July 21 facts for kids

July 21 is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 163 days remain until the end of the year. Did you know that many important things have happened on July 21st throughout history? From ancient times to today, this date has seen big events, the birth of famous people, and even some sad goodbyes. Let's explore some of the most interesting moments that have taken place on this day!

Historical Events on July 21

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 356 BC – The amazing Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was sadly destroyed by fire.
• 230 – Pope Pontian became the eighteenth pope. He was the first pope to step down from his role after being sent away to Sardinia.
• 285 – The Roman Emperor Diocletian chose Maximian to be his co-ruler, sharing power in the Roman Empire.
• 365 – A huge earthquake hit the Greek island of Crete. It caused a giant tsunami that crashed into the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria, and many thousands of people lost their lives.
• 905 – King Berengar I of Italy and his army from Hungary defeated the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III was captured and blinded for breaking a promise.
• 1242 – The Battle of Taillebourg took place. King Louis IX of France ended a rebellion by his powerful nobles, including Henry III of England.
• 1403 – The Battle of Shrewsbury happened in England. King Henry IV of England won against rebels in a major fight.
• 1545 – French soldiers landed on the Isle of Wight for the first time during an invasion.
• 1568 – During the Eighty Years' War, the Battle of Jemmingen saw Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeat Louis of Nassau.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1645 – A new rule was made in China by the Qing dynasty regent Dorgon. All Han Chinese men had to shave the front of their heads and braid the rest of their hair into a long ponytail, just like the Manchus.
• 1656 – The Raid on Málaga happened during a war between England and Spain.
• 1674 – A Dutch attack on the French island of Martinique was surprisingly stopped.
• 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz was signed, ending a conflict between the Ottoman Empire, Austria, and the Republic of Venice.
• 1774 – The Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) ended when Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca.
• 1798 – During the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, Napoleon's army defeated an Ottoman and Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
• 1831 – Leopold I of Belgium became the first king of the Belgians.
• 1861 – The American Civil War saw its first major battle, the First Battle of Bull Run, near Manassas Junction, Virginia. It ended with a victory for the Confederate army.
• 1865 – In Springfield, Missouri, the famous Wild Bill Hickok had a shootout with Davis Tutt, which is seen as the first classic "western showdown."
• 1873 – In Adair, Iowa, the outlaw Jesse James and his gang carried out the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
• 1877 – After riots by railroad workers and the deaths of nine workers in Baltimore, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, started a sympathy strike that was met with force by the state militia.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1904 – Louis Rigolly from France became the first person to drive a car over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on land. He did it in Belgium.
• 1907 – The passenger ship SS Columbia sank after hitting another ship off California, and 88 people died.
• 1919 – The Wingfoot Air Express airship crashed into a building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
• 1920 – The "Belfast Pogrom" began in Ireland, leading to two years of violence and many Catholic workers being forced out of their jobs.
• 1925 – The famous Scopes Trial took place in Dayton, Tennessee. High school teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching human evolution and fined.
• 1925 – Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive a car over 150 miles per hour (241 km/h) on land at Pendine Sands in Wales.
• 1936 – During the Spanish Civil War, a group called the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia was formed, creating an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.
• 1944 – World War II: American troops landed on Guam, starting the Battle of Guam, which lasted until August 10.
• 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four others were executed for trying to assassinate Adolf Hitler in the July 20 plot.
• 1949 – The United States Senate approved the North Atlantic Treaty, which created NATO.
• 1952 – A strong earthquake hit Southern California, killing 12 people and injuring hundreds.
• 1954 – The Geneva Conference divided Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
• 1959 – The NS Savannah, the first cargo-passenger ship powered by nuclear energy, was launched. It was a symbol of Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" idea.
• 1959 – Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green became the first African-American player for the Boston Red Sox, the last team in Major League Baseball to have a Black player.
• 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world's first female head of government.
• 1961 – Mercury program: Astronaut Gus Grissom became the second American to travel into space in a suborbital mission aboard Liberty Bell 7.
• 1964 – A series of racial riots broke out in Singapore. Over six weeks, 23 people died and 454 were injured.
• 1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. He was followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
• 1970 – After 11 years of building, the huge Aswan High Dam in Egypt was finished.
• 1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, agents from Mossad (Israel's intelligence agency) mistakenly killed a waiter they thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
• 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, was killed by the Provisional IRA.
• 1977 – The four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War began.
• 1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, became the first Native American to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 1983 – The lowest temperature ever recorded in a place where people live was measured at Vostok Station, Antarctica: -89.2°C (-128.6°F).
• 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army of China began firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
• 2001 – In Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people died and over 120 were injured when a pedestrian bridge became too crowded after a fireworks show.
• 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav was declared the first President of Nepal.
• 2010 – President Barack Obama signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law to change how Wall Street and banks are regulated.
• 2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ended with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on its final mission, STS-135.
• 2012 – Erden Eruç finished the first solo human-powered trip around the world.
• 2023 – The "Barbenheimer" event began as two very different major movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer, were released on the same day. Audiences loved both films, creating a unique double feature.

Famous Births on July 21

Historical Figures (Pre-1900)

• 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, a powerful emperor of the Sui dynasty in China.
• 1030 – Kyansittha, a King of Burma.
• 1414 – Pope Sixtus IV.
• 1476 – Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, an Italian duke.
• 1620 – Jean Picard, a French astronomer.
• 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, a British Prime Minister.
• 1816 – Paul Reuter, a German-English journalist who founded the famous news agency Reuters.
• 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria, a Queen of Spain.
• 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, a famous American novelist and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Modern Personalities (1901–Present)

• 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian author and thinker known for his ideas about media.
• 1920 – Isaac Stern, a celebrated Russian-American violinist.
• 1924 – Don Knotts, a beloved American actor and comedian.
• 1926 – Norman Jewison, a Canadian director and producer.
• 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), a popular English singer-songwriter.
• 1951 – Robin Williams, a highly acclaimed American actor and comedian.
• 1953 – Jeff Fatt, an Australian musician and actor, known from The Wiggles.
• 1957 – Stefan Löfven, a Swedish politician who became Prime Minister of Sweden.
• 1957 – Jon Lovitz, an American comedian and actor.
• 1964 – Ross Kemp, an English actor and producer.
• 1968 – Brandi Chastain, a famous American soccer player.
• 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, an English-French actress and singer.
• 1978 – Josh Hartnett, an American actor.
• 1978 – Damian Marley, a Jamaican singer-songwriter.
• 1981 – Paloma Faith, an English singer-songwriter and actress.
• 1981 – Joaquín, a Spanish footballer.
• 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, an American basketball player.
• 1989 – Rory Culkin, an American actor.
• 1989 – Juno Temple, an English actress.
• 2000 – Erling Haaland, a very popular Norwegian footballer.

Notable Deaths on July 21

Historical Figures (Pre-1900)

• 710 – Shangguan Wan'er, a famous Chinese poet.
• 1403 – Henry Percy, a well-known English soldier.
• 1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, a Byzantine emperor.
• 1796 – Robert Burns, a beloved Scottish poet and songwriter.
• 1878 – Sam Bass, an American outlaw.

Modern Personalities (1901–Present)

• 1928 – Ellen Terry, a famous English actress.
• 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, a German soldier involved in a plot against Hitler.
• 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, a legendary American baseball player.
• 1967 – Albert Lutuli, a South African academic and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1967 – Basil Rathbone, a South African-American actor.
• 1977 – Lee Miller, an American model and photographer.
• 1998 – Alan Shepard, a pioneering American astronaut and pilot.
• 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, a famous American composer.
• 2011 – Elliott Erwitt, a French-American photographer.
• 2014 – Dan Borislow, an American businessman who invented the magicJack.
• 2015 – E. L. Doctorow, an American novelist and short story writer.
• 2017 – John Heard, an American film and television actor.
• 2018 – Alene Duerk, the first female admiral in the U.S. Navy.
• 2023 – Tony Bennett, a legendary American singer.

Holidays and Observances

• Belgian National Day (Belgium)
• Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
• Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)

See also

In Spanish: 21 de julio para niños