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July 21 in History
- 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
- 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.
- 285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
- 365 – The 365 Crete earthquake affects 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 were killed.
- 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).
- 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.
- 1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
- 1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
- 1568 – Eighty Years’ War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
- 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.
- 1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
- 1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
- 1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon’s forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
- 1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
- 1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
- 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
- 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).
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
- 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators are tortured and executed in Berlin, Germany, for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
- 1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
- 1952 – The 7.3 Mw Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
- 1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
- 1959 – NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative.
- 1959 – Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
- 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world’s first female head of government
- 1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
- 1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon.
- 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
- 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
- 1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
- 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
- 1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
- 1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
- 1990 – Taiwan’s military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
- 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People’s Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
- 2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
- 2005 – July 2005 London bombings occur.
- 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.
- 2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- 2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
Births on July 21
- 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui Dynasty (d. 604)
- 1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (d. 1112)
- 1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484)
- 1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (d. 1530)
- 1476 – Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (d. 1534)
- 1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1497)
- 1515 – Philip Neri, Italian Roman Catholic saint (d. 1595)
- 1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (d. 1609)
- 1616 – Anna de’ Medici, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1676)
- 1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
- 1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (d. 1689)
- 1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (d. 1672)
- 1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (d. 1721)
- 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
- 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (d. 1792)
- 1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (d. 1853)
- 1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1864)
- 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (d. 1878)
- 1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1873)
- 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (d. 1899)
- 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria (d. 1929)
- 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (d. 1925)
- 1858 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (d. 1941)
- 1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (d. 1948)
- 1866 – Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (d. 1926)
- 1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (d. 1932)
- 1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1947)
- 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (d. 1919)
- 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (d. 1969)
- 1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (d. 1947)
- 1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (d. 1996)
- 1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
- 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (d. 2010)
- 1908 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (d. 1980)
- 1911 – Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
- 1914 – Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1977)
- 1917 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Isaac Stern, Polish violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
- 1920 – Jean Daniel, Algerian-French-Jewish journalist and author (d. 2020)
- 1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (d. 2000)
- 1921 – John Horsley, English actor (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Zulu sangoma (d. 2020)
- 1922 – Kay Starr, American singer (d. 2016)
- 1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (d. 2009)
- 1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1923 – Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (d. 1980)
- 1924 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
- 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Johnny Peirson, Canadian hockey player
- 1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 1926 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1929 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Helen Merrill, American singer
- 1931 – Sonny Clark, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
- 1931 – Plas Johnson, American saxophonist
- 1931 – Leon Schidlowsky, Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
- 1932 – Kaye Stevens, American singer and actress (d. 2011)
- 1933 – John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1982)
- 1934 – Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer and manager
- 1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author (d. 2019)
- 1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician
- 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (d. 1990)
- 1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1938 – Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General (d. 2016)
- 1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
- 1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
- 1939 – John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
- 1943 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Henry McCullough, Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (d. 2012)
- 1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (d. 2002)
- 1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
- 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
- 1945 – Barry Richards, South African cricketer
- 1946 – Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
- 1946 – Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
- 1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician
- 1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
- 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
- 1949 – Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
- 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
- 1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
- 1951 – Richard Gozney, English politician and diplomat, 30th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, 139th Governor of Bermuda
- 1951 – Robin Williams, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
- 1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
- 1952 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian economist
- 1953 – Eric Bazilian, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer (The Hooters)
- 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor
- 1953 – Bernie Fraser, New Zealand rugby player
- 1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
- 1955 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
- 1955 – Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
- 1955 – Henry Priestman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1955 – Taco, Indonesian-born Dutch singer and entertainer
- 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
- 1957 – Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian, actor, and producer
- 1958 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1959 – Gene Miles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1959 – Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
- 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1960 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
- 1960 – Veselin Matić, Serbian basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
- 1961 – Morris Iemma, Australian politician, 40th Premier of New South Wales
- 1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
- 1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
- 1963 – Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
- 1964 – Steve Collins, Irish boxer and actor
- 1964 – Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
- 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper and journalist
- 1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer and lawyer
- 1965 – Mike Bordick, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
- 1966 – Sarah Waters, Welsh author and academic
- 1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
- 1968 – Aditya Srivastava, Indian actor
- 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 – Godfrey, American comedian and actor
- 1969 – Klaus Graf, German race car driver
- 1969 – Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1969 – Isabell Werth, German equestrian
- 1970 – Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
- 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
- 1971 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1972 – Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist
- 1972 – Catherine Ndereba, Kenyan marathon runner
- 1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Christopher Barzak, American author and educator
- 1975 – Cara Dillon, Irish singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
- 1976 – Jaime Murray, English actress
- 1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
- 1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
- 1978 – Anderson da Silva Gibin, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – Josh Hartnett, American actor
- 1978 – Julian Huppert, English academic and politician
- 1978 – Damian Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer
- 1978 – Gary Teale, Scottish footballer
- 1979 – David Carr, American football player
- 1979 – Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
- 1979 – Luis Ernesto Michel, Mexican footballer
- 1979 – Andriy Voronin, Ukrainian footballer
- 1980 – Justin Griffith, American football player
- 1980 – Sandra Laoura, French skier
- 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
- 1980 – Yvonne Sampson, Australian journalist and sportscaster
- 1981 – Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
- 1981 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
- 1982 – Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
- 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (d. 2017)
- 1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
- 1985 – Mati Lember, Estonian footballer
- 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
- 1986 – Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
- 1986 – Rebecca Ferguson, American-English singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Jason Thompson, American basketball player
- 1987 – Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
- 1987 – Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – KB, American rapper
- 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
- 1988 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1989 – Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Juno Temple, English actress
- 1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
- 1990 – Jason Roy, English cricketer
- 1990 – Erislandy Savón, Cuban amateur heavyweight boxer
- 1990 – Franck Elemba, Congolese athlete
- 1991 – Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
- 1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
- 1996 – Mikael Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian footballer
- 1998 – Thomas Preining, Austrian racing driver
Deaths on July 21
- 658 – K’an II, Mayan ruler (b. 588)
- 710 – Li Guo’er, princess of the Tang dynasty
- 710 – Wei, empress of the Tang Dynasty
- 710 – Shangguan Wan’er, Chinese poet (b. 664)
- 987 – Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
- 1259 – Gojong of Goryeo
- 1403 – Henry Percy, English soldier (b. 1364)
- 1403 – Sir Walter Blount, English soldier, standard-bearer of Henry IV
- 1403 – Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford, English soldier
- 1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1350)
- 1552 – Antonio de Mendoza, Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (b. 1495)
- 1688 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1610)
- 1793 – Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, French admiral, explorer, and politician (b. 1739)
- 1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1759)
- 1798 – François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (b. 1733)
- 1798 – Anthony Perry, Irish rebel leader (b. ca. 1760)
- 1868 – William Bland, Australian surgeon and politician (b. 1789)
- 1878 – Sam Bass, American outlaw (b. 1851)
- 1880 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (b. 1800)
- 1889 – Nelson Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
- 1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1833)
- 1920 – Fiammetta Wilson, English astronomer and educator (b. 1864)
- 1932 – Bill Gleason, American baseball player (b. 1858)
- 1934 – Hubert Lyautey, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1854)
- 1938 – Owen Wister, American lawyer and author (b. 1860)
- 1941 – Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (b. 1872)
- 1943 – Charley Paddock, American runner and actor (b. 1900)
- 1943 – Louis Vauxcelles, French Jewish art critic (b. 1870)
- 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier (b. 1907)
- 1946 – Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian soldier and politician, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1908)
- 1948 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1904)
