On This Day: 21 January

21 January in Indian history

• 1972Tripura, formerly part of the independent Twipra Kingdom, became a state of India.India
• 1757French and Indian War: French regulars, Canadien militia and Indigenous forces ambushed Rogers' Rangers forces in the Battle on Snowshoes.India

21 January in world history

• 2025A fire at a hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Turkey's Bolu Province results in 78 people killed.
• 2023Huu 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.
• 2017Millions 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.
• 2004NASA'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.
• 1997The 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.
• 1986Conservative protestors attack a mock shanty town that had been erected on the Green at Dartmouth College as part of anti-apartheid protests.
• 1968Vietnam 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.
• 1968A B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons crashed onto sea ice near Thule Air Base, Greenland, causing localized radioactive contamination.
• 1960Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia, with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey, on board.
• 1954The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
• 1941Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania, the day before, members of the Iron Guard engage in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
• 1932Finland and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty.
• 1919The First Dáil convened at the Mansion House in Dublin and adopted a declaration of independence calling for the establishment of the Irish Republic.
• 1893The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
• 1793After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
• 1535Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.

Born on 21 January

• 1999Rubina Ali, Indian actressIndia
• 1986Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor (died 2020)India
• 1980Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
• 1895Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1977)
• 1887Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (died 1960)
• 1721James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (died 1794)

Died on 21 January

• 2016Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (born 1918)India
• 1945Rash Behari Bose, founder of the Indian National Army (born 1886)India
• 1926Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1843)
• 1683Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1621)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 21 January in history?

2025: A fire at a hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Turkey's Bolu Province results in 78 people killed. 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. 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. 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.

What happened on 21 January in Indian history?

1972: Tripura, formerly part of the independent Twipra Kingdom, became a state of India. 1757: French and Indian War: French regulars, Canadien militia and Indigenous forces ambushed Rogers' Rangers forces in the Battle on Snowshoes.

Which famous people were born on 21 January?

Rubina Ali, Indian actress (1999); Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor (died 2020) (1986); Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress (1980); Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1977) (1895).

Which day is observed on 21 January?

Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia); Errol Barrow Day (Barbados); Flag Day (Quebec); Grandmother's Day (Poland); Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic).