Did you know about Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Notable Deaths on July 21
July 21 has 91 recorded notable deaths across history, from 658 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
2023 — Tony Bennett
American singer (born 1926)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
91 source records
658 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on July 21
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1774 Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war. It is the first time that an Ottoman ruler surrendered territory largely populated by Muslims and the first time that a separation of secular and spiritual authority in the Ottoman Empire was established. Source
- 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike is sworn in as prime minister of Ceylon, becoming the world's first democratically elected female head of government. Source
Did you know about John Heard
John Heard made his debut appearance in film with the ensemble Between the Lines (1977).
Did you know about Henry Percy
The heir to a leading noble family in northern England, Hotspur was one of the earliest and prime movers behind the deposition of King Richard II in favour of Henry Bolingbroke in 1399.
Did you know about Long John Baldry
In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Beatles.
Did you know about Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx's greatest seasons were with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, where he hit a then-record 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs in 13 consecutive years.
More major people who died on July 21
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2017
John Heard
American film and television actor (born 1946)
John Matthew Heard Jr. was an American actor. He made his debut appearance in film with the ensemble Between the Lines (1977). He appeared in a number of successful films, including Heart Beat (1980), Cutter's Way (1981), Cat People (1982), After Hours (1985), Beaches (1988), Deceived (1991), and as Peter McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1999 for his recurring role as corrupt police detective Vin Makazian on The Sopranos (1999–2004).
1403
Henry Percy
English soldier (born 1364)
Sir Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur or Harry Hotspur, was an English knight who fought in several campaigns against the Scots in the northern border and against the French during the Hundred Years' War. The nickname "Hotspur" was given to him by the Scots as a tribute to his speed in advance and readiness to attack. The heir to a leading noble family in northern England, Hotspur was one of the earliest and prime movers behind the deposition of King Richard II in favour of Henry Bolingbroke in 1399. He later fell out with the new regime and rebelled, and was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 at the height of his fame.
2005
Long John Baldry
English-Canadian singer and actor (born 1941)
John William "Long John" Baldry was a British and Canadian musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Beatles. Before achieving stardom, Rod Stewart and Elton John were members of bands led by Baldry. He enjoyed pop success in 1967 when "Let the Heartaches Begin" reached No. 1 in the UK, and in Australia where his duet with the American singer Kathi McDonald, a cover of the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", reached No. 2 in 1980.
1967
Jimmie Foxx
American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1907)
James Emory Foxx, nicknamed "Double X" and "the Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies. A tremendous power hitter, Foxx retired with the second most home runs, behind only Babe Ruth, and fifth-most runs batted in (RBI). His greatest seasons were with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, where he hit a then-record 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs in 13 consecutive years.
1425
Manuel II Palaiologos
Byzantine emperor (born 1350)
Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the name Matthaios (Ματθαίος). Manuel was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which sometimes threatened to capture his territory outright. Accordingly he continued his father's practice of soliciting Western European aid against the Ottomans, and personally visited several foreign courts to plead his cause. These efforts failed, although an Ottoman civil war and Byzantine victories against Latin neighbors helped Manuel's government survive and slightly expand its influence. His wife Helena Dragaš saw to it that their sons, John VIII and Constantine XI, became emperors. He is commemorated by the Greek Orthodox Church on 21 July.
710
Wei
empress of the Tang dynasty
Empress Wei was an empress consort of the Chinese Tang dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian in accumulating power to eventually take the emperor’s throne. From the beginning of Emperor Zhongzong’s second reign in 705, Empress Wei was de facto in charge of most governmental affairs, though formally not regent. Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710 — traditionally believed to be a poisoning she carried out together with her daughter Princess Anle — made her the empress dowager, and she took formal power as regent de jure during the minority of Emperor Shang of Tang. After reigning for 17 days, she was overthrown and killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's nephew Li Longji and Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping.
2010
Ralph Houk
American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1919)
Ralph George Houk, nicknamed "the Major", was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New York Yankees from 1961 to 1963, when his teams won three consecutive American League pennants and the 1961 and 1962 World Series championships. In 1961 he became the second rookie manager to win 100 games in a season and third rookie manager to win a World Series. He was the first manager to win World Series titles in his first two seasons and the first manager since Hughie Jennings to win three pennants in his first three seasons.
1982
Dave Garroway
American journalist and actor (born 1913)
David Cunningham Garroway was an American radio and television host on NBC. He was the host of Garroway at Large from 1949 to 1951, the founding host and anchor of Today from 1952 to 1961, and the host of The Dave Garroway Show from 1953 to 1954. His radio work included host of The Dave Garroway Show from 1947 to 1955 and Monitor from 1955 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depression. Garroway was honored for his contributions to radio and television with a star for each on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame, the city where he spent part of his teenaged years and early adulthood.