- 1952 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (b. 1856)
- 1966 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, Vienna Circle member (b. 1884)
- 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1907)
- 1967 – Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (b. 1892)
- 1968 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1878)
- 1970 – Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (b. 1907)
- 1970 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (b. 1945)
- 1972 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (b. 1889)
- 1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1928)
- 1977 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (b. 1907)
- 1982 – Dave Garroway, American journalist and actor (b. 1913)
- 1991 – Paul Warwick, English race car driver (b. 1969)
- 1994 – Marijac, French author and illustrator (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1923)
- 1998 – Robert Young, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
- 2000 – Marc Reisner, American environmentalist and author (b. 1948)
- 2002 – Esphyr Slobodkina, Russian-American author and illustrator (b. 1908)
- 2003 – John Davies, English-New Zealand runner and coach (b. 1938)
- 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer and actor (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Lord Alfred Hayes, English-American wrestler and manager (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-American actor and singer (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Ta Mok, Cambodian soldier and monk (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Donald Stokes, English businessman (b. 1914)
- 2010 – Luis Corvalán, Chilean educator and politician (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Ralph Houk, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1919)
- 2010 – John E. Irving, Canadian businessman (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Marie Kruckel, American baseball player (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Ali Podrimja, Albanian poet and author (b. 1942)
- 2012 – James D. Ramage, American admiral and pilot (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Angharad Rees, English-born Welsh actress (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Don Wilson, English cricketer and coach (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1988)
- 2013 – Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (b. 1981)
- 2013 – Det de Beus, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom, Colombian-French composer and educator (b. 1971)
- 2013 – Fred Taylor, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo (Native American) writer, poet, and educator (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Dan Borislow, American businessman, invented the magicJack (b. 1961)
- 2014 – Lettice Curtis, English engineer and pilot (b. 1915)
- 2014 – Hans-Peter Kaul, German lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian engineer and politician (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Kevin Skinner, New Zealand rugby player and boxer (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Robert Broberg, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2015 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American physician (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Czesław Marchaj, Polish-English sailor and academic (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Dick Nanninga, Dutch footballer (b. 1949)
- 2016 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (b. 1949)
- 2017 – John Heard, American film and television actor (b. 1946)
- 2018 – Alene Duerk, U.S. Navy first female admiral (b. 1920)
Holidays and observances on July 21
- Christian feast day:
- Albert John Luthuli (Episcopal Church)
- Arbogast
- Barhadbesciabas
- Carlos of Brazil (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church)
- Daniel (Catholic Church)
- Lawrence of Brindisi
- Praxedes
- Victor of Marseilles
- July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
- Belgian National Day (Belgium)
- Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)
- Summer Kazanskaya (Russia)
-
June 26 in History
- 4 AD – Augustus adopts Tiberius.
- 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.
- 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sasanian Empire.
- 684 – Pope Benedict II is chosen.
- 699 – En no Ozuno, a Japanese mystic and apothecary who will later be regarded as the founder of a folk religion Shugendō, is banished to Izu Ōshima.
- 1243 – Mongols defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Köse Dağ.
- 1295 – Przemysł II crowned king of Poland, following Ducal period. The white eagle is added to the Polish coat of arms.
- 1407 – Ulrich von Jungingen becomes Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.
- 1409 – Western Schism: The Roman Catholic Church is led into a double schism as Petros Philargos is crowned Pope Alexander V after the Council of Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Pope Benedict XII in Avignon.
- 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and Edward, Earl of March, land in England with a rebel army and march on London.
- 1483 – Richard III becomes King of England.
- 1522 – Ottomans begin the second Siege of Rhodes.
- 1541 – Francisco Pizarro is assassinated in Lima by the son of his former companion and later antagonist, Diego de Almagro the younger. Almagro is later caught and executed.
- 1579 – Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory begins.
- 1718 – Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, Peter the Great’s son, mysteriously dies after being sentenced to death by his father for plotting against him.
- 1723 – After a siege and bombardment by cannon, Baku surrenders to the Russians.
- 1740 – A combined force of Spanish, free blacks and allied Indians defeat a British garrison at the Siege of Fort Mose near St. Augustine during the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
- 1794 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Fleurus marked the first successful military use of aircraft.
- 1830 – William IV becomes king of Britain and Hanover.
- 1843 – Treaty of Nanking comes into effect, Hong Kong Island is ceded to the British “in perpetuity”.
- 1848 – End of the June Days Uprising in Paris.
- 1857 – The first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London.
- 1870 – The Christian holiday of Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States.
- 1886 – Henri Moissan isolated elemental Fluorine for the first time.
- 1889 – Bangui is founded by Albert Dolisie and Alfred Uzac in what was then the upper reaches of the French Congo.
- 1906 – The first Grand Prix motor race is held at Le Mans.
- 1909 – The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.
- 1917 – World War I: The American Expeditionary Forces begin to arrive in France. They will first enter combat four months later.
- 1918 – World War I: Allied forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord defeat Imperial German forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince in the Battle of Belleau Wood.
- 1924 – The American occupation of the Dominican Republic ends after eight years.
- 1927 – The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island.
- 1934 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, which establishes credit unions.
- 1936 – Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.
