October 21 in History

2021 5 years ago

A shooting occurs on the set of the film Rust, in which actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon which had been…

On October 21, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza City, New Mexico, United States, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot and director Joel Souza was injured on…

A shooting occurs on the set of the film Rust, in which actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop weapon which had been…

2019

Thirty people are killed in a fiery bus crash in western Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, and formerly named Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area…

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…

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it th…

In Canada, the 2019 Canadian federal election ends, resulting in incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remaining in…

2018

A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187.

On 21 October 2018, a passenger train derailed in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187. At the time, it was Taiwan's deadliest rail accident since a collision …

A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing 18 people and injuring 187.

2011 15 years ago

Iraq War: President Barack Obama announces that the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq will be complete by…

The Iraq War, also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began in March 2003 with the invasion by a United States–led c…

Iraq War: President Barack Obama announces that the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq will be complete by…

2007

Finnish race drivers Kimi Räikkönen of Scuderia Ferrari won the Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula One. With this result,…

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen is a Finnish racing and rally driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021, and the World Rally Championship from 2009 to 2011. Nicknamed "the Ic…

Finnish race drivers Kimi Räikkönen of Scuderia Ferrari won the Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula One. With this result,…

2003

Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery.

Eris is the most massive and second-largest-known dwarf planet in the Solar System. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in the scattered disk and has a high-eccentricity orbit. E…

Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery.

1994

North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons…

The Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 북미제네바기본합의서) was signed on 21 October 1994, between North Korea (DP…

North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons…

1994

In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses.

The Seongsu Bridge disaster was a deadly bridge collapse that occurred on the morning of October 21, 1994 in Seoul, South Korea. A section of the upper truss of the Seongsu Bridge…

In Seoul, South Korea, 32 people are killed when a span of the Seongsu Bridge collapses.

1989

In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the…

Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicar…

In Honduras, 131 people are killed when a Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Toncontín International Airport near the…

1987

The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients,…

The Jaffna hospital massacre occurred on October 21 and 22, 1987, during the Sri Lankan Civil War, when troops of the Indian Peace Keeping Force entered the premises of the Jaffna…

The Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka, killing 70 Tamil patients,…

1986 40 years ago

In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).

The Lebanon hostage crisis was the kidnapping in Lebanon of 104 foreign hostages between 1982 and 1992, when the Lebanese Civil War was at its height. The hostages were mostly Ame…

In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).

1984

Niki Lauda claims his third and final Formula One Drivers' Championship Title by half a point ahead of McLaren…

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive, and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985. …

Niki Lauda claims his third and final Formula One Drivers' Championship Title by half a point ahead of McLaren…

1983

The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

The metre is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum durin…

The metre is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

1981 45 years ago

Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by…

Andreas Georgiou Papandreou was a Greek academic and economist who was prime minister of Greece from 1981 to 1989 and again from 1993 to 1996. He founded PASOK, the Panhellenic So…

Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by…

1979

Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin…

Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Force…

Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin…

1978

Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting…

Frederick Valentich was an Australian pilot who disappeared while on a 125-nautical-mile (232 km) flight in a Cessna 182L light aircraft, registered VH-DSJ, over Bass Strait. On t…

Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting…

1973

Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.

John Frederick Dryer is an American actor, radio host, and former professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 years wit…

Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.

1971 55 years ago

A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland.

The Clarkston explosion was a disaster that occurred on 21 October 1971 in a row of shops on the main street of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Sources from the time state…

A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping centre near Glasgow, Scotland.

1969

The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration.

The 1969 Somali coup d'état was a bloodless military takeover of the Somali Republic on 21 October 1969, led by Somali National Army officers of the Supreme Revolutionary Council …

The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration.