# On this day: January 21

January 21 is the 21st day of the year (21st in leap years), with 344 days left until the end of the year (345 in a leap year).

## January 21 in one line

Headline entries for January 21, from Wikipedia: in 1793, French Revolution: After being found guilty of high treason by the National Convention, Louis XVI was guillotined in Paris; born 1869: Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (died 1916); died 1924: Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (born 1870). In 2026 it is a Wednesday, in 2027 a Thursday.

## Events on January 21

- 763 The Abbasid Caliphate crushed the Alid revolt when a rebel leader was mortally wounded in battle near Basra in present-day Iraq. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alid_revolt_of_762%E2%80%93763)
- 1326 King Edward II of England issued a royal charter confirming Adam de Brome's foundation of Oriel College, Oxford. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriel_College%2C_Oxford)
- 1525 The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptism)
- 1757 French and Indian War: French regulars, Canadien militia and Indigenous forces ambushed Rogers' Rangers forces in the Battle on Snowshoes. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_on_Snowshoes_(1757))
- 1774 Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Hamid_I)
- 1793 French Revolution: After being found guilty of high treason by the National Convention, Louis XVI was guillotined in Paris. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Louis_XVI)
- 1893 The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechuanaland_Protectorate)
- 1911 The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Carlo_Rally)
- 1919 The First Dáil convened at the Mansion House in Dublin and adopted a declaration of independence calling for the establishment of the Irish Republic. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_D%C3%A1il)
- 1931 Isaac Isaacs became the first Australian-born governor-general of Australia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Isaacs)
- 1948 The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Quebec)
- 1951 Mount Lamington, a volcano in Papua New Guinea, erupted and killed more than 2,900 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_eruption_of_Mount_Lamington)
- 1968 A B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons crashed onto sea ice near Thule Air Base, Greenland, causing localized radioactive contamination. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Thule_Air_Base_B-52_crash)
- 1968 Vietnam War: The People's Army of Vietnam attacked Khe Sanh Combat Base, a U.S. Marines outpost in Quảng Trị province, South Vietnam, starting the Battle of Khe Sanh. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Khe_Sanh)
- 1972 Tripura, formerly part of the independent Twipra Kingdom, became a state of India. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twipra_Kingdom)
- 1976 Concorde, an Anglo-French supersonic airliner, began scheduled commercial flights to London, Paris, Bahrain, and Rio de Janeiro. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde)
- 1981 The DeLorean Motor Company completed the first production car of the DMC DeLorean at its factory in Northern Ireland. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMC_DeLorean)
- 1997 The U.S. House of Representatives voted 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich)
- 1999 War on drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard)
- 2004 NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory)
- 2005 In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Belize_unrest)
- 2009 Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip)
- 2011 Demonstrations against alleged corruption in the Albanian government led to the killings of four protesters in Tirana by the Republican Guard. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Albanian_opposition_demonstrations)
- 2017 Millions of people participated in the Women's March in Washington, D.C., and around the world to advocate for legislation and policies on human rights and other issues. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women's_March)
- 2023 A shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, left 11 people dead and injured nine others. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Monterey_Park_shooting)
- 2025 A fire at a hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Turkey's Bolu Province results in 78 people killed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Kartalkaya_hotel_fire)

## Born on January 21

- 1338 Charles V of France (died 1380) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V_of_France)
- 1824 Stonewall Jackson, American general (died 1863) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Jackson)
- 1829 Oscar II of Sweden (died 1907) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_II)
- 1869 Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (died 1916) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin)
- 1889 Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (died 1968) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitirim_Sorokin)
- 1905 Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (died 1957) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Dior)
- 1912 Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Emil_Bloch)
- 1922 Paul Scofield, English actor (died 2008) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Scofield)
- 1922 Telly Savalas, American actor (died 1994) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telly_Savalas)
- 1924 Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (died 1992) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Hill)
- 1941 Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pl%C3%A1cido_Domingo)
- 1943 Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenzo_Yokoyama)
- 1949 Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_T%E1%BA%A5n_Sang)
- 1953 Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (died 2018) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen)
- 1956 Geena Davis, American actress and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geena_Davis)
- 1963 Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakeem_Olajuwon)
- 1976 Emma Bunton, English singer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Bunton)
- 1986 Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor (died 2020) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushant_Singh_Rajput)
- 1989 Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrikh_Mkhitaryan)
- 1996 Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Asensio)
- 2004 Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Alexandra%2C_Crown_Princess_of_Norway)
- 2005 IShowSpeed, American YouTuber and online streamer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IShowSpeed)

## Died on January 21

- 1118 Pope Paschal II (born 1050) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paschal_II)
- 1774 Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (born 1717) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_III)
- 1775 Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (born 1742) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemelyan_Pugachev)
- 1789 Baron d'Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (born 1723) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_d'Holbach)
- 1793 Louis XVI of France (born 1754) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI)
- 1831 Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (born 1781) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achim_von_Arnim)
- 1870 Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (born 1812) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Herzen)
- 1872 Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (born 1791) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Grillparzer)
- 1924 Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (born 1870) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin)
- 1926 Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1843) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillo_Golgi)
- 1938 Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (born 1861) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_M%C3%A9li%C3%A8s)
- 1950 George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (born 1903) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell)
- 1959 Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1881) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille)
- 2006 Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (born 1944) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Rugova)

## Holidays and observances

- Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babinden)
- Christian feast day: Agnes [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome)
- Christian feast day: Demiana (Coptic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demiana)
- Christian feast day: Fructuosus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructuosus)
- Christian feast day: John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Yi_Yun-il)
- Christian feast day: Meinrad of Einsiedeln [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meinrad_of_Einsiedeln)
- Christian feast day: January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_21_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Errol Barrow Day (Barbados) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errol_Barrow_Day)
- Flag Day (Quebec) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Quebec)
- Grandmother's Day (Poland) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandparents'_Day)
- Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADa_de_la_Altagracia)
- Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Alexander)
- National Hugging Day (United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hugging_Day)
- Squirrel Appreciation Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_Appreciation_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “January 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_21) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/January 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/January_21) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“January 21”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_21) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_21?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for January 21 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## January 21 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Wednesday | 2026-W04 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2027 | Thursday | 2027-W03 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2028 | Friday | 2028-W03 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2029 | Sunday | 2029-W03 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2030 | Monday | 2030-W04 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on January 21

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on January 21 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← January 20](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-20/) · [January 22 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-22/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-21/