What Happened on January 21st

Many events happen in our everyday life. Some of those turn out to be significant whereas some are not. We want to remind our readers of those events that came to be historical as time reels.

Events

On this day in 1789 — First American novel, WH Brown's "Power of Sympathy" was published.

On this day in 1954 — the first-ever nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched in Groton, Connecticut.

Births

Ethan Allen — an American Revolutionary War hero — was born on this day in 1738.  He is best known as one of the founders of the U.S. state of Vermont.

John Fitch — an American inventor — was born on this day in 1743. He is most famous for operating the first steamboat service in the United States.

Grigori Rasputin — a Russian farmer-turned-healer — was born on this day in 1869. The Russian people often blamed him for Russia's misfortunes at the beginning of the 20th century and many historians believe he played a significant role in increasing the Tsar's unpopularity, which in turn lead to the February Revolution of 1917.

Paul Allen — a renowned American businessman, investor, and philanthropist — was born on this day in 1953. He was the co-founder of Microsoft.

Deaths

On this day in 1924, Vladimir Lenin — a Russian revolutionary communist and former Premier of the Soviet Union — died. He is one of the most controversial figures of 20th-century history, as some view him as a dictator and others see him as a tireless champion of the working class.

On this day in 1933, George Moore — an Irish novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is famous for infusing his literary work with elements of French realism.

On this day in 1950, George Orwell — an English novelist essayist, journalist, and critic — died. He is best known for his novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm.