HISTORY AT A GLANCE
TODAY is Saturday, January 21, the 21th day of 2017. There are 344 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.. 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board. 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes and burns upon landing at Montego Bay, Jamaica, killing 37. It is the worst air disaster in Jamaica’s history and the first for Avianca. 1961 – Four hundred thirty-five workers are buried alive when
a mine in Coalbrook, Free State collapses. 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most
publicized and controversial battles of the war begins. 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete. 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts. 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the
London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes. 1977 – United States President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada. 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car
begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board. 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad. 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless. 2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.