| 844:
|
Death of Pope Gregory IV
|
| 847:
|
Death of Pope Sergius II
|
| 1166:
|
Marriage of Prince Henry of Germany to Constance of Sicily
|
| 1186:
|
Fredrick Barbarossa crowned ruler of Burgundy
|
| 1302:
|
Black faction in Florence sentences its opponents to exile or death, Dante is expelled from Florence
|
| 1540:
|
Death of St. Angela (de Medici) of Bresica
|
| 1550:
|
Execution of Humphrey Arundell
|
| 1556:
|
Death of Humayan, Moghul Emperor
|
| 1556:
|
Thomas Whittle, Bartlet Green, John Tudson, John Went, Thomas Browne, Isabel Foster and Joan Warne (alias Lashford) burnt for heresy
|
| 1571:
|
'Abbas I the Great, Safavid Shah of Persia (1588-1629) born
|
| 1591:
|
Agnes Sampsoune tried, strangled, and burnt for a witch in Scotland
|
| 1614:
|
Tokugawa Ieyasu outlaws Christianity in Japan
|
| 1629:
|
Death of Abbas the Great. Shah of Persia
|
| 1731:
|
Bartolomeo Cristofori, the Italian harpsichord manufacturer generally credited with the invention of the piano, died
|
| 1756:
|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Don Giovanni,The Marriage of Figaro, Symphony #41, Requiem, A Little Night Music) born
|
| 1785:
|
The oldest state university in America, the University of Georgia, was chartered in Athens
|
| 1822:
|
Greece proclaimed its independence from Turkey
|
| 1832:
|
Mathematician and writer (Charles Dodgson) Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass,The Hunting of the Snark) born
|
| 1839:
|
John Julian, famed English authority on sacred music. His undoubted masterwork is the monumental "Dictionary of Hymnology" which he published in 1892 (later revised, updated and reissued in 1957). born
|
| 1850:
|
Labor union leader Samuel Gompers (1st president of the American Federation of Labor) born
|
| 1859:
|
Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor, forced to abdicate after World War I and fled to the Netherlands, where he lived until 1941. born
|
| 1862:
|
Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1
|
| 1870:
|
Kappa Alpha Theta, the first American Greek letter sorority, was founded at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana
|
| 1880:
|
Thomas Edison was granted a patent for an electric incandescent lamp
|
| 1885:
|
The father of the American musical, composer Jerome Kern (Show Boat, Ol' Man River, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Lovely to Look At, The Way You Look Tonight, The Last Time I Saw Paris) born
|
| 1886:
|
New York Times music critic Olin Downes born
|
| 1888:
|
The National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC
|
| 1900:
|
U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover (Father of the Nuclear Navy' directed development of the Nautilus, the first nuclear reactor-powered submarine) born
|
| 1900:
|
Foreign diplomats in Peking fear revolt and demand that the Imperial Government discipline the Boxer Rebels
|
| 1901:
|
Verdi died at the age of 87, having outlived his contemporary Wagner
|
| 1908:
|
Publisher William Randolph Hearst Jr. born
|
| 1908:
|
The New York Police Department deputizes dogs for duty
|
| 1916:
|
President Woodrow Wilson opens preparedness program
|
| 1918:
|
Musical conductor Skitch (Lyle) Henderson born
|
| 1918:
|
Communists attempt to seize power in Finland
|
| 1921:
|
Actress Donna (Mullenger) Reed (From Here to Eternity, It's a Wonderful Life, The Benny Goodman Story, The Donna Reed Show) born
|
| 1924:
|
Lenin's body is laid in a marble tomb on Red Square near the Kremlin
|
| 1925:
|
Alaska reports a diphtheria epidemic in Nome
|
| 1926:
|
John Logie Baird of Scotland demonstrated the first television set, the iconoscope, a mechanical scanning system.This public demonstration was in London
|
| 1930:
|
Singer Bobby "Blue" Bland (That's the Way Love Is, Call on Me, Turn on Your Love Light, Ain't Nothin' You Can Do) born
|
| 1936:
|
Actor (Merle Johnson) Troy Donahue (A Summer Place, Assault of the Party Nerds, The Godfather: Part 2, The Chilling) Some sources born
|
| 1939:
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt approves the sale of U.S. war planes to France
|
| 1940:
|
Actor James Cromwell born
|
| 1943:
|
Some 50 bombers struck Wilhelmshaven in the first all-American air raid against Germany during World War Two
|
| 1945:
|
Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) born
|
| 1945:
|
The Russians liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp, where the Nazis had murdered 1.5 million men, women and children, including more than one million Jews
|
| 1946:
|
Rhythm-and-blues singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) born
|
| 1948:
|
Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov born
|
| 1948:
|
1st Tape Recorder is sold
|
| 1951:
|
An era of atomic testing in the Nevada desert began as an Air Force plane dropped a one-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flats
|
| 1955:
|
Country singer Cheryl White born
|
| 1955:
|
Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) born
|
| 1956:
|
Actress Mimi Rogers (Full Body Massage, Monkey Trouble, Dark Horse, The Rousters, Desperate Hours, The Mighty Quinn, Someone To Watch Over Me, Blue Skies Again) born
|
| 1958:
|
Singer Little Richard abandoned his career and enrolled in the Oakwood Bible College in Huntsville, Alabama. He was inspired by a near-death experience. While on tour, the plane caught fire as they flew over the Philippines. His prayer to survive was answered
|
| 1959:
|
NASA selects 110 candidates for the first U.S. space flight
|
| 1961:
|
Rock singer Margo Timmons (Cowboy Junkies) born
|
| 1961:
|
Rock musician Gillian Gilbert (New Order) born
|
| 1961:
|
Leontyne Price made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. She sang in the role of Leonora in "Il Trovatore"
|
| 1962:
|
The Soviet government changed the names of all places honoring Molotov, Kaganovich and Malenkov, participants in an attempt to oust Nikita Khrushchev in 1957
|
| 1964:
|
Actress Bridget Fonda (Point of No Return, The Godfather, Part 3, Aria, 21 Jump Street) born
|
| 1966:
|
Soldiers seized control of Niger's government
|
| 1967:
|
Astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their "Apollo One" spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Florida
