On this day in HIstory - Jul 21

• 1298 - Battle of Falkirk (1298): England's King, Edward Longshank, defeats William Wallace's Scottish rebels
• 1403 - Battle of Shrewsbury: England's King Henry IV defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England
• 1414 - Pope Sixtus IV was born (d. 1484)
• 1425 - Manuel II Palaeologus dies (b. 1350). Byzantine Emperor.
• 1515 - Saint Philip Neri was born (d. 26 May 1595). Italian priest and mystic.
• 1542 - Paul III, by the Bull "Licet ab initio", of 21 July, 1542, declared the Roman Inquisition to be the supreme tribunal for the whole world; and he assigned to it six cardinals. Alleged heretics were tried and tortured in an effort to stem the spread of the Reformation.
• 1568 - Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau
• 1613 - Michael Romanov was crowned tsar of Russia, founding the Romanov dynasty.
• 1615 - Salvator Rosa was born in Naples (d. 1673). Italian painter.
• 1620 - Jean Picard was born (d. 12 Jul 1682). French astronomer. Picard is regarded as the founder of modern astronomy in France.
• 1664 - Matthew Prior was born (d. 1721). English poet and diplomat.
• 1667 - The Treaties of Breda signed, ended the second Anglo-Dutch war after a Dutch fleet has broken the chain in England's Medway River, reached Chatham, and captured the flagship Royal Charles.
• 1694 - Georg Brandt was born (d. 29 Apr 1768). Swedish chemist who was the first person to discover a metal unknown in ancient times which he isolated and named cobalt (1730).
• 1718 - Treaty of Passarowitz signed. The Turkish threat to Europe was eliminated with the signing of the Treaty of Passarowitz between Austria, Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
• 1773 - Clemente XIV dissolve a Companhia de Jesus, por meio da bula «Dominus ac Redemptor». Será restaurada em 1814 por Pio VII.
• 1774 - Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji ending the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774.
• 1796 - Robert Burns dies (b. 1759). Scottish poet.
• 1798 - Egyptians defeated in the Battle of the Pyramids: Napoleon's Army of Egypt used a new military tactic, the massive divisional square, to defeat the Egyptian forces of Murad Bey this day in 1798 at the Battle of the Pyramids during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.
• 1810 - Henri Victor Regnault was born (d. 19 Jan 1878). French chemist and physicist noted for his work on the properties of gases.
• 1816 - No "Congreso de Tucumán", na Argentina, fica solenemente declarada a independência das Províncias Unidas do Rio da Prata.
• 1817 - Sir John Gilbert was born (d. 10 May 1897). English painter and illustrator.
• 1822 - Agustín Iturbide é coroado imperador do México, passando a ter a alcunha Agustín I.
• 1831 - Belgium became independent as Leopold I of Belgium, was proclaimed King of the Belgians.
• 1853 -Central Park in New York City was officially born on this day when the State legislature authorized the City to buy more than 800 acres. The enormous park was designed by America's most famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted
• 1856 - Louise Blanchard Bethune was born (d. 18 Dec 1913). American architect
• 1858 - Lovis Corinth was born (d. 12 Jul 1925). Russian-born German Impressionist painter and graphic artist.
• 1861 - American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run - At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins (Confederate victory).
• 1865 - In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots Dave Tutt dead in what is regarded as the first true western showdown.
• 1870 - Emil Orlik was born (d. 1932). Czech painter and graphic artist.
• 1870 - Josef Strauss dies (b. 1827). Austrian composer.
• 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 9 rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
• 1881 - George Frederick Dick was born (d. 10 Oct 1967). American physician and pathologist who, with his wife, Gladys Henry Dick, isolated the hemolytic streptococcus that was the cause of, and developed an immunization to treat, the dangerous scarlet fever (1924).
• 1888 - Nascido em 13 de Junho de 1888, Fernando Pessoa foi baptizado neste dia.
• 1893 - Hans Fallada was born (d. 1947). German writer.
• 1897 - The Tate Gallery opened in England.
• 1899 - Hart Crane was born in Garrettsville, Ohio(d. 1932). American poet.
• 1899 - Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois (d. 2 Jul 1961). American Nobel Prize-winning (1955) novelist and short story writer.
• 1899 - Robert G. Ingersoll dies (b. 1833). American political leader and orator, atheist, American Civil War Colonel.
• 1902 - Fundado o Fluminense Football Club, primeiro clube de futebol do Rio de Janeiro
• 1903 - Roy Neuberger was born. American financier and art collector.
