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

Pre-1600

• 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 – The 365 Crete earthquake affected the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed.
• 905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).
• 1242 – Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.
• 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.

1601–1900

• 1645 – Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
• 1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
• 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
• 1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
• 1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon's forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
• 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.

1901–present

• 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-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
• 1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
• 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 human evolution in class and fined $100.
• 1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
• 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
• 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four fellow conspirators are executed for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
• 1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
• 1952 – The 7.3 M_w  Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
• 1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
• 1959 – NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative.
• 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.
• 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world's first female head of government
• 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 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
• 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
• 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
• 1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
• 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
• 1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
• 1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 1983 – The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
• 1990 – Taiwan's military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
• 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
• 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 Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
• 2005 – Four attempted bomb attacks by Islamist extremists disrupt part of London's public transport system.
• 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first President of Nepal.
• 2010 – President Barack Obama signs the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
• 2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
• 2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
• 2019 – 2019 Yuen Long attack or "721 incident" in Hong Kong. Triad members indiscriminately beat civilians returning from protests while police failed to take action.

Births

Pre-1600

• 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui Dynasty (died 604)
• 1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (died 1112)
• 1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (died 1484)
• 1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (died 1530)
• 1476 – Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (died 1534)
• 1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (died 1497)
• 1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (died 1609)

1601–1900

• 1616 – Anna de' Medici, Archduchess of Austria (died 1676)
• 1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (died 1682)
• 1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (died 1689)
• 1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (died 1672)
• 1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (died 1721)
• 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1768)
• 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (died 1792)
• 1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (died 1853)
• 1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (died 1864)
• 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (died 1878)
• 1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (died 1873)
• 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (died 1899)
• 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria (died 1929)
• 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (died 1925)
• 1858 – Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (died 1941)
• 1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (died 1948)
• 1866 – Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (died 1926)
• 1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (died 1932)
• 1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (died 1947)
• 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (died 1919)
• 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (died 1967)
• 1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1948)
• 1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (died 1969)
• 1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (died 1947)
• 1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (died 1996)
• 1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (died 1979)
• 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (died 1932)
• 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961)
• 1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (died 1980)

1901–present

• 1903 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (died 1986)
• 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (died 2010)
• 1908 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (died 1996)
• 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (died 1980)
• 1911 – Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (died 1988)
• 1914 – Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (died 1977)
• 1917 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (died 2005)
• 1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (died 2005)
• 1920 – Isaac Stern, Russian-American violinist and conductor (died 2001)
• 1920 – Jean Daniel, Algerian-French-Jewish journalist and author (died 2020)
• 1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (died 2000)
• 1921 – John Horsley, English actor (died 2014)
• 1921 – Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Zulu sangoma (died 2020)
• 1922 – Kay Starr, American singer (died 2016)
• 1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (died 2009)
• 1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1923 – Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (died 1980)
• 1924 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
• 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (died 2006)
• 1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (died 2009)
• 1925 – Johnny Peirson, Canadian hockey player (died 2021)
• 1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
• 1926 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (died 2013)
• 1926 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (died 2002)
• 1926 - Queen Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms.

