January 21 in History

Historical Events on January 21

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.

1861 American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.

1925 Albania declares itself a republic.

1941 Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania, the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.

1968 Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.

1976 Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.

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.

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.

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.

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Famous Birthdays on January 21

1813 John C. Frémont

1951 Eric Holder

1953 Paul Allen

1980 Nana Mizuki

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Famous Deaths on January 21

1924 Vladimir Lenin

1950 George Orwell

1956 Sam Langford

1959 Cecil B. DeMille

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