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. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Sunday or Monday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Wednesday or Friday (56).
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 , which was estimated to be magnitude 8.5 or higher. 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 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.1789 – Ransacking of the Town hall by the citizens of Strasbourg .1798 – Battle of the Pyramids takes place.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-Brillié 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.1918 – U-156 Nauset Beach, in Orleans, Massachusetts .1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express 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 , 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 .1952 – The 7.3 Mw 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 government1961 – Mercury program : Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 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 .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 – July 2005 London Bombings takes place.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 at NASA 's Kennedy Space Center .2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
1620 – Jean Picard , French astronomer (d. 1682)1664 – Matthew Prior , English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (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 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)1866 – Carlos Schwabe , Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (d. 1926)1870 – Emil Orlík , Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (d. 1932)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)1885 – Jacques Feyder , Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1948)1891 – Julius Saaristo , Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (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 novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
1903 – Russell Lee , American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)1903 – Roy Neuberger , American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (d. 2010)
1908 – Jug McSpaden , American golfer and architect (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 lawyer and jurist (d. 2005)1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys , Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)1920 – Isaac Stern , Polish violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
1921 – James Cooke Brown , American sociologist and author (d. 2000)1921 – John Horsley , English actor (d. 2014)
1922 – Kay Starr , American singer and actress1922 – Mollie Sugden , English actress and singer (d. 2009)
1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus , Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate1923 – Queenie Watts , English actress and singer (d. 1980)
1924 – Rahimuddin Khan , Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan 1924 – Don Knotts , American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1926 – Paul Burke , American actor (d. 2009)1926 – Norman Jewison , Canadian actor, director, and producer
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
1931 – Sonny Clark , American pianist and composer (d. 1963)1931 – Plas Johnson , American saxophonist (B. Bumble and the Stingers and The Wrecking Crew )
1931 – Leon Schidlowsky , Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
1932 – Kaye Stevens , American singer and actress (d. 2011)1933 – John Gardner , American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1982)1934 – Chandu Borde , Indian cricketer and manager1934 – Jonathan Miller , English actor, director, and author
1935 – Norbert Blüm , German businessman and politician1935 – 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 educator1939 – Kim Fowley , American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
1939 – John Negroponte , English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
1943 – Fritz Glatz , Austrian race car driver (d. 2002)1943 – Edward Herrmann , American actor (d. 2014)
1943 – Henry McCullough , Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
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, critic, and educator1945 – Geoff Dymock , Australian cricketer
1945 – John Lowe , English darts player
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 politician1948 – Art Hindle , Canadian actor and director1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Christina Hart , American playwright and actress1949 – Hirini Melbourne , New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
1950 – Ubaldo Fillol , Argentinian footballer and coach1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer , English politician, Minister of State for Transport
1951 – Robin Williams , American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)1952 – John Barrasso , American physician and politician1953 – Jeff Fatt , Australian keyboard player and actor (The Wiggles and The Cockroaches )1953 – Brian Talbot , English footballer and manager
1955 – Taco , Indonesian-German singer-songwriter and producer1955 – Howie Epstein , American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ) (d. 2003)
1955 – Dannel Malloy , American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
1955 – Henry Priestman , English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (The Christians , It's Immaterial , and Yachts )
1955 – Béla Tarr , Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Michael Connelly , American author1957 – 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 (d. 2015)1959 – Gene Miles , Australian rugby player and sportscaster1959 – Reha Muhtar , Turkish journalist
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 businessman1963 – Greg Behrendt , American comedian, author, and guitarist (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 and actor1964 – Ross Kemp , English actor and producer
1964 – Jens Weißflog , German ski jumper and journalist
1965 – Guðni Bergsson , Icelandic footballer and lawyer1965 – Mike Bordick , American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
1966 – Arija Bareikis , American actress1966 – Sarah Waters , Welsh author and academic
1968 – Brandi Chastain , American soccer player and sportscaster1968 – Lyle Odelein , Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Godfrey , American comedian and actor1969 – 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 – Alysia Reiner , American actress and producer
1971 – Emmanuel Bangué , French long jumper1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg , English-French actress and singer
