# What happened on October 21 in history?

**Date:** October 21  
**Events recorded:** 60  
**Years spanned:** 310 – 2021  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/october/21/

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## Featured Event

**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.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada)

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## Events on this date

- **310** — Sixty-five days after being exiled by the Emperor Maxentius to Sicily, Pope Eusebius dies. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxentius))
- **685** — Election of Pope Conon following the death of Pope John V. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Conon))
- **1094** — El Cid and his forces defeat a larger army of the Almoravids in the battle of Cuarte. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid))
- **1096** — A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Rum))
- **1097** — First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade))
- **1139** — Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, takes Baalbek from the Burid dynasty. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imad_al-Din_Zengi))
- **1187** — Election of Gregory VIII following the death of Pope Urban III. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_VIII))
- **1392** — Japanese Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Go-Kameyama))
- **1512** — Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther))
- **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/Jo%C3%A3o_%C3%81lvares_Fagundes))
- **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/Tokugawa_Ieyasu))
- **1774** — The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty". ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Taunton%2C_Massachusetts))
- **1797** — In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Harbor))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars))
- **1824** — Portland cement is patented. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_cement))
- **1854** — Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale))
- **1861** — American Civil War: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_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. ([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/Thomas_Edison))
- **1888** — The Swiss Social Democratic Party is founded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Switzerland))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Columbian_Exposition))
- **1895** — The capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_of_Tainan))
- **1907** — The 1907 Qaratog earthquake hits the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, killing between 12,000 and 15,000 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907_Qaratog_earthquake))
- **1910** — HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Niobe_(1897)))
- **1912** — First Balkan War: The Greek navy completes the capture of the island of Lemnos for use as a forward base against the Dardanelles. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Balkan_War))
- **1921** — President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding))
- **1931** — A secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army launches an abortive coup d'état attempt. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Japanese_Army))
- **1940** — The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway))
- **1941** — World War II: The Kragujevac massacre against Serbian men and boys takes place. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1943** — World War II: The Provisional Government of Free India is formally established in Japanese-occupied Singapore. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azad_Hind))
- **1944** — World War II: The first kamikaze attack damages HMAS Australia as the Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Australia_(D84)))
- **1944** — World War II: The Nemmersdorf massacre against German civilians takes place. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemmersdorf_massacre))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aachen))
- **1945** — In the 1945 French legislative election French women vote for the first time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_French_legislative_election))
- **1950** — Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces and North Koreans during the Battle of Yongju. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yongyu))
- **1956** — The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_rebellion))
- **1959** — In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_R._Guggenheim_Museum))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower))
- **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 colliery spoil tip slips onto houses and a school in the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, 116 of whom were schoolchildren. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mobilization_Committee_to_End_the_War_in_Vietnam))
- **1969** — The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Somali_coup_d'%C3%A9tat))
- **1971** — A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarkston_explosion))
- **1973** — Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dryer))
- **1978** — Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentich))
- **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/Moshe_Dayan))
- **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))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_Lauda))
- **1986** — In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_hostage_crisis))
- **1987** — The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients, doctors and nurses. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_hospital_massacre))
- **1989** — In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the nation's capital Tegucigalpa. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Framework))
- **1994** — In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses. ([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)))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War))
- **2018** — A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Yilan_train_derailment))
- **2019** — Thirty people are killed in a fiery bus crash in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_shooting_incident))

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## Notable births on October 21

- **1995** — **Cameron Burgess** — Scottish-Australian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Burgess))
- **1995** — **Doja Cat** — American rapper, singer and songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doja_Cat))
- **1995** — **Antoinette Guedia Mouafo** — Cameroonian swimmer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_Guedia_Mouafo))
- **1993** — **Kane Brown** — American singer and songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kane_Brown))
- **1992** — **Natasha Bassett** — Australian actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Bassett))
- **1992** — **Marzia Kjellberg** — Italian businessperson and former YouTuber ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzia_Kjellberg))
- **1992** — **Damion Lee** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damion_Lee))
- **1992** — **Bernard Tomic** — German-Australian tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Tomic))
- **1991** — **Alexander Burmistrov** — Russian ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Burmistrov))
- **1991** — **Tom Eastman** — English footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Eastman))

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## Notable deaths on October 21

- **2025** — **Francisco Pinto Balsemão** — Portuguese politician, former Prime Minister of Portugal (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Pinto_Balsem%C3%A3o))
- **2024** — **Mimi Hines** — Canadian singer and comedian (born 1933) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimi_Hines))
- **2023** — **Bobby Charlton** — English footballer and manager (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Charlton))
- **2023** — **Bobi** — Portuguese dog (born 1992) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobi_(dog)))
- **2023** — **Bill Hayden** — Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia (born 1933) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hayden))
- **2021** — **Bernard Haitink** — Dutch conductor and violinist (born 1929) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Haitink))
- **2020** — **Frank Bough** — English television presenter (born 1933) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Bough))
- **2015** — **France Bučar** — Slovenian lawyer and politician (born 1923) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Bu%C4%8Dar))
- **2015** — **Marty Ingels** — American actor (born 1936) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Ingels))
- **2015** — **Norman W. Moore** — English conservationist and author (born 1923) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_W._Moore))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/october/21/](https://thisday.info/events/october/21/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.