July 21

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.

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. Five thousand people perished in Alexandria, and 45,000 more died outside the city.
• 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.
• 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 Malaga 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 (1768–1774): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca 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.
• 1902 – Willis Carrier creates the first air conditioner in Buffalo, New York
• 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.
• 1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia collides with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, causing the Columbia to sink killing 88 people.
• 1914 – The Crown council of Romania decides for the country to 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, Illinois, 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, father of Donald 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 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 – 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.
• 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).
• 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 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, 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.
• 1983 – The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location 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.
• 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.
• 2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.
• 2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

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, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
• 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (d. 1792)
• 1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French army general (d. 1853)
• 1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1864)
• 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (d. 1878)
• 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (d. 1899)
• 1851 – Sam Bass, American criminal (d. 1878)
• 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria (d. 1929)
• 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (d. 1925)
• 1858 – Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (d. 1941)
• 1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (d. 1948)
• 1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter (d. 1932)
• 1873 – Charles Schlee, Danish-American cyclist (d. 1947)
• 1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1947)
• 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (d. 1919)
• 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (d. 1967)
• 1884 – Louis Abell, American rower (d. 1962)
• 1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, screenwriter, and director (d. 1948)
• 1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower (d. 1969)
• 1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (d. 1947)
• 1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (Carter Family) (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
• 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American author and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
• 1903 – Russell Lee, American photojournalist (d. 1986)
• 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (d. 2010)
• 1908 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (d. 1980)
• 1911 – Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1977)
• 1917 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian jurist (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Isaac Stern, Polish violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
• 1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (d. 2000)
• 1922 – Ilija Ničić, Serbian sport shooter (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Kay Starr, American singer and actress
• 1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
• 1926 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
• 1926 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
• 1928 – Gene Summers, American architect (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (d. 2006)
• 1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1930 – Helen Merrill, American singer
• 1933 – John Gardner, American author and critic (d. 1982)
• 1934 – Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer
• 1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author
• 1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician
• 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
• 1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1995)
• 1938 – Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1938 – Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
• 1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
• 1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
• 1939 – John Negroponte, American diplomat, 1st Director of National Intelligence
• 1941 – Veljko Rogošić, Croatian swimmer (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (d. 2002)
• 1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor and singer (d. 2014)
• 1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic
• 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (d. 2002)
• 1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet
• 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
• 1945 – John Lowe, English darts player
• 1945 – Barry Richards, South African cricketer
• 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
• 1946 – Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
• 1946 – Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
• 1946 – Jüri Tarmak, Estonian high jumper
• 1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician
• 1948 – Snooty, American manatee
• 1948 – Beppe Grillo, Italian comedian, actor, and activist
• 1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
• 1948 – Cat Stevens, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
• 1948 – Teruzane Utada, Japanese songwriter, producer, and manager
• 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
• 1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
• 1951 – Robin Williams, American actor and producer (d. 2014)
• 1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
• 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor (The Wiggles and The Cockroaches)
• 1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
• 1954 – Jean Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – Taco, Indonesian-German singer-songwriter and producer
• 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
• 1957 – Stefan Löfven, Swedish politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian and actor
• 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1960 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
• 1960 – Veselin Matić, Serbian basketball player and coach
• 1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
• 1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Faith No More, EZ-Street, Spastik Children, and Voodoocult)
• 1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
• 1963 – Greg Behrendt, American comedian, guitarist, and author (The Reigning Monarchs)
• 1963 – Dorce Gamalama, Indonesian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
• 1963 – Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
• 1964 – Steve Collins, Irish boxer
• 1964 – Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
• 1964 – Sharon Twomey, Irish actress
• 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper
• 1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer
• 1965 – Jovy Marcelo, Filipino race car driver (d. 1992)
• 1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
• 1966 – Sarah Waters, Welsh author
• 1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 – Aditya Shrivastava, Indian actor
• 1969 – Godfrey, American comedian and actor
• 1969 – Klaus Graf, German race car driver
• 1969 – Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Tonic)
• 1970 – Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter (Fitz and The Tantrums)
• 1970 – Shawn Stasiak, American wrestler and chiropractor
• 1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
• 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
• 1971 – Nuno Markl, Portuguese comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1971 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1972 – Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist (Skillet)
• 1972 – Shinjiro Otani, Japanese wrestler
• 1973 – Ali Landry, American model and actress, Miss USA 1996
• 1973 – Elena Leonova, Russian figure skater
• 1973 – Caroline Néron, Canadian singer, actress, and fashion designer
• 1974 – Bharath, Indian actor
• 1974 – Steve Byrne, American comedian and actor
• 1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player
• 1974 – René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1975 – Christopher Barzak, American author
• 1975 – Chris Bisson, English actor
• 1975 – Cara Dillon, Northern Irish singer-songwriter (Equation)
• 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Italian cricketer
• 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
• 1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
• 1977 – Jaime Murray, English actress
• 1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
• 1978 – Anderson da Silva Gibin, Brazilian footballer
• 1978 – Josh Hartnett, American actor and producer
• 1978 – Julian Huppert, English academic and politician
• 1978 – Kyoko Iwasaki, Japanese swimmer
• 1978 – Damian Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (SuperHeavy)
• 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
• 1979 – Paul Weel, Australian race car driver
• 1980 – Really Doe, American rapper
• 1980 – Sprague Grayden, American actress
• 1980 – Justin Griffith, American football player
• 1980 – Tailor James, Canadian model
• 1980 – Sandra Laoura, French skier
• 1980 – Chris Leben, American mixed martial artist
• 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
• 1981 – Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
• 1981 – Yushin Okami, Japanese mixed martial artist
• 1981 – Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Aventura)
• 1981 – Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
• 1982 – Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
• 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese actress and journalist
• 1983 – Olamide Faison, American actor
• 1983 – Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1983 – Kellen Winslow II, American football player
• 1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
• 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
• 1985 – Vanessa Lengies, Canadian actress, singer, and dancer
• 1985 – Jéssica Sodré, Brazilian actress
• 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
• 1986 – Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
• 1986 – Livia Brito, Cuban-Mexican actress
• 1987 – Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
• 1987 – Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
• 1989 – Rory Culkin, American actor
• 1989 – Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Chris Gunter, Welsh footballer
• 1989 – Chelsie Hightower, American dancer and choreographer
• 1989 – Kirill Nesterov, Russian footballer
• 1989 – Jamie Waylett, English actor
• 1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
• 1990 – Whitney Toyloy, Swiss model, Miss Switzerland 2008
• 1991 – Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
• 1992 – Julia Beljajeva, Estonian fencer
• 1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
• 1993 – Aaron Durley, American baseball player

Deaths

• 1403 – Henry Percy, English soldier (b. 1364)
• 1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1350)
• 1688 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1610)
• 1793 – Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, French admiral, explorer, and politician (b. 1739)
• 1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1759)
• 1798 – François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (b. 1733)
• 1868 – William Bland, Australian surgeon and politician (b. 1789)
• 1878 – Sam Bass, American criminal (b. 1851)
• 1889 – Nelson Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
• 1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier and politician (b. 1833)
• 1920 – Fiammetta Wilson, British astronomer (b. 1864)
• 1934 – Hubert Lyautey, French general (b. 1854)
• 1938 – Owen Wister, American lawyer and author (b. 1860)
• 1941 – Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (b. 1872)
• 1943 – Charley Paddock, American runner (b. 1900)
• 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier, executed for role in the 20 July plot (b. 1907)
• 1946 – Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian politician, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1908)
• 1948 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1904)
• 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1907)
• 1967 – Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
• 1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor (b. 1892)
• 1968 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1878)
• 1970 – Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (b. 1907)
• 1970 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (b. 1945)
• 1972 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter (b. 1889)
• 1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1928)
• 1977 – Lee Miller, American photographer (b. 1907)
• 1982 – Dave Garroway, American journalist (b. 1913)
• 1986 – Ernest Maas, American screenwriter (b. 1892)
• 1994 – Marijac, French author and illustrator (b. 1908)
• 1997 – Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1926)
• 1998 – Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1923)
• 1998 – Robert Young, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Steve Barton, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1954)
• 2001 – Sivaji Ganesan, Indian actor and politician (b. 1927)
• 2002 – Esphyr Slobodkina, Russian-American author and illustrator (b. 1908)
• 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-American actor (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Ta Mok, Cambodian monk (b. 1926)
• 2006 – J. Madison Wright Morris, American actress (b. 1984)
• 2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
• 2010 – Luis Corvalán, Chilean politician (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Susanne Lothar, German actress (b. 1960)
• 2012 – Ali Podrimja, Albanian poet and author (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1988)
• 2013 – Thony Belizaire, Haitian photographer (b. 1955)
• 2013 – Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (b. 1981)
• 2013 – Det de Beus, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1958)
• 2013 – Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom, Colombian-French composer (b. 1971)
• 2014 – Lettice Curtis, English engineer and pilot (b. 1915)
• 2014 – Hans-Peter Kaul, German lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian engineer and politician (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Kevin Skinner, New Zealand rugby player and boxer (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Albert John Luthuli (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Arbogast
  • Daniel (Catholic Church)
  • Lawrence of Brindisi
  • Praxedes
  • Victor of Marseilles
  • July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
• Belgian 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to July 21.

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