| 120361 | October 21 | Birth | 1911 – Mary Blair, American illustrator and animator (d. 1978) |
| 120362 | October 21 | Birth | 1912 – Don Byas, American saxophonist and educator (d. 1972) |
| 120363 | October 21 | Birth | 1912 – Alfredo Pián, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990) |
| 120364 | October 21 | Birth | 1912 – Georg Solti, Hungarian-English conductor and director (d. 1997) |
| 120365 | October 21 | Birth | 1914 – Martin Gardner, American mathematician and author (d. 2010) |
| 120366 | October 21 | Birth | 1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1993) |
| 120367 | October 21 | Birth | 1918 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociologist and author (d. 2006) |
| 120368 | October 21 | Birth | 1919 – Jim Wallwork, English-Canadian sergeant and pilot (d. 2013) |
| 120369 | October 21 | Birth | 1921 – Malcolm Arnold, English composer (d. 2006) |
| 120370 | October 21 | Birth | 1921 – Bruce Beeby, Australian-English actor (d. 2013) |
| 120371 | October 21 | Birth | 1921 – Robert Clothier, Canadian actor (d. 1999) |
| 120372 | October 21 | Birth | 1921 – Jim Shumate, American fiddler and composer (d. 2013) |
| 120373 | October 21 | Birth | 1921 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 2015) |
| 120374 | October 21 | Birth | 1922 – Liliane Bettencourt, French businesswoman and philanthropist |
| 120375 | October 21 | Birth | 1923 – Samuel Khachikian, Iranian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 2001) |
| 120376 | October 21 | Birth | 1924 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer and actress (Sonora Matancera) (d. 2003) |
| 120377 | October 21 | Birth | 1924 – Joyce Randolph, American actress |
| 120378 | October 21 | Birth | 1924 – Julie Wilson, American actress and singer (d. 2015) |
| 120379 | October 21 | Birth | 1925 – Virginia Zeani, Romanian soprano and educator |
| 120380 | October 21 | Birth | 1926 – Leonard Rossiter, English actor (d. 1984) |
| 120381 | October 21 | Birth | 1927 – Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer |
| 120382 | October 21 | Birth | 1927 – Howard Zieff, American director and photographer (d. 2009) |
| 120383 | October 21 | Birth | 1928 – Whitey Ford, American baseball player and coach |
| 120384 | October 21 | Birth | 1928 – Vern Mikkelsen, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013) |
| 120385 | October 21 | Birth | 1929 – Pierre Bellemare, French radio and television host |
| 120386 | October 21 | Birth | 1929 – Fritz Hollaus, Austrian footballer (d. 1994) |
| 120387 | October 21 | Birth | 1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic |
| 120388 | October 21 | Birth | 1930 – Ivan Silayev, Russian engineer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Russia |
| 120389 | October 21 | Birth | 1931 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director (d. 2011) |
| 120390 | October 21 | Birth | 1931 – Jim Parks junior, English cricketer and manager |