July 21

July 21 in recent years

2024 (Sunday)

2023 (Friday)

2022 (Thursday)

2021 (Wednesday)

2020 (Tuesday)

2019 (Sunday)

2018 (Saturday)

2017 (Friday)

2016 (Thursday)

2015 (Tuesday)

July 21 is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 163 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
• 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.
• 285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
• 365 – A tsunami devastates the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The tsunami was caused by the Crete earthquake estimated to be 8.0 on the Richter Scale. 5,000 people perished in Alexandria, and 45,000 more died outside the city.
• 1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
• 1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
• 1568 – Eighty Years' War: Battle of Jemmingen – Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
• 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
• 1774 – Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774: Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji ending the war.
• 1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
• 1861 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run – at Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
• 1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
• 1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
• 1877 – After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
• 1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brille in Ostend, Belgium.
• 1914 – The Crown council of Romania decides the country shall remain neutral in World War I
• 1918 – U-156 shells Nauset Beach, in Orleans, Massachusetts.
• 1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
• 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
• 1925 – Sir Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to break the 150 mph (241 km/h) land barrier at Pendine Sands in Wales. He drove a Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam – American troops land on Guam starting the battle. It would end on August 10.
• 1944 – World War II: Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators are executed in Berlin, Germany for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
• 1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
• 1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
• 1959 – Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
• 1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission – Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
• 1969 – Space Race: Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon, during the Apollo 11 mission (July 20 in North America).
• 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
• 1972 – Bloody Friday bombings by the Provisional IRA around Belfast, Northern Ireland – 22 bombs are detonated, killing 9 and seriously injuring 130.
• 1973 – In the Lillehammer affair in Norway, Israeli Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
• 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
• 1977 – The start of the four day long Libyan-Egyptian War.
• 1983 – The world's lowest temperature is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
• 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
• 1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (aka Old Ironsides) celebrates her 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
• 2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri railway station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
• 2005 – Four terrorist bombings, occurring exactly two weeks after the similar July 7 bombings, target London's public transportation system. All four bombs fail to detonate and all four suspected suicide bombers are captured and later convicted and imprisoned for long terms.
• 2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.

Births

• 1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
• 1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat (d. 1721)
• 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
• 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician (d. 1792)
• 1762 – Timothy Hinman, pioneer road builder
• 1808 – Simion Bărnuţiu, Romanian philosopher and politician (d. 1864)
• 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist (d. 1878)
• 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-born British journalist (d. 1899)
• 1851 – Sam Bass, American train robber and outlaw (d. 1878)
• 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (d. 1925)
• 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria, queen of Spain (d. 1929)
• 1858 – Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand artist (d. 1941)
• 1863 – Aubrey Smith, English cricketer and actor (d. 1948)
• 1870 – Emil Orlik, Czech painter (d. 1932)
• 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician and astronomer (d. 1919)
• 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Hans Fallada, German writer (d. 1947)
• 1898 – Sara Carter, Carter Family vocalist/guitarist (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
• 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1961)
• 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American financier (d. 2010)
• 1908 – Harold "Jug" McSpaden, American professional golfer (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and media theorist (d. 1980)
• 1920 – Constance Dowling, American actress (d. 1969)
• 1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Isaac Stern, Ukrainian-born violinist (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Kay Starr, American singer
• 1922 – Mollie Sugden, British comedic actress (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Anne Meacham, American actress (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian film director
• 1926 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general
• 1926 – Karel Reisz, British film director (d. 2002)
• 1926 – Queenie Watts, English actress (d. 1980)
• 1928 – Marcel Gauthier, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
• 1929 – Bob Orton Sr., American wrestler (d. 2006)
• 1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian lyricist (d. 2002)
• 1932 – Ernie Warlick, American football player
• 1933 – John Gardner, American author (d. 1982)
• 1934 – Chandu Borde, former Indian cricketer
• 1934 – Jonathan Miller, British theatre director
• 1935 – Norbert Blüm, German politician
• 1935 – Kaye Stevens, singer and actress
• 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, baseball player (d. 2006)
• 1938 – Les Aspin, American politician (d. 1995)
• 1938 – Anton Kuerti, Canadian pianist, composer and conductor
• 1938 – Janet Reno, 79th United States Attorney General
• 1939 – John Negroponte, 1st United States Director of National Intelligence
• 1942 – Kim Fowley, American songwriter, musician, manager, and record producer
• 1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor
• 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American politician (d. 2002)
• 1945 – John Lowe, English darts player
• 1945 – Lydia Shum, Hong Kong comedian and actress (d. 2008)
• 1945 – Barry Richards, Former South African cricketer
• 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Former Australian cricketer
• 1946 – Kenneth Starr, American lawyer
• 1946 – Barry Whitwam, British musician (Herman's Hermits)
• 1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Former Indian cricketer
• 1948 – Ed Hinton, American sportswriter
• 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer/songwriter
• 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
• 1948 – Teruzane Utada, Japanese music record producer and manager
• 1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor
• 1948 – Snooty, the oldest known Florida manatee
• 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand musician and composer
• 1949 – Al Hrabosky, baseball player
• 1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer
• 1951 – Robin Williams, American comedian/actor
• 1952 – John Barrasso, American politician
• 1952 – Susannah Carr, Australian journalist
• 1953 – Brian Talbot, British footballer
• 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Chinese-Australian actor
• 1955 – Howie Epstein, American musician (d. 2003)
• 1955 – Henry Priestman, British keyboardist and singer
• 1955 – Taco, Dutch singer
• 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian film director
• 1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
• 1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian
• 1957 – George Landress, American songwriter and music producer
• 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league player
• 1960 – Lance Guest, American actor
• 1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
• 1961 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Punjabi folk singer
• 1961 – Jim Martin, American musician (Faith No More)
• 1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer
• 1963 – Paulo Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1964 – Ross Kemp, British actor
• 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper
• 1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer
• 1965 – Mike Bordick, American baseball player
• 1965 – Jovy Marcelo, Filipino racing driver (d. 1992)
• 1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
• 1966 – Sarah Waters, British novelist
• 1968 – Johnnie Barnes, American football player
• 1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player
• 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian hockey player
• 1969 – Klaus Graf, German racing driver
• 1969 – Godfrey, American comedian
• 1969 – Emerson Hart, American musician (Tonic)
• 1970 – Shawn Stasiak, American professional wrestler
• 1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
• 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, French actress and singer
• 1971 – Nuno Markl, Portuguese comedian and radio host
• 1971 – Marcus Eoin, Scottish musician (Boards of Canada)
• 1972 – Shinjiro Otani, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1973 – Ali Landry, American model and actress
• 1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player
• 1975 – Chris Bisson, British actor
• 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
• 1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
• 1977 – Jaime Murray, British actress
• 1978 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
• 1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
• 1978 – Josh Hartnett, American actor
• 1978 – Damian Marley, Jamaican musician
• 1978 – Kyoko Iwasaki, Japanese swimmer
• 1978 – Gary Teale, Scottish footballer
• 1979 – David Carr, American football player
• 1979 – Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
• 1979 – Andriy Voronin, Ukrainian football player
• 1980 – Tailor James, Canadian model
• 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
• 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
• 1981 – Blake Lewis, American musician
• 1981 – Yushin Okami, Japanese mixed martial artist
• 1981 – Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
• 1981 – Chrishell Stause, American actress
• 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese actress
• 1983 – Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer
• 1983 – Kellen Winslow II, American football player
• 1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
• 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
• 1985 – Paloma Faith, British singer
• 1985 – Vanessa Lengies, Canadian actress
• 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
• 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
• 1988 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer
• 1989 – Rory Culkin, American actor
• 1989 – Chris Gunter, Welsh footballer
• 1989 – Juno Temple, English actress
• 1989 – Chelsie Hightower, American professional dancer (Dancing with the Stars, former So You Think You Can Dance contestant)
• 1989 – Jamie Waylett, English actor
• 1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
• 1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
• 1992 – Giselle Klein, Canadian sprint car driver

