Notable Birthdays for January 21
Ethan Allen (1738-1789) - Founder of Vermont.
John Fitch (1743-1789) - American inventor who had a working steamboat years before Robert Fulton.
Horace Wells (1815-1848) - Dentist who was a pioneer in the use of laughing gas during procedures.
Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863) - Confederate General who is considered one of the most gifted tactical commanders in the history of the military.
Ernest Holmes (1887-1969) - New Thought writer and founder of the spiritual movement known as Religious Science.
Avery Claflin (1898-1979) - Banker and compose who created the income tax form instructions into a musical composition (Lament for April 15).
Alan Hewitt (1915-1986) - Actor known for his role as Det Brennan in My Favorite Martian.
Richard Winters (1918-2011) - Army officer and commander of Easy Company and inspiration for the movie Band of Brothers.
Barney Clark (1921-1983) - First person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (1922-1994) - Actor best known as Kojak on the screen.
Gene Sharp (1928-2017) - Founder of the Albert Einstein Institution.
Joseph W. Eschbach (1933-2007) - Doctor and kidney specialist.
William Wrigley III (1933-1999) - Founder of the Wrigley Company.
Robert Weston Smith (1938-1995) - Disc jockey known Wolfman Jack over the airwaves.
Jack Nicklaus (1940-Still Living) - PGA champion golfer and sportscaster.
Paul Allen (1953-2018) - Co-founder of Microsoft.
Geena Davis (1956-Still Living) - Award-winning actress known for her roles in Beetlejuice, Thelma & Louise, and A League of Their Own.
Kevin Cramer (1961-Still Living) - ND politician.
Ken Leung (1970-Still Living) - Actor best known for his role in the t.v. series Lost.
Keith Hufnagel (1974-2020) - Founder of the skate and clothing company HUF.
Booboo Stewart (1994-Still Living) - Actor who played Seth Clearwater in The Twilight Saga.
Memorable Events for January 21
1677 - The first medical publication about smallpox is published.
1789 - The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy by William Hill Brown is published.
1908 - NY City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public.
1935 - The Wilderness Society is founded.
1942 - A Bronx judge rules all pinball machines illegal.
1954 - The first nuclear-powered submarine (USS Nautilus) is launched in CT by First Lady Eisenhower.
2004 - NASA's fixes the flash memory card on the Mars Rover Spirit after they lose communication with the device.