21 January
Notable Births
Luke Littler
b. 2007
English darts player (born 2007)
IShowSpeed
b. 2005
American influencer (born 2005)
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
b. 2004
Norwegian princess (born 2004)
Hannibal Mejbri
b. 2003
French-born Tunisian footballer (born 2003)
Baek Jong-bum
b. 2001
South Korean footballer (born 2001)
Fūju Kamio
b. 1999
Japanese actor
Alisha Lehmann
b. 1999
Swiss footballer (born 1999)
Pervis Estupiñán
b. 1998
Ecuadorian footballer (born 1998)
Mamadi Diakite
b. 1997
Guinean basketball player (born 1997)
Jeremy Shada
b. 1997
American actor (born 1997)
Ilia Topuria
b. 1997
Georgian and Spanish mixed martial artist (born 1997)
Marco Asensio
b. 1996
Spanish footballer (born 1996)
Cristian Pavon
b. 1996
Argentine association football player
Jake Elliott
b. 1995
American football player (born 1995)
Marine Johannès
b. 1995
French basketball player (born 1995)
Alanna Kennedy
b. 1995
Australian Afl player (born 1995)
Nguyễn Công Phượng
b. 1995
Vietnamese footballer (born 1995)
Yuliya Stupak
b. 1995
Russian cross-country skier
Amin Affane
b. 1994
Swedish footballer (born 1994)
Laura Robson
b. 1994
British tennis player (born 1994)
Notable Deaths
Virginia Oliver
d. 2026
American lobster fisherwoman (1920–2026)
Mauricio Funes
d. 2025
President of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014
Garth Hudson
d. 2025
Canadian multi-instrumentalist (1937–2025)
Louie Anderson
d. 2022
American stand-up comedian (1953–2022)
Leonor Oyarzún
d. 2022
Chilean socialite (1919–2022)
Terry Jones
d. 2020
Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian and writer (1942–2020)
Kaye Ballard
d. 2019
American actress and singer (1925–2019)
Henri, Count of Paris (born 1933)
d. 2019
French noble (1933–2019)
Emiliano Sala
d. 2019
Argentine footballer (1990–2019)
Harris Wofford
d. 2019
American politician (1926–2019)
Bill Johnson (skier)
d. 2016
American alpine skier (1960–2016)
Mrinalini Sarabhai
d. 2016
Indian classical dancer
Marcus Borg
d. 2015
American theologian, New Testament scholar and writer (1942–2015)
Leon Brittan
d. 2015
British politician (1939–2015)
Johnnie Lewis
d. 2015
Liberian lawyer and politician
Chumpol Silpa-archa
d. 2013
Thai politician (1940–2013)
Michael Winner
d. 2013
British filmmaker, food writer (1935–2013)
Jonathan Idema
d. 2012
American mercenary and criminal (1956–2012)
Dennis Oppenheim
d. 2011
American artist, sculptor and photographer
Vladimir Lenin
d. 1924
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924
On This Day in History
All 49 ›
2025
A fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu Province, Turkey, results in 78 people dead and 51 injured.
2025 Kartalkaya hotel fire
2023
Huu Can Tran, 72, opens fire in a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, killing eleven people and injuring nine others before later committing suicide. It is the worst mass shooting in Los Angeles County since the 2008 Covina massacre.
2023 Monterey Park shooting
2017
Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march, including in Portland, on Donald Trump's first full day as President of the United States.
2017 Women's March
2014
Rojava conflict: The Jazira Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.
Rojava Revolution
2011
Anti-government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Four people die from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister's office.
2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations
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.
Gaza Strip
2005
In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
Belmopan
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.
NASA
2003
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
2003 Colima earthquake
2000
Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
Ecuador
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.
War on drugs
1997
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
United States House of Representatives
1986
Conservative protestors attack a mock shanty town that had been erected on the Green at Dartmouth College as part of anti-apartheid protests.
Shanty town
1985
Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
Galaxy Airlines Flight 203
1981
Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
DMC DeLorean
1980
Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
Iran Air Flight 291
1976
Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
Concorde
1971
The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
Emley Moor transmitting station
1968
Vietnam War, Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
Vietnam War
1968
A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress