392 – Japanese Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
• 1512 – Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
• 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 and becomes shōgun of Japan.

• 1774 – The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty".
• 1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
• 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A British fleet led by Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve in the Battle of Trafalgar.
• 1824 – Portland cement is patented.
• 1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war.
• 1867 – The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in the western Indian Territory.
• 1879 – Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.
• 1888 – The Swiss Social Democratic Party is founded.
• 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 capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan.

• 1907 – The 1907 Qaratog earthquake hits the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, killing between 12,000 and 15,000 people.
• 1910 – HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
• 1912 – First Balkan War: The Greek navy completes the capture of the island of Lemnos for use as a forward base against the Dardanelles.
• 1921 – President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South.
• 1931 – A secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
• 1940 – The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.
• 1941 – World War II: The Kragujevac massacre against Serbian men and boys takes place.
• 1943 – World War II: The Provisional Government of Free India is formally established in Japanese-occupied Singapore.
• 1944 – World War II: The first kamikaze attack damages HMAS Australia as the Battle of Leyte Gulf begins.
• 1944 – World War II: The Nemmersdorf massacre against German civilians takes place.
• 1944 – World War II: The city of Aachen falls to American forces after three weeks of fighting, the first German city to fall to the Allies.
• 1945 – In the 1945 French legislative election French women vote for the first time.
• 1950 – Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces and North Koreans during the Battle of Yongju.
• 1956 – The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated.
• 1959 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public.
• 1959 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves the transfer of all US Army space-related activities to NASA, including most of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency.
• 1965 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun.
• 1966 – A colliery spoil tip slips onto houses and a school in the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, 116 of whom were schoolchildren.
• 1967 – The National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organizes a march of fifty thousand people from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon.
• 1969 – The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration.
• 1971 – A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
• 1978 – Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes 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.
• 1981 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces.
• 1983 – The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
• 1984 – Niki Lauda claims his third and final Formula One Drivers' Championship Title by half a point ahead of McLaren team-mate Alain Prost at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
• 1986 – In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).
• 1987 – The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients, doctors and nurses.
• 1989 – In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the nation's capital Tegucigalpa.
• 1994 – North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.
• 1994 – In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
• 2005 – Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery.
• 2011 – Iraq War: President Barack Obama announces that the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq will be complete by the end of the year.
• 2019 – Thirty people are killed in a fiery bus crash in western Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• 2019 – In Canada, the 2019 Canadian federal election ends, resulting in incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remaining in office, albeit with the Liberal Party in a minority government.
• 2021 – A shooting occurs on the set of the film Rust, in which actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon which had been loaded, killing the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director Joel Souza.

• 1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
• 1409 – Alessandro Sforza, Italian condottiero (d. 1473)
• 1449 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, Irish-English son of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (d. 1478)
• 1527 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (d. 1578)
• 1536 – Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt (d. 1586)
• 1581 – Domenichino, Italian painter (d. 1641)

• 1650 – Jean Bart, French admiral (d. 1702)
• 1658 – Henri de Boulainvilliers, French nobleman (d. 1722)
• 1675 – Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (d. 1710)
• 1687 – Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (d. 1759)
• 1712 – James Steuart, Scottish economist and author (d. 1780)
• 1725 – Franz Moritz von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (d. 1801)
• 1757 – Pierre Augereau, French general (d. 1816)
• 1762 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general, lawyer, and politician, 36th Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1818)
• 1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, philosopher, and critic (d. 1834)
• 1775 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest, composer, and critic (d. 1844)
• 1790 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (d. 1869)
• 1809 – James Clark, American Jesuit (d. 1885)
• 1811 – Filippo Colini, Italian operatic baritone (d. 1863)
• 1821 – Sims Reeves, English tenor and actor (d. 1900)
• 1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
• 1845 – Will Carleton, American poet and journalist (d. 1912)
• 1847 – Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1906)
• 1851 – George Ulyett, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1898)
• 1868 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (d. 1951)
• 1874 – Tan Kah Kee, Chinese businessman, community leader, communist and philanthropist (d. 1961)
• 1877 – Oswald Avery, Canadian-American physician and microbiologist (d. 1955)
• 1884 – Claire Waldoff, German singer and actress (d. 1957)
• 1886 – Eugene Burton Ely, American soldier and pilot (d. 1911)
• 1887 – Krishna Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (d. 1961)
• 1894 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (d. 1965)
• 1895 – Paavo Johansson, Finnish javelin thrower and decathlete (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Edna Purviance, American actress (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Esther Shumiatcher-Hirschbein, Russian-Canadian poet and screenwriter (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Eduard Pütsep, Estonian wrestler and actor (d. 1960)
• 1900 – Andrée Boisson, French Olympic fencer (d. 1973)

• 1902 – Eddy Hamel, American footballer (d. 1943)
• 1907 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (d. 1985)
• 1908 – Niyazi Berkes, Cypriot-English sociologist and academic (d. 1988)
• 1911 – Mary Blair, American illustrator and animator (d. 1978)
• 1912 – Don Byas, American saxophonist and educator (d. 1972)
• 1912 – Alfredo Pián, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
• 1912 – Georg Solti, Hungarian-English conductor and director (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Martin Gardner, American mathematician and author (d. 2010)
• 1915 – Owen Bradley, American country music record producer (d. 1998)
• 1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1993)
• 1918 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociologist and author (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Albertina Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Jim Wallwork, English-Canadian sergeant and pilot (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Malcolm Arnold, English composer (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Bruce Beeby, Australian-English actor (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Robert Clothier, Canadian actor (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Jim Shumate, American fiddler and composer (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 2015)
• 1922 – Liliane Bettencourt, French businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 2017)
• 1923 – Samuel Khachikian, Iranian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Joyce Randolph, American actress (d. 2024)
• 1924 – Julie Wilson, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
• 1925 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Virginia Zeani, Romanian soprano and educator (d. 2023)
• 1926 – Bob Rosburg, American golfer (d. 2009)
• 1926 – Leonard Rossiter, English actor (d. 1984)
• 1927 – Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer (d. 2018)
• 1927 – Howard Zieff, American director and photographer (d. 2009)
• 1928 – Whitey Ford, American baseball player and coach (d. 2020)
• 1928 – Eudóxia Maria Froehlich, Brazilian zoologist (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Vern Mikkelsen, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Pierre Bellemare, French radio and television host (d. 2018)
• 1929 – Fritz Hollaus, Austrian footballer (d. 1994)
• 1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic (d. 2018)
• 1929 – George Stinney Jr., wrongfully convicted African-American inmate; second youngest person in the U.S. to be executed (d. 1944)
• 1930 – Ivan Silayev, Russian engineer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2023)
• 1931 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director (d. 2011)
• 1931 – Jim Parks Jr., English cricketer and manager (d. 2022)
• 1932 – Pál Csernai, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Maureen Duffy, English author, poet, playwright and activist
• 1933 – Francisco Gento, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2022)
• 1935 – Derek Bell, Irish harp player, pianist, and songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1935 – Mel Street, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
• 1937 – Said Afandi al-Chirkawi, Russian spiritual leader and scholar (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Hank Nelson, Australian historian and academic (d. 2012)
• 1938 – Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)
• 1940 – Geoffrey Boycott, English cricketer and sportscaster
• 1940 – Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
• 1940 – Rhoda Gemignani, American actress
• 1940 – Manfred Mann, South African-English keyboard player and producer
• 1940 – Marita Petersen, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2001)
• 1941 – Steve Cropper, American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1942 – Elvin Bishop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Allan Grice, Australian race car driver and politician
• 1942 – Lou Lamoriello, American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1942 – Judy Sheindlin, American judge and television host
• 1942 – Christopher A. Sims, American economist and statistician, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942 – John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, English police officer and academic
• 1943 – Tariq Ali, Pakistani historian and author
• 1943 – Ron Elliott, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer
• 1944 – Mandy Rice-Davies, English model and actress (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Michael Tugendhat, English lawyer and judge
• 1945 – Everett McGill, American actor
• 1945 – Nikita Mikhalkov, Russian filmmaker
• 1945 – Michael White, English journalist
• 1946 – Jane Heal, English philosopher and academic
• 1946 – Jim Hill, American football player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Lux Interior, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
• 1946 – Lee Loughnane, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player
• 1948 – Shaye J. D. Cohen, American historian and academic
• 1948 – Allen Henry Vigneron, American archbishop
• 1949 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1971)
• 1949 – Mike Keenan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
• 1950 – Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (d. 1986)
• 1950 – Leela Vernon, Belizean musician and cultural conservationist (d. 2017)
• 1952 – Patti Davis, American actress and author
• 1952 – Allen Hoey, American poet and author (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Brent Mydland, German-American keyboard player (d. 1990)
• 1953 – Charlotte Caffey, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1953 – Eric Faulkner, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1953 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and minister (d. 1982)
• 1953 – Marc Johnson, American bassist, composer, and bandleader
• 1953 – Peter Mandelson, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• 1954 – Brian Tobin, Canadian journalist and politician, 6th Premier of Newfoundland
• 1955 – Dick DeVos, American businessman
• 1955 – Catherine Hardwicke, American film director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1955 – Fred Hersch, American pianist and composer
• 1955 – Rich Mullins, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
