A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 21st. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On January 21, 1535, in the aftermath of “The Affair of the Placards,” French Protestants were burned at the stake in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI of France was convicted of treason and taken to the guillotine where he was promptly beheaded, just one of the many instances of famous beheadings in a long history of human violence, both intentional and accidental, both by the state as an execution or by criminal action, and even by our animal “friends.”
On January 21, 1908, the New York City Board of Alderman passed the Sullivan Ordinance, a law that banned women from smoking in any public establishment.
On January 21, 1977, newly inaugurated President Jimmy Carter created perhaps the biggest controversy of his presidency by pardoning Viet Nam War era draft dodgers.
On January 21, 1981, the DeLorean sports car started being produced in Northern Ireland, with production ending in December of 1982.
On January 21, 1997, an historic event took place when the sitting Speaker of the US House of representatives, Newton Leroy “Newt” Gingrich of Georgia, was reprimanded by his peers by a vote of 395 to 28 for “ethics violations.”
On January 21, 2009, Israel pulled its military forces out of the Gaza strip after a three-week war with Palestinian Islamic extremist group Hamas.
On Saturday, January 21, 2017, about 15,000, mostly female, protesters took to the streets of Cleveland, Ohio.
On January 21, 2018, in the earliest hours of the day, suburban Cleveland native Stipe Miocic successfully defended his UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) mixed martial arts (MMA) title for the third consecutive time, the first MMA heavyweight to accomplish this feat.
On January 30, 2018, evil runs in the family in the first trailer for writer and director Ari Aster’s Hereditary, a 2018 American horror film that premiered on January 21, 2018 at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight section.
On January 21, 2019, the citizens of the United States of America celebrate another national holiday, this one in remembrance of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., an icon of the Civil Rights Movement.
On January 21, 2023, we celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day, one of the greatest holidays in all of the Rodent Kingdom!
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.