On This Day, July 21: Apollo 11 astronauts lift off after historic moon landing

The Apollo 11 Lunar Module ascent stage, with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. aboard, is photographed from the Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit. On July 21, 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, lifted off from the moon in the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle and docked with the command module Columbia piloted by Michael Collins. File Photo courtesy NASA
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July 21 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1861, the first major military engagement of the Civil War occurred at Bull Run Creek, Va.

In 1918, a German U-boat fired on the town of Orleans, Mass., on Cape Cod peninsula, damaging a tug boat and sinking four barges, and severely injuring one man. It was the only place in the United States to receive an enemy attack during World War I.

In 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial, which pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan in Dayton, Tenn., in one of the great confrontations in legal history, ended with John Thomas Scopes convicted and fined $100 for teaching evolution in violation of state law.

In 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, lifted off from the moon in the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle and docked with the command module Columbia piloted by Michael Collins.

On July 21, 1918, a German U-boat, similar to the one pictured, fired on the town of Orleans, Mass., on Cape Cod peninsula, damaging a tug boat and sinking four barges, and severely injuring one man. File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
On July 21, 1918, a German U-boat, similar to the one pictured, fired on the town of Orleans, Mass., on Cape Cod peninsula, damaging a tug boat and sinking four barges, and severely injuring one man. File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In 1970, after 11 years of construction, the massive Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in Egypt was completed, ending the cycle of flood and drought in the Nile River region but triggering an environmental controversy.

In 2000, a report from special counsel John Danforth cleared U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and the government of wrongdoing in the April 19, 1993, fire that ended the Branch Davidian siege near Waco, Texas.

Fans queue for the release of "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows" at Waterstone's Bookshop in Piccadilly in London on July 20, 2007. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI
Fans queue for the release of "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows" at Waterstone's Bookshop in Piccadilly in London on July 20, 2007. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI
File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

In 2007, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment in the best-selling series, sold more than 8.3 million copies on its first day in bookstores.

On July 21, 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial, which pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan in Dayton, Tenn., in one of the great confrontations in legal history, ended with John Thomas Scopes convicted and fined $100 for teaching evolution in violation of state law. UPI File Photo
On July 21, 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial, which pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan in Dayton, Tenn., in one of the great confrontations in legal history, ended with John Thomas Scopes convicted and fined $100 for teaching evolution in violation of state law. UPI File Photo

In 2011, Greece continued efforts to climb out of a financial chasm with a second bailout pledge from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund worth $157 billion. Earlier, the nation dealt with its debt crisis with the help of a $146 billion loan package.

In 2020, leaders of the European Union agreed on a landmark $2 trillion stimulus package and budget deal to preserve the health of their citizens and prevent the collapse of their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

File Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE
File Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE