October 21: On This Day

Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for October 21.

Events 61

310 – Sixty-five days after being exiled by the Emperor Maxentius to Sicily, Pope Eusebius dies.
685 – Election of Pope Conon following the death of Pope John V.
1094 – El Cid and his forces defeat a larger army of the Almoravids in the battle of Cuarte.
1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot.
1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
1139 – Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, takes Baalbek from the Burid dynasty.
1187 – Election of Gregory VIII following the death of Pope Urban III.
1392 – Japanese Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
1512 – Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
1520 – João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins".
1600 – Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara and becomes shōgun of Japan.
1774 – The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts is the first to include the word "Liberty".
1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
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.
1824 – Portland cement is patented.
1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
1861 – American Civil War: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the 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.
1879 – Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.
1888 – The Swiss Social Democratic Party is founded.
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.
1895 – The capitulation of Tainan completes the Japanese conquest of Taiwan.
1907 – The 1907 Qaratog earthquake hits the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, killing between 12,000 and 15,000 people.
1910 – HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
1912 – First Balkan War: The Greek navy completes the capture of the island of Lemnos for use as a forward base against the Dardanelles.
1921 – President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. president against lynching in the Deep South.
1931 – A secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
1940 – The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.
1941 – World War II: The Kragujevac massacre against Serbian men and boys takes place.
1943 – World War II: The Provisional Government of Free India is formally established in Japanese-occupied Singapore.
1944 – World War II: The first kamikaze attack damages HMAS Australia as the Battle of Leyte Gulf begins.
1944 – World War II: The Nemmersdorf massacre against German civilians takes place.
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.
1945 – In the 1945 French legislative election French women vote for the first time.
1950 – Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces and North Koreans during the Battle of Yongju.
1956 – The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated.
1959 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public.
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.
1965 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun.
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.
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.
1969 – The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration.
1971 – A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland.
1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
1978 – Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
1979 – Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs.
1981 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces.
1983 – The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
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.
1986 – In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).
1987 – The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients, doctors and nurses.
1989 – In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the nation's capital Tegucigalpa.
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.
1994 – In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
2003 – Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery.
2007 – Finnish race drivers Kimi Räikkönen of Scuderia Ferrari won the Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula One. With this result, Räikkönen became world champion, surpassing McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point in the drivers' standings.
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.
2018 – A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187.
2019 – Thirty people are killed in a fiery bus crash in western 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.
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.

