Calendar date · July

What happened on July 21

On July 21, -356: The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.

Events

59

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Cancer

Featured moment · -356

The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision, also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to a localised form of the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus, near modern day Selçuk in Turkey. The original temple was among the Seven Wonders of the World and was burnt down in 356 BCE by Herostratos on the eve of the birth of Alexander the Great.

People

Born on July 21

Endrick 2006– Brazilian footballer (born 2006)
Erling Haaland 2000– Norwegian footballer (born 2000)
Lia 2000– South Korean singer (born 2000)
Evan McPherson 1999– American football player (born 1999)
Maggie Lindemann 1998– American singer-songwriter (born 1998)
Marie Bouzkova 1998– Czech tennis player (born 1998)
Mikael Ingebrigtsen 1996– Norwegian footballer (born 1996)
Jude Adjei-Barimah 1992– Italian-American football player (born 1992)
Jessica Barden 1992– English actress (born 1992)
Show 9 more — notable births on July 21
Julia Beljajeva 1992– Estonian fencer (born 1992)
Burak Çelik 1992– Turkish actor and model (born 1992)
Da$H 1992– American rapper
Giovanni De Gennaro 1992– Italian slalom canoeist (born 1992)
Charlotte de Witte 1992– Belgian DJ and record producer
Dawid Dryja 1992– Polish volleyball player (born 1992)
Rachael Flatt 1992– American figure skater
Marcus Harris 1992– Australian cricketer (born 1992)
Jonathon Jennings 1992– American gridiron football player (born 1992)

People

Died on July 21

Pau Alsina Spanish motorcycle racer (2008–2025)
Tony Bennett American singer (1926–2023)
Annie Ross British-American jazz singer and actress (1930–2020)
Andrew Mlangeni South African anti-apartheid activist and politician (1925–2020)
Alene Duerk United States Navy admiral (1920–2018)
John Heard American actor (1946–2017)
Dennis Green American gridiron football player, coach (1949–2016)
Robert Broberg Musical artist
E. L. Doctorow American novelist and editor (1931–2015)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on July 21
Nicholas Gonzalez American physician (1947–2015)
Czesław Marchaj Polish yacht racer
Dick Nanninga Dutch footballer (1949–2015)
Louise Abeita American poet
Dan Borislow American entrepreneur, sports team owner and thoroughbred horse breeder
Lettice Curtis English female aviator; Air Transport Auxiliary pilot
Hans-Peter Kaul German international law scholar, diplomat and lawyer
Rilwanu Lukman Nigerian engineer (1938–2014)
Kevin Skinner New Zealand rugby union player

Timeline

Every July 21 on record

  1. -356 The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.

    Ancient Greek temple in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk, Turkey)

    The Temple of Artemis or Artemision, also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to a localised form of the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus, near modern day Selçuk in Turkey. The original temple was among the Seven Wonders of the World and was burnt down in 356 BCE by Herostratos on the eve of the birth of Alexander the Great.

  2. 230 Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the first pope to resign his office.

    Head of the Catholic Church from 230 to 235

    Pope Pontian was the bishop of Rome from 21 July 230 to 28 September 235. In 235, during the persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, Pontian was arrested and sent to the island of Sardinia.

  3. 285 Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.

    Roman emperor from 284 to 305

    Diocletian, nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. As with other Illyrian soldiers of the period, Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, serving under Aurelian and Probus, and eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus.

  4. 365 The 365 Crete earthquake affected the Greek island of Crete 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.

    Calendar year

    Year 365 (CCCLXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the West as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens. The denomination 365 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

  5. 905 King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).

    Holy Roman Emperor from 915 to 924

    Berengar I was King of Italy from 887 and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost control of the region by 896.

  6. 1242 Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.
  7. 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
  8. 1545 The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
  9. 1568 Eighty Years' War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
  10. 1645 Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
  11. 1656 The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
  12. 1674 A Dutch assault on the French island of Martinique is repulsed against all odds.
  13. 1718 The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
  14. 1774 Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
  15. 1798 French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon's forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
Show 15 earlier entries from July 21
  1. 1831 Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
  2. 1861 American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
  3. 1865 In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
  4. 1873 At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
  5. 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.
  6. 1904 Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
  7. 1907 The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
  8. 1919 The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
  9. 1920 The "Belfast Pogrom" begins two years of violence with the expulsion of thousands of Catholic shipyard, factory and linen mill workers from their jobs.
  10. 1925 Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching human evolution in class and fined $100.
  11. 1925 Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
  12. 1936 Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.
  13. 1944 World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
  14. 1944 World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four fellow conspirators are executed for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
  15. 1949 The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.

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