Did you know about Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history, with many films dominating the box office three or four at a time.
Notable Deaths on January 21
January 21 has 112 recorded notable deaths across history, from 420 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1959 — Cecil B. DeMille
American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1881)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
112 source records
420 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on January 21
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1919 A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place. Source
- 1954 The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States. Source
Did you know about Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès's most important films include A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904).
Did you know about Jackie Wilson
Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in the 20th century.
Did you know about Mustafa III
After years of confinement following his father's deposition, he became sultan in 1757.
Did you know about Alexander Herzen
With his writings, many composed while exiled in London, he attempted to influence the situation in Russia, contributing to a political climate that led to the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.
More major people who died on January 21
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1938
Georges Méliès
French actor, director, and producer (born 1861)
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès was a French filmmaker, actor, magician, and toymaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of cinema, primarily in the fantasy and science fiction genres. Méliès rose to prominence creating "trick films" and became well known for his innovative use of special effects, popularizing such techniques as substitution splices, multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted colour. He was also one of the first filmmakers to use storyboards in his work. His most important films include A Trip to the Moon (1902) and The Impossible Voyage (1904).
1984
Jackie Wilson
American singer (born 1934)
Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in the 20th century. Among Wilson's hits are "Lonely Teardrops," "Baby Workout," "Reet Petite", "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher". His performance style is often cited as a significant influence on contemporary and later artists such as Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Michael Jackson.
1774
Mustafa III
Ottoman sultan (born 1717)
Mustafa III was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30), and his consort Mihrişah Kadın. He was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I (1774–89). After years of confinement following his father's deposition, he became sultan in 1757. He promoted justice, economic reform, and modernized infrastructure. Admiring Frederick the Great, he aligned diplomatically with Prussia. However, his push for war with Russia in 1768 led to disaster, exposing Ottoman military weakness despite reform efforts. The war ended with major territorial losses.
1992
Eddie Mabo
Australian land rights activist (born 1936)
Edward Koiki Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander man, known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British Crown acquired sovereignty and that the international law doctrine of terra nullius was not applicable to Australian domestic law. High court judges considering the case Mabo v Queensland found in favour of Mabo, which led to the Native Title Act 1993 and established native title in Australia, officially recognising the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.
1870
Alexander Herzen
Russian philosopher and author (born 1812)
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian writer and thinker known as the precursor of Russian socialism and one of the main precursors of agrarian populism. With his writings, many composed while exiled in London, he attempted to influence the situation in Russia, contributing to a political climate that led to the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. He published the important social novel Who is to Blame? (1845–46). His autobiography, My Past and Thoughts, is often considered one of the best examples of that genre in Russian literature.
1683
Anthony Ashley Cooper
1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1621)
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, was an English statesman. He held senior political office under both the Commonwealth of England and Charles II, serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1661 to 1672 and Lord Chancellor from 1672 to 1673. During the Exclusion Crisis (1679–1681), Shaftesbury headed the movement to bar the Catholic heir, James II, from the royal succession, which is often seen as the origin of the Whig party. He was the first patron of John Locke, who, when they met was a quiet Oxford don and practising physician; as part of Shaftesbury's household and retinue for 15 years, Locke became a major political philosopher.
2019
Harris Wofford
American politician, author and civil rights activist (born 1926)
Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr. was an American attorney, civil rights activist, and Democratic Party politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1991 to 1995. A noted advocate of national service and volunteering, Wofford was also the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College from 1970 to 1978, served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in 1986, served as Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry in the cabinet of Governor Bob Casey Sr. from 1987 to 1991, and was a surrogate for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He introduced Obama in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center before Obama's speech on race in America, "A More Perfect Union."
1993
Charlie Gehringer
American baseball player and manager (born 1903)
Charles Leonard Gehringer, nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons from 1924 to 1942. He compiled a .320 career batting average with 2,839 hits and 1,427 runs batted in (RBIs). He had seven seasons with more than 200 hits and was the starting second baseman and played every inning of the first six All Star Games. He won the American League batting title in 1937 with a .371 average and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award. He helped lead the Tigers to three American League pennants and the 1935 World Series championship.
1988
Vincent Lingiari
Australian Aboriginal rights activist (born 1919)
Vincent Lingiari was an Australian Aboriginal rights activist of the Gurindji people. In his early life he started as a stockman at Wave Hill Station, where the Aboriginal workers were given beef, bread, and tobacco as their wages of $6. After the owners of the station refused to improve pay and working conditions at the cattle station and hand back some of Gurindji land, Lingiari was elected and became the leader of the workers in August 1966. He led his people in the Wave Hill walk-off, also known as the Gurindji strike.
1926
Camillo Golgi
Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1843)
Camillo Golgi was an Italian biologist and pathologist who was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his works on the central nervous system. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia between 1860 and 1868 under the tutelage of Cesare Lombroso. Inspired by pathologist Giulio Bizzozero, he pursued research in the nervous system. His discovery of a staining technique called black reaction in 1873 was a major breakthrough in neuroscience. Several structures and phenomena in anatomy and physiology are named for him, including the Golgi apparatus, the Golgi tendon organ and the Golgi tendon reflex.
1891
Calixa Lavallée
Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (born 1842)
Calixa Lavallée was a Canadian musician and Union Army band musician during the American Civil War. He was born in the Province of Canada. He is best known for composing the music for "O Canada", which officially became the national anthem of Canada in 1980, after a vote in the Senate and the House of Commons. The same 1980 Act of Parliament also changed some of the English lyrics. A further alteration to the English lyrics was made again in 2018. The original French lyrics and the music, however, have remained unchanged since 1880.
1789
Baron d'Holbach
French-German philosopher and author (born 1723)
Paul Thiry, Baron d'Holbach, known as d'Holbach, was a Franco-German philosopher, encyclopedist and writer, who was a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born in Edesheim, near Landau in the Rhenish Palatinate, but lived and worked mainly in Paris, where he kept a salon. He helped in the dissemination of "Protestant and especially German thought", particularly in the field of the sciences, but was known more for his atheism and voluminous writings against religion, famously including The System of Nature (1770) and The Universal Morality (1776).
1793
Louis XVI of France (born 1754)
Louis XVI was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Maria Josepha of Saxony, Louis became the new Dauphin when his father died in 1765. In 1770, he married Marie Antoinette. He became King of France and Navarre on his paternal grandfather's death on 10 May 1774, and reigned until the abolition of the monarchy on 21 September 1792. From 1791 onwards, he used the style of king of the French.
1985
James Beard
American chef and author (born 1903)
James Andrews Beard was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, Oregon, and lectured widely. He emphasized American cooking, prepared with fresh and wholesome American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty books, and his memory is honored by his foundation's annual James Beard Awards.
1901
Elisha Gray
American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (born 1835)
Elisha Gray was an American electrical engineer who co-founded the Western Electric Manufacturing Company. Gray is best known for his development of a telephone prototype in 1876 in Highland Park, Illinois. Some recent authors have argued that Gray should be considered the true inventor of the telephone because Alexander Graham Bell allegedly stole the idea of the liquid transmitter from him. Gray had been using liquid transmitters in his telephone experiments for more than two years previously; however, Bell's patent was upheld in court.
1118
Pope Paschal II (born 1050)
Pope Paschal II, born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was created the cardinal-priest of San Clemente by Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) in 1073. He was consecrated as pope in succession to Pope Urban II (1088–99) on 19 August 1099. His reign of almost twenty years was exceptionally long for a medieval pope.
1862
Božena Němcová
Austrian-Czech author and poet (born 1820)
Božena Němcová was a Czech writer of the final phase of the Czech National Revival movement. Her "first published work was a patriotic poem, 'To the Bohemian Women', which brought her to the attention of a circle of writers and intellectuals in Prague, who were enthralled by 'her charming directness and her marvellous mind'". When her novel Babička "was published in 1855, it was quickly recognized as a classic and became the foundational work of modern Czech literature".
1999
Susan Strasberg
American actress (born 1938)
Susan Elizabeth Strasberg was an American stage, film, and television actress. Thought to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in The Diary of Anne Frank. She appeared on the covers of LIFE and Newsweek in 1955. A close friend of Marilyn Monroe, she wrote two best-selling tell-all books. Her later career primarily consisted of slasher and horror films, followed by TV roles, by the 1980s.
2015
Marcus Borg
American scholar, theologian, and author (born 1942)
Marcus Joel Borg was an American New Testament scholar and theologian. He was among the most widely known and influential voices in Liberal Christianity. Borg was a fellow of the Jesus Seminar and a major figure in historical Jesus scholarship. He retired as Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University in 2007. He died eight years later at the age of 72, of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at his home in Powell Butte, Oregon.