Births 248

1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (died 1398)
1409 – Alessandro Sforza, Italian condottiero (died 1473)
1449 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, Irish-English son of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (died 1478)
1527 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (died 1578)
1536 – Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt (died 1586)
1581 – Domenichino, Italian painter (died 1641)
1650 – Jean Bart, French admiral (died 1702)
1658 – Henri de Boulainvilliers, French nobleman (died 1722)
1675 – Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (died 1710)
1687 – Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (died 1759)
1712 – James Steuart, Scottish economist and author (died 1780)
1725 – Franz Moritz von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (died 1801)
1757 – Pierre Augereau, French general (died 1816)
1762 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general, lawyer, and politician, 36th Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (died 1818)
1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, philosopher, and critic (died 1834)
1775 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest, composer, and critic (died 1844)
1790 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (died 1869)
1809 – James Clark, American Jesuit (died 1885)
1811 – Filippo Colini, Italian operatic baritone (died 1863)
1821 – Sims Reeves, English tenor and actor (died 1900)
1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (died 1896)
1845 – Will Carleton, American poet and journalist (died 1912)
1847 – Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian poet and playwright (died 1906)
1851 – George Ulyett, English cricketer and footballer (died 1898)
1868 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (died 1951)
1874 – Tan Kah Kee, Chinese businessman, community leader, communist and philanthropist (died 1961)
1877 – Oswald Avery, Canadian-American physician and microbiologist (died 1955)
1884 – Claire Waldoff, German singer and actress (died 1957)
1886 – Eugene Burton Ely, American soldier and pilot (died 1911)
1887 – Krishna Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (died 1961)
1894 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (died 1965)
1895 – Paavo Johansson, Finnish javelin thrower and decathlete (died 1983)
1895 – Edna Purviance, American actress (died 1958)
1896 – Esther Shumiatcher-Hirschbein, Russian-Canadian poet and screenwriter (died 1985)
1898 – Eduard Pütsep, Estonian wrestler and actor (died 1960)
1900 – Andrée Boisson, French Olympic fencer (died 1973)
1902 – Eddy Hamel, American footballer (died 1943)
1907 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (died 1985)
1908 – Niyazi Berkes, Cypriot-English sociologist and academic (died 1988)
1911 – Mary Blair, American illustrator and animator (died 1978)
1912 – Don Byas, American saxophonist and educator (died 1972)
1912 – Alfredo Pián, Argentinian race car driver (died 1990)
1912 – Georg Solti, Hungarian-English conductor and director (died 1997)
1914 – Martin Gardner, American mathematician and author (died 2010)
1915 – Owen Bradley, American country music record producer (died 1998)
1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1993)
1918 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociologist and author (died 2006)
1918 – Albertina Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist (died 2011)
1919 – Jim Wallwork, English-Canadian sergeant and pilot (died 2013)
1921 – Malcolm Arnold, English composer (died 2006)
1921 – Bruce Beeby, Australian-English actor (died 2013)
1921 – Robert Clothier, Canadian actor (died 1999)
1921 – Jim Shumate, American fiddler and composer (died 2013)
1921 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (died 2015)
1922 – Liliane Bettencourt, French businesswoman and philanthropist (died 2017)
1923 – Samuel Khachikian, Iranian director, screenwriter, and author (died 2001)
1924 – Joyce Randolph, American actress (died 2024)
1924 – Julie Wilson, American actress and singer (died 2015)
1925 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (died 2003)
1925 – Virginia Zeani, Romanian soprano and educator (died 2023)
1926 – Bob Rosburg, American golfer (died 2009)
1926 – Leonard Rossiter, English actor (died 1984)
1927 – Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer (died 2018)
1927 – Howard Zieff, American director and photographer (died 2009)
1928 – Whitey Ford, American baseball player and coach (died 2020)
1928 – Eudóxia Maria Froehlich, Brazilian zoologist (died 2015)
1928 – Vern Mikkelsen, American basketball player and coach (died 2013)
1929 – Pierre Bellemare, French radio and television host (died 2018)
1929 – Fritz Hollaus, Austrian footballer (died 1994)
1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic (died 2018)
1929 – George Stinney Jr., wrongfully convicted African-American inmate; second youngest person in the U.S. to be executed (died 1944)
1930 – Ivan Silayev, Russian engineer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Russia (died 2023)
1931 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director (died 2011)
1931 – Jim Parks Jr., English cricketer and manager (died 2022)
1932 – Pál Csernai, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 2013)
1933 – Maureen Duffy, English author, poet, playwright and activist (died 2026)
1933 – Francisco Gento, Spanish footballer and manager (died 2022)
1935 – Derek Bell, Irish harp player, pianist, and songwriter (died 2002)
1935 – Mel Street, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1978)
1937 – Said Afandi al-Chirkawi, Russian spiritual leader and scholar (died 2012)
1937 – Hank Nelson, Australian historian and academic (died 2012)
1938 – Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2001)
1940 – Geoffrey Boycott, English cricketer and sportscaster
1940 – Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
1940 – Rhoda Gemignani, American actress
1940 – Manfred Mann, South African-English keyboard player and producer
1940 – Marita Petersen, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 2001)
1941 – Steve Cropper, American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor (died 2025)
1942 – Elvin Bishop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942 – Allan Grice, Australian race car driver and politician
1942 – Lou Lamoriello, American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1942 – Judy Sheindlin, American judge and television host
1942 – Christopher A. Sims, American economist and statistician, Nobel Prize laureate
1942 – John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, English police officer and academic
1942 – Thomas Cavalier-Smith, English academic and biologist (died 2021)
1943 – Tariq Ali, Pakistani historian and author
1943 – Ron Elliott, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer
1944 – Mandy Rice-Davies, English model and actress (died 2014)
1944 – Michael Tugendhat, English lawyer and judge
1945 – Everett McGill, American actor
1945 – Nikita Mikhalkov, Russian filmmaker
1945 – Michael White, English journalist
1946 – Jane Heal, English philosopher and academic
1946 – Jim Hill, American football player and sportscaster
1946 – Lux Interior, American singer-songwriter (died 2009)
1946 – Lee Loughnane, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player
1947 – Dominique Braye, French politician
1948 – Shaye J. D. Cohen, American historian and academic
1948 – Allen Henry Vigneron, American archbishop
1949 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1971)
1949 – Mike Keenan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
1950 – Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (died 1986)
1950 – Leela Vernon, Belizean musician and cultural conservationist (died 2017)
1952 – Patti Davis, American actress and author
1952 – Allen Hoey, American poet and author (died 2010)
1952 – Brent Mydland, German-American keyboard player (died 1990)
1953 – Charlotte Caffey, American guitarist and songwriter
1953 – Eric Faulkner, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and minister (died 1982)
1953 – Marc Johnson, American bassist, composer, and bandleader
1953 – Peter Mandelson, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1954 – Brian Tobin, Canadian journalist and politician, 6th Premier of Newfoundland
1955 – Dick DeVos, American businessman
1955 – Catherine Hardwicke, American film director, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Fred Hersch, American pianist and composer
1955 – Rich Mullins, American singer-songwriter (died 1997)
1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (died 2016)
1956 – Mike Tully, American pole vaulter
1957 – Julian Cope, English singer-songwriter
1957 – Irene Edgar, Scottish lawn bowler
1957 – Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1957 – Steve Lukather, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1958 – Andre Geim, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1959 – George Bell, Dominican baseball player
1959 – Rose McDowall, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1959 – Andy Picheta, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1959 – Kevin Sheedy, Welsh-Irish footballer and manager
1959 – Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor and producer
1959 – Melora Walters, American actress, director, and writer
1962 – David Campese, Australian rugby player and coach
1964 – Jon Carin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1965 – Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer and manager
1965 – Horace Hogan, American wrestler
1965 – Hisashi Imai, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
1966 – Phillip Price, Welsh golfer
1966 – Igor Prins, Estonian footballer and manager
1966 – Arne Sandstø, Norwegian footballer and manager
1967 – Georgi Dakov, Bulgarian high jumper (died 1996)
