Who was born on October 21?
October 21 is packed with notable birthdays. Explore 107 famous birthdays, sorted by recent English Wikipedia pageviews. Top ranked names include Alessandro Sforza, Alexander Burmistrov, Alexandros Alexandris, Alfred Nobel, Almen Abdi. Filter by actor, musician, athlete, and more — or open any other calendar day.
October 21
107 people
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Alessandro Sforza
Alessandro Sforza (21 October 1409 – 3 April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family.
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Alexander Burmistrov
Alexander Olegovich Burmistrov (Russian: Александр Олегович Бурмистров, [ɐlʲɪˈksandr bʊrˈmʲistrəf]; born 21 October 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for Shanghai Dragons of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise as well as the Arizona Coyotes, before leaving the NHL after a short stint with the Vancouver Canucks. Burmistrov won the Gagarin Cup with Ak Bars Kazan in 2018.
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Alexandros Alexandris
Alexis Alexandris (Greek: Αλέξης Αλεξανδρής, sometimes wrongly called Alekos Alexandris born 21 October 1968) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He has won 10 Greek championships from 1992 until 2003 and is also one of the youngest players to score a hat-trick in Greek football.
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Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( noh-BEL; Swedish: [ˈǎlːfrɛd nʊˈbɛlː] ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. Nobel is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He worked on various important contributions and inventions to science, holding 355 patents during his life. Born into the prominent Nobel family in Stockholm, Nobel displayed an early aptitude for science and learning, particularly in chemistry and languages; he became fluent in six languages and filed his first patent at the age of 24. He embarked on many business ventures with his family, most notably owning the company Bofors—which was an iron and steel producer that he had developed into a major manufacturer of cannons and other armaments. Nobel's most famous invention, dynamite, was an explosive made using nitroglycerin, which was patented in 1867. He further invented gelignite in 1875 and ballistite in 1887. Upon his death, Nobel donated his fortune to a foundation to fund the Nobel Prizes, which annually recognize those who have "conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". The synthetic element nobelium was named after him, and his name and legacy also survive in companies such as Dynamit Nobel and AkzoNobel, which descend from mergers with companies he founded. Nobel was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which, pursuant to his will, is responsible for choosing the Nobel laureates in Physics and in Chemistry.
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Almen Abdi
Almen Abdi (born 21 October 1986) is a Swiss former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He has previously played for Zürich, Le Mans, Udinese, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday. He has also been capped by the Switzerland national team.
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Alphonse de Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (French: [alfɔ̃s maʁi lwi də pʁa d(ə) lamaʁtin]; 21 October 1790 – 28 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more with the Republican Left and Social Catholicism. Lamartine was a leading figure in the 1848 French Revolution and was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic along with the preservation of the tricolor as the flag of France. During the revolutionary year of 1848 he served as Foreign Minister and frequently worked to ease tensions between the government and the working class. He was a candidate in the 1848 French presidential election but lost to Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. After the election, he retired from political life.
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Andre Geim
Sir Andre Konstantin Geim (Russian: Андре́й Константи́нович Гейм; born 21 October 1958) is a Russian-born British physicist working in England in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester. Geim was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Konstantin Novoselov for his work on graphene. At that time he was a Dutch citizen. He later became a British citizen to accept a knighthood and considered himself Dutch-British. Geim is Regius Professor of Physics and Royal Society Research Professor at the National Graphene Institute. Geim was previously awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2000 for levitating a frog using its intrinsic magnetism. He is the first and only individual, as of 2025, to have received both Nobel and Ig Nobel prizes, for which he holds a Guinness World Record. Geim has been appointed as a chair professor at the University of Hong Kong in February 2026 and will assume his tenure in April 2026.
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Andrée Boisson
Andrée Boisson (21 October 1900 – 18 July 1973) was a French fencer. She competed in the women's individual foil event at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
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Anna Bogdanova
Anna Bogdanova (born 21 October 1984) is a Russian heptathlete. Bogdanova was the bronze medallist at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships and placed sixth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She won at the European Athletics Indoor Championships the following year. In professional competitions she placed third at the 2008 Hypo-Meeting.
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Ashutosh Agashe
Ashutosh Dnyaneshwar Agashe (born 21 October 1972) is an Indian businessman and former cricketer. He has served as the chairman and managing director of the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. since 2009. A former first-class and List A cricketer, he played in the Ranji Trophy for the Maharashtra cricket team from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, he also played in the Belfast Cricket League for Derry, and briefly served as a selector for the Maharashtra Cricket Association in 2003.
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Bengali-Fodé Koita
Bengali-Fodé Koita (born 21 October 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Turkish TFF 1. Lig club Iğdır. Born in France, he represented it on junior level, before switching allegiance to Guinea.
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Bob Rosburg
Robert Reginald "Rossie" Rosburg (October 21, 1926 – May 14, 2009) was an American professional golfer who later became a sports color analyst for ABC television.
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Brian Tobin
Brian Vincent Tobin (born October 21, 1954) is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a cabinet minister in Jean Chrétien's Liberal government.
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Cameron Burgess
Cameron Robert Burgess (born 21 October 1995) is a professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Swansea City. Born in Scotland, he represents the Australia national team.
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Carl Brewer
Carl Thomas Brewer (October 21, 1938 – August 25, 2001) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. Brewer attended De La Salle College and Riverdale Collegiate Institute prior to his hockey career.
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Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She is best known for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017)—a posthumous release that was dedicated to her—and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the latter using unreleased footage from The Force Awakens. Her other film credits include Shampoo (1975), The Blues Brothers (1980), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), The 'Burbs (1989), When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Soapdish (1991), and The Women (2008). She was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performances in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock (2007) and the Channel 4 series Catastrophe (2017). Fisher wrote several semi-autobiographical novels, including Postcards from the Edge and an autobiographical one-woman play, and its nonfiction book, Wishful Drinking, based on the play. She wrote the screenplay for the film version of Postcards from the Edge which garnered her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and her one-woman stage show of Wishful Drinking received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. She worked on other writers' screenplays as a script doctor, including tightening the scripts for Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992), The Wedding Singer (1998), and many of the films from the Star Wars franchise, among others. An Entertainment Weekly article from May 1992 described Fisher as "one of the most sought-after doctors in town." Fisher was the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. She and her mother appear together in Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, a documentary about their relationship. It premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. She earned praise for speaking publicly about her experiences with bipolar disorder and drug addiction. Fisher died of a sudden cardiac arrest in December 2016, at age 60, four days after experiencing a medical emergency during a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles. She was posthumously made a Disney Legend in 2017, and was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album the following year. In 2023, she posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Casey Fien
Casey Michael Fien ( feen; born October 21, 1983), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia Phillies.