Deaths

• 1403 – Henry Percy, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1364)
• 1425 – Manuel II Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1350)
• 1688 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English statesman and soldier (b. 1610)
• 1793 – Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, French explorer (b. 1739)
• 1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet (b. 1759)
• 1798 – François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (b. 1733)
• 1878 – Sam Bass, American train robber and outlaw (b. 1851)
• 1880 – Hiram Walden, American politician (b. 1800)
• 1889 – Nelson Dewey, American politician (b. 1813)
• 1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and military officer (b. 1833)
• 1932 – Bill Gleason, American baseball player (b. 1858)
• 1938 – Owen Wister, American author (b. 1860)
• 1941 – Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian writer and poet (b. 1872)
• 1943 – Charlie Paddock, American athlete (b. 1900)
• 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German military officer and head of the failed 20 July Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler (b. 1907)
• 1946 – Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian politician (b. 1908)
• 1948 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-born American artist (b. 1904)
• 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player (b. 1907)
• 1967 – Albert Lutuli, South African politician, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• 1967 – Basil Rathbone, English actor (b. 1892)
• 1968 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1878)
• 1970 – Mikhail Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (b. 1907)
• 1970 – Bob Kalsu, American football player (b. 1945)
• 1972 – Ralph Craig, American athlete (b. 1889)
• 1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Third king of Bhutan (b. 1928)
• 1977 – Lee Miller, American photographer (b. 1907)
• 1982 – Dave Garroway, American television host (b. 1913)
• 1986 – Ernest Maas, American screenwriter (b. 1892)
• 1991 – Paul Warwick, English racing driver (b. 1969)
• 1998 – Alan Shepard, American astronaut (b. 1923)
• 1998 – Robert Young, American actor (b. 1907)
• 2000 – Marc Reisner, American writer (b. 1948)
• 2001 – Steve Barton, American actor (b. 1954)
• 2001 – Sivaji Ganesan, Indian Tamil actor (b. 1927)
• 2003 – John Davies, New Zealander athlete (b. 1938)
• 2003 – Matt Jefferies, American film art director (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Long John Baldry, British blues musician (b. 1941)
• 2005 – Alfred Hayes, British wrestling announcer (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Michael Chapman, British classical bassoonist (b. 1934)
• 2006 – Mako, Japanese-born American actor (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Ta Mok, Cambodian Khmer Rouge leader (b. 1926)
• 2006 – Herbert "Herbie" Kalin, American singer (The Kalin Twins) (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist known for his work on Classical philology and semiotics (b. 1949)
• 2010 – Luis Corvalán, Chilean communist leader (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Lucian Freud, Realist painter (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Arbogast
  • Daniel (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Lawrence of Brindisi
  • Praxedes
  • Victor of Marseilles
  • July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
• National Day, celebrates the inauguration of Léopold I, the first king of the Belgians, after its independence from the Netherlands on October 4, 1830. (Belgium)
• Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)
• Summer Kazanskaya (Russia)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada
• The New York Times: On This Day

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