1967 – Paul Ince, English footballer and manager
1967 – Gavin Lovegrove, New Zealand javelin thrower and graphic designer
1967 – Krzysztof Sitko, Polish association football player (died 2018)
1968 – Alexandros Alexandris, Greek footballer and manager
1968 – Kerstin Andreae, German politician
1969 – Michael Hancock, Australian rugby league player
1969 – Mo Lewis, American football player
1970 – Louis Koo, Hong Kong actor and singer
1971 – Hal Duncan, Scottish author and poet
1971 – Damien Martyn, Australian cricketer
1971 – Nick Oliveri, American singer-songwriter and bass player
1971 – Conor O'Shea, Irish rugby player and coach
1971 – Paul Telfer, Scottish footballer and coach
1971 – Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler
1972 – Ashutosh Agashe, Indian businessman and cricketer
1972 – Matthew Friedberger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Orlando Thomas, American football player (died 2014)
1972 – Evhen Tsybulenko, Ukrainian scholar and academic
1973 – Lera Auerbach, Russian-American pianist and composer
1973 – Charlie Lowell, American pianist and songwriter
1974 – Costel Busuioc, Romanian tenor
1975 – Toby Hall, American baseball player
1975 – Henrique Hilário, Portuguese footballer
1976 – Henrik Gustavsson, Swedish footballer
1976 – Jeremy Miller, American actor and singer
1976 – Lavinia Miloșovici, Romanian gymnast
1976 – Josh Ritter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1976 – Andrew Scott, Irish actor
1976 – Mélanie Turgeon, Canadian skier
1978 – Will Estes, American actor
1978 – Joey Harrington, American football player and sportscaster
1978 – Henrik Klingenberg, Finnish singer and keyboard player
1978 – Michael McMillian, American actor
1979 – Khalil Greene, American baseball player
1979 – Gabe Gross, American baseball player
1980 – Kim Kardashian, American reality television personality, actress, model, businesswoman and socialite
1980 – Brian Pittman, American bass player
1981 – Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
1981 – Olivier Pla, French racing driver
1981 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer
1982 – Matt Dallas, American actor
1982 – Jim Henderson, American baseball player
1982 – Antony Kay, English footballer
1982 – Hari Kondabolu, American comedian, actor, and podcaster
1982 – Ray Ventrone, American football player
1982 – Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton player
1982 – James White, American basketball player
1983 – Casey Fien, American baseball player
1983 – Zack Greinke, American baseball player
1983 – Brent Hayden, Canadian swimmer
1983 – Gonzalo Klusener, Argentinian footballer
1983 – Andy Marte, Dominican baseball player (died 2017)
1983 – Amber Rose, American model
1983 – Chris Sherrington, English-Scottish martial artist
1983 – Charlotte Sullivan, Canadian actress
1983 – Ninet Tayeb, Israeli singer
1983 – Shelden Williams, American basketball player
1984 – Anna Bogdanova, Russian heptathlete
1984 – Tom Brandstater, American football player
1984 – Kenny Cooper, American soccer player
1984 – Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canadian speed skater
1984 – José Lobatón, Venezuelan baseball player
1984 – Marvin Mitchell, American football player
1984 – Kieran Richardson, English footballer
1985 – Simone Bracalello, Italian footballer
1985 – Dean Collis, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Hadise, Belgian-Turkish singer-songwriter and dancer
1986 – Almen Abdi, Swiss footballer
1986 – Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
1986 – Scott Rendell, English footballer
1987 – Tonje Brenna, Norwegian politician
1987 – Justin De Fratus, American baseball player
1987 – Andrey Grechin, Russian swimmer
1988 – Ricki Olsen, Danish footballer
1988 – Glen Powell, American actor
1988 – Daniel Schorn, Austrian cyclist
1989 – Mads Dahm, Norwegian footballer
1989 – Festus Ezeli, Nigerian-American basketball player
1989 – Luke Murphy, English footballer
1989 – Jonathan Viera, Spanish footballer
1989 – Sam Vokes, English-Welsh footballer
1990 – Bengali-Fodé Koita, French footballer
1990 – Mathieu Peybernes, French footballer
1990 – Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
1990 – Kristján Þórður Snæbjarnarson, Icelandic politician
1991 – Alexander Burmistrov, Russian ice hockey player
1991 – Tom Eastman, English footballer
1991 – Geoffry Hairemans, Belgian footballer
1991 – Rob Keogh, English cricketer
1991 – Vadaine Oliver, English footballer
1991 – Harry Pell, English footballer
1992 – Natasha Bassett, Australian actress
1992 – Marzia Kjellberg, Italian businessperson and former YouTuber
1992 – Damion Lee, American basketball player
1992 – Bernard Tomic, German-Australian tennis player
1993 – Kane Brown, American singer and songwriter
1995 – Cameron Burgess, Scottish-Australian footballer
1995 – Doja Cat, American rapper, singer and songwriter
1995 – Antoinette Guedia Mouafo, Cameroonian swimmer

