21 July in history

9 events that happened on 21 July, from 356 BCE to 1969.

1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

   

   356 BCE 2,381 years ago

   Herostratus burns the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

   Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The 6th-century BCE marble temple, partly paid for by King Croesus of Lydia, was rebuilt on an even larger scale.

   Temple of ArtemisEphesus

2. 356 BCE 2,381 years ago

   Alexander the Great is born in Pella

   Alexander, son of Philip II of Macedon, was born by the traditional dating around 20 or 21 July. By his death at 32 he had conquered an empire stretching from Greece and Egypt to north-west India.

   Philip II of MacedonGreece

3. 905 CE 1,121 years ago

   Berengar I has his rival Emperor Louis III blinded

   Louis III, emperor and king of Italy, captured at Verona by his rival Berengar I, was blinded for breaking his oath and forced to give up both crowns. Remembered as Louis the Blind, he returned to rule Provence.

   Louis the BlindBerengar I of Italy

4. 1242 CE 784 years ago

   Louis IX defeats Henry III of England at Taillebourg

   At the bridge over the Charente at Taillebourg, King Louis IX of France defeated Henry III of England and his stepfather Hugh X of Lusignan in the Saintonge War's decisive battle. The failure ended Henry's attempt to recover Poitou.

   Battle of TaillebourgLouis IX of FranceHenry III of England

5. 1588 CE 438 years ago

   English ships first engage the Spanish Armada off Plymouth

   The English fleet under Lord Howard and Drake attacked the Armada off Plymouth (21 July Old Style). The running fight up the Channel ended at Gravelines and in the Armada's disastrous voyage home.

   Spanish EmpireSpanish Armada

6. 1773 CE 253 years ago

   Pope Clement XIV suppresses the Jesuits

   Under pressure from the Catholic monarchies of France, Spain and Portugal, Clement XIV dissolved the Society of Jesus. The order survived in Russia and was restored worldwide in 1814.

   Jesuits

7. 1798 CE 228 years ago

   Napoleon defeats the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids

   French infantry squares broke the charges of the Mamluk cavalry near Cairo. The victory gave Napoleon control of Egypt, where his expedition's scholars laid the foundations of modern Egyptology.

   Napoleon

8. 1925 CE 101 years ago

   John Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution

   A Dayton jury convicted teacher John Scopes of breaking Tennessee's ban on teaching human evolution, and he was fined 100 dollars. The verdict was later overturned on a technicality.

9. 1969 CE 57 years ago

   Armstrong and Aldrin lift off from the Moon

   After about 21 hours on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin fired the ascent stage of Eagle to rejoin Michael Collins in lunar orbit. They left a plaque reading 'We came in peace for all mankind'.

Born on 21 July 5

• Emperor Wen of Sui541–604
• Pope Sixtus IV1414–1484
• Paul Julius Reuter1816–1899
• Milan Rastislav Štefánik1880–1919
• Marshall McLuhan1911–1980

Died on 21 July 6

• K'an II588–658
• Manuel II Palaiologos1350–1425
• Antonio de Mendoza1495–1552
• James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde1610–1688
• Claus von Stauffenberg1907–1944
• Jigme Dorji Wangchuck1929–1972

Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.

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