July 21

Sam Bass (1851–1878) was a Texas-born outlaw who led a gang of robbers targeting stagecoaches, banks, and trains across the American frontier. His bold daylight raids, especially the Union Pacific train hold-ups, captured national attention and inspired dime novels and folklore. After amassing a fortune from his crimes, Bass met his end in a shootout with Texas Rangers near Round Rock. Legend portrays him as a Robin Hood figure, although little evidence supports benevolence toward the poor. Bass's life and death symbolize the lawlessness and adventure of the post–Civil War West.

Louis Vauxcelles (1870–1943) was a leading French art critic in early 20th-century Paris. He famously described the 1905 Salon d'Automne painters as 'wild beasts', naming the movement Fauvism. Later, he labeled Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso's work at the 1911 Salon des Indépendants as 'bizarre cubiques', inspiring the term Cubism. Vauxcelles' sharp analyses and coinages shaped art history and criticism. He wrote for major journals, influencing public understanding of avant-garde movements. His legacy endures in the terminology central to modern art.

Hans-Peter Kaul (1943–2014) was a distinguished German lawyer and diplomat who served as a judge at the International Criminal Court from 2003 until 2014. He was President of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Division and led the Assembly of States Parties between 2008 and 2011. Prior to his ICC tenure, Kaul was Germany’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations with a focus on disarmament and international security. He played a key role in establishing the ICC’s early jurisprudence on war crimes and crimes against humanity. His work advanced global justice and accountability.