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Celia Cruz
Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of guarachas, earning the nickname La Guarachera de Cuba. In the following decades, she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" due to her contributions to Latin music. She sold over 30 million records, making her one of the best-selling Latin music artists. The artist began her career in her home country Cuba, earning recognition as a vocalist of the popular musical group Sonora Matancera, a musical association that lasted 15 years (1950–1965). Cruz mastered a wide variety of Afro-Cuban music styles including guaracha, rumba, afro, son, and bolero, recording numerous singles in these styles for Seeco Records. In 1960, after the Cuban Revolution caused the nationalization of the music industry, Cruz left her native country, becoming one of the symbols and spokespersons of the Cuban community in exile. Cruz continued her career, first in Mexico, and then in the United States, the country that she took as her definitive residence. In the 1960s, she collaborated with Tito Puente, recording her signature tune "Bemba colorá". In the 1970s, she signed for Fania Records and became strongly associated with the salsa genre, releasing hits such as "Quimbara". She often appeared live with Fania All-Stars and collaborated with Johnny Pacheco and Willie Colón. During the last years of her career, Cruz continued to release successful songs such as "La vida es un carnaval" and "La negra tiene tumbao", and collaborated with Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill on "Guantanamera", which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. Her musical legacy is made up of a total of 37 studio albums, as well as numerous live albums and collaborations. Throughout her career, she was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. In addition to her prolific career in music, Cruz also made several appearances as an actress in movies and telenovelas. Her catchphrase "¡Azúcar!" ("Sugar!") has become one of the most recognizable symbols of salsa music. In 2026, Cruz was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early musical influence.
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Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Irene Caffey (born October 21, 1953) is an American guitarist and keyboardist, best known for her work in the rock band the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat".
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Claire Waldoff
Claire Waldoff (21 October 1884 – 22 January 1957), born Clara Wortmann, was a German singer. She was a famous kabarett singer and entertainer in Berlin during the 1910s to the 1930s, chiefly known for performing ironic songs in the Berlin dialect and with lesbian undertones and themes.
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Costel Busuioc
Costel Busuioc (born 21 October 1974, Goruni, Tomeşti, Iaşi) is a Romanian tenor.
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David Campese
David Ian Campese, AM (; born 21 October 1962), also known as Campo, is a former Australian rugby union player (1982–1996), who was capped by the Wallabies 101 times, and played 85 Tests at wing and 16 at fullback. He retired in 1996 and was awarded the Order of Australia in 2002 for his contribution to Australian rugby. Campese is now a media commentator, working in broadcasting and print media, and international guest speaker. He also works as an ambassador to businesses including Coca-Cola Amatil, DHL, Adidas, Ladbrokes, and Investec.
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Derek Bell
George Derek Fleetwood Bell, MBE (21 October 1935 – 17 October 2002) was a Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist and composer who was best known for his accompaniment work on various instruments with The Chieftains.
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Dick DeVos
Richard Marvin DeVos Jr. ( də-VOSS; born October 21, 1955) is an American businessman, author, and former politician. The son of Amway co-founder Richard DeVos, he was CEO of the multi-level marketing company from 1993 to 2002. In 2006, DeVos ran for Governor of Michigan but lost to the then-incumbent Democrat Jennifer Granholm. In 2012, Forbes magazine listed his father as the No. 351 richest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately US$5.4 billion. DeVos is the husband of Betsy DeVos, the former United States Secretary of Education in the first Trump administration.
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Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ghih-LES-pee; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator, and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of early bebop styles. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, scat singing, bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality have made him an enduring icon. In the 1940s, Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, and balladeer Johnny Hartman. He won several Grammy Awards. Critic Scott Yanow wrote, "Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up being similar to those of Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis's emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated [...] Gillespie is remembered, by both critics and fans alike, as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time".
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Domenichino
Domenico Zampieri (US: , Italian: [doˈmeːniko ddzamˈpjɛːri]; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (US: , Italian: [domeniˈkiːno]) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters.
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Dominique Braye
Dominique Braye (born 21 October 1947) is a former member of the Senate of France, representing the Yvelines department from 1995 to 2011. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.
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Don Byas
Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led his own band. He lived in Europe for the last 26 years of his life.
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Eddy Hamel
Eddy Hamel (October 21, 1902 – April 30, 1943) was an American soccer player who played as a right winger for Dutch club AFC Ajax. Hamel was the first Jewish player for Ajax. He was murdered by the Nazis in 1943 in Auschwitz concentration camp.
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Edogawa Ranpo
In this Japanese name, the surname is Hirai. In the pen name, the surname is Edogawa. Tarō Hirai (平井 太郎, Hirai Tarō; October 21, 1894 – July 28, 1965), better known by the pen name Edogawa Ranpo or Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩), was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the "Boy Detectives Club" (少年探偵団, Shōnen tantei dan). Ranpo was an admirer of Western mystery writers, and especially of Edgar Allan Poe. His pen name is a rendering of Poe's name. Other authors who were special influences on him were Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whom he attempted to translate into Japanese during his days as a student at Waseda University, and the Japanese mystery writer Ruikō Kuroiwa.
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Eduard Pütsep
Eduard Pütsep (21 October 1898 – 22 August 1960) was an Estonian wrestler. He competed in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics and won a gold medal in the bantamweight division in 1924, becoming the first Olympic champion in wrestling from Estonia. In 1928 he placed sixth in Greco-Roman and ninth in freestyle wrestling.
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Elvin Bishop
Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in the Blues Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016.
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Ernest Swinton
Major-General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton, (21 October 1868 – 15 January 1951) was a British Army officer who played a part in the development and adoption of the tank during the First World War. He was also a war correspondent and author of several short stories on military themes. He is credited, along with fellow officer Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Dally Jones, with having initiated the use of the word "tank" as a code-name for the first British, tracked, armoured fighting vehicles.