• 1904 - After 13 years of work, the 4,607-mile Trans-Siberian railway was completed and opened up Siberia to large-scale colonization
• 1911 - Marshall McLuhan was born (d. 1980). Canadian author.
• 1920 - Isaac Stern was born (d. 2001). Ukrainian violinist.
• 1920 - C.Anton Nieuwenhuys was born. Dutch artist
• 1921 - Billy Taylor was born. Jazz pianist.
• 1922 - Djemal Pasha, dictator of Turkey, was murdered.
• 1923 - Rudolph A. Marcus was born. Canadian-born American chemist, winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on the theory of electron-transfer reactions in chemical systems
• 1924 - Don Knotts was born. American Emmy Award-winning actor
• 1925 - Anne Meacham, was born. Actress
• 1925 -"Monkey Trial": In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
• 1926 - Norman Jewison was born. Film director.
• 1926 - Washington Roebling dies (b. 26 May 1837). Washington Augustus Roebling was an engineer, who completed the Brooklyn Bridge started by his late father, John Roebling.
• 1931 - CBS's New York City station begins broadcasting the first regular seven days a week television schedule in the U. S.
• 1932 - Ernie Warlick was born. American football player
• 1933 - John Gardner was born (d. 1982). American author.
• 1934 - Américo Amorim was born. Portuguese industrialist.
• 1935 - Norbert Blüm was born. German politician
• 1938 - Janet Reno was born. United States Attorney General
• 1938 - Owen Wister dies (b. 1860). American author.
• 1938 - É firmado na Argentina um tratado de paz entre a Bolívia e o Paraguai, que pôs fim a Guerra do Chaco.
• 1940 - João Perry was born. Portuguese actor.
• 1941 - Martin Bandier was born. Music publisher.
• 1941 - Diogo Freitas do Amaral was born . Portuguese politician.
• 1942 - Patricia Elliot was born. Actress (''One Life To Live'')
• 1943 - Edward Herrmann was born. Actor
• 1943 - Charlie Paddock dies (b. 1900). American athlete.
• 1944 - World War II: Battle of Guam - American troops land on Guam starting the battle (ends on August 10).
• 1944 - Tony Scott was born. Film director.
• 1944 - American forces landed on Guam during World War II.
• 1944 - Paul Wellstone was born (d. 2002). U.S. Senator from Minnesota.
• 1945 - Leigh Lawson was born. English actor.
• 1945 - João Carlos Craveiro Lopes dies (b. 1871). Portuguese general and militar.
• 1946 - Morre enforcado, na Praça Maior da Paz, o ex-presidente boliviano Gualberto Villarroel.
• 1947 - Wendell Burton was born in San Antonio, Texas. Actor.
• 1948 - Ed Hinton was born. Sportswriter
• 1948 - Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) was born. English singer- songwriter.
• 1948 - Art Hindle was born. Actor
• 1948 - Garry Trudeau was born. Cartoonist.
• 1948 - David Wark Griffith dies (b. 1875). American film director.
• 1949 - The U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.
• 1950 - Ubaldo Fillol was born. Argentinian football player (goalkeeper)
• 1951 - Robin Williams was born. American comedian.
• 1951 - O general Craveiro Lopes (n. em Lisboa a 12 de Abril de 1894 e faleceu também em Lisboa a 2 de Setembro de 1964), é eleito Presidente da Republica - Portugal.
• 1954 - First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. / Ficam firmados os acordos de Genebra sobre a divisão da Indochina. Com isso, foram criados os territórios oficiais de Laos, Camboja e Vietname.
• 1957 - Jon Lovitz was born. American comedian.
• 1960 - Ceilan (now Sri Lanka) - Sirimavo_Bandaranaike (b. 1916) became the first woman to be Prime Minister. In 1972 converted Ceilan into Republic of Sri Lanka.
• 1960 - Lance Guest was born. American actor.
• 1960 - Fritz Walter was born. German footballer
• 1961 - Mercury program: Gus Grissom piloting the Mercury 4 capsule "Liberty Bell 7" becomes the second American to go into orbit around the Earth.
• 1962 - Wesley Snipes was born. American actor.
• 1963 - Pope Paul VI elected by College of Cardinals.
• 1967 - Jimmie Foxx dies (b. 1907). Baseball Hall of Famer.
• 1967 - Basil Rathbone dies (b. 1892). English actor.
• 1967 - Albert John Luthuli, president of the African National Congress (1952–60) and the first African to be awarded a Nobel Prize for Peace (1960), died after being struck by a train.
• 1968 - Ruth St. Denis dies (b. 1878). Dancer, choreographer.
• 1968 - Brandi Chastain American soccer player
• 1968 - Lyle Odelein was born. Hockey player.
• 1969 - Morte do pintor português Manuel D'Assumpção
• 1970 - Bob Kalsu dies (b. 1945). American football player.
• 1970 - Mikhail Gerasimov dies (b. 1907). Russian anthropologist and sculptor.
• 1970 - After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
• 1972 - Ralph Craig dies (b. 1889). American athlete.
• 1972 - Paul Brandt was born. Country singer
• 1976 - Christopher Ewart-Biggs British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland is assassinated by the Provisional IRA
• 1978 - Josh Hartnett was born. Actor.
• 1978 - Brad Mates was born. Country singer (Emerson Drive).
• 1978 - Através de um golpe militar, o general Pereda assume a presidência da Bolívia.
• 1979 - David Carr, was born. American football player
• 1980 - É assassinado, em Paris, o ex-primeiro-ministro da Síria, Salah Eddin Bitar.
• 1981 - O turco Ali Agca, que tentou matar o Papa João Paulo II, é condenado à prisão perpétua por um júri de Roma.
• 1982 - Dave Garroway dies (b. 1913). American television host.
• 1983 - Kellen Winslow Jr. was born. American football player1983 - Eivør Pálsdóttir, was born. Faroese singer and composer.
• 1983 - The world's lowest recorded temperature, -128.6 °F (-89.2 °C), was measured at Vostok Station, Antarctica.
• 1984 - In Jackson, Michigan, a factory robot crushes a worker against a safety bar in apparently the first robot-related death in the United States.
• 1985 - Vanessa Lengies was born. Actress (''American Dreams'')
• 1986 - Virginia Hewitt actress (Carol-Space Patrol), dies at 60
• 1989 - Mike Tyson TKOs Carl "the Truth" Williams in 1:33 of first round.
• 1990 - Goodwill Games opens in Seattle, Washington
• 1990 - Morre o cineasta soviético Serguei Paradjanov.
• 1991 - O presidente da Mauritânia, Muauiya Uld Sidi, firma o decreto da primeira Constituição do país, legalizando os partidos políticos.
• 1994 - Tony Blair é eleito para a liderança do Partido Trabalhista Britânico
• 1995 - Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
• 1996 - Morre o músico e compositor porto-riquenho, Rafael Cepeda Atiles.
• 1997 - The fully restored USS Constitution (aka "Old Ironsides") celebrates her 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
• 1998 - Alan Shepard dies (b. 18 Nov 1923). Astronaut. America's first man in space and one of only 12 humans who walked on the Moon. Named as one of the nation's original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959, Shepard became the first American into space on 5 May 1961.
• 1998 - Robert Young dies (b. 1907). American actor.
• 2000 - Group of Eight leaders met for an economic summit on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
• 2001 - Steve Barton dies. Actor
• 2002 - Telecom giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest such filing in United States history.
• 2002 - Ernie Els won the British Open in the first sudden-death finish in the 142-year history of the tournament.
• 2003 - Walter M. "Matt" Jefferies dies. Film art director
• 2003 - John Davies dies. President of the New Zealand Olympic Committee2003 - In Peru 8 mountain climbers were missing after an avalanche on Alpamayo mountain. Four Germans, two Israelis, one Venezuelan and one Peruvian were believed to have been buried.
• 2003 - Monsoon rains were reported to have killed at least 579 people in South Asia. India reported a total of 263 deaths, Bangladesh 169, Pakistan 78, and Nepal 69.
• 2004 - The United Kingdom government publishes Delivering Security in a Changing World, a paper detailing wide-ranging reform of the country's armed forces.
• 2004 - Elder Neal A. Maxwell dies. Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 2004 - Jerry Goldsmith dies. Film score composer
• 2004 - Edward B. Lewis dies (b. 20 May 1918). American developmental geneticist who was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering the functions that control early embryonic development with co-winners Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric F. Wieschaus who identified and classified 15 key genes that determine the body plan and formation of body segments of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
• 2005 - Clarence Richard Silva ordained to the episcopate as bishop of Honolulu.
• 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 escape.
• 2005 - Andrzej Grubba dies (b. 1958). Polish table tennis player.
• 2005 - Long John Baldry dies (b. 1941). British blues musician.
• 2006 - Germans Debate Participation in International Force for Lebanon
• Belgium: National holiday (1831 - inauguration of Leopold I, first king of the Belgians)
• Bolivia: Martyrs' Day
• Guam: Liberation Day (1944)
• Singapore: Racial Harmony Day