On this day: July 21

Events on July 21

• 230 Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the first pope to resign his office. Wikipedia
• 365 A large earthquake occurred near Crete, triggering a tsunami, and causing widespread destruction around the eastern Mediterranean region. Wikipedia
• 365 The Crete earthquake occurs with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands are killed. Wikipedia
• 1674 A Dutch assault on the French island of Martinique is repulsed against all odds. Wikipedia
• 1718 The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed. Wikipedia
• 1798 French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon's forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids. Wikipedia
• 1832 Signing of the treaty of Constantinople between Britain, France, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which outlines the borders of the new kingdom of Greece. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1918 World War I: An Imperial German Navy U-boat opened fire on a small convoy of barges and defending aircraft near the American town of Orleans, Massachusetts. Wikipedia
• 1919 The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people. Wikipedia
• 1925 American high-school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which forbade teaching evolution in class. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10. Wikipedia
• 1951 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505 disappears while flying from Vancouver to Tokyo. The aircraft and its 37 occupants are never found. Wikipedia
• 1954 First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Wikipedia
• 1959 NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative. Wikipedia
• 1961 Alaska Airlines Flight 779 crashes near Shemya Air Force Base in Shemya, Alaska, killing six. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1970 After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed. Wikipedia
• 1976 Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA. Wikipedia
• 1995 Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan. Wikipedia
• 2005 Four attempted bomb attacks by Islamist extremists disrupt part of London's public transport system. Wikipedia
• 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, was released and sold 15 million copies in its first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling book in history. Wikipedia
• 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama signs the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Wikipedia
• 2011 NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Wikipedia
• 2024 U.S. President Joe Biden announces he will no longer seek a second term and withdraws from the 2024 election, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as she launches her own presidential campaign. Wikipedia
• 2025 A Bangladesh Air Force Chengdu FT-7BGI crashes shortly after takeoff into Milestone School campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 35 people and injuring 173. Wikipedia

Born on July 21

• 541 Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui dynasty (died 604) Wikipedia
• 1414 Pope Sixtus IV (died 1484) Wikipedia
• 1693 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (died 1768) Wikipedia
• 1816 Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (died 1899) Wikipedia
• 1858 Maria Christina of Austria, Queen Consort of King Alfonso XII of Spain, Queen Regent of Spain (died 1929) Wikipedia
• 1858 Lovis Corinth, German painter (died 1925) Wikipedia
• 1875 Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (died 1947) Wikipedia
• 1893 Hans Fallada, German author (died 1947) Wikipedia
• 1899 Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961) Wikipedia
• 1911 Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (died 1980) Wikipedia
• 1923 Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1924 Don Knotts, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (died 2006) Wikipedia
• 1944 John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (died 2012) Wikipedia
• 1948 Cat Stevens, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia
• 1951 Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (died 2014) Wikipedia
• 1955 Béla Tarr, Hungarian film director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1957 Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden Wikipedia
• 1971 Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer Wikipedia
• 1978 Josh Hartnett, American actor Wikipedia
• 1981 Blake Lewis, American musician, American Idol contestant Wikipedia
• 1989 Juno Temple, English actress Wikipedia
• 2000 Erling Haaland, Norwegian footballer Wikipedia

Died on July 21

• 710 Li Guo'er, princess of the Tang dynasty Wikipedia
• 1425 Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1350) Wikipedia
• 1796 Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (born 1759) Wikipedia
• 1899 Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (born 1833) Wikipedia
• 1944 Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler (born 1907) Wikipedia
• 1967 Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1898) Wikipedia
• 1967 Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (born 1892) Wikipedia
• 1972 Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (born 1928) Wikipedia
• 1977 Lee Miller, American model and photographer (born 1907) Wikipedia
• 1998 Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (born 1923) Wikipedia
• 2004 Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918) Wikipedia
• 2004 Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2015 E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1931) Wikipedia
• 2023 Tony Bennett, American singer (born 1926) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

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

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “July 21” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.