Deaths 109

645 – Zhenzhu Khan, khan of Xueyantuo
1023 – Gero, Archbishop of Magdeburg
1096 – Walter Sans Avoir, a leader of the First Crusade
1125 – Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (born 1045)
1204 – Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English politician
1221 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (born 1201)
1266 – Birger Jarl, Swedish politician (born 1210)
1314 – Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville
1422 – Charles VI of France (born 1368)
1500 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (born 1442)
1505 – Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician and educator (born 1460)
1556 – Pietro Aretino, Italian author (born 1492)
1558 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (born 1484)
1600 – Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Japanese samurai (born 1558)
1623 – William Wade, English politician and diplomat, Lieutenant of the Tower of London (born 1546)
1662 – Henry Lawes, English composer (born 1595)
1687 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (born 1606)
1765 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (born 1691)
1775 – Peyton Randolph, American lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Continental Congress (born 1721)
1777 – Samuel Foote, English actor and playwright (born 1720)
1803 – Thomas Russell, executed Irish rebel (born 1767)
1805 – John Cooke, English captain (born 1763)
1805 – George Duff, Scottish captain (born 1764)
1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (born 1758)
1821 – Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (born 1752)
1835 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian poet and composer (born 1775)
1861 – Edward Dickinson Baker, American congressman and colonel (born 1811)
1872 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (born 1794)
1873 – Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian author, poet, and critic (born 1807)
1896 – James Henry Greathead, South African-English engineer (born 1844)
1903 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (born 1829)
1904 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and journalist (born 1877)
1907 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (born 1824)
1927 – Borisav Stanković, Serbian author (born 1876)
1931 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (born 1862)
1938 – Dorothy Hale, American actress (born 1905)
1939 – Hendrik Wortman, Dutch civil engineer (born 1859)
1940 – William G. Conley, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (born 1866)
1941 – Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton, Australian biologist (born 1852)
1944 – Alois Kayser, German-French missionary (born 1877)
1952 – Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (born 1871)
1963 – Józef Franczak, Polish sergeant (born 1918)
1965 – Bill Black, American bass player and bandleader (born 1926)
1969 – Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (born 1922)
1969 – Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician and academic (born 1882)
1970 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (born 1896)
1971 – Minnie Evans, American artist (born 1888)
1973 – Nasif Estéfano, Argentinian race car driver (born 1932)
1975 – Charles Reidpath, American runner and general (born 1887)
1977 – Ferit Tüzün, Turkish composer (born 1929)
1978 – Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian-Russian civil servant and politician (born 1895)
1980 – Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (born 1906)
1982 – Radka Toneff, Norwegian singer-songwriter (born 1952)
1983 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (born 1919)
1984 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932)
1985 – Dan White, American assassin and politician (born 1946)
1986 – Lionel Murphy, Australian jurist and politician, 22nd Attorney-General of Australia (born 1922)
1989 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1910)
1990 – Dany Chamoun, Lebanese engineer and politician (born 1934)
1990 – Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Indian spiritual guru, philosopher and author (born 1921)
1991 – Lorenc Antoni, Albanian composer, conductor, and musicologist (born 1909)
1992 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (born 1898)
1992 – Jim Garrison, American lawyer and judge (born 1921)
1993 – Sam Zolotow, American journalist and critic (born 1899)
1995 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (born 1916)
1995 – Jesús Blasco, Spanish author and illustrator (born 1919)
1995 – Nancy Graves, American sculptor and painter (born 1939)
1995 – Shannon Hoon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1967)
1996 – Georgios Zoitakis, Greek general and politician (born 1910)
1998 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (born 1915)
1999 – Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (born 1924)
1999 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, lawyer, and politician (born 1939)
2002 – Edward J. Mortola, American academic and president of Pace University (born 1917)
2003 – Louise Day Hicks, American politician (born 1916)
2003 – Luis A. Ferré, Puerto Rican engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of Puerto Rico (born 1904)
2003 – Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1969)
2006 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (born 1959)
2007 – Paul Fox, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1951)
2010 – A. Ayyappan, Indian poet and translator (born 1949)
2011 – Hikmet Bilâ, Turkish journalist and author (born 1954)
2011 – Tone Pavček, Slovenian poet and author (born 1928)
2012 – Yash Chopra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932)
2012 – Antoni Dobrowolski, Polish educator (born 1904)
2012 – Jaroslav Kozlík, Czech volleyball player and educator (born 1907)
2012 – Alf Kumalo, South African photographer and journalist (born 1930)
2012 – George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (born 1922)
2013 – Bud Adams, American businessman (born 1923)
2013 – Gianni Ferrio, Italian composer and conductor (born 1924)
2013 – Rune T. Kidde, Danish author, poet, and illustrator (born 1957)
2013 – Colonel Robert Morris, American singer-songwriter and drummer (born 1954)
2013 – Major Owens, American librarian and politician (born 1936)
2013 – Tony Summers, Welsh swimmer (born 1924)
2013 – Oscar Yanes, Venezuelan journalist and author (born 1927)
2014 – Ben Bradlee, American journalist and author (born 1921)
2014 – Nelson Bunker Hunt, American businessman (born 1926)
2014 – Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, Iranian cleric and politician, Prime Minister of Iran (born 1931)
2014 – Edith Kawelohea McKinzie, Hawaiian genealogist, author, and hula expert (born 1925)
2014 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (born 1916)
2015 – France Bučar, Slovenian lawyer and politician (born 1923)
2015 – Marty Ingels, American actor (born 1936)
2015 – Norman W. Moore, English conservationist and author (born 1923)
2015 – Sheldon Wolin, American philosopher, theorist, and academic (born 1922)
2020 – Frank Bough, English television presenter (born 1933)
2021 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor and violinist (born 1929)
2023 – Bobby Charlton, English footballer and manager (born 1937)
2023 – Bobi, Portuguese dog (born 1992)
2023 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia (born 1933)
2024 – Mimi Hines, Canadian singer and comedian (born 1933)
2025 – Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Portuguese politician, former Prime Minister of Portugal (born 1937)

Holidays and observances 23

Armed Forces Day (Honduras)
Christian feast day: Céline of Laon Blessed Charles of Austria (Roman Catholic Church) Fintán of Taghmon Hilarion John of Bridlington Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena Malchus of Syria Pedro Calungsod Peter Yu Tae-chol Severinus of Bordeaux Tuda of Lindisfarne Ursula Viator of Lyons October 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Céline of Laon
Blessed Charles of Austria (Roman Catholic Church)
Fintán of Taghmon
Hilarion
John of Bridlington
Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena
Malchus of Syria
Pedro Calungsod
Peter Yu Tae-chol
Severinus of Bordeaux
Tuda of Lindisfarne
Ursula
Viator of Lyons
October 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Egyptian Naval Day (Egypt)
Indian Police Commemoration Day (India)
National Nurses' Day (Thailand)
Ndadaye Day (Burundi)
Overseas Chinese Day (Republic of China)
Trafalgar Day (the British Empire in the 19th and early 20th century)
Birth of the Báb (2017) (Baháʼí Faith)