What are the important events that happened on October 21? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

October 21: Facts & Myths About This Day

October 21 is the 294^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 71 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is October 8, 2025 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 489,168 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaenneacontatetragon’ day.

Libra is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Opal is the modern birthstone for this month. Jasper is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 119 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,687 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

October 21 Historical Events

• 1096 –
  People’s Crusade: The Turkish army annihilates the People’s Army of the West.
• 1520 –
  Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan.
• 1774 –
  First display of the word “Liberty” on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
• 1854 –
  Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
• 1902 –
  In the United States, a five month strike by United Mine Workers ends.
• 1950 –
  Korean 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.
• 1967 –
  Vietnam 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.
• 1973 –
  Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
• 1977 –
  The European Patent Institute is founded.
• 2003 –
  Images 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.

Who were born on October 21?

• 1581 –
  Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (d. 1641)
• 1712 –
  Sir James Denham-Steuart, British economist (d. 1780)
• 1921 –
  Sir Malcolm Arnold, British composer (d. 2006)
• 1924 –
  Joyce Randolph, American actress
• 1927 –
  Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer who made the first ascent of Broad Peak
• 1959 –
  Andy Picheta, English film director
• 1966 –
  Arne Sandstø, Norwegian footballer
• 1971 –
  Damien Martyn, Australian cricketer
• 1973 –
  Charlie Lowell, pianist with the group Jars of Clay
• 1981 –
  Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentine-born Italian rugby player

Who died on October 21?

• 1125 –
  Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian writer
• 1266 –
  Birger jarl, Swedish statesman (b. 1210)
• 1505 –
  Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician
• 1903 –
  Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (b. 1829)
• 1904 –
  Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (b. 1877)
• 1944 –
  Alois Kayser, German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)
• 1952 –
  Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (b. 1871)
• 1965 –
  Bill Black, American musician (b. 1926)
• 1995 –
  Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (b. 1919)
• 1999 –
  Lars Bo, Danish artist and writer (b. 1924)