October 21, 1940

1940Geoffrey Boycott, English cricketer and sportscaster^[†]

Sir Geoffrey Boycott 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.

1940Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author^[†]

Frances FitzGerald is an American journalist and historian, who is primarily known for Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam (1972), an account of the Vietnam War. It was a bestseller that won the Pulitzer Prize, Bancroft Prize, and National Book Award.

1940Rhoda Gemignani, American actress^[†]

Rhoda Gemignani is an American actress, best known for her recurring role as Mrs. Carmela Rossini in the American television sitcom Who's the Boss?.

1940Manfred Mann, South African-English keyboard player and producer^[†]

Manfred Sepse Lubowitz, known professionally as Manfred Mann, is a South African-born musician, residing in the UK since 1961. He is best known as a founding member of the eponymous bands Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

1940Marita Petersen, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 2001)^[†]

Marita Petersen was the first and to date only female Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands and the first female speaker of the Løgting (Parliament). She was elected to the Løgting in 1988 for Javnaðarflokkurin . In January 1993, she was elected to the post of prime minister, which she held until September 1994. Later, she became chairman of the parliament from 1994 to 1995. She was Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands in a very difficult time with economic crisis. Marita Petersen died of cancer in 2001.

1940William G. Conley, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (born 1866)^[†]

William Gustavus Conley was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Attorney General of West Virginia (1908–1913) and 18th governor of West Virginia as a Republican.

1940The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.^[†]

Ernest Miller Hemingway ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle and outspoken, blunt public image. Some of his seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works have become classics of American literature, and he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.