Today
Wednesday October 21 2026
- Day of the year
- 294/ 365
- Week
- 432,026
- Days left
- 7181%
- Moon
- 78%Waxing gibbous
Today is Wednesday, October 21, 2026. It is day 294 of 2026, a year of 365 days: 71 remain, and 81% of the year has gone. Under ISO 8601 this date falls in week 43.
What's celebrated on this date
No United Nations international day falls on this date.
Coming up
- October 24United Nations Day
- October 31World Cities Day
- November 5World Tsunami Awareness Day
Saints and name days
Saints whose feast falls on this date, most widely known first.
- Charles I of AustriaLast monarch of Austria-Hungary (r. 1916–1918)
- Zita of Bourbon-ParmaEmpress of Austria from 1916 to 1918
- Saint UrsulaFrankish saint
- Hilarionanchorite and saint who spent most of his life in the desert
- Pedro CalungsodFilipino catechist, saint and martyr
Sources : Wikidata (P841) · CC0 1.0
Astronomy
New York
- Sunrise
- 07:14
- Sunset
- 18:07
- Length of day
- 10h 53m−3 min vs yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:41
Times shown for America/New_York
Season
Autumn
began on September 22, 2026
Next season
Winter — 61 days, December 21, 2026 (December solstice)
Public holidays — United States
Not a public holiday in the United States.
Next public holiday : Veterans Day — November 11, 2026
National holidays only. Regions, provinces and Länder add their own.
Moon
Waxing gibbous
Illumination : 78%
Moon age : 11.0 days
- Next full moon
- October 26, 2026
- Next new moon
- November 9, 2026
Astrology
Today's zodiac sign
Libra
until October 23, 2026 — Scorpio
Zodiac dates are an astrological convention, not the Sun's actual position among the constellations. The astronomy above is measured; this is not.
On this day in history
1096
A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot. Wikipedia
1097
First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. Wikipedia
1600
Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara and becomes shōgun of Japan. Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
1879
Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb. Wikipedia
1945
In the 1945 French legislative election French women vote for the first time. Wikipedia
Show more (4)
1959
In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
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. Wikipedia
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
Births and deaths
Born on this day October 21
- 1581Domenichino, Italian painter (died 1641)
- 1650Jean Bart, French admiral (died 1702)
- 1675Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (died 1710)
- 1790Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (died 1869)
- 1833Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (died 1896)
- 1917Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1993)
- 1949Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israelturns 77 years
- 1953Peter Mandelson, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Irelandturns 73 years
Died on this day October 21
- 1266Birger Jarl, Swedish politician (born 1210)aged 56 years
- 1422Charles VI of France (born 1368)aged 54 years
- 1805Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (born 1758)aged 47 years
- 1969Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (born 1922)aged 47 years
- 1980Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (born 1906)aged 74 years
- 1984François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932)aged 52 years
- 2003Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1969)aged 34 years
- 2014Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (born 1916)aged 98 years
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
The day in words
In New York the sun rises at 07:14 and sets at 18:07, giving 10h 53m of daylight — 3 minutes less than yesterday. It has been autumn since September 22, 2026; winter opens in 61 days, on December 21, 2026 (December solstice).
The moon is waxing gibbous, 78% illuminated. The next full moon falls on October 26, 2026 and the next new moon on November 9, 2026.
The saints' calendar attaches October 21 to Charles I of Austria, Zita of Bourbon-Parma and Saint Ursula.
No United Nations international day falls on October 21. The next one on the calendar is United Nations Day, on October 24.
It is not a public holiday in the United States.
On this day in history: A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot (1096); First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch (1097). English Wikipedia records 10 events for this date.
Domenichino was born on October 21, 1581; Birger Jarl died on October 21, 1266.
65 days remain until Christmas and 72 until New Year's Day.
In astrology — kept separate from the measured astronomy above, deliberately — October 21 falls under the sign of Libra.
Calendar
By the numbers
- 81%
- of the year elapsed
- 65
- until Christmas
- 72
- until New Year
- 496
- until the next 29 February
2026 — Common year (365 days)
Work with dates
Sources
Every block on this page names where its data comes from. Nothing here is generated when the source is silent.
- United Nations — International Days— What's celebrated today
- Wikidata (P841)— Saints and name days · CC0 1.0
- Wikipedia (en)— On this day in history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26