710
Shangguan Wan'er
Chinese poet (born 664)
Shangguan Wan'er was a Chinese politician, poet, and imperial consort of the Wu Zhou and Tang dynasties. Described as a "female prime minister," Shangguan rose from modest origins as a palace servant to become secretary and leading advisor to Empress Wu Zetian of Zhou. Under Empress Wu, Shangguan exercised responsibility for drafting imperial edicts and earned approbation for her writing style. She retained her influence as consort to Wu's son and successor, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, holding the imperial consort rank of Zhaorong (昭容). Shangguan was also highly esteemed for her talent as a poet. In 710, after Emperor Zhongzong's death, Shangguan was killed during a palace coup that ended the regency of Empress Dowager Wei.
1938
Owen Wister
American lawyer and author (born 1860)
Owen Wister was an American writer. His novel The Virginian, published in 1902, helped create the cowboy as a folk hero in the United States and built Wister's reputation as the "father of Western fiction." He was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. The Western Writers of America renamed the Saddleman Award for best book of the year to the Owen Wister Award, and Mount Wister in Wyoming was named in his honor.
2014
Dan Borislow
American businessman, invented the magicJack (born 1961)
Daniel Marc Borislow was an American entrepreneur, sports team owner, inventor, and thoroughbred horse breeder. Borislow was born and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Widener University. In 1989, he founded Tel-Save, Inc. to resell access to AT&T long distance lines. Borislow took the company public in 1995, and two years later brokered a $100 million deal with AOL at the "Cafe L’Europe," Palm Beach. In early 1998, Tel-Save had sales of $300 million and was valued by Wall Street investors at $2 billion. However, due to the financial strain of paying off the AOL deal, Tel-Save lost $221 million in 1999, and Borislow sold his stock for approximately $300 million and retired.
1798
François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix
Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (born 1733)
François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt was a military commander in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. A Walloon, he joined the army of the Habsburg monarchy and soon fought in the Seven Years' War. Later in his military career, he led Austrian troops in the Austro-Turkish War. During the War of the First Coalition he saw extensive fighting and rose to the rank of field marshal. He is regarded as one of the most capable Austrian commanders of the French Revolutionary Wars.
1968
Ruth St. Denis
American dancer and choreographer (born 1878)
Ruth St. Denis was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art and paving the way for other women in dance. She was inspired by the Delsarte advocate Genevieve Stebbins. St. Denis was the co-founder in 1915 of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts. She taught notable performers including Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. In 1938, she founded the pioneering dance program at Adelphi University. She published several articles on spiritual dance and the mysticism of the body.
2006
Ta Mok
Cambodian soldier and monk (born 1926)
Ta Mok, also known as Nguon Kang, was a Cambodian military chief who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge and the leader of the national army of Democratic Kampuchea. He was also known as Brother Number Five or the Butcher. He was captured along the Cambodia–Thailand border in March 1999 by Cambodian government forces while on the run with a small band of followers; he was held in government custody until his death in 2006 while awaiting his war crimes trial.
2015
E. L. Doctorow
American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1931)
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was an American novelist, editor, and professor, known for his historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama, including the award-winning novels Ragtime (1975), Billy Bathgate (1989), and The March (2005). These, like many of his other works, placed fictional characters in recognizable historical contexts, with known historical figures, and often used different narrative styles. His stories were recognized for their originality and versatility, and Doctorow was praised for his audacity and imagination.
1796
Robert Burns
Scottish poet and songwriter (born 1759)
Robert Burns, also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest.
1970
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov
Russian anthropologist and sculptor (born 1907)
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov was a Soviet archaeologist, and anthropologist who discovered the Mal'ta–Buret' culture and developed the first technique of forensic sculpture based on findings of anthropology, archaeology, paleontology, and forensic science. He studied the skulls and meticulously reconstructed the faces of more than 200 people, ranging from the earliest excavated Homo sapiens and neanderthals, to the Middle Ages' monarchs and dignitaries, including emperor Timur (Tamerlane), Yaroslav the Wise, Ivan the Terrible, and Friedrich Schiller.
1952
Pedro Lascuráin
Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (born 1856)
Pedro José Domingo de la Calzada Manuel María Lascuráin Paredes was a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the 38th president of Mexico for 45 minutes on 19 February 1913, the shortest presidency in history. The grandson of Mariano Paredes, the 15th president of Mexico, Lascuráin previously served as Mexico's foreign secretary for two terms and was the director of a small law school in Mexico City for 16 years.
2020
Annie Ross
Scottish-American singer and actress (born 1930)
Annie Ross was a British-born American singer and actress, best known as a member of the influential jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. She helped pioneer the vocalese style of jazz singing, with a style described by critic Dave Gelly as "a kind of dreamy watchfulness that is a definition of 1950s hip." In 2010, she was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.