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Esther Shumiatcher-Hirschbein
Esther Shumiatcher-Hirschbein (Belarusian: Эстар Шумячар-Гіршбейн; Yiddish: אסתר שומיאַטשער־הירשבײן; October 21, 1899 – 1985) was a Belarusian-Canadian Yiddish-language poet and screenwriter active in New York City and Los Angeles.
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Eugene Burton Ely
Eugene Burton Ely (October 21, 1886 – October 19, 1911) was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft takeoff and landing.
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Everett McGill
Charles Everett McGill III (born October 21, 1945) is an American retired actor, who rose to prominence for his portrayal of a caveman in Quest for Fire (1981). He went on to have prominent roles in the films Dune (1984), Silver Bullet (1985), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Iguana (1988), Licence to Kill (1989), The People Under the Stairs (1991) and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). On television he appeared as "Big" Ed Hurley in Twin Peaks (1990–1991). He retired from acting in 1999, but returned for the revival of Twin Peaks.
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Filippo Colini
Filippo Colini (21 October 1811 – June 1863) was an Italian operatic baritone. Debuted with the Accademia Filarmonica Romana in 1831. He is best known today for creating roles in the world premieres of several operas by Giuseppe Verdi, including Giacomo in Giovanna d'Arco (1845), Rolando in La battaglia di Legnano (1849), and Stankar in Stiffelio (1850). Colini was born in Rome. Other roles that he originated during his career include Appio Claudio in Alessandro Nini's Virginia (1843), Luigi XIV in Fabio Campana's Luisa di Francia (1844), Severo in Gaetano Donizetti's Poliuto (1848), Prospero in Fromental Halévy's La tempesta (1850), and Inquaro in Eugenio Terziani's Alfredo (1852).
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Franz Moritz von Lacy
Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy (21 October 1725 – 24 November 1801) was an Austrian military leader of Baltic German and Irish origins. He was the son of Count Peter von Lacy, and was a famous Austrian field marshal. Lacy served during the reign of Maria Theresa, and was a close friend to Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, becoming one of the latter's advisers. He was made a count of the Holy Roman Empire, while his father had been a count of the Russian Empire.
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Fritz Wintersteller
Fritz Wintersteller (21 October 1927 – 15 September 2018) was an Austrian climber who made the first ascent of Broad Peak together with Hermann Buhl, Kurt Diemberger, and Marcus Schmuck in 1957. Although never a professional climber, he climbed almost every 4000m-mountain in the Alps, including first ascents of Hochkogel (north face) and Wiesspitze. Three other side summits over 4000m were apparently considered by him to be "not beautiful enough" to climb. In his later years, he made several trips to Alaska for long ski tours and rafting several rivers. As of 2010 he was living in Salzburg, Austria. Due to difficulties with his hips he spent most of his time bicycling.
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Geoffrey Boycott
Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup. Boycott made his international debut in a 1964 Test match against Australia. He was known for his ability to occupy the crease and became a key feature of England's Test batting line-up for many years, although he was less successful in his limited One Day International appearances. He accumulated large scores – he is the equal fifth-highest accumulator of first-class centuries in history, eighth in career runs and the first English player to average over 100 in a season (1971 and 1979) – but often encountered friction with his teammates. He was never highly popular among his peers, and journalist Ian Wooldridge commented of him that "Boycott, in short, walks alone", while cricket writer John Arlott wrote that Boycott had a "lonely" career. Others have said that the extent of his introverted nature has been exaggerated, and that while he was obsessed with his own success he was not by nature a selfish player. After 108 Test match appearances for England, Boycott's international career ended in 1982 when he was the leading Test run scorer with more than 8,000 Test match runs, earning him an OBE for services to cricket. When dropped from the Yorkshire team in 1986 he was the leading run scorer in first-class cricket. In 1965, while still a young player, he had been named as one of five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, and he was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame in 2009. After his playing career had ended Boycott became an often-outspoken and controversial cricket commentator on radio and television, never slow to criticise modern players' techniques. In 1998, he was convicted in France of assaulting his former girlfriend Margaret Moore; he was fined and given a suspended sentence. In 2002, after being diagnosed with throat cancer, he underwent successful radiation treatment, and went into remission. He revived his commentating career in 2003, attracting both criticism and praise. He is a former member of BBC Radio 4 Test Match Special commentary team and retired in 2020.
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George Bell
Jorge Antonio Bell Mathey (born October 21, 1959), better known as George Bell, is a Dominican former left fielder and American League MVP in Major League Baseball who played 12 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays (1981, 1983–1990), Chicago Cubs (1991) and Chicago White Sox (1992–1993). Bell batted and threw right-handed.
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George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 1449 – 18 February 1478), was the sixth child and third surviving son of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle between rival factions of the Plantagenets now known as the Wars of the Roses. Though a member of the House of York, he switched sides to support the House of Lancaster, before reverting to the Yorkists. He was later convicted of treason against his elder brother, Edward IV, and executed, allegedly by drowning in malmsey wine. He appears as a character in William Shakespeare's plays Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III, in which his death is attributed to the machinations of Richard.
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George Ulyett
George Ulyett (21 October 1851 – 18 June 1898) was an English cricketer, noted particularly for his very aggressive batsmanship. A well-liked man (who, in later years, kept a pub in his native Sheffield), Ulyett was popularly known as "Happy Jack", once musing memorably that Yorkshire played him only for his good behaviour and his whistling. A fine all round sportsman, Ulyett played football in the 1882–83 and 1883–84 seasons as goalkeeper for Sheffield Wednesday.
