On this day in History - Jan. 21

• 0304 - Martyrdom of Saint Agnes, under emperor Diocletianus.
• 1118 - Pope Paschal II dies.
• 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade.
• 1276 - Innocent V becomes Pope.
• 1506 - The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards entered the Vatican.
• 1519 - Vasco Núñez de Balboa dies (b. ca. 1475). Spanish explorer.
• 1525 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manz's mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zurich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
• 1527 - Juan de Grijalva dies. Spanish conqueror
• 1533 - El español Pedro de Heredia funda Cartagena de Indias en el territorio que actualmente es Colombia.
• 1546 - Azai Sukemasa dies (b. 1491). Japanese samurai and warlord.
• 1561 - Sir Francis Bacon was born (d. 1926). Philosopher, statesman, essayist .
• 1568 - Amato Lusitano dies (b. 1511). Portuguese physician and writer.
• 1609 - Joseph Justus Scaliger dies (b. 1540). French Protestant scholar.
• 1638 - Ignazio Donati dies. Italian composer
• 1643 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga.
• 1683 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury dies (b. 1621). British politician.
• 1699 - Obadiah Walker dies (b. 1616). English writer.
• 1706 - Adrien Baillet dies (b. 1649). French scholar and critic.
• 1710 - Johann Georg Gichtel dies (b. 1638). German mystic.
• 1720 - Sweden and Prussia signs the Treaty of Stockholm.
• 1722 - Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton dies (b. 1661). English supporter of William III of England.
• 1731 - Thomas Woolston dies (b. 1669). English theologian.
• 1732 - Russia and Persia sign Treaty of Riascha.
• 1738 - Ethan Allen was born (d. 1789). American soldier, patriot.
• 1766 - James Quin dies (b. 1693). English actor.
• 1773 - Alexis Piron dies (b. 1689). French writer.
• 1774 - Mustafa III dies (b. 1717). Ottoman Sultan.
• 1789 - The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1790 - La Asamblea Constituyente francesa proclama la igualdad de todos los ciudadanos ante la ley.
• 1792 - Ajusticiado Joaquín da Silva Xavier ("Tiradentes"), por conspirar para conseguir la independencia de Brasil.
• 1793 - After being found guilty for treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France [b.1754] is guillotined in Paris .
• 1793 - Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
• 1793 - King Louis XVI of France dies executed (b. 1754).
• 1795 - Samuel Wallis dies. English navigator
• 1804 - Eliza Roxcy Snow was born (d. 1887). American poet.
• 1809 - Josiah Hornblower dies (b. 1729). American statesman.
• 1813 - John C. Fremont was born. Explorer, soldier, and political leader .
• 1814 - Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre dies (b. 1737). French writer and botanist.
• 1824 - Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Confederate Army general (d. 1863).
• 1825 - Imre Madách was born (d. 1864). Hungarian writer.
• 1829 - Oscar II was born (d. 1907). King of Sweden and Norway .
• 1840 - Sophia Jex-Blake physician .
• 1846 - The first issue of the London Daily News was published.
• 1848 - Henri Duparc was born (d. 1933). French composer.
• 1850 - Paul Vinzenz Busch was born (d. 1927). Ringmaster.
• 1851 - Albert Lortzing dies (b. 1801). German composer.
• 1853 - Russell L. Hawes patents the envelope-folding machine.
• 1855 - John Moses Browning was born (d. 1926). American inventor.
• 1860 - Karl Staaff was born (d. 1915). Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1861 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
• 1861 - Padre Landell de Moura, nascimento de, inventor brasileiro .
• 1864 - The Tauranga Campaign starts during the Maori Wars.
• 1867 - Ludwig Thoma was born (d. 1921). German dramatist and lyricist.
• 1867 - Maxime Weygand was born (d. 1965). French General.
• 1870 - Alexander Herzen dies (b. 1812). Russian writer.
• 1872 - Franz Grillparzer dies (b. 1791). Austrian writer.
• 1881 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff dies (b. 1802). Swiss Federal Councillor.
• 1883 - Olav Aukrust was born (d. 1929). Norwegian poet .
• 1884 - Roger Baldwin was born (d. 1981). ACLU president, social activist.
• 1885 - Umberto Nobile was born (d. 1978). Italian politician and airship designer.
• 1887 - The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is formed.
• 1887 - Brisbane receives a daily rainfall of 465 millimetres - a record for any Australian capital city.
• 1891 - Francisco Lazaro was born. Portuguese runner (died tragically in 1921 during the marathon of Stocholm Olympic Games). He was the first olympic atlet in representation of Benfica.
• 1891 - Calixa Lavallée dies (b. 1842). Canadian composer.
• 1895 - Cristobal Balenciaga was born (d. 1972). Spanish couturier.
• 1899 - Opel Motors opens for business.
• 1901 - Emirs of Kontagora and Bida are defeated by British forces in the continuing campaign against the Sokoto Caliphate.
• 1901 - Elisha Gray dies (b. 1835). American inventor.
• 1905 - Christian Dior was born (d.24 Oct 1957). French fashion designer.
• 1905 - Karl Wallenda was born (d. 1978). German acrobat.
• 1908 - New York City passes a law, the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public only to be vetoed by the mayor.
• 1911 - The first Monte Carlo Rally.
• 1912 - Konrad Emil Bloch was born (d. 2000). German-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1913 - Aluízio de Azevedo dies. Brazilian journalist, novelist, caricaturist and diplomat.
• 1913 - Aristide Briand forms French government.
• 1914 - Theodor Kittelsen dies (b. 1857). Norwegian artist.
• 1915 - Kiwanis International founded in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1918 - Richard D. Winters was born. War hero
• 1919 - Meeting in Dublin, the Sinn Féin adopts Ireland's first constitution.
• 1919 - Gojong of Joseon dies (b. 1852). Emperor of Korea
• 1921 - Nasce o Partido Comunista Italiano, encabeçado por Gramsci, que pertencia ao Partido Socialista.
• 1921 - Howard Unruh was born. American mass murderer.
• 1922 - Paul Scofield was born. English actor .
• 1923 - Lola Flores was born. Spanish singer.
• 1924 - Vladimir Lenin dies (b. 1870). First leader of the USSR. He had led the Bolsheviks to victory in the 1917 October Revolution and in its aftermath, had grappled with anarchy and war.
• 1924 - Telly Savalas was born (d. 22 Jan 1994) AmericanEmmy-award winning actor
• 1925 - Albania declares itself a republic.
• 1925 - Benny Hill was born (d. 1992). British comedian, actor.
• 1926 - Steve Reeves was born (d. 2000). American actor.
• 1926 - Camillo Golgi dies (b. 1843). Italian physicist, Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1906.
• 1928 - George Goethals dies (b. 1858). American army engineer.
• 1930 - El emperador Hirohito disuelve el Parlamento japonés.
• 1931 - Felix Blumenfeld dies (b. 1863). Russian composer.
• 1932 - Giles Lytton Strachey dies (b. 1880). British writer.
• 1933 - George A. Moore dies (b. 1852). Irish novelist.
• 1936 - In Britain, King Edward VIII was proclaimed king following the death of his father, King George V. He remained king until December 1936 when he abdicated and was succeeded by George VI.
• 1936 - Koji Hashimoto was born (d. 2005).Japanese film director.
• 1938 - España: el ejército fascista de Franco llega al río Alfambra.
• 1938 - Altair Gomes de Figueiredo was born. Brazilian football player
• 1939 - Wolfman Jack was born (d. 1995). American disk jockey, actor.
• 1940 - Jack Nicklaus was born. American professional golfer .
• 1941 - Placido Domingo was born. Spanish tenor opera singer .
• 1941 - World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
• 1941 - Richie Havens was born. American musician
• 1941 - Ivan Putski was born. Polish professional wrestler.
• 1942 - Mac Davis was born. American musician.
• 1942 - Edwin Starr was born (d. 2003). American singer.
• 1946 - Johnny Oates was born (d. 2004). Baseball player and manager.
• 1948 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari dies (b. 1876). Italian composer.
• 1950 - Former State department Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
• 1950 - Billy Ocean [Leslie S Charles] was born in Trinidad and Tobago. Musician and singer (Caribbean Queen) .
• 1950 - George Orwell dies in London (b. 1903). British writer (1984 ; Animal Farm) .
• 1953 - Paul Allen was born. American entrepreneur.
• 1954 - The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groto, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, then the First Lady of the United States.
• 1955 - Jeff Koons was born. American artist .
• 1955 - Archie Hahn dies (b. 1880). American athlete.
• 1956 - Geena Davis was born. Academy Award-winning supporting actress, (The Accidental Tourist [1988]; Beetlejuice, Fletch, The Fly, Tootsie, Thelma and Louise, Buffalo Bill, The Long Kiss Goodnight).
