July 21

Scott Winters July 21, 2025 1 Comment

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1873 – Jesse James & the James Gang staged their first train robbery, the Rock Island Express, near Adair, IA. It was reported they stole $6,000, but a gang insider said it was $65,000.

1902 – Willis Carrier created the first air conditioner in Buffalo, NY.

1930 – The Veterans Administration of the United States was established.

1959 – A U.S. District Court judge in New York, NY ruled that “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was not a dirty book.

1961 – Captain Virgil “Gus” Grissom became the second American to rocket into a sub-orbital pattern around the Earth. He was flying on the Liberty Bell 7.

1968 – Arnold Palmer became the first golfer to make a million dollars in career earnings after he tied for second place at the PGA Championship.

1969 – Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin blasted off from the moon after 21½ hours on the surface and returned to the command module piloted by Michael Collins. The astronauts left behind the lunar module’s lower section, on which is mounted a plaque that reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

1972 – Comedian George Carlin was arrested for disorderly conduct in Milwaukee, WI for saying on stage the seven words performers were prohibited from saying on television.

1980 – Draft registration began in the United States for 19 and 20-year-old men.

1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at -128.6 F.

1987 – Mary Hart, of TV’s “Entertainment Tonight”, had her legs insured by Lloyd’s of London for $2 million.

1998 – The roof at the Saline County Library collapsed in Benton, AR, from the weight of what apparently was years of accumulated pigeon poop.

2000 – The movie “What Lies Beneath”, starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, premiered in theaters.

2004 – White House officials were briefed on the September 11 commission’s 575 page final report. The report was released to the public the next day.

2006 – The movie “Clerks II” premiered in theaters.

2007 – The seventh, and last, book of the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” was released.

2009 – The iTunes Music Store reached 8 billion songs sold.

2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the last flight of the Space Shuttle program.

2014 – The movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” premiered in theaters.

2023 – The Barbenheimer phenomenon begins as two major motion pictures, Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical thriller “Oppenheimer”, were released in theaters on the same day and audiences, instead of creating a rivalry between the extremely dissimilar films, instead attended and praised both as an informal, surreal double feature.

2024 – President Joe Biden announced he would no longer seek a second term and withdrew from the 2024 election.

BIRTHDAYS:

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) – 77 a old (1948) – Singer

Garry Trudeau – 77 a old (1948) – Cartoonist (“Doonesbury”)

Eric Bazilian – 72 a old (1953) – Musician (The Hooters)

Jon Lovitz – 68 a old (1957) – Actor, comedian, singer (“My Stepmother Is an Alien”, “A League of Their Own”, TV’s “Saturday Night Live”)

Lance Guest – 65 a old (1960) – Actor (TV’s “Knots Landing”, “Lou Grant”, movie “The Last Starfighter”)

Matt Mulhern – 65 a old (1960) – Actor (TV’s “Major Dad”, “JAG”, “Rescue Me”, movies “One Crazy Summer”, “Biloxi Blues”)

Big Jim Martin – 64 a old (1961) – Guitarist (Faith No More)

Emerson Hart – 56 a old (1969) – Lead Singer (Tonic)

Paul Brandt – 53 a old (1972) – Country music singer

Justin Bartha – 47 a old (1978) – Actor (TV’s “The New Normal”, movies “The Hangover”, the “National Treasure” films)

Josh Hartnett – 47 a old (1978) – Actor (“30 Days of Night”, “Black Dahlia”, “Black Hawk Down”, “Pearl Harbor”)

Blake Lewis – 44 a old (1981) – Singer (Runner up on TV’s “American Idol” Season 6)

Vanessa Lengies – 40 a old (1985) – Actress (“American Dreams”)

TODAY IS:

National Be Someone Day:
National Lamington Day: A tasty tea-time treat that originated as an April Fool’s Day prank in Australia, Lamingtons are just the chocolate-y, coconut-y sponge cake you need in your life.
National Junk Food Day: Sometimes we just crave something deliciously naughty, like that crispy, savory, melt-in-your-mouth goodness that we secretly love to munch on.
Legal Drinking Age Day: Promoting responsible choices, navigating adulthood with a societal threshold for mature decision-making in recreational libation.
Take a Monkey to Lunch Day:
World Collie Day:
Invite an Alien to Live with You Day:
No Pet Store Puppies Day:
National Craft for Your Local Shelters Day:
Belgium National Day:
National Zoo Keeper Week: Dedicated professionals caring for exotic animals, ensuring their well-being, educating the public, and contributing to conservation efforts.
Gentse Feesten:
Galway International Arts Festival:
Tour de France:
Big Butterfly Count: Monitoring environmental vitality by tallying butterflies, a simple yet profound method revealing the delicate balance within ecosystems.
National Moth Week: Sign up for an event or citizen project during Moth Week to get involved, take and post photos, and get a good look at the interesting varieties of moths out there.
National Parenting Gifted Children Week: The unique joys and challenges of nurturing exceptional talents, fostering creativity, and supporting their emotional growth.