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Georgi Dakov
Georgi Krumov Dakov (Bulgarian: Георги Крумов Дъков; 21 October 1967 – 29 July 1996) was a Bulgarian high jumper. His personal best jump was 2.36 m (7 ft 8+3⁄4 in), achieved in August 1990 in Brussels. This is the Bulgarian record. Dakov reached the 1992 Olympic final and was the 1990 European Championship bronze medallist. He was born in Pleven. He died in a car crash on 29 July 1996. He was a five-time Bulgarian National Champion (1986, 87, 88, 90 & 91)
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Giuseppe Baini
Abbate Giuseppe Baini (21 October 1775 – 21 May 1844) was an Italian priest, music critic, conductor, and composer of church music. He was born in Rome. He was instructed in composition by his uncle, Lorenzo Baini, and afterwards by G. Jannaconi. In 1814, he was appointed musical director to the choir of the pontifical chapel, to which he had as early as 1802 gained admission because of his fine bass voice, which was said to be powerful, extending from low E♭ to high G. His compositions, of which very few were published, were considered favourable specimens of the severe ecclesiastical style; a ten-part Miserere of his, composed for Holy Week in 1821 by order of Pope Pius VII, has taken a permanent place in the services of the Sistine Chapel during Passion Week. Baini held a higher place, however, as a musical critic and historian than as a composer, and his Life of Palestrina (Memorie storico-critiche della vita e delle opere di Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, 1828) was described by the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica as being "one of the best works of its class". The phrase Il Principe della Musica, which has become firmly associated with the name of Palestrina, is found in the aforementioned biography. Baini's book on Palestrina established the 19th century attitude of hero worship towards the Renaissance master of counterpoint, and also named him as the "savior of church music" versus the alleged "ban on counterpoint" by the Council of Trent. Contemporary scholarship, while not claiming that this view was entirely false, tends to hold that it was highly exaggerated; Palestrina was one of many skilled composers working at the time, and the influence of the Council of Trent on musical composition was more limited than at first presumed (the composers of the Venetian School, for example, ignored it almost entirely, and Palestrina-style composers such as Lassus, working in Munich, were also quite free to write as they pleased). Regardless of its failings, however, Baini's book was influential and did much to bring Renaissance music back into the attention of 19th century musicians as well as the general public. Giuseppe Baini died in May 1844 in Rome.
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Giuseppe Giacosa
Giuseppe Giacosa (21 October 1847 – 1 September 1906) was an Italian poet, playwright and librettist. Regarded at the turn of the 20th century as one of Italy's leading playwrights, Giacosa is remembered chiefly for his association with Puccini in double harness with the librettist Luigi Illica.
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Hal Duncan
Hal Duncan (born 21 October 1971, real name Alasdair) is a Scottish science fiction and fantasy writer. His works have been listed in the New Weird genre, but he prefers not to ascribe his writings to any genre.
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Henri de Boulainvilliers
Henri de Boulainvilliers (French: [aʁi d(ə) bulɛ̃vilje]; 21 October 1658, Saint-Saire, Province of Normandy – 23 January 1722, Paris) was a French nobleman, writer and historian. He was educated at the College of Juilly; he served in the army until 1697. Primarily remembered as an early modern historian of France, Boulainvilliers also published an early French translation of Spinoza's Ethics and wrote on topics as diverse as astrology, physics, philosophy and theology. His theory that French nobility is of Germanic origins while the Third Estate is of Celtic origin inspired Arthur de Gobineau. The Comte de Boulainvilliers traced his lineage to the House of Croÿ, to Jean de Croÿ, sire de Clery et de Boulainviller, who died in the Battle of Poitiers (1356). At the time of his birth, however, the family's fortune had declined significantly. Much of Boulainvilliers' historical work and political life centered on the decline of the nobility.
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Henrik Gustavsson
Lars Henrik Gustavsson (born 21 October 1976) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most notably for Åtvidabergs FF.
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Herman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1808 to 1811.
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Ion Andoni Goikoetxea
Jon Andoni Goikoetxea Lasa (born 21 October 1965), often known as Goiko, is a Spanish former professional footballer. An attacking player of wide range, he operated in various positions on the right side of the pitch (right-back, midfielder or forward), and was best known for his Barcelona spell, during the club's Dream Team years. Having amassed La Liga totals of 386 matches and 37 goals in 13 seasons, Goikoetxea appeared for Spain at the 1994 World Cup.
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Ivan Silayev
Ivan Stepanovich Silayev (Russian: Иван Степанович Силаев; 21 October 1930 – 8 February 2023) was a Soviet and Russian politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Soviet Union through the offices of chairman of the Committee on the Operational Management of the Soviet economy (28 August – 25 December 1991) and chairman of the Inter-republican Economic Committee (20 September – 14 November 1991). Responsible for overseeing the economy of the Soviet Union during the late Gorbachev era, he was the last head of government of the Soviet Union, succeeding Valentin Pavlov. After graduating in the 1950s, Silayev began his political career in the Ministry of Aviation Industry in the 1970s. During the Brezhnev Era he became Minister of Aviation Industry, Minister of Machine-Tool and Tool Building Industry, and a Central Committee member. When Nikolai Tikhonov's Second Government was dissolved, Mikhail Gorbachev appointed him in 1985 deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers in Nikolai Ryzhkov's First Government. He left all posts in the central government in October 1990 to focus in his post as chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR, which he had been appointed to in June of that year. There he faced several cabinet difficulties during his tenure, and while he supported the majority of Boris Yeltsin's policies, he opposed the secessionist policies of Yeltsin, which led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, during his concurrent tenure as Soviet Premier, which he overtook in August 1991. Therefore, a month later, he was removed from the post of Prime Minister of the Russian SFSR and was replaced by acting Prime Minister Oleg Lobov. Silayev de facto became Prime Minister of the Soviet Union on 28 August 1991 following the failed August coup and the abolishment of the Cabinet of Ministers, when no new cabinet could be formed and the new economic committee, chaired by him since 24 August, was granted the authority of the cabinet. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he continued to work for the Yeltsin administration as the Permanent Representative of Russia to the European Community (the European Union since 1992) until his resignation in 1994. During the 2007 legislative election, Silayev ran as a candidate for the Agrarian Party of Russia.
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James Clark
James Clark (October 21, 1809 – September 9, 1885) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who led the College of the Holy Cross during the American Civil War as president from 1861 to 1867. Born in Pennsylvania, he was educated at the United States Military Academy and served as an officer in the U.S. Army for one year, before converting to Catholicism and later entering the Society of Jesus. Clark held administrative positions and taught mathematics and the sciences at Georgetown University, before being appointed president of Holy Cross. He was not well received as at Holy Cross, where there were frequent complaints that he was overly strict, which led to his removal. From 1869 to 1875, he was the president of Gonzaga College (later a high school) and oversaw its relocation to a new campus on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., which nearly destroyed the school. He spent his later years at Georgetown.
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James Steuart
Sir James Steuart, 3rd Baronet of Goodtrees and 7th Baronet of Coltness (; 21 October 1712 – 26 November 1780), also known as Sir James Steuart Denham, was a prominent Scottish Jacobite and author of "probably the first systematic treatise written in English about economics" and the first book in English with 'political economy' in the title. He assumed the surname of Denham late in life; he inherited his cousin's baronetcy of Coltness in 1773.
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Jane Heal
Barbara Jane Heal (née Kneale, born 21 October 1946) is a British philosopher, and since 2012, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.
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Jean Bart
Jean Bart (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ baʁ]; Dutch: Jan Baert; 21 October 1650 – 27 April 1702) was a Franco-Flemish naval commander and privateer.
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Jim Wallwork
Staff Sergeant James Harley Wallwork DFM (21 October 1919 – 24 January 2013) was a British soldier and a member of the Glider Pilot Regiment who achieved notability as the pilot of the first Horsa glider to land at Pegasus Bridge in France in the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. This achievement was described as "the greatest feat of flying of the Second World War" by Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Although most noted for his part in the Battle of Normandy, Wallwork flew gliders in every major British airborne operation of the Second World War. These also included the Sicily landings, Arnhem and the Rhine Crossings. In later life he lived in Vancouver.
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Jon Carin
Jon Carin (born October 21, 1964) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He has collaborated with acts including Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, the Who, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, Psychedelic Furs, Kate Bush, Soul Asylum, the Dream Academy and Richard Butler.
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Joyce Randolph
Joyce Randolph (née Sirola; October 21, 1924 – January 13, 2024) was an American actress of stage and television, best known for playing Trixie Norton on The Jackie Gleason Show and the television sitcom The Honeymooners, being the last surviving member of the cast.
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Julian Cope
Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor, and Black Sheep. Cope is an author on Neolithic culture, publishing The Modern Antiquarian in 1998, and a political and cultural activist with a public interest in occultism and paganism. He has written two volumes of autobiography, Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology, The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology, Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007); and Copendium: A Guide to the Musical Underground (2012).
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Kane Brown
Kane Allen Brown (born October 21, 1993) is an American country music singer and songwriter. First garnering a mass following on social media, he released his debut extended play (EP) Closer in June 2015, and followed it up with the single, "Used to Love You Sober" in October of that year. After Brown signed with RCA Nashville in early 2016, the song was included on his second EP and major label debut, Chapter 1 in March 2016. He released his eponymous debut studio album later that year in December. The album spawned the single "What Ifs" (featuring Lauren Alaina), and in October 2017, Brown became the first artist to have simultaneous number ones on all five main Billboard country charts. Brown released his second album, Experiment, in November 2018, which became his first number one album on the Billboard 200.
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Khalil Greene
Khalil Thabit Greene (born October 21, 1979) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. Despite playing in fewer than five full seasons for the team, Greene is the Padres' career leader in home runs at the shortstop position.
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Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention in 2007 following the unauthorized release of a sex tape with American singer Ray J. Afterwards, she and her family began to appear on the E! reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The show aired until 2021, and its success led to the formation of several spin-offs before its revival in the form of Hulu's The Kardashians (2022–present) as part of her and her family's multi-year deal with the streaming service. Kardashian founded KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance in 2017, both of which operated until 2022; the former was valued at over US$1 billion in 2021. She founded the shaping underwear and foundation garment company Skims in 2019, which is valued at over US$4 billion as of 2023. Kardashian founded her skincare line, SKKN by Kim, in 2022. She has released a variety of products tied to her name, including the 2014 mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, the 2015 photo book Selfish, and the 2015 emoji app Kimoji. Her acting credits include the films Disaster Movie (2008), Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013), two PAW Patrol films (2021 and 2023), the twelfth season of the anthology horror series American Horror Story (2023–2024), and the legal drama series All's Fair (2025–present). Time magazine included Kardashian on their list of 2015's 100 most influential people. She was named among Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in the world in 2023. With a significant presence online and a large following across numerous social media platforms, she is the eighth-most-followed individual on Instagram and the thirteenth-most-followed individual on Twitter. Both critics and admirers have described Kardashian as exemplifying the notion of being famous for being famous. She first appeared on Forbes's annual billionaires list in 2021; as of June 2026, she is estimated to be worth US$1.9 billion. Kardashian has become more politically active by lobbying for prison reform and clemency, and, in 2025, completed a four-year law apprenticeship that allows her to sit for the California Bar Exam, which she did not pass.
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Krishna Singh
Shri Krishna Singh (Sinha) (21 October 1887 – 31 January 1961), also known as Shri Babu, was the first chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–61). Except for the period of World War II, Sinha was the chief minister of Bihar from the time of the first Congress Ministry in 1937 until his death in 1961. He led the Dalit entry into the Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar. He was the first chief minister in the country to abolish the zamindari system. He was imprisoned for a total of about eight years in British India. He held mass meetings at which he spoke. He was known as Bihar Kesari for his "lionlike roars" in public speaking. The former President of India, Pratibha Patil, released a book on the letters of exchange between Sinha and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru titled Freedom and Beyond. The correspondence between Nehru and Sinha touches on subjects such as Indian democracy in the making in the early years of Independence, Centre-State relations, role of governor, turbulence in Nepal, zamindari abolition, and education. Sinha gave his personal collection of 17,000 books to the public library in Munger in 1959 which is now named Sri Krishna Seva Shadan after him which in 2016 was reportedly in poor condition due to lack of funding.
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Lera Auerbach
Lera Auerbach (Russian: Лера Авербах, born Valeria Lvovna Averbakh, Russian: Валерия Львовна Авербах; October 21, 1973) is a Soviet-born Austrian-American classical composer, conductor and concert pianist.
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Liliane Bettencourt
Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (French: [liljan ɑ̃ʁjɛt ʃaʁlɔt bɛtɑ̃kuʁ]; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was a board member and one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her death, she was the richest woman in the world, and the 14th richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$44.3 billion.