• 1956 - Robby Benson was born. American actor.
• 1956 - Sam Langford dies (b. 1883). Canadian boxer.
• 1958 - The last Fokker C.X in military service, the FAF FK-111 target tower, crashed killing the pilot and winch-operator.
• 1958 - Michael Wincott was born. Canadian actor
• 1958 - Anita Baker was born. US soul singer.
• 1959 - Carl Switzer dies (b. 1927). American actor.
• 1959 - Cecil B. DeMille dies (b. 1881). Film director.
• 1961 - Ahmed Sékou Touré is elected president of the republic of Guinea.
• 1961 - João Villaret dies in Lisbon (b. 10 May 1913). Portuguese declamator of poetry and actor.
• 1961 - Blaise Cendrars dies (b. 1887). Swiss writer.
• 1962 - Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Tanganyikan president, resigns because of opposition to his policies. He spends the year converting the Tanganyikan African National Union, TANU, into a governing party in preparation for the republic.
• 1962 - Marie Trintignant was born (d. 2003). French actress.
• 1962 - Tyler Cowen was born. American economist
• 1963 - Hakeem Olajuwon was born. Nigerian-born basketball player.
• 1963 - Detlef Schrempf was born. German basketball player .
• 1965 - Hassan Ali Mansur is assassinated. Prime Minister of Persia (Iran)
• 1965 - Jam Master Jay was born (d. 2002). American disc jockey (d. 2002)
• 1966 - Robert Del Naja was born. English musician
• 1967 - Ann Sheridan dies (b. 1915). American actress.
• 1968 - Tet offensive in Vietnam begins with battle for Khe Sanh .
• 1968 - Simon & Garfunkel release the Original Soundtrack to The Graduate, which quickly goes to #1 on the pop charts and which will bring Simon a Grammy for Best Original Score.
• 1968 - Charlotte Ross was born. American actress
• 1968 - Will Lang Jr. dies (b. 1914). American magazine executive.
• 1969 - An experimental underground nuclear reactor at Lucens Vad, Switzerland, released radiation into a cavern, which was then sealed.
• 1969 - Tsubaki Nekoi was born. Japanese manga artist
• 1970 - Socialist Salvador Allende is announced Candidate to Presidential elections in Chile.
• 1971 - Alan McManus was born. Scottish snooker player
• 1971 - Doug Weight was born. American hockey player
• 1971 - Brian Giles was born. Baseball player
• 1972 - Chan Marshall was born. American musician (Cat Power)
• 1972 - Alan Benes was born. Baseball player
• 1973 - The Communist League is founded in Denmark.
• 1975 - Nicky Butt was born. English footballer.
• 1975 - Antonio Álvarez "Ito" was born. Spanish footballer
• 1976 - Emma Bunton was born.English singer (Spice Girls).
• 1976 - The first commercial service Concorde flight took off.
• 1976 - Começo dos voos comerciais do avião supersónico Concorde. O avião voa a uma velocidade duas vezes superior à velocidade do som (Mach 2).
• 1976 - Emma Bunton was born, AKA "Baby Spice," singer .
• 1977 - Italy legalizes abortion.
• 1977 - President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders.
• 1977 - El príncipe Felipe de Borbón detentará el título de Príncipe de Asturias, a propuesta del Gobierno español.
• 1977 - Al Baxter was born. Australian rugby player.
• 1977 - Philip Neville was born. English footballer.
• 1977 - Sandro Penna dies (b. 1906). Italian poet.
• 1978 - Andrei Zyuzin was born. Russian hockey player
• 1979 - Brian O'Driscoll was born. Irish rugby player.
• 1979 - Byung-Hyun Kim was born. Korean baseball player
• 1980 - Jorge Luis Borges and Gerardo Diego Cendoya are laureate ex-aequo with Cervantes Prize.
• 1980 - An Iran Air Boeing 727 flying from Mashad to Tehran crashed on a mountainside in fog, killing all 128 on board.
• 1980 - Mueren más de 300 personas al derrumbarse una plaza de toros en Sincelejo (Colombia).
• 1980 - Nana Mizuki was born. Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1980 - Dave Kitson was born. English footballer
• 1981 - Andy Lee was born. Korean rapper (Shinhwa)
• 1981 - Ivan Ergic was born. Serbian footballer
• 1981 - Gillian Chung Yan-tung was born. Hong Kong singer (Twins)
• 1981 - Jamie Dalrymple was born. English cricketer
• 1981 - Dany Heatley was born. Canadian hockey player.
