History for July 21

History for July 21 - On-This-Day.com
Ernest Hemingway 1899 - Author, journalist, Marshall McLuhan 1911 - Educator, philosopher, scholar, Don Knotts 1924 - Actor


Janet Reno 1938 - Attorney General of the U.S. (1993-2001), Yusuf Islam 1948 - Musician (Cat Stevens), Robin Williams 1951 - Actor, comedian


1861 - The first major battle of the U.S. Civil War began. It was the Battle of Bull Run at Manassas Junction, VA. The Confederates won the battle.


1925 - The "Monkey Trial" ended in Dayton, TN. John T. Scopes was convicted and fined $100 for violating the state prohibition on teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The conviction was later overturned on a legal technicality because the judge had set the fine instead of the jury.


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


1931 - CBS aired the first regularly scheduled program to be simulcast on radio and television. The show featured singer Kate Smith, composer George Gershwin and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker.


1939 - Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia were annexed by the Soviet Union.


1944 - American forces landed on Guam during World War II.


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.


1997 - The U.S.S. Constitution, which defended the United States during the War of 1812, set sail under its own power for the first time in 116 years.