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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 - Herostratus sets 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 - 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 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. The Confederate won.
1865 - In the market square of Springfield, Missouri , Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt 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, Pennsylvania stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
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.
1944 - World War II : Battle of Guam - American troops land on Guam starting the battle. It would end on August 10 .
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 .
1960 - Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected prime minister of Sri Lanka and becomes the first woman prime minister in the world.
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).
1964 - Singapore Race Riot - every year since then, Racial Harmony Day is celebrated on this day.
1969 - Neil 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 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 - The start of a four day long Libyan-Egyptian War takes place.
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 for him to become 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 are captured and later convicted and imprisoned for long terms.
2008 - Bosnian-Serb war criminal Radovan Karadžić is arrested in Serbia and is indicted by the UN's ICTY tribunal.
Births
810 - Imam Bukhari , Islamic scholar (d. 870 )
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 )
1808 - Simion Bărnuţiu , Romanian philosopher and politician (d. 1864 )
1810 - Henri Victor Regnault , French chemist (d. 1878 )
1816 - Paul Reuter , German-born British journalist and media owner (Reuters ) (d. 1899 )
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 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 - Karel Reisz , British film director (d. 2002 )
1926 - Queenie Watts , English actress (d. 1980 )
1928 - Marcel Gauthier , Canadian wrestler (d. 1998 )
1929 - Bob Orton , 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
1935 - Norbert Blüm , German politician
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
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 )
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 - Yusuf Islam , stage name was "Cat Stevens", English singer/songwriter
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
1956 - Michael Connelly , American author
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 - Jim Martin , American musician (Faith No More )
1963 - Kevin Poole , English footballer
1963 - Paulo Silva , Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
1964 - Jens Weißflog , German ski jumper
1965 - Gudni Bergsson , Icelandic footballer
1965 - Mike Bordick , American baseball player
1965 - Jovy Marcelo , Filipino racing driver (d. 1992 )
1966 - Arija Bareikis , American actress
1968 - Johnnie Barnes , American football player
1968 - Brandi Chastain , American soccer player
1968 - Lyle Odelein , Canadian hockey player
1969 - Emerson Hart , American musician (Tonic )
1969 - Klaus Graf , German racing driver
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
1972 - Shinjiro Otani , Japanese professional wrestler
1973 - Ali Landry , American model and actress
1974 - Geoff Jenkins , American baseball player
1975 - Mike Sellers , National Football League fullback
1975 - Ravindra Pushpakumara , Former Sri Lankan cricketer
1977 - Paul Casey , English golfer
1977 - Jaime Murray , British actress
1978 - Josh Hartnett , American actor
1978 - Justin Bartha , American actor
1978 - Damian Marley , Jamaican musician
1978 - Gary Teale , Scottish football player
1979 - David Carr , American football player
1979 - Tamika Catchings , American basketball player
1980 - Tailor James , Canadian model
1980 - CC Sabathia , American baseball player
1981 - Titus Bramble , English footballer
1981 - Stefan Schumacher , German cyclist
1981 - Joaquín Sánchez , Spanish footballer
1981 - Chrishell Stause , American actress
1983 - Eivør Pálsdóttir , Faroese singer
1983 - Kellen Winslow II , American football player
1984 - Paul Davis , American basketball player
1984 - Liam Ridgewell , English footballer
1985 - Von Wafer , American basketball player
1987 - AnnaLynne McCord , American actress
1988 - Chris Mitchell , Scottish footballer
1989 - Jamie Waylett , British actor
1989 - Rory Culkin , American actor
1989 - Chris Gunter , Welsh footballer
1992 - Rachael Flatt , American figure skater
Deaths
1403 - Henry Percy , English nobleman and soldier (b. ca.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 - 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 )
1948 - Arshile Gorky , Armenian-born American artist (b. 1904 )
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 )
1991 - Paul Warwick , English racing driver (b. 1969 )
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 )
Holidays and observances
Roman Catholic
External links