21 July

Events

Pre-1600

*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. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the first pope to resign his office.
* 285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
*365 – The 365 Crete earthquake affected the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed.
* 905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).
*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.

1601–1900

*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.
*1674 – A Dutch assault on the French island of Martinique is repulsed against all odds.
*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.
*1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon's forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
*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.

1901–present

*1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
*1907 – The passenger steamer SS ''Columbia'' sinks after colliding with the steam schooner ''San Pedro'' off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
*1919 – The dirigible '' Wingfoot Air Express'' crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
*1920 – The Belfast Pogrom begins with the one day removal of thousands of Belfast shipyard, factory and mill workers from their jobs.
*1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching human evolution in class and fined $100.
* 1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of .
*1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.
*1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
* 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four fellow conspirators are executed for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
*1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
*1952 – The 7.3 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 – , 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 government
*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).
* 1961 – Alaska Airlines Flight 779 crashes near Shemya Air Force Base in Shemya, Alaska killing six.
*1964 – A series of racial riots break out in Singapore. In the next six weeks, 23 die with 454 others injured.
*1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
*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 Lillehammer, Norway, 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.
*1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
*1983 – The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at .
*1990 – Taiwan's military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat '' Min Ping Yu No. 5540'' for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
*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 – Four attempted bomb attacks by Islamist extremists disrupt part of London's public transport system.
*2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first President of Nepal.
*2010 – President Barack Obama signs the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
*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.
*2019 – Yuen Long attack or "721 incident" in Hong Kong. Triad members indiscriminately beat civilians returning from protests while police failed to take action.

Births

Pre-1600

* 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui Dynasty (d. 604)
*1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (d. 1112)
*1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484)
*1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (d. 1530)
*1476 – Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (d. 1534)
* 1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1497)
*1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (d. 1609)

1601–1900

*1616 – Anna de' Medici, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1676)
*1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
*1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (d. 1689)
*1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (d. 1672)
*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)
*1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1873)
*1816 – Paul Reuter (d. 1899)
*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)
*1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (d. 1996)
*1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
*1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
* 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
*1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (d. 1980)

1901–present

*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, Russian-American violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
* 1920 – Jean Daniel, Algerian-French-Jewish journalist and author (d. 2020)
*1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (d. 2000)
* 1921 – John Horsley, English actor (d. 2014)
* 1921 – Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Zulu sangoma (d. 2020)
*1922 – Kay Starr, American singer (d. 2016)
* 1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (d. 2009)
*1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1923 – Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (d. 1980)
* 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
*1925 – Johnny Peirson, Canadian hockey player (d. 2021)
*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 (d. 2022)
* 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
* 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 manager
* 1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author (d. 2019)
*1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician (d. 2020)
* 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
*1937 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (d. 1990)
*1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1995)
* 1938 – Anton Kuerti, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General (d. 2016)
*1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
* 1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
* 1939 – John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
*1942 – Mallikarjun Kharge, Indian politician, 98th President of the Indian National Congress
*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)
* 1943 – Robert Shrum, American author and political advisor
*1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (d. 2012)
* 1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (d. 2017)
* 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (d. 2002)
*1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
* 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
* 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 politician (d. 2020)
*1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
* 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
*1949 – Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
* 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
*1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
* 1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
*1951 – Richard Gozney, English politician and diplomat, 30th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, 139th Governor of Bermuda
* 1951 – Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (d. 2014)
*1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
* 1952 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian economist
*1953 – Eric Bazilian, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer
* 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor
* 1953 – Bernie Fraser, New Zealand rugby player
* 1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
*1955 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
* 1955 – Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
* 1955 – Taco, Indonesian-b. Dutch singer and entertainer
* 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
*1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
*1957 – 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 league player and sportscaster
* 1959 – Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
* 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league 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 – Morris Iemma, Australian politician, 40th Premier of New South Wales
* 1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
*1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
* 1963 – Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
*1964 – Steve Collins, Irish boxer and actor
* 1964 – Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
* 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper and journalist
*1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer and lawyer
* 1965 – Mike Bordick, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
*1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
* 1966 – Sarah Waters, Welsh author
*1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
* 1968 – Aditya Srivastava, Indian actor
* 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
*1969 – Godfrey, American comedian and actor
* 1969 – Klaus Graf, German race car driver
* 1969 – Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
* 1969 – Isabell Werth, German equestrian
*1970 – Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter
*1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
* 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
* 1971 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
*1972 – Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist
* 1972 – Catherine Ndereba, Kenyan marathon runner
*1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player and coach
* 1974 – René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
*1975 – Christopher Barzak, American author and educator
*1975 – David Dastmalchian, American actor
* 1975 – Cara Dillon, Irish singer-songwriter
* 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
* 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
*1976 – Jaime Murray, English actress
*1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
*1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
* 1978 – 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
* 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
*1980 – Justin Griffith, American football player
* 1980 – Sandra Laoura, French skier
* 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
* 1980 – Yvonne Sampson, Australian journalist and sportscaster
*1981 – Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
* 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
* 1981 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
* 1981 – Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter
* 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
*1982 – Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
* 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (d. 2017)
*1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
* 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
* 1985 – Mati Lember, Estonian footballer
* 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
*1986 – Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
* 1986 – Rebecca Ferguson, American-English singer-songwriter
* 1986 – Jason Thompson, American basketball player
*1987 – Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
* 1987 – Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
*1988 – KB, American rapper
* 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
* 1988 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer (d. 2016)
*1989 – Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
* 1989 – Juno Temple, English actress
*1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
* 1990 – Jason Roy, English cricketer
* 1990 – Erislandy Savón, Cuban amateur heavyweight boxer
* 1990 – Franck Elemba, Congolese athlete
*1991 – Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
*1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
*1996 – Mikael Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian footballer
*1998 – Marie Bouzkova, Czech tennis player
*2000 – Erling Haaland, Norwegian footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 658 – K'an II, Mayan ruler (b. 588)
* 710 – Li Guo'er, princess of the Tang dynasty
* 710 – Wei, empress of the Tang Dynasty
* 710 – Shangguan Wan'er, Chinese poet (b. 664)
* 987 – Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
*1259 – Gojong of Goryeo
*1403 – Henry Percy, English soldier (b. 1364)
* 1403 – Sir Walter Blount, English soldier, standard-bearer of Henry IV
* 1403 – Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford, English soldier
*1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1350)
*1552 – Antonio de Mendoza, Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (b. 1495)

1601–1900

*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 outlaw (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)

1901–present

*1920 – Fiammetta Wilson, English astronomer and educator (b. 1864)
*1928 – Ellen Terry, English actress (b. 1847)
*1932 – Bill Gleason, American baseball player (b. 1858)
*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)
* 1943 – Louis Vauxcelles, French Jewish art critic (b. 1870)
*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)
*1952 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (b. 1856)
*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, 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 (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)
*2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
*2008 – Donald Stokes, English businessman (b. 1914)
*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-b. 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)
*2017 – John Heard, American film and television actor (b. 1946)
*2018 – Alene Duerk, U.S. Navy first female admiral (b. 1920)
*2020 – Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress (b. 1930)
* 2020 – Andrew Mlangeni, South African political activist (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

* Christian feast day:
** Albert John Luthuli ( Episcopal Church)
** Arbogast
** Barhadbesciabas
** Carlos of Brazil (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church)
** Daniel (Catholic Church)
** Lawrence of Brindisi
** Praxedes
** Victor of Marseilles
** July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
* Belgian National Day (Belgium)
* Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)
* Summer Kazanskaya (Russia)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:July 21
Days of the year
July