• 1928 – Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (died 1998)
• 1929 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (died 2006)
• 1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (died 2002)
• 1930 – Helen Merrill, American singer
• 1931 – Sonny Clark, American pianist and composer (died 1963)
• 1931 – Plas Johnson, American saxophonist
• 1931 – Leon Schidlowsky, Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
• 1932 – Kaye Stevens, American singer and actress (died 2011)
• 1933 – John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, and critic (died 1982)
• 1934 – Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer and manager
• 1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author (died 2019)
• 1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician (died 2020)
• 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (died 2006)
• 1937 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (died 1990)
• 1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (died 1995)
• 1938 – Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1938 – Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General (died 2016)
• 1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
• 1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (died 2015)
• 1939 – John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
• 1943 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (died 2002)
• 1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor (died 2014)
• 1943 – Henry McCullough, Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (died 2016)
• 1943 – Robert Shrum, American author and political advisor
• 1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (died 2012)
• 1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (died 2017)
• 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (died 2002)
• 1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
• 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
• 1945 – Barry Richards, South African cricketer
• 1946 – Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
• 1946 – Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
• 1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician (died 2020)
• 1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
• 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
• 1949 – Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
• 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (died 2003)
• 1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
• 1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
• 1951 – Richard Gozney, English politician and diplomat, 30th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, 139th Governor of Bermuda
• 1951 – Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (d. 2014)
• 1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
• 1952 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian economist
• 1953 – Eric Bazilian, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer
• 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor
• 1953 – Bernie Fraser, New Zealand rugby player
• 1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
• 1955 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (died 2003)
• 1955 – Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
• 1955 – Henry Priestman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
• 1955 – Taco, Indonesian-born Dutch singer and entertainer
• 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
• 1957 – Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1958 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2015)
• 1959 – Gene Miles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
• 1959 – Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
• 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1960 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (died 1988)
• 1960 – Veselin Matić, Serbian basketball player and coach
• 1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
• 1961 – Morris Iemma, Australian politician, 40th Premier of New South Wales
• 1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
• 1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
• 1963 – Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
• 1964 – Steve Collins, Irish boxer and actor
• 1964 – Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
• 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper and journalist
• 1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer and lawyer
• 1965 – Mike Bordick, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
• 1966 – Sarah Waters, Welsh author
• 1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Aditya Srivastava, Indian actor
• 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – Godfrey, American comedian and actor
• 1969 – Klaus Graf, German race car driver
• 1969 – Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1969 – Isabell Werth, German equestrian
• 1970 – Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
• 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
• 1971 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (died 2014)
• 1972 – Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist
• 1972 – Catherine Ndereba, Kenyan marathon runner
• 1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player and coach
• 1974 – René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1975 – Christopher Barzak, American author and educator
• 1975 – Cara Dillon, Irish singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
• 1976 – Jaime Murray, English actress
• 1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
• 1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
• 1978 – Anderson da Silva Gibin, Brazilian footballer
• 1978 – Josh Hartnett, American actor
• 1978 – Julian Huppert, English academic and politician
• 1978 – Damian Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer
• 1978 – Gary Teale, Scottish footballer
• 1979 – David Carr, American football player
• 1979 – Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
• 1979 – Luis Ernesto Michel, Mexican footballer
• 1979 – Andriy Voronin, Ukrainian footballer
• 1980 – Justin Griffith, American football player
• 1980 – Sandra Laoura, French skier
• 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
• 1980 – Yvonne Sampson, Australian journalist and sportscaster
• 1981 – Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
• 1981 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
• 1982 – Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
• 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (died 2017)
• 1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
• 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
• 1985 – Mati Lember, Estonian footballer
• 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
• 1986 – Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
• 1986 – Rebecca Ferguson, American-English singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Jason Thompson, American basketball player
• 1987 – Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
• 1987 – Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – KB, American rapper
• 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
• 1988 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer (died 2016)
• 1989 – Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Juno Temple, English actress
• 1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
• 1990 – Jason Roy, English cricketer
• 1990 – Erislandy Savón, Cuban amateur heavyweight boxer
• 1990 – Franck Elemba, Congolese athlete
• 1991 – Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
• 1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
• 1996 – Mikael Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 658 – K'an II, Mayan ruler (born 588)
• 710 – Li Guo'er, princess of the Tang dynasty
• 710 – Wei, empress of the Tang Dynasty
• 710 – Shangguan Wan'er, Chinese poet (born 664)
• 987 – Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
• 1259 – Gojong of Goryeo
• 1403 – Henry Percy, English soldier (born 1364)
• 1403 – Sir Walter Blount, English soldier, standard-bearer of Henry IV
• 1403 – Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford, English soldier
• 1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1350)
• 1552 – Antonio de Mendoza, Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (born 1495)

1601–1900

• 1688 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1610)
• 1793 – Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, French admiral, explorer, and politician (born 1739)
• 1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (born 1759)
• 1798 – François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (born 1733)
• 1798 – Anthony Perry, Irish rebel leader (born ca. 1760)
• 1868 – William Bland, Australian surgeon and politician (born 1789)
• 1878 – Sam Bass, American outlaw (born 1851)
• 1880 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (born 1800)
• 1889 – Nelson Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (born 1813)
• 1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (born 1833)

1901–present

• 1920 – Fiammetta Wilson, English astronomer and educator (born 1864)
• 1928 – Ellen Terry, English actress (born 1847)
• 1932 – Bill Gleason, American baseball player (born 1858)
• 1938 – Owen Wister, American lawyer and author (born 1860)
• 1941 – Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (born 1872)
• 1943 – Charley Paddock, American runner and actor (born 1900)
• 1943 – Louis Vauxcelles, French Jewish art critic (born 1870)
• 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier (born 1907)
• 1946 – Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian soldier and politician, 45th President of Bolivia (born 1908)
• 1948 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (born 1904)
• 1952 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (born 1856)
• 1966 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, Vienna Circle member (born 1884)
• 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1907)
• 1967 – Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1898)
• 1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (born 1892)
• 1968 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (born 1878)
• 1970 – Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (born 1907)
• 1970 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (born 1945)
• 1972 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (born 1889)
• 1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (born 1928)
• 1977 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (born 1907)
• 1982 – Dave Garroway, American journalist and actor (born 1913)
• 1991 – Paul Warwick, English race car driver (born 1969)
• 1994 – Marijac, French author and illustrator (born 1908)
• 1997 – Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian conductor and composer (born 1926)
• 1998 – Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (born 1923)
• 1998 – Robert Young, American actor and singer (born 1907)
• 2000 – Marc Reisner, American environmentalist and author (born 1948)
• 2002 – Esphyr Slobodkina, Russian-American author and illustrator (born 1908)
• 2003 – John Davies, English-New Zealand runner and coach (born 1938)
• 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (born 1929)
• 2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
• 2005 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer and actor (born 1941)
• 2005 – Lord Alfred Hayes, English-American wrestler and manager (born 1928)
• 2006 – Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-American actor and singer (born 1933)
• 2006 – Ta Mok, Cambodian soldier and monk (born 1926)
• 2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist and academic (born 1949)
• 2008 – Donald Stokes, English businessman (born 1914)
• 2010 – Luis Corvalán, Chilean educator and politician (born 1916)
• 2010 – Ralph Houk, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1919)
• 2010 – John E. Irving, Canadian businessman (born 1932)
• 2012 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (born 1941)
• 2012 – Marie Kruckel, American baseball player (born 1924)
• 2012 – Ali Podrimja, Albanian poet and author (born 1942)
• 2012 – James D. Ramage, American admiral and pilot (born 1916)
• 2012 – Angharad Rees, English-born Welsh actress (born 1944)
• 2012 – Don Wilson, English cricketer and coach (born 1937)
• 2013 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (born 1988)
• 2013 – Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (born 1981)
• 2013 – Det de Beus, Dutch field hockey player (born 1958)
• 2013 – Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom, Colombian-French composer and educator (born 1971)
• 2013 – Fred Taylor, American football player and coach (born 1920)
• 2014 – Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo (Native American) writer, poet, and educator (born 1926)
• 2014 – Dan Borislow, American businessman, invented the magicJack (born 1961)
• 2014 – Lettice Curtis, English engineer and pilot (born 1915)
• 2014 – Hans-Peter Kaul, German lawyer and judge (born 1943)
• 2014 – Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian engineer and politician (born 1938)
• 2014 – Kevin Skinner, New Zealand rugby player and boxer (born 1927)
• 2015 – Robert Broberg, Swedish singer-songwriter (born 1940)
• 2015 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1931)
• 2015 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American physician (born 1947)
• 2015 – Czesław Marchaj, Polish-English sailor and academic (born 1918)
• 2015 – Dick Nanninga, Dutch footballer (born 1949)
• 2016 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (born 1949)
• 2017 – John Heard, American film and television actor (born 1946)
• 2018 – Alene Duerk, U.S. Navy first female admiral (born 1920)
• 2020 – Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress (born 1930)
• 2020 – Andrew Mlangeni, South African political activist (born 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Albert John Luthuli (Episcopal Church)
  • Arbogast
  • Barhadbesciabas
  • Carlos of Brazil (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church)
  • Daniel (Catholic Church)
  • Lawrence of Brindisi
  • Praxedes
  • Victor of Marseilles
  • July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
• Belgian National Day (Belgium)
• Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)
• Summer Kazanskaya (Russia)

External links

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on July 21". OnThisDay.com.
• "Today in Canadian History". Canada Channel.