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Louis Koo
Louis Koo Tin-lok (Chinese: 古天樂; born 21 October 1970) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. He gained popularity with his roles in television series The Condor Heroes 95 (1995), Detective Investigation Files IV (1999), and A Step into the Past (2001). After 2001, Koo shifted his focus to films, frequently collaborating with director Johnnie To in films such as Throw Down (2004), Election 2 (2006), Romancing in Thin Air (2012), and Drug War (2012). His other notable films include Protégé (2007), Run Papa Run (2008), Connected (2008), Overheard (2009), The White Storm (2013), Paradox (2017), A Witness Out of the Blue (2019), and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024). For his performance in Paradox, Koo won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor and Asian Film Award for Best Actor.
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Mads Dahm
Mads Dahm (born 21 October 1988), is a Norwegian footballer playing for Lyn in the Norwegian Third Division. He has played two games for Norway national under-21 football team. He is the younger brother of former Lyn player Fredrik Dahm. In August 2010, he signed for Lillestrøm, following Lyn's bankruptcy. In February, he decided to go back and help his old club Lyn back to the top.
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Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer and conductor. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music for brass band and wind band. His style is tonal and rejoices in lively rhythms, brilliant orchestration, and an unabashed tunefulness. He wrote extensively for the theatre, with five ballets specially commissioned by the Royal Ballet, as well as two operas and a musical. He also produced scores for more than a hundred films, among these The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), for which he won an Oscar.
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Mandy Rice-Davies
Marilyn Foreman (21 October 1944 – 18 December 2014), better known as Mandy Rice-Davies, was a Welsh model and showgirl best known for her association with Christine Keeler and her role in the Profumo affair, which discredited the Conservative government of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1963.
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Martin Castrogiovanni
Martín Leandro Castrogiovanni (Italian: [marˈtiŋ kastrodʒoˈvanni], Spanish: [maɾˈtiŋ kastɾoʝoˈβani]; born October 21, 1981) is an Italian-Argentine retired rugby union player. He was born in Paraná, Argentina, but qualified for Italy through his heritage. Castrogiovanni moved to Italy as a teenager and represented the Italian national team 119 times over 14 years. In Italy he played for Calvisano between 2001 and 2006, before moving to England to play for Leicester Tigers where he played 145 games over seven seasons, winning four Premiership Rugby titles. In 2013 he moved to Toulon where he won a Heineken Cup, before finishing his career with Racing 92 in Paris.
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Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914 – May 22, 2010) was an American writer on popular mathematics and popular science. His interests also encompassed magic, scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literature – especially the writings of Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, and G. K. Chesterton. He was a leading authority on Lewis Carroll; The Annotated Alice, which incorporated the text of Carroll's two Alice books, was his most successful work and sold over a million copies. He had a lifelong interest in magic and illusion and in 1999, MAGIC magazine named him as one of the "100 Most Influential Magicians of the Twentieth Century". He was considered the doyen of American puzzlers. He was a prolific and versatile author, publishing more than 100 books. Gardner was best known for creating and sustaining interest in recreational mathematics—and by extension, mathematics in general—throughout the latter half of the 20th century, principally through his "Mathematical Games" columns. These appeared for twenty-five years in Scientific American, and his subsequent books collecting them. Gardner was one of the foremost anti-pseudoscience polemicists of the 20th century. His 1957 book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science is a seminal work of the skeptical movement. In 1976, he joined with fellow skeptics to found CSICOP, an organization promoting scientific inquiry and the use of reason in examining extraordinary claims.
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Mary Blair
Mary Blair (born Mary Browne Robinson; October 21, 1911 – July 26, 1978) was an American artist, illustrator, animation concept artist, colorist, designer and writer. She was prominent in producing art for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella. Blair also created character designs for enduring attractions such as Disneyland's It's a Small World, the fiesta scene in El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase, and an enormous mosaic inside Disney's Contemporary Resort. Several of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s remain in print, such as I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. Blair was inducted into the group of Disney Legends in 1991.
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Matt Dallas
Matthew Joseph Dallas (born October 21, 1982) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character on the ABC Family series Kyle XY.
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Maureen Duffy
Maureen Patricia Duffy (21 October 1933 – 27 May 2026) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and non-fiction author. Long an activist covering such issues as gay rights and animal rights, she campaigned especially on behalf of authors. Duffy received the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature in 2004 for her lifelong writings. In 2025, she was announced as the inaugural winner of the RSL Pioneer Prize, founded by Bernardine Evaristo, to be awarded to a different woman writer aged over 60 every year for ten years.
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Michael Hancock
Michael John "Mick" Hancock (born 21 October 1969) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative wing, he played in the Brisbane Broncos' first five Grand Final victories in 1992, 1993, 1997 Super League, 1998 and 2000. At the time of his retirement from football in Australia in 2000 he held the Broncos' club records for most career appearances. He played out the rest of his career in England with the Salford City Reds and retired in 2002.
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Michel Brière
Michel Edouard Brière (October 21, 1949 – April 13, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for one season in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1969–70. Following his rookie season with the Penguins, Brière was involved in a car accident in which he suffered major head trauma. After multiple brain surgeries and 11 months in a coma, he died as a result of his injuries at the age of 21.
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Milton Himmelfarb
Milton Himmelfarb (October 21, 1918 – January 4, 2006) was an American sociographer of the American Jewish community. Himmelfarb worked for four decades at the American Jewish Committee where he was director of information and research services. He edited various versions of the American Jewish Yearbook. He also was a contributing editor of Commentary, the monthly journal of opinion. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan appointed Himmelfarb to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Himmelfarb held several academic posts: visiting professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and visiting lecturer at Yale College. He earned a BA in 1938 and MS in 1939 from City College of New York. Himmelfarb coined the aphorism on the Jewish community's political persuasions: "Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans." Himmelfarb's sister was the historian Gertrude Himmelfarb. He died in New York City at the age of 87. Through Gertrude, he was the uncle of William and Elizabeth Kristol.
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Natasha Bassett
Natasha Bassett is an Australian actress and screenwriter born in Sydney, New South Wales.
