January 21

in History

Basra, IraqMedieval

763

Abbasid Caliphate Crushes Revolt

A rebel falls near the banks of Basra

Near the ancient city of Basra in present-day Iraq, the Abbasid Caliphate delivered a decisive blow against the Alid revolt. The rebel leader was mortally wounded in battle, extinguishing a challenge that had threatened the stability of the young caliphate. The Abbasids, who had risen to power by overthrowing the Umayyads just years before, demonstrated that they would tolerate no challenge to their authority over the vast Islamic empire.

763 AD

Elof Ahrle Was Born — Sweden's versatile man of stage and screen

SwedenEarly 20th Century

1900

Elof Ahrle Was Born

Sweden's versatile man of stage and screen

Elof Ahrle was born in Sweden at the turn of the century, destined for a prolific career in Scandinavian cinema. Over four decades, he appeared in eighty films and directed ten more, becoming a familiar face in Swedish entertainment. Married to actress Birgit Rosengren, Ahrle embodied the golden age of Swedish cinema, contributing both in front of and behind the camera to a national film culture admired worldwide.

1900 AD

Nuclear marine propulsion — The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.

Propulsion system for marine vessels utilizing a nuclear powerplantLate 20th Century

1954

Nuclear marine propulsion

The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.

Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship or submarine with heat provided by a nuclear reactor. The power plant heats water to produce steam for a turbine used to turn the ship's propeller through a gearbox or through an electric generator and motor. Nuclear propulsion is used primarily within naval warships such as nuclear submarines and supercarriers. A small number of experimental civil nuclear ships have been built.

1954 AD