2025 Kartalkaya hotel fire
A fire at a hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Turkey's Bolu Province results in 78 people killed.
What happened on January 21
29 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 763 to 2026.
Standout on January 21
2025
2025 Kartalkaya hotel fire
A fire at a hotel at the Kartalkaya ski resort in Turkey's Bolu Province results in 78 people killed.
About January 21
January 21 is the 21st day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 21 of 365 (21 in leap years)344 days left in the year (345 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Wednesday in 2026, Thursday in 2027, Friday in 2028, Sunday in 2029, Monday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 4 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♒ Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)Cusp date — the exact boundary shifts by a day in some years.
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- January birthstone
- Garnetprotection, friendship and trust
- January birth flower
- Carnation / Snowdroplove, devotion and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 86 days
- Roman numerals
- XXI.Iday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 700thEdward II1326
- 75thMount Lamington1951
- 50thConcorde1976
- 40thShanty town1986
- 30thCristian Pavon1996
- 30thMarco Asensio1996
- 25thBaek Jong-bum2001
- 10thBill Johnson (skier)2016
January 21 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Mrinalini Sarabhai · Bill Johnson (skier)
- 25 years ago2001
- Baek Jong-bum
- 50 years ago1976
- Concorde
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on January 21 — ages this year
- 2007Luke Littlerturns 19
- 2005IShowSpeedturns 21
- 2004Ingrid Alexandra, Crown Princess of Norwayturns 22
- 2003Hannibal Mejbriturns 23
- 2002Moussa Diabatéturns 24
- 2001Baek Jong-bumturns 25
Historical events 29
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
2023 Monterey Park shooting
A shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, left 11 people dead and injured nine others.
2017 Women's March
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.
Rojava Revolution
Rojava conflict: The Jazira Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.
2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations
Demonstrations against alleged corruption in the Albanian government led to the killings of four protesters in Tirana by the Republican Guard.
Gaza Strip
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.
Belmopan
In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
NASA
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.
2003 Colima earthquake
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
Ecuador
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.
War on drugs
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.
United States House of Representatives
The 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.
Shanty town
Conservative protestors attack a mock shanty town that had been erected on the Green at Dartmouth College as part of anti-apartheid protests.
Galaxy Airlines Flight 203
Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
DMC DeLorean
Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
DeLorean Motor Company
The DeLorean Motor Company completed the first production car of the DMC DeLorean at its factory in Northern Ireland.
Iran Air Flight 291
Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
Concorde
Concorde, an Anglo-French supersonic airliner, began scheduled commercial flights to London, Paris, Bahrain, and Rio de Janeiro.
Tripura
Tripura, formerly part of the independent Twipra Kingdom, became a state of India.
Emley Moor transmitting station
The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
A B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons crashed onto sea ice near Thule Air Base, Greenland, causing localized radioactive contamination.
Vietnam War
Vietnam 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.
Mount Lamington
Mount Lamington, a volcano in Papua New Guinea, erupted (pictured) and killed more than 2,900 people.
Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs (pictured) became the first Australian-born governor-general of Australia.
First Dáil
The First Dáil convened at the Mansion House in Dublin and adopted a declaration of independence calling for the establishment of the Irish Republic.
French Revolution
French Revolution: After being found guilty of high treason by the National Convention, Louis XVI was guillotined in Paris.
French and Indian War
French and Indian War: French regulars, Canadien militia and Indigenous forces ambushed Rogers' Rangers forces in the Battle on Snowshoes.
Edward II
King Edward II of England issued a royal charter confirming Adam de Brome's foundation of Oriel College, Oxford.
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate crushed the Alid revolt when a rebel leader was mortally wounded in battle near Basra in present-day Iraq.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Mauricio Funes
Mauricio Funes, Salvadoran politician, 79th President of El Salvador (born 1959)
Garth Hudson
Garth Hudson, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (born 1937)
Henri, Count of Paris (born 1933)
Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (born 1933)
Harris Wofford
Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (born 1926)
Mrinalini Sarabhai
Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (born 1918)
Johnnie Lewis
Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (born 1946)
Leon Brittan
Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (born 1939)
Chumpol Silpa-archa
Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (born 1940)
Michael Winner
Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1935)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Demiana
Christian feast day: Demiana (Coptic Church)
John Yi Yun-il
Christian feast day: John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
Fructuosus
Christian feast day: Fructuosus
Agnes of Rome
Christian feast day: Agnes
Babinden
Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
Meinrad of Einsiedeln
Christian feast day: Meinrad of Einsiedeln
January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Errol Barrow Day
Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
Spread across the centuries
- 8th century1
- 14th century1
- 18th century2
- 20th century30
- 21st century35
Earliest: Abbasid Caliphate (763). Most recent: Virginia Oliver (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about January 21
What day of the year is January 21?
January 21 is the 21st day of the year, with 344 days left after it.
What star sign is January 21?
January 21 falls under Aquarius (January 20 – February 18), a air sign ruled by Uranus (traditionally Saturn). The birthstone for the month is Garnet.
How many things happened on January 21?
We record 77 entries for January 21: 29 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 763 to 2026.
Who was born on January 21?
Luke Littler (2007) is among the notable births on January 21. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the January 21 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like January 21
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.