The 21t o October is the 294t day o the year (295t in lowp years) in the Gregorian Calendar, wi 71 days bidin.

• 1520 - Ferdinand Magellan's expedeetion reaches the nou-named Magellan Strait in the Sooth o Sooth Americae.
• 1600 - Battle o Sekigahara in Japan.
• 1805 - Battle o Trafalgar: Breetish forces defeat French an Spainyie forces in a naval battle, awtho Breetish admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscoont Nelson is kilt.
• 1907 - A yirdquauk in Central Asie kills at least 12,000 fowk.
• 1944 - Warld War II: The Allies capture the ceety o Aachen, Germany.
• 1945 - Weemen are allowed tae vote in Fraunce.
• 1948 - A Lockheed Constellation aircraft crashes at Prestwick, Scotland.
• 1966 - The Aberfan disaster in Wales kills 144 fowk, maist o them bairns.
• 1969 - Willy Brandt becomes Chancellor o Wast Germany.
• 1970 - The Little Belt Brig opens, connectin Jutland an Funen in Denmark.
• 1971 - Clairkstoun explosion: A gas splosion in Clairkstoun, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, kills 22 fowk.
• 1986 - The Marshall Islands (in the Paceefic Ocean) gain unthirldom frae the Unitit States.
• 1994 - The Seongsu Brig in Seoul, Sooth Korea, collapses, killin 32 fowk.
• 2005 - The 200t anniversary o the Battle o Trafalgar is mairkit.
• 2005 - Hurricane Wilma hits Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
• 2007 - Donald Tusk is electit Prime meenister o Poland.
• 2016 - A train crash in Eseka, Cameroon, kills at least 55 fowk.
• 2017 - Spain's govrenment stairts the process o takin direct control o the region o Catalonie, efter its disputit 1 October unthirldom referendum.
• 2019 - Canadae holds a general election: Justin Trudeau's Leeberal Pairty retains pouer but wi a reduced nummer o seats an a minority govrenment; The opposeetion Conservatives nairraely win the popular vote.

• 1328 - Hongwu Emperor o Cheenae (d. 1398)
• 1772 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Inglis poet an philosopher (d. 1834)
• 1809 - John Stenhouse, Scots chemist (d. 1880)
• 1833 - Alfred Nobel, Swadish chemist, ingineer an inventor, haes Nobel Prizes named efter him (d. 1896)
• 1910 - Jimmy Adams, Scots gowfer (d. 1986)
• 1912 - Georg Solti, Hungarian-Breetish conductor (d. 1997)
• 1917 - Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpeter, componer an bandleader (d. 1993)
• 1921 - Malcolm Arnold, Inglis componer (d. 2006)
• 1925 - Celia Cruz, Cuban sangster (d. 2003)
• 1929 - Ursula K. Le Guin, American writer (d. 2018)
• 1931 - Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor an director (d. 2011)
• 1940 - Marita Petersen, Prime meenister o the Faroe Islands (d. 2001)
• 1942 - Christopher A. Sims, American economist
• 1949 − Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime meenister o Israel
• 1952 - Patti Davis, dochter o Nancy an Ronald Reagan
• 1953 - Peter Mandelson, Inglis politeecian
• 1956 - Carrie Fisher, American actress an writer (d. 2016)
• 1957 - Wolfgang Ketterle, German pheesicist
• 1958 - Andre Geim, Roushie-born pheesicist
• 1969 - Chris Law, Scots politeecian
• 1971 - Hal Duncan, Scots writer
• 1980 - Kim Kardashian, American telly personality
• 1992 - Bernard Tomic, Australian tennis player

• 1422 - Charles VI o Fraunce (b. 1368)
• 1805 - Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscoont Nelson, Inglis admiral (b. 1758)
• 1931 - Arthur Schnitzler, Austrick writer (b. 1862)
• 1934 - Robin Welsh, Scots curler (b. 1869)
• 1969 - Jack Kerouac, American writer (b. 1921)
• 1978 - Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet-Armenie politeecian (b. 1895)
• 1980 - Hans Asperger, Austrick medicinar an psychologist (b. 1906)
• 2012 - Yash Chopra, Indian director, producer an screenwriter (b. 1932)
• 2012 - George McGovern, American politeecian (b. 1922)
• 2014 - Gough Whitlam, Prime Meenister o Australie (b. 1916)
• 2018 - Seymour Crawford, Erse politeecian (b. 1944)
• 2021 - Halyna Hutchins, American-Ukrainian cinematografer an jurnalist (b. 1979)

• Apple Day (Unitit Kinrick)
• Trafalgar Day (Unitit Kinrick)
• Naitional Nurses' Day (Thailand)
• Overseas Cheenese Day (Republic o Cheenae)
• Internaitional Day o the Nacho (Mexico an the Unitit States)

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