# On this day: October 21

October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years), with 71 days left until the end of the year.

## October 21 in one line

Headline entries for October 21, from Wikipedia: in 1854, Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses and 15 nuns were sent to the Ottoman Empire to help treat wounded British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War; born 1833: Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (died 1896); died 1805: Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (born 1758). In 2026 it is a Wednesday, in 2027 a Thursday.

## Events on October 21

- 685 Election of Pope Conon following the death of Pope John V. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_V)
- 1096 First Crusade: At the Battle of Civetot, the Seljuk forces of Kilij Arslan destroyed the army of the People's Crusade as it marched toward Nicaea. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Civetot)
- 1187 Election of Gregory VIII following the death of Pope Urban III. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_VIII)
- 1345 Hundred Years' War: The English victory at the Battle of Auberoche marked a change in the military balance of power in Aquitaine, with the subsequent collapse of the French position. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Auberoche)
- 1520 João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins". [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon)
- 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara and becomes shōgun of Japan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sekigahara)
- 1797 In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution)
- 1854 Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses and 15 nuns were sent to the Ottoman Empire to help treat wounded British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale)
- 1858 French composer Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, featuring the music most associated with the can-can, was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus_in_the_Underworld)
- 1867 The first and second of three treaties were signed near Medicine Lodge, Kansas, between the United States federal government and several Native American tribes in the Great Plains, requiring them to relocate to areas in present-day western Oklahoma. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_Lodge_Treaty)
- 1879 Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb)
- 1910 HMS Niobe arrived in Halifax Harbour to become the first large ship of the Royal Canadian Navy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Niobe_(1897))
- 1940 The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Whom_the_Bell_Tolls)
- 1941 World War II: German soldiers massacred nearly 2,800 Serbs in Kragujevac in reprisal for insurgent attacks in the district of Gornji Milanovac. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kragujevac_massacre)
- 1944 World War II: The three-week-long Battle of Aachen concluded, making the city the first on German soil to be captured by the Allies. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aachen)
- 1956 The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_rebellion)
- 1959 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_R._Guggenheim_Museum)
- 1965 Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Ikeya%E2%80%93Seki)
- 1966 A coal tip fell on the village of Aberfan, Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster)
- 1968 At the height of the Japanese university protests, protesters occupied Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and clashed violently with police. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinjuku_riot)
- 1979 Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin)
- 1981 Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Papandreou)
- 1983 The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre)
- 1994 North Korea and the United States signed the Agreed Framework to limit the former's nuclear weapons program and to normalize relations between the two countries. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Framework)
- 1994 In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people were killed and 17 others injured when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapsed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seongsu_Bridge_disaster)
- 2003 Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet))

## Born on October 21

- 1328 Hongwu Emperor of China (died 1398) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongwu_Emperor)
- 1772 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, philosopher, and critic (died 1834) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge)
- 1790 Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (died 1869) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_de_Lamartine)
- 1833 Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (died 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel)
- 1914 Martin Gardner, American mathematician and author (died 2010) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Gardner)
- 1917 Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1993) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_Gillespie)
- 1925 Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (died 2003) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_Cruz)
- 1929 Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic (died 2018) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin)
- 1933 Francisco Gento, Spanish footballer and manager (died 2022) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paco_Gento)
- 1942 Christopher A. Sims, American economist and statistician, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_A._Sims)
- 1943 Tariq Ali, Pakistani historian and author [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariq_Ali)
- 1945 Nikita Mikhalkov, Russian filmmaker [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Mikhalkov)
- 1949 Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu)
- 1956 Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (died 2016) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Fisher)
- 1957 Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Ketterle)
- 1958 Andre Geim, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Geim)
- 1959 Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Watanabe)
- 1965 Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Andoni_Goikoetxea)
- 1980 Kim Kardashian, American reality television personality, actress, model, businesswoman and socialite [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Kardashian)
- 1981 Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemanja_Vidi%C4%87)
- 1985 Hadise, Belgian-Turkish singer-songwriter and dancer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadise)
- 1995 Doja Cat, American rapper, singer and songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doja_Cat)

## Died on October 21

- 1125 Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (born 1045) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmas_of_Prague)
- 1422 Charles VI of France (born 1368) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VI_of_France)
- 1556 Pietro Aretino, Italian author (born 1492) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Aretino)
- 1805 Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (born 1758) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson%2C_1st_Viscount_Nelson)
- 1931 Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (born 1862) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schnitzler)
- 1969 Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (born 1922) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac)
- 1978 Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian-Russian civil servant and politician (born 1895) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastas_Mikoyan)
- 1980 Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (born 1906) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Asperger)
- 1984 François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Truffaut)
- 2003 Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1969) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Smith)
- 2012 George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (born 1922) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_McGovern)
- 2012 Yash Chopra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yash_Chopra)
- 2014 Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (born 1916) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam)
- 2023 Bobby Charlton, English footballer and manager (born 1937) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Charlton)

## Holidays and observances

- Armed Forces Day (Honduras) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Honduras)
- Christian feast day: Céline of Laon [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9line_of_Laon)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Charles of Austria (Roman Catholic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatification)
- Christian feast day: Fintán of Taghmon [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fint%C3%A1n_of_Taghmon)
- Christian feast day: Hilarion [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilarion)
- Christian feast day: John of Bridlington [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Twenge)
- Christian feast day: Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Montoya)
- Christian feast day: Malchus of Syria [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malchus_of_Syria)
- Christian feast day: Pedro Calungsod [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Calungsod)
- Christian feast day: Peter Yu Tae-chol [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Yu_Tae-chol)
- Christian feast day: Severinus of Bordeaux [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severinus_of_Bordeaux)
- Christian feast day: Tuda of Lindisfarne [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuda_of_Lindisfarne)
- Christian feast day: Ursula [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Ursula)
- Christian feast day: Viator of Lyons [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viator_of_Lyons)
- Christian feast day: October 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_21_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Egyptian Naval Day (Egypt) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Egypt)
- Indian Police Commemoration Day (India) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Reserve_Police_Force)
- National Nurses' Day (Thailand) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Thailand)
- Ndadaye Day (Burundi) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchior_Ndadaye)
- Overseas Chinese Day (Republic of China) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Taiwan)
- Trafalgar Day (the British Empire in the 19th and early 20th century) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafalgar_Day)
- Birth of the Báb (2017) (Baháʼí Faith) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Holy_Birthdays)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “October 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_21) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/October 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/October_21) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“October 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_21) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_21?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for October 21 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## October 21 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Wednesday | 2026-W43 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Thursday | 2027-W42 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2028 | Saturday | 2028-W42 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2029 | Sunday | 2029-W42 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2030 | Monday | 2030-W43 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on October 21

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on October 21 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← October 20](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/october-20/) · [October 22 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/october-22/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/october-21/