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
1903 – Battle of Ciudad Bolívar , a victory of federal army of Juan Vicente Gómez over forces of general Nicolás Rolando .
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 – 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)
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, singer, 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 , 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)
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, leaded 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
External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
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