21 January in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 21 January is the birth anniversary of Pratibha Ray.
21 January is also observed as the death anniversary of Rash Bihari Bose, Gyan Chandra Ghosh, Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, and Mrinalini Sarabhai.
Birth Anniversary
21 January in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Pratibha Ray, is a famous Oriya language writer. She raised his voice against social injustice and corruption through his novels. Her anthropological study on the Bonda tribe of the Bonda hills of the state of Orissa was published under the name ‘Adhibhoomi’. It is considered a masterpiece of anthropological studies. Pratibha Rai’s novel ‘Maganmati’ is based on the 1999 Maha cyclone. This is her best creation. She was born on 21 January 1943 in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa.
Read More: 20 January in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary
21 January in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Rash Bihari Bose (25 May 1886 – 21 January 1945), an eminent lawyer and educationist. Rash Behari Bose was not only a famous revolutionary but also the creator of the first Azad Hind Fauj. Among the revolutionaries of the country who tried to achieve independence and organize an independent government, the name of Shri Rash Behari Bose is prominent. Rash Behari Bose was associated with the moderate party of the Congress. Rash Behari Bose called the militants deadly, people-provoking, and unresponsive agitators. He was one of those people who used to go out of the country with the help of foreign nations to create an environment against the British and find a way out for the liberation of India. In 1937, he founded the ‘Indian Freedom Association’ and called upon all Indians, and declared India an independent nation. Rash Bihari Bose died on 21 January 1945.
Gyan Chandra Ghosh (14 September 1894 – 21 January 1959), one of the famous scientists of India. He was the founder and member of many scientific organizations. His fame was spread in the world of science only due to Ghosh’s research work. The ‘Theory of Tanuta’, founded by Gyan Chandra Ghosh, is well known as ‘Ghosh’s theory of dilution’, although it had to undergo many changes. He died on 21 January 1959.
Acharya Shivpujan Sahay (9 August 1893 – 21 January 1963, Patna) was a novelist, story writer, editor, and journalist in Hindi literature. The early articles written by him were published in magazines like ‘Lakshmi’, ‘Manoranjan’ and ‘Pataliputra’ etc. Shivpujan Sahay went to ‘Laheriyasarai’ (Darbhanga) in 1934 and edited the monthly paper ‘Balak’. After independence, Shivpujan Sahay was the director of ‘Bihar Rashtrabhasha Parishad’ and editor of a research-reviewed quarterly paper titled ‘Sahitya’ published by ‘Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan’. He died on 21 January 1963 in Patna.
Mrinalini Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016), is an Indian classical dancer. She was known as ‘Amma’. In view of his contribution and achievements in classical dance, the Government of India honored him with ‘Padma Bhushan’. He died on 21 January 2016 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Read More: 19 January in Indian and World History
Notable events on 21 January in Indian and World history
21 January 1720 – The Treaty of Stockholm was signed by Persia and Sweden.
21 January 1789 – William Hill Brown’s book ‘The Power of Sympathy’ was published in Boston.
21 January 1840 – The English alphabet telegraph was patented to William Cook and Charles Wheelstone.
21 January 1852 – Emma Gad, a Danish writer, and socialite, was born.
21 January 1853 – The envelope folding machine was patented by Russell Howes.
21 January 1865 – On this day, for the first time an oil well was drilled with a torpedo.
21 January 1889 – Naguib El Rihani, an Egyptian film actor, was born.
21 January 1910 – Eua Sunthornsanan, a singer, and Thai composer, was born.
21 January 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, a German American biochemist, and Nobel Laureate was born.
21 January 1923 – Lola Flores, a Spanish actress, bailaora and singer, was born.
21 January 1924 – In Britain in 1924, the Labor Party was formed for the first time, in which Raxey Macdonald became the Prime Minister.
21 January 1925 – Albania declared itself a republic on this day.
21 January 1926 – Camillo Golgi, an Italian physician, and Nobel Laureate, died.
21 September 1971 – Bernardo Alberto Houssay, an Argentine physiologist and co-recipient of the 1947 Nobel Prize, died.
21 January 1972 – The NEFA region of Assam (Northeast Frontier Agency) became the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh.
21 January 1981 – all the people held hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran were freed.
21 January 1996 – Nearly 400 people died when a boat carrying passengers sank off Indonesia’s Sumatra coast.
21 January 2000 – Asia’s first ‘slit liver’ was transplanted in Hong Kong.
21 January 2003 – Driverless US reconnaissance aircraft crashed in Pakistan.
21 January 2008 – India successfully launched an Israeli spy satellite and placed it in polar orbit.
21 January 2008 – former cricketer Imran Khan and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf were included in the list of ‘Hall of Fame Awards for the year 2007.
21 January 2009 – an Air Force training aircraft Surya Kiran crashed in Bidar, Karnataka.
21 January 2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai – an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor – died.
21 January is Observed as Formation Day of Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur state.