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Nicolaus I Bernoulli
Nicolaus Bernoulli (also spelled Nicolas or Nikolas; 20 October [O.S. 10 October] 1687 in Basel – 29 November 1759 in Basel) was a Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family.
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Nikos Engonopoulos
Nikos Engonopoulos (Greek: Νίκος Εγγονόπουλος; October 21, 1907 – October 31, 1985) was a Greek painter and poet. He was one of the most important members of "Generation of the '30s", as well as a major representative of the surrealist movement in Greece. His work as a writer also includes critique and essays.
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Niyazi Berkes
Niyazi Berkes (21 October 1908 – 18 December 1988) was a Turkish Cypriot sociologist.
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Oswald Avery
Oswald Theodore Avery Jr. (October 21, 1877 – February 20, 1955) was a Canadian-American physician and medical researcher. The major part of his career was spent at the Rockefeller Hospital in New York City. Avery was one of the first molecular biologists and a pioneer in immunochemistry, but he is best known for the experiment (published in 1944 with his co-workers Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty) that isolated DNA as the material of which genes and chromosomes are made. The Nobel laureate Arne Tiselius said that Avery was the most deserving scientist not to receive the Nobel Prize for his work, though he was nominated for the award throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The lunar crater Avery was named in his honor.
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Owen Bradley
William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly. Bradley started with piano at a young age, and began performing professionally as a teenager. At age 20, he joined WSM (AM) as an arranger and musician, and by 1942 had become the station's musical director. At the same time, Bradley led a dance band that enjoyed popularity in local society circles. In 1947, Bradley was hired by the head of Decca Records' country music division, Paul Cohen, to assist with recording sessions and later establish the label's operations in Nashville. In 1954, Bradley established Bradley Studios, later commonly known as the Quonset Hut Studio, which was the first music industry-related business in what is now known as Music Row, and helping establish Nashville as a recording industry center. In 1958, Bradley became vice president of Decca's Nashville division. This period marked the beginning of the Nashville sound, a movement that aimed to broaden country music's appeal by incorporating pop elements. Bradley's work extended to producing records for artists like Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, playing a key role in their career successes. Bradley sold Bradley Studios to Columbia Records in 1962, and two years later established Bradley's Barn, a new recording studio that continued to attract a range of recording artists. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974, reflecting his impact on the industry. Bradley's later years saw him working on selected projects, including k.d. lang's Shadowland album. Bradley's contributions have been recognized with various honors, including the dedication of a public park and a bronze likeness in Nashville. His legacy in the music industry is marked by his role in shaping the Nashville sound and influence on several generations of musicians.
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Paavo Johansson
Paavo Johansson (later Jaale) (21 October 1895, in – 5 December 1983) was a Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the javelin throw.
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Patti Davis
Patricia Ann Davis (née Reagan; born October 21, 1952) is an American actress and author. She is the daughter of U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his second wife, Nancy Reagan.
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Phillip Price
John Phillip Price (born 21 October 1966) is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Senior Tour. He won three European Tour events between 1994 and 2003 and played in the 2002 Ryder Cup.
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Pierre Augereau
Charles-Pierre-François Augereau, duc de Castiglione (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl pjɛʁ oʒʁo]; 21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. After serving in the Revolutionary Wars, he earned rapid promotion while fighting against Spain and soon found himself as a division commander under Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. He fought in all of Bonaparte's battles of 1796 with great distinction. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon entrusted Augereau with important commands. He distinguished himself as a corps commander at Jena, although at Eylau he led a charge into a snowstorm that proved disastrous. His life ended under a cloud because of his poor timing in switching sides between Napoleon and Louis XVIII. Napoleon wrote of Augereau that he "has plenty of character, courage, firmness, activity; is inured to war; is well liked by the soldiery; is fortunate in his operations". Augereau is generally counted as one of the most capable generals of the Napoleonic Wars.
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Pierre Bellemare
Pierre Bellemare (21 October 1929 – 26 May 2018) was a French writer, novelist, radio personality, television presenter, TV producer, director, and actor.
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Pál Csernai
Pál Csernai (21 October 1932 – 1 September 2013) was a Hungarian football player and manager.
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Ricki Olsen
Ricki Olsen (born 21 October 1988) is a Danish professional footballer. He is the son of the former Denmark national team player Lars Olsen.
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Ronald McNair
Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died at the age of 35 during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven. Prior to the Challenger disaster, McNair flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard Challenger from February 3 to 11, 1984, becoming the second African-American in space.
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Said Afandi al-Chirkawi
Said Afandi al-Chirkawi (Avar: ЧӀикӀаса СагӀид афанди, Russian: Шейх Саид Афанди Чиркейский, Arabic: سعيد أفندي شيركاوي; 21 October 1937 – 28 August 2012) was a prominent scholar in Shafii mazhab and a spiritual master, or murshid. He was killed by a suicide bomber in August 2012.
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Samuel Khachikian
Samuel Khachikian (Armenian: Սամուէլ Խաչիկեան Armenian pronunciation: [sɑm'vɛl χɑtʃʰik'jɑn]; Persian: ساموئل خاچیکیان; October 21, 1923 – October 22, 2001) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, author, and film editor of Armenian descent. He was one of the most influential figures of Iranian cinema and was nicknamed "Iran's Hitchcock".
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( KOH-lə-rij; 21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth. He also shared volumes and collaborated with Charles Lamb, Robert Southey, and Charles Lloyd. Coleridge wrote the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and "Kubla Khan", as well as the major prose work Biographia Literaria. His critical works were highly influential, especially in relation to William Shakespeare, and he helped introduce German idealist philosophy to England. Coleridge coined many familiar words and phrases, including "suspension of disbelief," the avoidance of critical thinking to follow a narrative. He was also an important influence on Ralph Waldo Emerson and the beginnings of American transcendentalism because of his unique interpretation of Immanuel Kant's concept of intuition, which he outlined in both Biographia Literaria and Aids to Reflection. Throughout his adult life, Coleridge had crippling bouts of anxiety and depression; it has been speculated that he had bipolar disorder, which had not been defined during his lifetime. He was physically unhealthy, which may have stemmed from a bout of rheumatic fever and other childhood illnesses. He was treated for these conditions with laudanum, which fostered a lifelong opium addiction. Coleridge had a turbulent career and personal life with a variety of highs and lows, but his public esteem grew after his death, and he became considered one of the most influential figures in English literature. For instance, a 2018 report by The Guardian labelled him "a genius" who had progressed into "one of the most renowned English poets". Organisations such as the Church of England celebrate his work during public events, such as a "Coleridge Day" in June, with activities including literary recitals.
