The writer
Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago to Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a physician, and Grace Hall-Hemingway, a painter and musician. His mother dressed and raised Ernest as a girl for some of the early part of his life, calling him "Ernestine". His boyhood was spent in the wild country round the Great Lakes which gave him a love for the outdoor life.
Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated
dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted by combat, was born on July 21, 1916. He saved his regiment from mustard gas attacks comforted the wounded and notified his troop of oncoming artillery. Back home, his exploits were front page news in major newspapers. After the war, Sergeant Stubby led parades across the country met three presidents and became a university mascot.
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| Sergeant Stubby wearing military uniform and decorations. |
The comedian and actor
Robin Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 21, 1951. Robin Williams was one of just 20 students accepted into Julliard School in New York City in 1973. While his comedic genius was immediately obvious, he wasn't taken seriously until his portrayal of a wheelchair-bound old man in the Tennessee Williams play
The Night of the Iguana during a third-year acting class. Christopher Reeve was Williams' roommate and best friend at Juilliard.
For more July 21 anniversaries, including the creation of Central Park, the conviction of John T. Scopes for teaching the theory of evolution to his class, and the christening of the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, check out
OnThatDay.