- 1940 – World War II: Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
- 1941 – World War II: Soviet planes bomb Kassa, Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia), giving Hungary the impetus to declare war the next day.
- 1942 – The first flight of the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
- 1944 – World War II: San Marino, a neutral state, is mistakenly bombed by the RAF based on faulty information, leading to 35 civilian deaths.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Osuchy in Osuchy, Poland, one of the largest battles between Nazi Germany and Polish resistance forces, ends with the defeat of the latter.
- 1945 – The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 Allied nations in San Francisco, California.
- 1948 – Cold War: The first supply flights are made in response to the Berlin Blockade.
- 1948 – William Shockley files the original patent for the grown-junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor.
- 1948 – Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery is published in The New Yorker magazine.
- 1952 – The Pan-Malayan Labour Party is founded in Malaya, as a union of statewide labour parties.
- 1953 – Lavrentiy Beria, head of MVD, is arrested by Nikita Khrushchev and other members of the Politburo.
- 1955 – The South African Congress Alliance adopts the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in Kliptown.
- 1959 – Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson becomes world champion of heavy weight boxing, by defeating American Floyd Patterson on technical knockout after two minutes and three seconds in the third round at Yankee Stadium.
- 1960 – The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gains its independence as Somaliland.
- 1960 – Madagascar gains its independence from France.
- 1963 – Cold War: U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall.
- 1967 – Karol Wojtyła (later John Paul II) made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI.
- 1974 – The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
- 1975 – Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial.
- 1977 – Elvis Presley held his final concert in Indianapolis, Indiana at Market Square Arena.
- 1978 – Air Canada Flight 189, flying to Toronto, overruns the runway and crashes into the Etobicoke Creek ravine. Two of the 107 passengers on board perish.
- 1991 – Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav People’s Army begins the Ten-Day War in Slovenia.
- 1995 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani deposes his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, in a bloodless coup d’état.
- 1997 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 2000 – The Human Genome Project announces the completion of a “rough draft” sequence.
- 2003 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.
- 2006 – Mari Alkatiri, the first Prime Minister of East Timor, resigns after weeks of political unrest.
- 2007 – Pope Benedict XVI reinstates the traditional laws of papal election in which a successful candidate must receive two-thirds of the votes.
- 2008 – A suicide bomber dressed as an Iraqi policeman detonates an explosive vest, killing 25 people.
- 2012 – The Waldo Canyon fire descends into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood in Colorado Springs burning 347 homes in a matter of hours and killing two people.
- 2013 – Riots in China’s Xinjiang region kill at least 36 people and injure 21 others.
- 2013 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 2015 – Five different terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia, Somalia, Kuwait, and Syria occurred on what was dubbed Bloody Friday by international media. Upwards of 750 people were either killed or injured in these uncoordinated attacks.
- 2015 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5–4, that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Births on June 26
- 12 BC – Agrippa Postumus, Roman son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder (d. 14)
- 1399 – John, Count of Angoulême (d. 1467)
- 1575 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (d. 1612)
- 1581 – San Pedro Claver, Spanish Jesuit saint (d. 1654)
- 1600 – Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Spanish-born bishop and viceroy of New Spain (d. 1659)
- 1681 – Hedvig Sophia of Sweden (d. 1708)
- 1689 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (d. 1769)
- 1694 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1768)
- 1699 – Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin, French businesswoman (d. 1777)
- 1702 – Philip Doddridge, English hymn-writer and educator (d. 1751)
- 1703 – Thomas Clap, American minister and academic (d. 1767)
- 1726 – Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia (d. 1796)
- 1730 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (d. 1817)
- 1764 – Jan Paweł Łuszczewski, Polish politician (d. 1812)
- 1796 – Jan Paweł Lelewel, Polish painter and engineer (d. 1847)
- 1798 – Wolfgang Menzel, German poet and critic (d. 1873)
- 1817 – Branwell Brontë, English painter and poet (d. 1848)
- 1819 – Abner Doubleday, American general (d. 1893)
- 1821 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian soldier, journalist, and politician, 6th President of Argentina (d. 1906)
- 1824 – William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-Scottish physicist and engineer (d. 1907)
- 1835 – Thomas W. Knox, American journalist and author (d. 1896)
- 1839 – Sam Watkins, American soldier and author (d. 1901)
- 1852 – Daoud Corm, Lebanese painter (d. 1930)
- 1854 – Robert Laird Borden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1937)
- 1865 – Bernard Berenson, Lithuanian-American historian and author (d. 1959)
- 1866 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and banker (d. 1923)
- 1869 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish journalist and author (d. 1954)
- 1878 – Leopold Löwenheim, German mathematician and logician (d. 1957)
- 1880 – Mitchell Lewis, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1881 – Ya’akov Cohen, Israeli linguist, poet, and playwright (d. 1960)
- 1892 – Pearl S. Buck, American novelist, essayist, short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1893 – Dorothy Fuldheim, American journalist and news anchor(d. 1989)
- 1895 – George Hainsworth, Canadian ice hockey player and politician (d. 1950)
- 1898 – Willy Messerschmitt, German engineer and businessman (d. 1978)
- 1898 – Chesty Puller, US general (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1901 – Stuart Symington, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Air Force (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2010)
- 1903 – Big Bill Broonzy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1958)
- 1904 – Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1951)
- 1904 – Peter Lorre, Slovak-American actor and singer (d. 1964)
- 1905 – Lynd Ward, American author and illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1906 – Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer (d. 1974)
- 1906 – Viktor Schreckengost, American sculptor and educator (d. 2008)
- 1907 – Debs Garms, American baseball player (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Salvador Allende, Chilean physician and politician, 29th President of Chile (d. 1973)
- 1909 – Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch-American talent manager (d. 1997)
- 1909 – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American animator, director, and producer (d. 1985)
- 1911 – Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American golfer and basketball player (d. 1956)
- 1911 – Bronisław Żurakowski, Polish pilot and engineer (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Aimé Césaire, French poet, author, and politician (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Maurice Wilkes, English computer scientist and physicist (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Laurie Lee, English author and poet (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark, European royalty (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Paul Castellano, American gangster (d. 1985)
- 1915 – George Haigh, English professional footballer (d. 2019)
- 1915 – Charlotte Zolotow, American author and poet (d. 2013)
- 1916 – Virginia Satir, American psychotherapist and author (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Giuseppe Taddei, Italian actor and singer (d. 2010)
- 1917 – Idriz Ajeti, Albanian albanologist (d. 2019)
- 1918 – Leo Rosner, Polish-born Austrian Jewish musician (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Raleigh Rhodes, American combat fighter pilot (d. 2007)
- 1918 – J. B. Fuqua, American entrepreneur and philanthropist (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Richard Neustadt, American political scientist and academic (d. 2003)
- 1919 – Jimmy Newberry, American pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1919 – George Athan Billias, American historian (d. 2018)
- 1919 – Donald M. Ashton, English art director (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Jean-Pierre Roy, Canadian-American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Violette Szabo, French-British secret agent (d. 1945)
- 1921 – Robert Everett, American computer scientist (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Walter Farley, American author (d. 1989)
- 1922 – Eleanor Parker, American actress (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Enzo Apicella, English artist, cartoonist, designer, and restaurateur (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Franz-Paul Decker, German conductor (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Ed Bearss, American veteran of World War II
- 1924 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (d. 2010)
- 1924 – James W. McCord Jr., CIA officer (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian soldier, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1970)
- 1925 – Wolfgang Unzicker, German chess player (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Jean Frydman, French resistant and businessman
- 1926 – Kenny Baker, American fiddler (d.2011)
- 1926 – Mahendra Bhatnagar, Indian poet
- 1926 – Fernando Mönckeberg Barros, Chilean surgeon
- 1926 – Dinu Zamfirescu, Romanian politician
- 1927 – Robert Kroetsch, Canadian author and poet (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Jacob Druckman, American composer and academic (d. 1996)
- 1928 – Yoshiro Nakamatsu, Japanese inventor
- 1928 – Bill Sheffield, American politician; 5th Governor of Alaska
- 1928 – Samuel Belzberg, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2018)
- 1929 – June Bronhill, Australian soprano and actress (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Fred Bruemmer, Latvian-Canadian photographer and author (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Milton Glaser, American illustrator and graphic designer
- 1930 – Jackie Fargo, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Wolfgang Schwanitz, East German secret police
- 1931 – Colin Wilson, English philosopher and author (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Robert Colbert, American actor
- 1932 – Dame Marguerite Pindling, Bahamian politician; Governor-General of the Bahamas
- 1932 – Don Valentine, American venture capitalist (d. 2019)
- 1933 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Gene Green, American baseball player (d. 1981)
- 1933 – David Winnick, English politician
- 1934 – Dave Grusin, American pianist and composer
- 1934 – Toru Goto, Japanese swimmer
- 1935 – Carlo Facetti, Italian race car driver
- 1935 – Sandro Riminucci, Italian basketball player
- 1935 – Dwight York, American singer
- 1936 – Benjamin Adekunle, Nigerian general (d. 2014)
- 1936 – Hal Greer, American basketball player (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, Scottish politician (d. 2020)
- 1936 – Edith Pearlman, American short story writer
- 1936 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (d. 2015)
- 1936 – Nancy Willard, American author and poet (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Reggie Workman, American bassist and composer
- 1938 – Neil Abercrombie, American sociologist and politician, 7th Governor of Hawaii
- 1938 – Billy Davis Jr., American pop-soul singer
- 1938 – Gerald North, American climatologist and academic
- 1939 – Chuck Robb, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 64th Governor of Virginia
- 1939 – Zainuddin Maidin, Malaysian politician (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Yves Beauchemin, Canadian author and academic
- 1942 – J.J. Dillon, American wrestler and manager
- 1942 – Gilberto Gil, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and politician, Brazilian Minister of Culture
- 1943 – Georgie Fame, English singer, pianist, and keyboard player
- 1943 – Warren Farrell, American author and educator
- 1944 – Gennady Zyuganov, Russian colonel and politician
- 1946 – Candace Pert, American neuroscientist and pharmacologist (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (d. 2015)
- 1949 – Adrian Gurvitz, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1949 – Mary Styles Harris, American biologist and geneticist
- 1951 – Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1952 – Gordon McQueen, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1952 – Olive Morris, Jamaican-English civil rights activist (d. 1979)
- 1954 – Luis Arconada, Spanish footballer
- 1955 – Mick Jones, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Gedde Watanabe, American actor
- 1956 – Chris Isaak, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1956 – Catherine Samba-Panza, interim president of the Central African Republic
- 1956 – Patrick Mercer, English colonel and politician
- 1957 – Al Hunter Ashton, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1957 – Philippe Couillard, Canadian surgeon and politician, 31st Premier of Quebec
- 1957 – Patty Smyth, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1959 – Mark McKinney, Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1960 – Mark Durkan, Irish politician
- 1961 – Greg LeMond, American cyclist
- 1961 – Terri Nunn, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1962 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1963 – Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian-Swiss businessman and philanthropist
- 1963 – Mark McClellan, American economist and politician
- 1963 – Harriet Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
- 1964 – Tommi Mäkinen, Finnish race car driver
- 1966 – Dany Boon, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Kirk McLean, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Jürgen Reil, American drummer
- 1967 – Inha Babakova, Ukrainian high jumper
- 1967 – Olivier Dahan, French director and screenwriter
- 1968 – Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, Icelandic lecturer and politician, 6th President of Iceland
- 1968 – Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
- 1968 – Shannon Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Colin Greenwood, English bass player and songwriter
- 1969 – Ingrid Lempereur, Belgian swimmer
- 1969 – Geir Moen, Norwegian sprinter
- 1969 – Mike Myers, American baseball player
- 1970 – Paul Thomas Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Paul Bitok, Kenyan runner
- 1970 – Irv Gotti, American record producer, co-founded Murder Inc Records
- 1970 – Sean Hayes, American actor
- 1970 – Adam Ndlovu, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1970 – Chris O’Donnell, American actor
- 1970 – Nick Offerman, American actor
- 1971 – Max Biaggi, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1972 – Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper and police officer
- 1973 – Gretchen Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Derek Jeter, American baseball player
- 1974 – Jason Kendall, American baseball player
- 1975 – Chris Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Terry Skiverton, English footballer and manager
- 1976 – Ed Jovanovski, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Pommie Mbangwa, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
- 1976 – Chad Pennington, American football player and sportscaster
- 1976 – Dave Rubin, American political commentator
- 1977 – Quincy Lewis, American basketball player
- 1979 – Ryō Fukuda, Japanese race car driver
- 1979 – Walter Herrmann, Argentinian basketball player
