On This Day: 21 July

21 July in world history

• 2025A Bangladesh Air Force Chengdu FT-7BGI crashes shortly after takeoff into Milestone School campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 35 people and injuring 173.
• 2023The Barbenheimer phenomenon begins as two major motion pictures, Greta Gerwig's fantasy comedy Barbie and Christopher Nolan's epic biographical thriller Oppenheimer, are released in theaters on the same day and audiences, instead of creating a rivalry between
• 2012Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
• 2011NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
• 1995Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
• 1972The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated twenty-two bombs throughout Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• 1960Sirimavo Bandaranaike was sworn in as prime minister of Ceylon, becoming the world's first democratically elected female head of government.
• 1959NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative.
• 1952An earthquake registering 7.3 Mw struck the southern San Joaquin Valley in California, causing 12 deaths and an estimated $60 million in property damage.
• 1946After weeks of unrest, rioters lynched Bolivian president Gualberto Villarroel, desecrating and hanging his corpse in the streets of La Paz.
• 1944World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
• 1936Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.
• 1925American high-school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which forbade teaching evolution in class.
• 1920The "Belfast Pogrom" begins two years of violence with the expulsion of thousands of Catholic shipyard, factory and linen mill workers from their jobs.
• 1918World 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.
• 1877Much of central Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was burned and looted during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
• 1832Signing of the treaty of Constantinople between Britain, France, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which outlines the borders of the new kingdom of Greece.
• 365A large earthquake occurred near Crete, triggering a tsunami, and causing widespread destruction around the eastern Mediterranean region.

Born on 21 July

• 1979Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
• 1972Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist
• 1968Aditya Srivastava, Indian actorIndia
• 1947Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician (died 2020)India
• 1943Robert Shrum, American author and political advisor
• 1942Mallikarjun Kharge, Indian politician, 98th President of the Indian National CongressIndia

Died on 21 July

• 2014Dan Borislow, American businessman, invented the magicJack (born 1961)
• 2013Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (born 1981)India
• 1425Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1350)
• 710Wei, empress of the Tang dynasty

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 21 July in history?

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. 2023: The Barbenheimer phenomenon begins as two major motion pictures, Greta Gerwig's fantasy comedy Barbie and Christopher Nolan's epic biographical thriller Oppenheimer, are released in theaters on the same day and audiences, instead of creating a rivalry between . 2012: Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world. 2011: NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Which famous people were born on 21 July?

Tamika Catchings, American basketball player (1979); Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist (1972); Aditya Srivastava, Indian actor (1968); Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician (died 2020) (1947).

Which day is observed on 21 July?

Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam); Belgian National Day (Belgium); Racial Harmony Day (Singapore); Summer Kazanskaya (Russia).