From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
July 21 is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 163 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 356 BC - A young man called Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
- 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler.
- 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 onto the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight occurs.
- 1568 - Eighty Years' War: Battle of Jemmingen - Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau
- 1718 - 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 Léopold 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 (Confederate victory).
- 1865 - In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Dave Tutt dead in what is regarded as the first true western showdown.
- 1873 - At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American 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 stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
- 1919 The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashed 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.
- 1931 - CBS's New York City station begins broadcasting the first regular seven days a week television schedule in the U.S.
- 1944 - World War II: Battle of Guam - American troops land on Guam starting the battle (ends on August 10).
- 1954 - First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
- 1960 - Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes the first woman prime minister in the world, making her the first elected female national leader in the world (Sri Lanka).
- 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 - Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the Moon, during the Apollo 11 mission.
- 1970 - After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
- 1972 - Bloody Friday bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) around Belfast, Northern Ireland - 22 bomb explosions, 9 people killed and 130 people seriously injured.
- 1973 - In the Lillehammer affair in Norway, Israeli Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in 1972's Munich Olympics Massacre.
- 1976 - Christopher Ewart-Biggs British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
- 1977 - Start of a four day long Libyan-Egyptian War.
- 1983 - The world's lowest temperature is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2°C (−129°F).
- 1994 - Tony Blair is declared the winner of the leadership election of the British Labour Party, paving the way to him becoming Prime Minister in 1997.
- 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.
- 2002 - Telecom giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest such filing in United States history.
- 2004 - The United Kingdom government publishes Delivering Security in a Changing World, a paper detailing wide-ranging reform of the country's armed forces.
- 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 were captured, convicted and imprisoned for long terms.
[edit] Births
- 1515 - Philip Neri, Italian churchman (d. 1595)
- 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)
- 1810 - Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist (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)
- 1870 - Emil Orlik, Czech painter (d. 1932)
- 1880 - Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (d. 1919)
- 1882 - David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (d. 1967)
- 1893 - Hans Fallada, German writer (d. 1947)
- 1899 - Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
- 1899 - Ernest Hemingway, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1961)
- 1903 - Roy Neuberger, American financier
- 1908 - Harold "Jug" McSpaden, American professional golfer (d. 1996)
- 1911 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author (d. 1980)
- 1920 - Constance Dowling, American actress (d. 1969)
- 1920 - Isaac Stern, Ukrainian-born violinist (d. 2001)
- 1923 - Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1922 - Kay Starr, American singer
- 1924 - Don Knotts, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1925 - Anne Meacham, American actress
- 1926 - Paul Burke, American actor
- 1926 - Norman Jewison, Canadian film director
- 1926 - Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general
- 1926 - Queenie Watts, English actress (d. 1980)
- 1928 - Marcel Gauthier, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1929 - Bob Orton, American wrestler (d. 2006)
- 1932 - Ernie Warlick, American football player
- 1933 - John Gardner, American author (d. 1982)
- 1935 - Norbert Blüm, German politician
- 1935 - Moe Drabowsky, baseball player (d. 2006)
- 1938 - Janet Reno, 79th United States Attorney General
- 1939 - John Negroponte, 1st United States Director of National Intelligence
- 1943 - Edward Herrmann, American actor
- 1944 - Tony Scott, British film director
- 1944 - Paul Wellstone, American politician (d. 2002)
- 1945 - John Lowe, English darts player
- 1945 - Lydia Shum, Hong Kong comedian and actress (d. 2008)
- 1946 - Kenneth Starr, American lawyer
- 1948 - Ed Hinton, American sportswriter
- 1948 - Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, English singer
- 1948 - Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
- 1949 - Al Hrabosky, baseball player
- 1950 - Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer
- 1951 - Robin Williams, American comedian/actor
- 1952 - John Barrasso, American politician, junior senator from Wyoming
- 1953 - Brian Talbot, British footballer
- 1953 - Jeff Fatt, Chinese Australian actor
- 1955 - Howie Epstein, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1955 - Taco Ockerse, Indonesian singer
- 1957 - Jon Lovitz, American comedian
- 1957 - George Landress, American songwriter and music producer
- 1959 - Paul "Fatty" Vautin, Australian rugby league player
- 1960 - Lance Guest, American actor
- 1960 - Fritz Walter, German footballer
- 1961 - Amar Singh Chamkila, Punjabi folk singer
- 1961 - "Big" Jim Martin, American musician (Faith No More)
- 1963 - Kevin Poole, English footballer
- 1964 - Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper
- 1965 - Gudni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1965 - Mike Bordick, American baseball player
- 1966 - Arija Bareikis, American actress
- 1968 - Brandi Chastain, American soccer player
- 1968 - Lyle Odelein, Canadian hockey player
- 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
- 1974 - Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player
- 1975 - Mike Sellers, National Football League fullback
- 1978 - Josh Hartnett, American actor
- 1978 - Justin Bartha, American actor
- 1978 - Damian Marley, Jamacian musician
- 1978 - Gary Teale, Scottish football player
- 1979 - David Carr, American football player
- 1979 - Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
- 1980 - C. C. Sabathia, American baseball player
- 1981 - Titus Bramble, English footballer
- 1981 - Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
- 1981 - Veronica Belmont, CNET TV personality
- 1981 - Blake Lewis, American Idol finalist
- 1981 - Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish footballer
- 1983 - Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer
- 1983 - Kellen Winslow II, American football player
- 1984 - Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
- 1985 - Von Wafer, American basketball player
- 1988 - Chris Mitchell (footballer), Falkirk F.C Player
- 1989 - Jamie Waylett, British actor
- 1989 - Rory Culkin, American actor
- 1989 - Chris Gunter, Welsh footballer
- 1992 - Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
[edit] Deaths
- 1403 - Henry Percy, English soldier (killed in battle)
- 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)
- 1880 - Hiram Walden, American politician (b. 1800)
- 1889 - Nelson Dewey, American politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
- 1899 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and military officer (b. 1833)
- 1932 - Bill Gleason, late 19th century baseball player
- 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, leader of failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, by execution (b. 1907)
- 1944 - Ludwig Beck, German Chief of Staff (b. 1880)
- 1946 - Gualberto Villarroel, President of Bolivia (b. 1908)
- 1967 - Jimmie Foxx, 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, 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)
- 1982 - Dave Garroway, American television host (b. 1913)
- 1986 - Ernest Maas, American screenwriter (b. 1892)
- 1998 - Alan Shepard, astronaut (b. 1923)
- 1998 - Robert Young, American actor (b. 1907)
- 2001 - Steve Barton, American actor (b. 1954)
- 2001 - Sivaji Ganesan, South Indian Tamil actor (b. 1927)
- 2003 - John Davies, New Zealand Olympic Committee president (b. 1938)
- 2003 - Walter M. "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 - Lord Alfred Hayes, British Wrestling Announcer for WWE (b. 1928)
- 2006 - Mako, Japanese-born American actor (b. 1933)
- 2006 - Ta Mok, "The Khmer Rouge Butcher", war criminal in Democratic Kampuchea (b. 1926)
[edit] Holidays and observances
Roman Catholic
[edit] External links
