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 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.
- 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 Αlvarez 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.
[edit] 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, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
- 1710 Paul Mφhring, 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 tefαnik, 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 Blόm, 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 Beppe Grillo, Italian activist, blogger, comedian and actor
- 1948 Art Hindle, Canadian actor
- 1948 Snooty, the oldest known Florida manatee
- 1949 Al Hrabosky, American baseball player
- 1949 Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand musician and composer
- 1950 Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer
- 1951 Robin Williams, American comedian/actor
- 1952 John Barrasso, American politician
- 1952 Susannah Carr, Australian journalist
- 1953 Jeff Fatt, Chinese-Australian actor
- 1953 Brian Talbot, British footballer
- 1955 Howie Epstein, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1955 Henry Priestman, British keyboardist and singer
- 1955 Taco, Dutch singer
- 1955 Bιla Tarr, Hungarian film director
- 1956 Michael Connelly, American author
- 1957 Jon Lovitz, American comedian
- 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 Greg Behrendt, American comedian
- 1963 Dorce Gamalama, Indonesian singer and TV presenter
- 1963 Kevin Poole, English footballer
- 1963 Paulo Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1964 Ross Kemp, British actor
- 1964 Jens Weiίflog, German ski jumper
- 1965 Guπni 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 Banguι, 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
- 1975 Cara Dillon, Irish folk singer
- 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 Joaquνn Sαnchez, Spanish footballer
- 1981 Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
- 1981 Chrishell Stause, American actress
- 1982 Mao Kobayashi, Japanese actress
- 1983 Eivψr Pαlsdσttir, 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
- 1986 Rebecca Ferguson, English singer-songwriter
- 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
[edit] 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 Franηois 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)
- 1994 Marijac, French cartoonist (b. 1908)
- 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 kiljan, Croatian linguist known for his work on Classical philology and semiotics (b. 1949)
- 2010 Luis Corvalαn, Chilean communist leader (b. 1916)
[edit] Holidays and observances