|
| 1967:
|
Representatives from more than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons
|
| 1968:
|
Country singer Tracy Lawrence born
|
| 1968:
|
Rock singer Mike Patton (Faith No More) born
|
| 1968:
|
The Bee Gees played their first American concert, as a group. They earned $50,000 to entertain at the Anaheim Convention Center in California
|
| 1968:
|
Otis Redding's "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" was released, seven weeks after the singer's death. It became #1 on March 16, 1968 and remained at the top spot for a month
|
| 1970:
|
Rock musician Mark Trojanowski (Sister Hazel) born
|
| 1972:
|
In Columbia, the white and black United Methodist conferences of South Carolina -- separated since the Civil War -- voted in their respective meetings to adopt a plan of union
|
| 1973:
|
The United States and North Vietnam signed a cease-fire agreement. The same day, the United States announced an end to the military draft
|
| 1976:
|
ABC's sitcom "Laverne and Shirley" premiered. It was a spin-off of the hit sitcom "Happy Days."
|
| 1977:
|
The Vatican reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's ban on female priests
|
| 1978:
|
The State Supreme Court rules that the Nazis can display the Swastika in a march in Skokie, Illinois
|
| 1981:
|
Blues musician Jonny Lang born
|
| 1981:
|
President Reagan greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran, telling them during a visit to the White House: "Welcome home."
|
| 1983:
|
The Commerce Department imposed temporary tariffs on steel imports from 19 countries, drawing sharp criticism from some of the affected nations
|
| 1984:
|
At the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, singer Michael Jackson was filming a commercial for Pepsi when an accidental flare explosion ignited hair spray that had just been applied to his hair, and the conflagration that followed produced second-degree burns on his head and neck. Brother Tito doused the fire with Coca-Cola
|
| 1984:
|
Carl Lewis bettered his own two-year-old record by 9-1/4 inches when he set a new, world, indoor record with a long-jump mark of 28 feet, 10-1/4 inches
|
| 1985:
|
Pope John Paul says mass to one million in Venezuela
|
| 1985:
|
The secret three-day military-satellite mission of the space shuttle Discovery ended with a smooth landing in Florida
|
| 1987:
|
President Reagan acknowledged mistakes and accepted responsibility in the Iran arms scandal. He said his only major regret was that the gamble failed to open political channels and free American hostages in Lebanon
|
| 1988:
|
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy to the US Supreme Court
|
| 1989:
|
President Bush held an informal White House news conference in which he defended a widely criticized pay raise for Congress scheduled to go into effect the following month
|
| 1990:
|
In Romania, four top associates of executed dictator Nicolae Ceausescu went on trial, charged with abetting genocide
|
| 1991:
|
U-S planes bombed the pipelines to Kuwaiti oil fields to cut off the flow of oil into the Persian Gulf
|
| 1991:
|
The New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills, 20-to-19, in Super Bowl 25, which was played amid extra-tight security at Tampa Stadium in Florida, because of fears of possible Iraqi-sponsored terrorism
|
| 1993:
|
President Clinton delayed for six months his campaign pledge to reverse the ban on homosexuals in the military while the issue is studied
|
| 1993:
|
A disgruntled ex-employee of a Tampa, Fla., insurance company opened fire in a cafeteria, killing three executives and critically wounding two others before fleeing and killing himself
|
| 1994:
|
Iran-Contra scandal figure Oliver North declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. senator from Virginia. He would win the nomination but lose the election to Democratic incumbent Charles Robb
|
| 1994:
|
Figure skater Tonya Harding appeared before reporters in Portland, Ore., to say that while she'd had no prior knowledge of the attack on her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, she had failed to report "things I learned about the assault" afterward
|
| 1994:
|
The Senate passed a non-binding resolution, 62-38, calling on the Clinton administration to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam
|
| 1995:
|
A book by O.J. Simpson, I Want to Tell You, asserted his innocence in the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman
|
| 1995:
|
About 5,000 mourners gathered at Auschwitz to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its liberation
|
| 1995:
|
House Majority Leader Dick Armey apologized for calling Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, an acknowledged homosexual, "Barney Fag" during an interview, saying it was an innocent slip of the tongue
|
| 1996:
|
France conducted an open air nuclear test in the South Pacific
|
| 1996:
|
A man invaded a convent in Waterville, Maine, stabbing and beating four nuns, killing two of them (Mark Bechard was later found not criminally responsible because of mental illness)
|
| 1997:
|
Switzerland's ambassador to the United States, Carlo Jagmetti, resigned after outraging Jewish groups and their supporters by likening his country's Nazi gold crisis to a war that had to be won
|
| 1998:
|
Shaken by scandal, President Clinton sought to reassert his leadership in a crucial State of the Union address, urging Congress to "save Social Security first" before cutting taxes or increasing spending
|
| 1998:
|
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing on NBC's "Today" show, charged the allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
|
| 1998:
|
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr dismissed as nonsense a charge made by Hillary Rodham Clinton that he was aligned with a right-wing conspiracy out to get her husband, President Clinton. "The first lady today accused this office of being part of a 'vast right-wing conspiracy.' That is nonsense," Starr said in a statement. "Our current investigation began when we received credible evidence of serious federal crimes."
