Historical anniversaries are great for On This Day in History features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re simple to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.
Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in January 2021 (so you have time to write about them!)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2021. You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries in the book. The 2022 edition is also available.
1 Jan 2011 – 10 years ago
The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) TV channel was launched in the USA.
2 Jan 1971 – 50 years ago
Cigarette advertisements were banned on US television and radio.
3 Jan 1521 – 500 years ago
German Protestant reformer Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X after he refused to recant his writings. (See also 23rd January below.)
4 Jan 1896 – 125 years ago
Utah became the 45th state of the USA.
5 Jan 1961 – 60 years ago
The first episode of the sitcom Mister Ed was broadcast in the USA. It was later picked up by CBS and ran for six seasons until 1966.
6 Jan 1921 – 100 years ago
The Iraqi Army was formed.
7 Jan 2001 – 20 years ago
John Kufuor was inaugurated as President of Ghana. It was the first peaceful transfer of power since Ghana gained independence in 1957.
8 Jan 1921 – 100 years ago
David Lloyd George became the first British Prime Minister to occupy Chequers in Buckinghamshire. Chequers is the serving Prime Minister’s country retreat, and was given to the nation by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham.
9 Jan 2001 – 20 years ago
Apple launched iTunes, its digital media player and media management software.
10 Jan 1946 – 75 years ago
The United Nations General Assembly convened for the first time, in London.
11 Jan 1971 – 50 years ago
The first quickie divorce was granted in the UK following the passing of the Divorce Reform Act.
12 Jan 1896 – 125 years ago
Three physics students at Davidson College, North Carolina took the first x-ray photograph in the USA – after illegally gaining access to a laboratory. Later that year, their professor, Henry Louis Smith, developed the technology for use in hospitals.
13 Jan 1941 – 80 years ago
Death of James Joyce, Irish novelist. Best known for Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners.
14 Jan 1951 – 70 years ago
The first National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowl game was played, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
15 Jan 1971 – 50 years ago
The Aswan High Dam, on the Nile in Egypt, was officially dedicated.
16 Jan 1921 – 100 years ago
The première of the Charlie Chaplin film The Kid, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
(New York première: 21st January, released: 6th February. UK: March.)
17 Jan 1871 – 150 years ago
American inventor Andrew Smith Hallidie was granted a US patent for endless wire rope – used in cable car systems. He established the world’s first cable car system in San Francisco, California in 1873.
18 Jan 1871 – 150 years ago
Wilhelm I was proclaimed the first Emperor of Germany.
19 Jan 2001 – 20 years ago
Internet twins case. American twin baby girls were seized from a hotel in Wales and taken into care. They had been “sold” by an adoption broker and adopted over the internet by a British couple, Alan and Judith Kilshaw. The couple became infamous after selling their story to a national newspaper. The twins were later returned to the USA after a judge ruled they were not safe in the couple’s care.
20 Jan 1961 – 60 years ago
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States.
21 Jan 1981 – 40 years ago
The first DMC DeLorean sports car was produced in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
About 9,000 of the cars were produced between 1981 and early 1983. It famously featured in the film Back to the Future.
22 Jan 1946 – 75 years ago
The Central Intelligence Group was established in the USA. It was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was established in September 1947.
23 Jan to 25 May 1521 – 500 years ago
The Diet of Worms, Germany. The Holy Roman Empire held an imperial assembly, culminating in the Edict of Worms which branded the Protestant reformer Martin Luther a heretic and banned his writings.
24 Jan 1946 – 75 years ago
The United Nations Atomic Energy Commission was established.
25 Jan 1921 – 100 years ago
The première of Karel Capek’s play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The play marks the first use of the term robot.
26 Jan 1871 – 150 years ago
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded in England.
27 Jan 1956 – 65 years ago
Elvis Presley’s hit song Heartbreak Hotel was released. It topped the US charts in April, and became his first hit in the UK in May.
28 Jan 1921 – 100 years ago
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. It honours those who died in WWI (and later also WWII) who were never identified.
29 Jan to 1 Feb 1991 – 30 years ago
Gulf War: the Battle of Khafji, Saudi Arabia. The first major ground engagement of the war. Coalition victory.
30 Jan 1951 – 70 years ago
Death of Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian-born German automotive engineer who designed the Volkswagen Beetle and Tiger tank and founded the Porsche sports car company.
31 Jan 1971 – 50 years ago
NASA launched Apollo 14, the 3rd manned mission to land on the Moon. On 6th February Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golf ball on the Moon. The crewed returned to Earth on 9th February.
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2021. The 2022 edition is also available if you need to work further ahead. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.