- 1979 – Ryan Tedder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1980 – Hamílton Hênio Ferreira Calheiros, Togolese footballer
- 1980 – Michael Jackson, English footballer
- 1980 – Jason Schwartzman, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
- 1980 – Chris Shelton, American baseball player
- 1980 – Michael Vick, American football player
- 1981 – Natalya Antyukh, Russian sprinter and hurdler
- 1981 – Paolo Cannavaro, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Kanako Kondō, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1981 – Takashi Toritani, Japanese baseball player
- 1982 – Zuzana Kučová, Slovak tennis player
- 1983 – Vinícius Rodrigues Almeida, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Nick Compton, South African-English cricketer
- 1983 – Toyonoshima Daiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1983 – Felipe Melo, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Antonio Rosati, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Indila, French singer
- 1984 – José Juan Barea, Puerto Rican-American basketball player
- 1984 – Yankuba Ceesay, Gambian footballer
- 1984 – Elijah Dukes, American baseball player
- 1984 – Raymond Felton, American basketball player
- 1984 – Priscah Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
- 1984 – Jūlija Tepliha, Latvian figure skater
- 1984 – Deron Williams, American basketball player
- 1984 – Preslava, Bulgarian singer
- 1985 – Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader, 17th Karmapa Lama
- 1986 – Duvier Riascos, Colombian footballer
- 1987 – Carlos Iaconelli, Brazilian race car driver
- 1987 – Samir Nasri, French footballer
- 1988 – Oliver Stang, German footballer
- 1990 – Belaynesh Oljira, Ethiopian runner
- 1990 – Igor Subbotin, Estonian footballer
- 1991 – Houssem Chemali, French footballer
- 1991 – Diego Falcinelli, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Dustin Martin, Australian rules footballer
- 1992 – Joel Campbell, Costa Rican footballer
- 1992 – Rudy Gobert, French basketball player
- 1992 – Jennette McCurdy, American actress and singer-songwriter
- 1993 – Ariana Grande, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1994 – Hollie Arnold, English javelin thrower
- 1994 – Leonard Carow, German actor
- 1997 – Baek Ye-rin, South Korean singer
- 1997 – Callum Taylor, English cricketer
- 2002 – Chandler Smith, American racing driver
- 2009 – Yesha Camile, Filipino child actress
Deaths on June 26
- 116 BC – Ptolemy VIII, king of Egypt
- 363 – Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor (b. 332)
- 405 – Vigilius, bishop of Trent (b. 353)
- 822 – Saichō, Japanese Buddhist monk (b. 767)
- 969 – George El Mozahem, Egyptian martyr (b. 940)
- 985 – Ramiro III, king of León
- 1090 – Jaromír, bishop of Prague
- 1095 – Robert, bishop of Hereford
- 1265 – Anne of Bohemia, duchess of Silesia (b. 1203 or 1204)
- 1274 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (b. 1201)
- 1487 – John Argyropoulos, Byzantine philosopher and scholar (b. 1415)
- 1541 – Francisco Pizarro, Spanish explorer and politician, Governor of New Castile (b. c. 1471)
- 1574 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scottish Guard of Henry II of France (b. 1530)
- 1688 – Ralph Cudworth, English philosopher and academic (b. 1617)
- 1752 – Giulio Alberoni, Spanish cardinal (b. 1664)
- 1757 – Maximilian Ulysses Browne, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
- 1784 – Caesar Rodney, American lawyer and politician, 4th Governor of Delaware (b. 1728)
- 1793 – James Dickey, Irish revolutionary (b. 1776)
- 1793 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (b. 1720)
- 1795 – Johannes Jährig, German linguist and translator (b. 1747)
- 1808 – Ludwik Tyszkiewicz, Polish poet and politician (b. 1748)
- 1810 – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, French inventor, co-invented the hot air balloon (b. 1740)
- 1830 – George IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
- 1836 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French soldier and composer (b. 1760)
- 1856 – Max Stirner, German philosopher and author (b. 1806)
- 1870 – Armand Barbès, French lawyer and politician (b. 1809)
- 1878 – Mercedes of Orléans (b. 1860)
- 1879 – Richard H. Anderson, American general (b. 1821)
- 1883 – Edward Sabine, Irish-English astronomer, geophysicist, and ornithologist (b. 1788)
- 1918 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (b. 1843)
- 1922 – Albert I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1848)
- 1927 – Armand Guillaumin, French painter (b. 1841)
- 1932 – Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic (b. 1900)
- 1932 – William Murray McPherson, Australian politician, 31st Premier of Victoria (b. 1865)
- 1938 – James Weldon Johnson, American poet, lawyer and politician (b. 1871)
- 1938 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (b. 1859)
- 1939 – Ford Madox Ford, English novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1873)
- 1943 – Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
- 1945 – Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1872)
- 1946 – Max Kögel, German SS officer (b. 1895)
- 1946 – Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1880)
- 1947 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
- 1949 – Kim Koo, South Korean educator and politician, 13th President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (b. 1876)
- 1955 – Engelbert Zaschka, German engineer (b. 1895)
- 1956 – Clifford Brown, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1930)
- 1956 – Richie Powell, American pianist (b. 1931)
- 1957 – Alfred Döblin, Polish-German physician and author (b. 1878)
- 1957 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (b. 1909)
- 1958 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (b. 1873)
- 1958 – Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician and scholar (b. 1888)
- 1964 – Léo Dandurand, American-Canadian businessman (b. 1889)
- 1967 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress and singer (b. 1942)
- 1975 – Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish priest and saint (b. 1902)
- 1979 – Akwasi Afrifa, Ghanaian soldier and politician, 3rd Head of State of Ghana (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Howard Charles Green, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Canadian Minister of Public Works (b. 1895)
- 1990 – Anni Blomqvist, Finnish author (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Roy Campanella, American baseball player and coach (b. 1921)
- 1993 – William H. Riker, American political scientist and academic (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Jahanara Imam, Bangladeshi author and activist (b. 1929)
- 1996 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (b. 1958)
- 1996 – Necmettin Hacıeminoğlu, Turkish linguist and academic (b. 1932)
- 1997 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
- 1998 – Hacı Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Jay Berwanger, American football player (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Arnold Brown, English-Canadian 11th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon footballer (b. 1975)
- 2003 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Strom Thurmond, American general, lawyer, and politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (b. 1902)
- 2004 – Ott Arder, Estonian poet and translator (b. 1950)
- 2004 – Yash Johar, Indian film producer, founded Dharma Productions (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Naomi Shemer, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Tõnno Lepmets, Estonian basketball player (b. 1938)
- 2005 – Richard Whiteley, English journalist and game show host (b. 1943)
- 2006 – Tommy Wonder, Dutch magician (b. 1953)
- 2007 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-American fashion designer, founded Liz Claiborne (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Joey Sadler, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1914)
- 2010 – Algirdas Brazauskas, Lithuanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Harald Keres, Estonian physicist and academic (b. 1912)
- 2011 – Edith Fellows, American actress (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Jan van Beveren, Dutch footballer and coach (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Sverker Åström, Swedish diplomat, Swedish Permanent Representative to the United Nations (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Pat Cummings, American basketball player (b. 1956)
- 2012 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Mario O’Hara, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Doris Singleton, American actress (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Risley C. Triche, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Henrik Otto Donner, Finnish trumpet player and composer (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Edward Huggins Johnstone, Brazilian-American sergeant and judge (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Byron Looper, American politician (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Justin Miller, American baseball player (b. 1977)
- 2013 – Marc Rich, Belgian-American businessman (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Howard Baker, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 12th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Bill Frank, American-Canadian football player (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Rollin King, American businessman, co-founded Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Bob Mischak, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Julius Rudel, Austrian-American conductor (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Mary Rodgers, American composer and author (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Yevgeny Primakov, Ukrainian-Russian journalist and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Chris Thompson, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1952)
Holidays and observances on June 26
- Day of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan
- Christian feast day:
- Anthelm of Belley
- David the Dendrite
- Hermogius
- Isabel Florence Hapgood (Episcopal Church)
- Jeremiah (Lutheran)
- John and Paul
- José María Robles Hurtado (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
- Josemaría Escrivá
- Mar Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Pelagius of Córdoba
- Vigilius of Trent
- June 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Flag Day (Romania)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Madagascar from France in 1960. (Madagascar)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of British Somaliland from the British in 1960. (Somalia)
- International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (International)
- International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (International)
- Ratcatcher’s Day (Hamelin, Germany)
- Sunthorn Phu Day (Thailand)
- World Refrigeration Day (International)