1971 – Nitzan Shirazi , Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1972 – Korey Cooper , American singer and guitarist (Skillet )1974 – Geoff Jenkins , American baseball player and coach1974 – René Reinumägi , Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
1975 – Christopher Barzak , American author and educator1975 – Cara Dillon , Irish singer-songwriter (Equation )
1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara , Sri Lankan cricketer
1975 – Mike Sellers , American football player
1977 – Paul Casey , English golfer1977 – Jaime Murray , English actress
1978 – Justin Bartha , American actor1978 – 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 (SuperHeavy )
1978 – Gary Teale , Scottish footballer
1979 – David Carr , American football player1979 – Tamika Catchings , American basketball player
1979 – Luis Ernesto Michel , Mexican footballer
1979 – Andriy Voronin , Ukrainian footballer
1980 – Justin Griffith , American football player1980 – Sandra Laoura , French skier
1980 – CC Sabathia , American baseball player
1981 – Paloma Faith , English singer-songwriter and actress1981 – Anabelle Langlois , Canadian figure skater
1981 – Joaquín Sánchez , Spanish footballer
1981 – Romeo Santos , American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Aventura )
1981 – Stefan Schumacher , German cyclist
1982 – Jason Cram , Australian swimmer1984 – Jurrick Juliana , Dutch footballer1984 – Liam Ridgewell , English footballer
1985 – Mati Lember , Estonian footballer
1985 – Von Wafer , American basketball player
1986 – Anthony Annan , Ghanaian footballer1986 – Rebecca Ferguson , English singer-songwriter
1986 – Jason Thompson , American basketball player
1987 – Peter Doocy , American journalist1987 – Bilel Mohsni , French footballer
1987 – Jesús Zavala , Mexican footballer
1988 – KB , American rapper (116 Clique )1988 – DeAndre Jordan , American basketball player
1988 – Chris Mitchell , Scottish footballer
1989 – Rory Culkin , American actor1989 – Marco Fabián , Mexican footballer
1989 – Chris Gunter , Welsh footballer
1989 – Kirill Nesterov , Russian footballer
1989 – Juno Temple , English actress
1990 – Chris Martin , English footballer1990 – Jason Roy , English cricketer
1990 – Whitney Toyloy , Swiss model, Miss Switzerland 2008
1991 – Sara Sampaio , Portuguese model1992 – Rachael Flatt , American figure skater1993 – Aaron Durley , American baseball player
1403 – Henry Percy , English soldier (b. 1364)1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos , Byzantine emperor (b. 1350)1552 – Antonio de Mendoza , Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (b. 1495)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)1798 – Anthony Perry , Irish rebel leader (b. ca. 1760)1868 – William Bland , Australian surgeon and politician (b. 1789)1878 – Sam Bass , American criminal (b. 1851)1880 – Hiram Walden , American general and politician (b. 1800)1889 – Nelson Dewey , American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll , American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1833)1920 – Fiammetta Wilson , English astronomer and educator (b. 1864)1932 – Bill Gleason , American baseball player (b. 1858)1934 – Hubert Lyautey , French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (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 and actor (b. 1900)1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg , German soldier (b. 1907)1946 – Gualberto Villarroel , Bolivian soldier and politician, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1908)1948 – Arshile Gorky , Armenian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1904)1966 – Philipp Frank , Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, Vienna Circle member (b. 1884)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 and singer (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 and sailor (b. 1889)1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck , Bhutanese king (b. 1928)
1977 – Lee Miller , American model and photographer (b. 1907)1982 – Dave Garroway , American journalist and actor (b. 1913)1991 – Paul Warwick , English race car driver (b. 1969)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)
2000 – Marc Reisner , American environmentalist and author (b. 1948)2002 – Esphyr Slobodkina , Russian-American author and illustrator (b. 1908)2003 – John Davies , English-New Zealand runner and coach (b. 1938)2004 – Jerry Goldsmith , American composer and conductor (b. 1929)2004 – Edward B. Lewis , American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
2005 – Long John Baldry , English-Canadian singer and actor (The Steampacket and Bluesology ) (b. 1941)2005 – Lord Alfred Hayes , English-American wrestler and manager (b. 1928)
2006 – Mako Iwamatsu , Japanese-American actor and singer (b. 1933)2006 – Ta Mok , Cambodian soldier and monk (b. 1926)
2006 – J. Madison Wright Morris , American actress (b. 1984)
2007 – Dubravko Škiljan , Croatian linguist and academic (b. 1949)2008 – Donald Stokes , English businessman (b. 1914)2009 – Les Lye , Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1924)2010 – Luis Corvalán , Chilean educator and politician (b. 1916)2010 – Ralph Houk , American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1919)
2010 – John E. Irving , Canadian businessman (b. 1932)
2012 – Alexander Cockburn , Scottish-American journalist and author (b. 1941)2012 – Marie Kruckel , American baseball player (b. 1924)
2012 – Ali Podrimja , Albanian poet and author (b. 1942)
2012 – James D. Ramage , American admiral and pilot (b. 1916)
2012 – Angharad Rees , English-born Welsh actress (b. 1944)
2012 – Don Wilson , English cricketer and coach (b. 1937)
2013 – Andrea Antonelli , Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1988)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 and educator (b. 1971)
2013 – Fred Taylor , American football player and coach (b. 1920)
2014 – Louise Abeita , Isleta Pueblo (Native American) writer, poet, and educator (b. 1926)2014 – Dan Borislow , American businessman, invented the magicJack (b. 1961)
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)
2015 – Robert Broberg , Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1940)2015 – E. L. Doctorow , American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1931)
2015 – Nicholas Gonzalez , American physician (b. 1947)
2015 – Czesław Marchaj , Polish-English sailor and academic (b. 1918)
2015 – Dick Nanninga , Dutch footballer (b. 1949)
2016 – Dennis Green , American football player and coach (b. 1949)
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