• 1981 - Izabella Miko was born. Polish-born actress and model.
• 1983 - Moritz Volz was born. German footballer
• 1984 - Jackie Wilson dies (b. 1934). American musician.
• 1985 - Don DeLillo wins the American Book Award for his breakthrough novel, White Noise.
• 1985 - Alex Pérez was born. Spanish footballer
• 1985 - James Beard dies (b. 1903). American chef and author.
• 1985 - Eddie Graham dies (b. 1930). American professional wrestler and promoter.
• 1987 - Charles Goodell dies (b. 1926). American politician.
• 1989 - Billy Tipton dies (b. 1914). American musician.
• 1989 - Carl Furillo dies (b. 1922). Major League Baseball player.
• 1990 - Jacob Smith was born. American actor.
• 1991 - Paige and Ryanne Kettner was born. American actresses
• 1991 - El nuevo rey de Noruega, Harald V, jura la Constitución ante el Parlamento .
• 1992 -The UN orders Libya to hand over two suspects linked to the Lockerbie bombing (Pan Am 103).
• 1993 - Charlie Gehringer dies (b. 1903). Baseball player.
• 1994 - El Senado mexicano ratifica la ley de amnistía para los insurgentes de Chiapas, aprobada el día antes por el Congreso .
• 1994 - Lorena Bobbitt is found not-guilty by reason of temporary insanity for severing the penis of her husband John Bobbitt.
• 1995 - 52th Golden Globes: Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks, Jessica Lange .
• 1996 - 53th Golden Globes: Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, John Travolta .
• 1996 - René Marc Jalbert dies (b. 1921). Sergeant-at-Arms at the National Assembly of Quebec
• 1997 - Newt Gingrich becomes the first leader of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.
• 1997 - Colonel Tom Parker dies (b. 1909). American manager of Elvis Presley.
• 1998 - Juan Pablo II inicia su viaje a Cuba.
• 1998 - Jack Lord dies (b. 1920). American actor.
• 1999 - War on Drugs: In one of the one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 9,500 pounds (4,300 kg) of cocaine on board.
• 1999 - Susan Strasberg dies (b. 1938). American actress.
• 1999 - Charles Brown dies (b. 1920). American blues singer and pianist.
• 2000 - El presidente de Ecuador Jamil Mahuad, huye del palacio presidencial de Quito, acorralado por el asalto al poder protagonizado por un grupo de militares y miles de indígenas.
• 2001 - Pope John Paul II names 37 new cardinals. This is an unusually high number, putting a heavy stamp on the body that will elect his successor.
• 2001 - Byron De La Beckwith dies (b. 1921). American white supremacist.
• 2001 - Chung Ju-yung dies (b. 1915). Korean industrialist.
• 2002 - Peggy Lee dies (b. 1920). Singer.
• 2002 - Zipacná de León dies. Guatemalen painter and ceramist.
• 2002 - Canadian Dollar sets all-time low against the US Dollar (US$0.6179).
• 2003 - The terms of Kevin Mitnick's parole allow him to use a computer again.
• 2003 - The U.S. Census Bureau reported that Hispanics had surpassed Blacks as the largest minority group.
• 2003 - Some 40 persons dies in earthquake of magnitude 7.8 with epicenter 33 km deep at south of Tecomán, Colima, Mexico, at 20:06 (Jan 22 02:06:35 UT).
• 2003 - The terms of Kevin Mitnick's parole allow him to use a computer again.
• 2004 - Canada: The residence of reporter, Juliet O'Neill was searched by the RCMP investigating leaks concerning the deportation of Maher Arar.
• 2004 - NASA's MER-A (Spirit the Mars Rover) had too many open files for the flash memory; the robotic Rover froze in mid-motion; the problem was fixed remotely from Earth.
• 2004 - Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway was born.
• 2004 - Yordan Radichkov dies (b. 1929). Bulgarian writer.
• 2005 - In Belize's capital city, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
• 2005 - Parveen Babi dies (b. 1955). Indian actress.
• 2005 - John L. Hess dies (b. 1917). American journalist.
• 2005 - Theun de Vries dies (b. 1907). Dutch writer.
• 2006 - Ibrahim Rugova dies (b. 1914). President of Kosovo.
• National Hugging Day
• Catholicism - Feast day of Saint Agnes.