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 294th 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.
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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.
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October 21 Historical Events
- 1209 –Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
- 1392 –Nanboku-chō: Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
- 1520 –João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of “Islands of the 11,000 Virgins”.
- 1921 –George Melford’s silent film, The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, premiers.
- 1931 –The Sakurakai, a secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
- 1969 –A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power.
- 1973 –Fred Dryer of the then Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
- 1973 –John Paul Getty III’s ear is cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a newspaper in Rome; it doesn't arrive until November 8.
- 1994 –In Seoul, 32 people are killed when the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
- 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?
- 1884 –Claire Waldoff, German singer and entertainer (d. 1957)
- 1912 –Alfredo Pián, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
- 1942 –Judith Sheindlin, American judge (“Judge Judy”)
- 1952 –Patti Davis, American actress and novelist, daughter of Ronald Reagan
- 1959 –Rose McDowall, Scottish musician
- 1971 –Nick Oliveri, American musician
- 1971 –Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler
- 1976 –Josh Ritter, American musician
- 1983 –Andy Marté, Dominican baseball player
- 1986 –Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
Who died on October 21?
- 1422 –King Charles VI of France (b. 1368)
- 1600 –Toda Katsushige, Japanese warlord (b. 1557)
- 1687 –Sir Edmund Waller, English poet (b. 1606)
- 1904 –Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer (b. 1877)
- 1944 –Alois Kayser, German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)
- 1978 –Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet politician (b. 1895)
- 1993 –Sam Zolotow, American theater reporter (b. 1899)
- 1995 –Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (b. 1919)
- 2003 –Fred Berry, American actor (b. 1951)
- 2010 –A. Ayyappan, Indian poet (b. 1949)
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