Famous people born on October 21 — and what else happened that day
If your birthday is October 21, you share it with Alfred Nobel, Dizzy Gillespie, Carrie Fisher — and you were born under Libra, the sign of the charming, fair-minded, and a natural peacemaker.
Birthday basics for October 21
Libra ♎
Zodiac sign
Opal
Birthstone
Marigold
Birth flower
294th
Day of the year
October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years), with 71 days still to come.
Famous people born on October 21
Alfred Nobel — Swedish chemist and inventor who founded the Nobel Prizes (born 1833).
Dizzy Gillespie — American jazz trumpeter and a founding father of bebop (born 1917).
Carrie Fisher — American actress and writer, Princess Leia of Star Wars (born 1956).
Also sharing the day:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (b. 1772) — English Romantic poet of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929) — American author of the Earthsea and Hainish science fiction classics.
Kim Kardashian (b. 1980) — American media personality and entrepreneur.
October 21 in history
1797 — The U.S. Navy frigate USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," was launched in Boston Harbor.
1879 — Thomas Edison applied for a patent for his design of an incandescent light bulb.
1959 — The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City.
1805 — Admiral Nelson's British fleet won the Battle of Trafalgar off the Spanish coast.
1854 — Florence Nightingale departed with a team of nurses to care for soldiers in the Crimean War.
2015 — Fans worldwide celebrated "Back to the Future Day," the exact date Marty McFly visited in the film's future.
October 21 birthday questions
What zodiac sign is October 21?
Anyone born on October 21 is a Libra — charming, fair-minded, and a natural peacemaker.
What is the birthstone for October 21?
The birthstone for a October 21 birthday is Opal, and the birth flower is the Marigold.
Who is the most famous person born on October 21?
Alfred Nobel is among the best known — Swedish chemist and inventor who founded the Nobel Prizes (born 1833).
What happened on October 21?
In 1797, The U.S. Navy frigate USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," was launched in Boston Harbor.
What day of the year is October 21?
October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years), with 71 days still to come.
Make their day unforgettable
Know someone born on October 21? See the full story of their exact birthday — the headlines, the #1 song, what things cost — and turn it into a personalized front-page newspaper they can keep.