• 1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (d. 2016)
• 1956 – Mike Tully, American pole vaulter
• 1957 – Julian Cope, English singer-songwriter
• 1957 – Irene Edgar, Scottish lawn bowler
• 1957 – Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1957 – Steve Lukather, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1958 – Andre Geim, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1959 – George Bell, Dominican baseball player
• 1959 – Rose McDowall, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1959 – Andy Picheta, English director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1959 – Kevin Sheedy, Welsh-Irish footballer and manager
• 1959 – Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor and producer
• 1960 – Melora Walters, American actress, director, and writer
• 1962 – David Campese, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1964 – Jon Carin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1965 – Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1965 – Horace Hogan, American wrestler
• 1965 – Hisashi Imai, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1966 – Phillip Price, Welsh golfer
• 1966 – Igor Prins, Estonian footballer and manager
• 1966 – Arne Sandstø, Norwegian footballer and manager
• 1967 – Georgi Dakov, Bulgarian high jumper (d. 1996)
• 1967 – Paul Ince, English footballer and manager
• 1967 – Gavin Lovegrove, New Zealand javelin thrower and graphic designer
• 1968 – Alexandros Alexandris, Greek footballer and manager
• 1968 – Kerstin Andreae, German politician
• 1969 – Michael Hancock, Australian rugby league player
• 1969 – Mo Lewis, American football player
• 1970 – Louis Koo, Hong Kong actor and singer
• 1971 – Hal Duncan, Scottish author and poet
• 1971 – Damien Martyn, Australian cricketer
• 1971 – Nick Oliveri, American singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1971 – Conor O'Shea, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1971 – Paul Telfer, Scottish footballer and coach
• 1971 – Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler
• 1972 – Ashutosh Agashe, Indian businessman and cricketer
• 1972 – Matthew Friedberger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Orlando Thomas, American football player (d. 2014)
• 1972 – Evhen Tsybulenko, Ukrainian scholar and academic
• 1973 – Lera Auerbach, Russian-American pianist and composer
• 1973 – Charlie Lowell, American pianist and songwriter
• 1974 – Costel Busuioc, Romanian tenor
• 1975 – Toby Hall, American baseball player
• 1975 – Henrique Hilário, Portuguese footballer
• 1976 – Henrik Gustavsson, Swedish footballer
• 1976 – Jeremy Miller, American actor and singer
• 1976 – Lavinia Miloșovici, Romanian gymnast
• 1976 – Josh Ritter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Andrew Scott, Irish actor
• 1976 – Mélanie Turgeon, Canadian skier
• 1978 – Will Estes, American actor
• 1978 – Joey Harrington, American football player and sportscaster
• 1978 – Henrik Klingenberg, Finnish singer and keyboard player
• 1978 – Michael McMillian, American actor
• 1979 – Khalil Greene, American baseball player
• 1979 – Gabe Gross, American baseball player
• 1980 – Kim Kardashian, American reality television personality, actress, model, businesswoman and socialite
• 1980 – Brian Pittman, American bass player
• 1981 – Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
• 1981 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer
• 1982 – Matt Dallas, American actor
• 1982 – Jim Henderson, American baseball player
• 1982 – Antony Kay, English footballer
• 1982 – Hari Kondabolu, American comedian, actor, and podcaster
• 1982 – Ray Ventrone, American football player
• 1982 – Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton player
• 1982 – James White, American basketball player
• 1983 – Casey Fien, American baseball player
• 1983 – Zack Greinke, American baseball player
• 1983 – Brent Hayden, Canadian swimmer
• 1983 – Gonzalo Klusener, Argentinian footballer
• 1983 – Andy Marte, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
• 1983 – Amber Rose, American model
• 1983 – Chris Sherrington, English-Scottish martial artist
• 1983 – Charlotte Sullivan, Canadian actress
• 1983 – Ninet Tayeb, Israeli singer
• 1983 – Shelden Williams, American basketball player
• 1984 – Anna Bogdanova, Russian heptathlete
• 1984 – Tom Brandstater, American football player
• 1984 – Kenny Cooper, American soccer player
• 1984 – Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canadian speed skater
• 1984 – José Lobatón, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1984 – Marvin Mitchell, American football player
• 1984 – Kieran Richardson, English footballer
• 1985 – Simone Bracalello, Italian footballer
• 1985 – Dean Collis, Australian rugby league player
• 1986 – Almen Abdi, Swiss footballer
• 1986 – Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
• 1986 – Scott Rendell, English footballer
• 1987 – Tonje Brenna, Norwegian politician
• 1987 – Justin De Fratus, American baseball player
• 1987 – Andrey Grechin, Russian swimmer
• 1988 – Ricki Olsen, Danish footballer
• 1988 – Glen Powell, American actor
• 1988 – Daniel Schorn, Austrian cyclist
• 1989 – Mads Dahm, Norwegian footballer
• 1989 – Festus Ezeli, Nigerian-American basketball player
• 1989 – Luke Murphy, English footballer
• 1989 – Jonathan Viera, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Sam Vokes, English-Welsh footballer
• 1990 – Bengali-Fodé Koita, French footballer
• 1990 – Mathieu Peybernes, French footballer
• 1990 – Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
• 1990 – Kristján Þórður Snæbjarnarson, Icelandic politician
• 1991 – Alexander Burmistrov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1991 – Tom Eastman, English footballer
• 1991 – Geoffry Hairemans, Belgian footballer
• 1991 – Rob Keogh, English cricketer
• 1991 – Vadaine Oliver, English footballer
• 1991 – Harry Pell, English footballer
• 1992 – Natasha Bassett, Australian actress
• 1992 – Marzia Kjellberg, Italian businessperson and former YouTuber
• 1992 – Damion Lee, American basketball player
• 1992 – Bernard Tomic, German-Australian tennis player
• 1993 – Kane Brown, American singer and songwriter
• 1995 – Cameron Burgess, Scottish-Australian footballer
• 1995 – Doja Cat, American rapper, singer and songwriter
• 1995 – Antoinette Guedia Mouafo, Cameroonian swimmer

• 645 – Zhenzhu Khan, khan of Xueyantuo
• 1023 – Gero, Archbishop of Magdeburg
• 1096 – Walter Sans Avoir, a leader of the First Crusade
• 1125 – Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (b. 1045)
• 1204 – Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English politician
• 1221 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1201)
• 1266 – Birger Jarl, Swedish politician (b. 1210)
• 1314 – Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville
• 1422 – Charles VI of France (b. 1368)
• 1500 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1442)
• 1505 – Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician and educator (b. 1460)
• 1556 – Pietro Aretino, Italian author (b. 1492)
• 1558 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (b. 1484)
• 1600 – Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Japanese samurai (b. 1558)

• 1623 – William Wade, English politician and diplomat, Lieutenant of the Tower of London (b. 1546)
• 1662 – Henry Lawes, English composer (b. 1595)
• 1687 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (b. 1606)
• 1765 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (b. 1691)
• 1775 – Peyton Randolph, American lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Continental Congress (b. 1721)
• 1777 – Samuel Foote, English actor and playwright (b. 1720)
• 1805 – John Cooke, English captain (b. 1763)
• 1805 – George Duff, Scottish captain (b. 1764)
• 1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (b. 1758)
• 1821 – Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (b. 1752)
• 1835 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian poet and composer (b. 1775)
• 1861 – Edward Dickinson Baker, American congressman and colonel (b. 1811)
• 1872 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1794)
• 1873 – Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian author, poet, and critic (b. 1807)
• 1896 – James Henry Greathead, South African-English engineer (b. 1844)

• 1903 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (b. 1829)
• 1904 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and journalist (b. 1877)
• 1907 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (b. 1824)
• 1931 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Dorothy Hale, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1939 – Hendrik Wortman, Dutch civil engineer (b. 1859)
• 1940 – William G. Conley, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)
• 1941 – Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton, Australian biologist (b. 1852)
• 1944 – Alois Kayser, German-French missionary (b. 1877)
• 1952 – Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (b. 1871)
• 1963 – Józef Franczak, Polish sergeant (b. 1918)
• 1965 – Bill Black, American bass player and bandleader (b. 1926)
• 1969 – Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (b. 1922)
• 1969 – Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1882)
• 1970 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (b. 1896)
• 1971 – Minnie Evans, American artist (b. 1888)
• 1973 – Nasif Estéfano, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1932)
• 1975 – Charles Reidpath, American runner and general (b. 1887)
• 1977 – Ferit Tüzün, Turkish composer (b. 1929)
• 1978 – Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian-Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1895)
• 1980 – Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (b. 1906)
• 1982 – Radka Toneff, Norwegian singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
• 1983 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (b. 1919)
• 1984 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1932)
• 1985 – Dan White, American assassin and politician (b. 1946)
• 1986 – Lionel Murphy, Australian jurist and politician, 22nd Attorney-General of Australia (b. 1922)
• 1989 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 1990 – Dany Chamoun, Lebanese engineer and politician (b. 1934)
• 1990 – Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Indian spiritual guru, philosopher and author (b. 1921)
• 1991 – Lorenc Antoni, Albanian composer, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (b. 1898)
• 1992 – Jim Garrison, American lawyer and judge (b. 1921)
• 1993 – Sam Zolotow, American journalist and critic (b. 1899)
• 1995 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Jesús Blasco, Spanish author and illustrator (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Nancy Graves, American sculptor and painter (b. 1939)
• 1995 – Shannon Hoon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967)
• 1996 – Georgios Zoitakis, Greek general and politician (b. 1910)
• 1998 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)
• 1999 – Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1939)
• 2002 – Edward J. Mortola, American academic and president of Pace University (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Louise Day Hicks, American politician (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Luis A. Ferré, Puerto Rican engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1904)
• 2003 – Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1969)
• 2006 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1959)
• 2007 – Paul Fox, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
• 2010 – A. Ayyappan, Indian poet and translator (b. 1949)
• 2011 – Hikmet Bilâ, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1954)
• 2011 – Tone Pavček, Slovenian poet and author (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Yash Chopra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Antoni Dobrowolski, Polish educator (b. 1904)
• 2012 – Jaroslav Kozlík, Czech volleyball player and educator (b. 1907)
• 2012 – Alf Kumalo, South African photographer and journalist (b. 1930)
• 2012 – George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Bud Adams, American businessman (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Gianni Ferrio, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Rune T. Kidde, Danish author, poet, and illustrator (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Colonel Robert Morris, American singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1954)
• 2013 – Major Owens, American librarian and politician (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Tony Summers, Welsh swimmer (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Oscar Yanes, Venezuelan journalist and author (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Ben Bradlee, American journalist and author (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Nelson Bunker Hunt, American businessman (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, Iranian cleric and politician, Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Edith Kawelohea McKinzie, Hawaiian genealogist, author, and hula expert (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1916)
• 2015 – France Bučar, Slovenian lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Marty Ingels, American actor (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Norman W. Moore, English conservationist and author (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Sheldon Wolin, American philosopher, theorist, and academic (b. 1922)
• 2020 – Frank Bough, English television presenter (b. 1933)
• 2021 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor and violinist (b. 1929)
• 2023 – Bobby Charlton, English footballer and manager (b. 1937)
• 2023 – Bobi, Portuguese dog (b. 1992)
• 2023 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia (b. 1933)
• 2024 – Mimi Hines, Canadian singer and comedian (b. 1933)

• Armed Forces Day (Honduras)
• Christian feast day:
  • Asterius of Ostia
  • Berthold of Parma
  • Blessed Charles of Austria (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Fintán of Taghmon
  • Hilarion
  • John of Bridlington
  • Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena
  • Leticia
  • Malchus of Syria
  • Peter Yu Tae-chol
  • Severinus of Bordeaux
  • Tuda of Lindisfarne
  • Ursula
  • Viator of Lyons
  • October 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Egyptian Naval Day (Egypt)
• Indian Police Commemoration Day (India)
• National Nurses' Day (Thailand)
• Ndadaye Day (Burundi)
• Overseas Chinese Day (Republic of China)
• Trafalgar Day (the British Empire in the 19th and early 20th century)
• Birth of the Báb (2017) (Baháʼí Faith)

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on October 21". OnThisDay.com.