Today in History: January 21, Concorde jet takes first supersonic passenger flight

"Today is Wednesday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2026. There are 344 days left in the year. Today in history: On Jan. 21, 1976, British Airways and Air France inaugurated scheduled passenger service on the supersonic Concorde jet. Also on this date: In 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed by guillotine. In 1861,"

"He would later be elected president of the Confederacy shortly before the Civil War began. In 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin died at age 53, setting off a bloody power struggle that would lead to the rise of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. In 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss, accused of being part of a Communist spy ring, was found guilty in New York of lying to a grand jury."

"In 1960, the collapse of a mine in Coalbrook, South Africa, killed 437 miners. In 1977, on his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders. In 1985, Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashed in a field shortly after takeoff from Reno, Nevada, killing all but one of the 71 people aboard. The survivor was a 17-year-old boy who was thrown clear of the aircraft and found conscious and still in his seat."

January 21 features a range of historical events across centuries. In 1793, King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. In 1861, Jefferson Davis resigned his U.S. Senate seat and later became president of the Confederacy. In 1924, Vladimir Lenin died, triggering a power struggle that enabled Josef Stalin's rise. In 1976, British Airways and Air France began Concorde passenger service. Other events include Alger Hiss’s 1950 conviction, the Coalbrook mine collapse in 1960 that killed 437 miners, Jimmy Carter’s 1977 pardons for draft evaders, the 1985 Galaxy Airlines crash with one teenager survivor, the 2010 Citizens United ruling, and the 2017 Women’s March.

Read at www.mercurynews.com