On Jan. 21, 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine.

In 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin died at age 53.

In 1954, the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Connecticut.

In 1976, British Airways and Air France inaugurated scheduled passenger service on the supersonic Concorde jet.

In 1977, on his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned most Vietnam War draft evaders.

In 1997, Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for the first time in history to discipline its leader for misconduct.

In 2003, the Census Bureau announced that Hispanics had become America’s largest minority group.