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On this dayOctober 21

Through history61 events, 253 births and 110 deaths in Wikipedia's lists for the date

Today

A hundred years before

The front pages of October 21, 1926

What 82 American newspapers printed that day, as the Library of Congress keeps them.

MEDIA
The front page of Evening star, Washington, D.C., October 21, 1926Evening starWashington, D.C.Read it, zoom in, mark it →
73 more front pages that day

All 82 front pages at the Library of Congress ↗From Chronicling America. Public domain: in the Library's words, newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.

What happened

On October 21

The anniversaries Wikipedia's editors chose for the date, oldest first.

REFERENCE
  1. 1096930 years ago

    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. · Seljuk dynasty · Kilij Arslan I

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  2. 1345681 years ago

    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.

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  3. 1854172 years ago

    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.

    Photo: Henry Hering (1814-1893)Public domain
  4. 1858168 years ago

    French composer Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, featuring the music most associated with the can-can (audio featured), was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris.

    Photo: Nadar / Adam CuerdenPublic domain
  5. 1867159 years ago

    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. · Medicine Lodge Treaty · Plains Indians

    Photo: J. Howland, Harper's WeeklyPublic domain
  6. 1910116 years ago

    HMS Niobe arrived in Halifax Harbour to become the first large ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.

    Photo: George Grantham Bain collectionPublic domain
  7. 194185 years ago

    World War II: German soldiers massacred nearly 2,800 Serbs in Kragujevac in reprisal for insurgent attacks in the district of Gornji Milanovac. · World War II · Kragujevac massacre

    Photo: Richard OpitzCC BY-SA 3.0 de
  8. 194482 years ago

    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. · Aachen · Allies of World War II

    Photo: Richard OpitzCC BY-SA 3.0 de
  9. 195967 years ago

    The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City.

    Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USACC BY 2.0
  10. 196660 years ago

    A coal tip fell on the village of Aberfan, Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren. · Spoil tip · Aberfan disaster

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  11. 196858 years ago

    At the height of the Japanese university protests, protesters occupied Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and clashed violently with police. · 1968–1969 Japanese university protests · Shinjuku riot

  12. 199432 years ago

    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. · North Korea and weapons of mass destruction

    Photo: Public domain Public domain false false This text document , published…Public domain
  13. 199432 years ago

    In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people were killed and 17 others injured when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapsed (pictured). · Seongsu Bridge disaster

    Photo: Eunmi ParkCC BY-SA 4.0
All 61 events Wikipedia lists for October 21, by year

Reading the list…

Born

On October 21

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1833Alfred NobelSwedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (died 1896)192 languagesPhoto: author on the file pagePublic domain
  2. 1949Benjamin NetanyahuIsraeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel172 languagesPhoto: Avi OhayonCC BY-SA 3.0
  3. 1772Samuel Taylor ColeridgeEnglish poet, philosopher, and critic (died 1834)123 languagesPhoto: Samuel Cousins / After Washington AllstonPublic domain
  1. 1980Kim Kardashian, American reality television personality, actress, model, businesswoman and socialite113
  2. 1929Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic (died 2018)111
  3. 1790Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (died 1869)109
  4. 1956Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (died 2016)109
  5. 1981Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer78
  6. 1945Nikita Mikhalkov, Russian filmmaker75
  7. 1958Andre Geim, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate72
  8. 1328Hongwu Emperor of China (died 1398)68
  9. 1957Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate68
  10. 1995Doja Cat, American rapper, singer and songwriter67
  11. 1917Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1993)66
  12. 1925Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (died 2003)59
  13. 1944Jean-Pierre Sauvage, French chemist, (Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 2016, for the development of molecular machines)59
  14. 1959Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor and producer56
  15. 1943Tariq Ali, Pakistani historian and author54
  16. 1914Martin Gardner, American mathematician and author (died 2010)53
  17. 1933Francisco Gento, Spanish footballer and manager (died 2022)51
  18. 1965Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer and manager51
  19. 1942Christopher A. Sims, American economist and statistician, Nobel Prize laureate50
  20. 1985Hadise, Belgian-Turkish singer-songwriter and dancer48
  21. 1894Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (died 1965)45
Everyone else born on October 21: 229 more, by year

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Died

On October 21

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1805Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount NelsonEnglish admiral (born 1758)106 languagesPhoto: Lemuel Francis AbbottPublic domain
  2. 1969Jack KerouacAmerican novelist and poet (born 1922)99 languages
  3. 1984François TruffautFrench actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932)97 languagesPhoto: Jack de Nijs for AnefoCC BY-SA 3.0 nl
  1. 1931Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (born 1862)84
  2. 2023Bobby Charlton, English footballer and manager (born 1937)83
  3. 1422Charles VI of France (born 1368)80
  4. 1978Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian-Russian civil servant and politician (born 1895)68
  5. 2014Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (born 1916)61
  6. 1556Pietro Aretino, Italian author (born 1492)58
  7. 1980Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (born 1906)48
  8. 2003Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1969)47
  9. 2012George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (born 1922)47
  10. 2012Yash Chopra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932)45
  11. 1125Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (born 1045)44
  12. 1969Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician and academic (born 1882)40
  13. 2021Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor and violinist (born 1929)40
  14. 1266Birger Jarl, Swedish politician (born 1210)38
  15. 1886José Hernández, Argentine writer (born 1834)38
  16. 1765Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (born 1691)37
  17. 1558Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (born 1484)36
  18. 1904Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and journalist (born 1877)34
  19. 1995Maxene Andrews, American singer (born 1916)33
  20. 2025Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Portuguese politician, former Prime Minister of Portugal (born 1937)32
  21. 1500Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (born 1442)30
Everyone else died on October 21: 86 more, by year

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Observed

On October 21

Holidays, feast days and observances, as Wikipedia lists them for the date.

REFERENCE

Christian feast day

Events, births, deaths and observances are Wikipedia's On this day for October 21, in its editors' words (CC BY-SA 4.0); the counts of languages are Wikidata's (CC0). Dates are the UTC day, as Wikipedia keeps them. Discover brings one of these at a time.