Today in History January 21

1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, French Protestants are burned at the stake in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris

1774 – Abdul Hamid I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.

1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.

1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.

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

1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.

1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.

1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.

1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.

1960 – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.

1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.

1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

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.

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.

1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (d. 1284)[3]

1724 – Louis-Jean-Franзois Lagrenйe, French rococo painter (d. 1805)

1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)

1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian Mystic (d. 1916)

1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957

1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)

1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General

1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor

420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire

1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)

1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)

1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 188

1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)

1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)