21st JULY ~ HiSTORY ON THiS DAY

4th century history on the 21st of July

365 AD : Tsunami devastated the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The tsunami was caused by the Crete earthquake estimated to be 8.0 on the Richter scale. 5,000 people perished in Alexandria, and 45,000 more died outside the city.

1600s / 17th century history on the 21st of July

1645 : Qing Dynasty regent Dorgon issued an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into an identical style to the Manchus.

1800s / 19th century history on the 21st of July

1831 : The 1st king of the Belgians began with the inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium.

Timeline of The Rulers of Belgium (Tempus YouTube channel video)

1865 : Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt, in what is regarded as the first western showdown, in the market square of Springfield Missouri.

1873 : The 1st successful train robbery in the American Old West was pulled off by Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang, at Adair, Iowa.

Today In History on Jesse James and the First Western Train Robbery (That Was History YouTube channel video)

1899 : Ernest Hemingway the American writer and Nobel Prize laureate was born in Oak Park, Illinois, USA (died in 1961 aged 61).

1900s / 20th century history on the 21st of July

1902 : The 1st air conditioner was created by Willis Carrier, in Buffalo, New York.

Willis Carrier – Father Of Air Conditioning, Man Cooled The World (LMT YouTube channel video)

1904 : The 1st man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land was Louis Rigolly from France, driving a 15-liter Gobron-Brille in Ostend, Belgium.

1907 : The passenger steamer SS Columbia collided with the San Pedro steam schooner, off Shelter Cove, California, and caused the Columbia to sink, killing 88 people.

1914 : The Crown council of Romania decided for their country to remain neutral in World War I.

1919 : The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, Illinois, and killed 12 people.

1925 : High school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100, in Dayton, Tennessee, during the Scopes Trial.

1925 : Sir Malcolm Campbell, father of Donald Campbell, became the 1st 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 : Claus von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators were executed in Berlin, Germany for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, during World War II.

1948 : Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam the English singer-songwriter was born Steven Demetre Georgiou in Marylebone, London, England, USA. Official website : CatStevens.com

Yusuf / Cat Stevens – Father & Son – song released in 1970 (Yusuf / Cat Stevens verified YouTube channel video) over 17 million views

1949 : The North Atlantic Treaty was ratified by the United States Senate.

1951 : Robin Williams the American actor and comedian was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA (died in 2014 aged 63).

Top 10 Funniest Robin Williams Moments We’ll Never Forget (WatchMojo.com verified YouTube channel video) over 1 million views
Koko the gorilla’s tribute to Robin Williams (KokoFlix YouTube channel video) over 17 million views
Robin Williams’ secret battle with degenerative brain disease (60 Minutes Australia verified YouTube channel video) over 1 million views

1955 : TACO the Dutch singer and entertainer was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is best known for singing Puttin’ On the Ritz in 1982 which was No.1 in 4 countries, and in the top 10 in 7 other countries around the world.  

Taco – Puttin’ On The Ritz – song released in 1982 – This video is Taco’s live performance on the ZDF Silvester-Tanzparty a German TV show in 1983 (Taco verified YouTube channel video) over 3 million views

1959 : NS Savannah, the 1st nuclear powered cargo passenger ship, was launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative.

1959 : Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” Green became the 1st African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox. 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.

1961 : Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 became the 2nd American to go into space (in a suborbital mission) during the Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission, in the Mercury program.

1964 : Ross Kemp the English actor was born in Barking, Essex, England.

Ross Meets The Taliban For The First Time (Ross Kemp Extreme World YouTube channel video) over 1 million views

1969 : Neil Armstrong & Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the 1st humans to walk on the Moon, during the Apollo 11 mission during the Space Race (note: 20th July in North America).

Relive Apollo 11’s Historic Moon Landing : Mach (NBC News verified YouTube channel video) over 900,000 views
Apollo 11 – The First Moon Walk : this is from Things You Wanna Know (National Geographic Kids verified YouTube channel video) over 300,000 views
Hear Buzz Aldrin tell the story of the first Moon landing (Science Museum verified YouTube channel video) over 1 million views

1970 : The Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed after 11 years of construction.

1981 : Paloma Faith the English singer-songwriter and actress was born in London, England. Official website : PalomaFaith.com

Paloma Faith – Only Love Can Hurt Like This ( Paloma Faith verified YouTube channel video) over 81 million views

1983 : The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).

1998 : Alan Shepard the American astronaut died due to chronic lymphocytic leukemia, aged 74 (born in 1923). He was the 2nd man in the world to travel into space, the 1st American to travel into space, and the 5th human to walk on the Moon.

Alan Shepard – Ambassador of Exploration (NASA Video YouTube channel video)
2000s / 21st century history on the 21st of July

2001 : At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people were killed and over 120 were injured when an overcrowded pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri railway station fell down in a domino effect.

2005 : Long John Baldry the English-Canadian singer died of a severe chest infection, aged 64 (born in 1941).

Long John Baldry & K McDonald Loving Feeling (video uploaded on YouTube by robbosp)

2007 : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the fastest-selling novel ever, was published. 15 million copies of the book sold in the first 24 hours of its release.

2011 : NASA’s Space Shuttle program ended with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135.

2012 : Erden Eruç completed the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

Erden Eruc: Completed first solo circumnavigation of the world by human power (Eliana Sheriff YouTube channel video)

2014 : Anja Nissen won The Voice Australia. See the full story at Azoosh

That moment when Anja Nissen became the Grand Finale Winner of The Voice Australia in 2014 (The Voice Australia verified YouTube channel video) over 800,000 views
Anja Nissen Sings Vanishing on The Voice Australia in 2014 (The Voice Australia verified YouTube channel video) over 1 million views

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This page was last updated on the 24th July 2021

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