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Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; pronounced [ʃʌmːi kʌpuːɾ]; 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. Kapoor is regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he worked in over 100 films and was the recipient of three Filmfare Awards, including one for Best Actor. Born to actor Prithviraj Kapoor and a member of the Kapoor family, he made his film debut with the commercially unsuccessful Jeewan Jyoti (1953). Following roles in continued box-office flops, he had his breakthrough with Tumsa Nahi Dekha (1957), which attained him the image of a stylish playboy and dancer, and subsequently gained further recognition with Dil Deke Dekho (1959). Kapoor rose to widespread recognition with the romantic blockbuster Junglee (1961), and went on to become one of the most marketable Bollywood stars throughout the 1960s, appearing in a number of highly successful films such as - Professor (1962), Dil Tera Diwana (1962), China Town (1962), Rajkumar (1964), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), Janwar (1965), Teesri Manzil (1966), An Evening In Paris (1967), Brahmachari (1968) and Prince (1969). For Brahmachari, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Following his leading role in Andaz (1971), he began to appear in supporting roles. His notable such roles includes Parvarish (1977), Prem Rog (1982), Vidhaata (1982), Betaab (1983), Hero (1983), Sohni Mahiwal (1984), Wanted (1984), Hukumat (1987), Daata (1989), Tahalka (1992), Chamatkar (1992), Gardish (1993) and Rockstar (2011), which was his final film. For Vidhaata, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Apart from acting, Kapoor was widely considered among the best dancers.
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Shaye J. D. Cohen
Shaye J. D. Cohen (born October 21, 1948) is an American Hebraist, historian, and rabbi. He is a modern scholar of the Hebrew Bible. Currently, he is the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University.
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Simone Bracalello
Simone Bracalello (born October 21, 1985), also known in Italy as Bracca, is an Italian former footballer who played as a Striker.
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Sims Reeves
John Sims Reeves (21 October 1821 – 25 October 1900) was an English operatic, oratorio and ballad tenor vocalist during the mid-Victorian era. Reeves began his singing career in 1838 but continued his vocal studies until 1847. He soon established himself on the opera and concert stage and became known for his interpretation of ballads. He continued singing through the 1880s and later taught and wrote about singing.
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Steve Cropper
Stephen Lee Cropper (October 21, 1941 – December 3, 2025), sometimes known as "The Colonel", was an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and Neil Young. He also acted as the producer of many of these artists' records. He was later a member of the Blues Brothers band. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 36th on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists. He won two Grammy Awards out of his seven nominations.
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Tan Kah Kee
Tan Kah Kee (Chinese: 陳嘉庚; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Ka-kiⁿ; also spelled as Chen Jiageng; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist active in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent figure in the overseas Chinese community in Singapore and wider Southeast Asia during the 20th century, he was responsible for gathering much support from the community to aid China in major events such as the Xinhai Revolution (1911), the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition (1926–28), and the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). Apart from donating most of his assets and earnings to aid China in those major events, Tan set up funds in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong and contributed to the establishment of several schools in Southeast Asia and China's Fujian Province, including Xiamen University.
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Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali (;Urdu: طارق علی; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and contributes to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books. He read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Exeter College, Oxford. He is the author of many books, including Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power (1970), Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State (1983), Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity (2002), Bush in Babylon (2003), Conversations with Edward Said (2005), Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis Of Hope (2006), The Duel (2008), The Obama Syndrome (2010), and The Extreme Centre: A Warning (2015).
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Toby Hall
Toby Jason Hall (born October 21, 1975) is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher who is the manager of the Florence Y'alls of the Frontier League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2008, primarily with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 205 pounds (93 kg), he batted and threw right-handed.
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Tonje Brenna
Tonje Brenna (born 21 October 1987) is a Norwegian politician currently serving as the parliamentary leader of the Labour Party since 2025. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served in Jonas Gahr Støre's government between 2021 and 2025 and has been the party's deputy leader since 2023. She previously served as the chairwoman of the Viken county cabinet from 2020 to 2021 and a deputy member in the Storting for Akershus from 2017 to 2025. She has been a regular representative since 2025 for the same constituency.
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Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (October 21, 1928 – October 8, 2020), nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He was a 10-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion. In 1961, he won both the Cy Young Award and World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Ford led the American League (AL) in wins three times and in earned run average twice. He is the Yankees franchise leader in career wins (236), shutouts (45), innings pitched (3,170+1⁄3), and games started by a pitcher (438; tied with Andy Pettitte). Ford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Ford signed with the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1947 and made his major league debut in 1950. Following a two-year sojourn to serve in the United States Army during the Korean War, Ford returned to the Yankees in 1953 and pitched for them until retiring in 1967. During his tenure with the team, Ford set numerous World Series pitching records, including consecutive scoreless innings (33), wins (10), games started (22), innings pitched (146), and strikeouts (94). The Yankees retired his uniform number 16 in 1974 and dedicated a plaque in his honor in Monument Park in 1987. Ford served as the Yankees pitching coach in 1964 while still a player and from 1974 to 1975 after retiring. He also served as the team's first base coach in 1968. In the wake of Yogi Berra's death in 2015, George Vecsey of The New York Times suggested that Ford was now "The Greatest Living Yankee". Ford died on October 8, 2020, at the age of 91.
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Will Carleton
William McKendree Carleton (October 21, 1845 – December 18, 1912) was an American poet from Michigan. Carleton's poems were most often about his rural life.
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Will Estes
William Estes Nipper (; born October 21, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his role from 2010 to 2024 on CBS police drama Blue Bloods as Jameson "Jamie" Reagan, a New York City Police Department officer and the youngest son of the police commissioner, played by Tom Selleck. Prior to that role, he starred as J.J. Pryor on the NBC drama American Dreams.
Who's birthday is it today? — FAQ
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