|
| 1998:
|
An overhead tram carrying commuters across New York City's East River crashed into a crane during the morning rush hour, injuring 10 passengers
|
| 1999:
|
The Republican-controlled Senate blocked dismissal of the impeachment case against President Clinton and then voted for new testimony from Monica Lewinsky and two other witnesses -- but by margins well short of the two-thirds needed to oust the president
|
| 2000:
|
President Clinton proposed a $350 billion tax cut, big spending increases for schools and health care and photo ID licenses for handgun purchases in his final State of the Union address
|
| 2005:
|
World Social Forum in Porto Alegre The World Social Forum kicks off in Porto Alegre
|
| 2005:
|
Driver who caused Los Angeles train crash charged with murder
|
| 2005:
|
Report: British serial killer murdered 250
|
| 2005:
|
One hundred dead after air raid in Darfur, Sudan
|
| 2005:
|
Saskatchewan town asks for return of "accidental" tsunami donation
|
| 2005:
|
Row intensifies between Sinn Féin & the Irish Government
|
| 2005:
|
New York radio station apologises after 'humorous' tsunami song
|
| 2005:
|
Palestinian Authority bans citizens from carrying weapons
|
| 2005:
|
World Social Forum-Brazil coverage The first day of the World Social Forum wraps up
|
| 2005:
|
28 alleged Putin insulters freed from police custody
|
| 2005:
|
China detains and beats mourners for Zhao Ziyang
|
| 2006:
|
Storms a mixed blessing for Victorian firefighters
|
| 2006:
|
GM posts first annual loss since 1992
|
| 2006:
|
West Papuans refugees forced to fly 4000ks despite tuberculosis fears
|
| 2006:
|
Queensland's biggest oil spill in 35 years
|
| 2006:
|
Aboriginal Sovereignty Day Declared
|
| 2006:
|
Former German president Johannes Rau dies at 75
|
| 2006:
|
Saudis boycott Danish dairy produce
|
| 2006:
|
German Wikipedia to be printed
|
| 2006:
|
Bloggers investigate social networking websites
|
| 2006:
|
Eastern Indonesia struck by earthquake
|
| 2006:
|
Chantelle wins Celebrity Big Brother
|
| 2006:
|
Halonen and Niinistö neck-and-neck heading into Sunday's run-off election in Finland
|
| 2006:
|
O'Reilly begins using open editing of its books before publishing them
|
| 2006:
|
Death of the Catholicos
|
| 2007:
|
Canadian government apologizes to deportation victim Arar
|
| 2007:
|
Discriminatory job ad by Central Bank of Turkey asks for men only
|
| 2007:
|
Students insulted on returned New Zealand exam papers
|
| 2007:
|
Martial law lifted in 41 provinces of Thailand
|
| 2007:
|
Technology developed to detect fake drugs quickly
|
| 2007:
|
U.S. Army to court-martial Abu Ghraib officer
|
| 2007:
|
West Indies wins the third match of the cricket series against India
|
| 2007:
|
Iran's official radio silent about U.N. resolution against Holocaust denials
|
| 2007:
|
North Korea denies cooperation with Iran on nuclear programs
|
| 2007:
|
Thousands protest Iraq war in Washington D.C
|
| 2007:
|
Microsoft disgruntled with partner Dell's interest in open source
|
| 2008:
|
Viktor Schreckengost dies at 101
|
| 2008:
|
Disabled U.S. spy satellite to fall to Earth
|
| 2008:
|
Former Indonesian President Suharto dies at 86
|
| 2008:
|
At least 45 killed in new wave of violence in Kenya
|
| 2008:
|
Chamber of Commerce defeats Buderim XI in Australia Day Match
|
| 2008:
|
'The Regime' hacks 711chan.org in response to 'Anonymous' attack on Scientology; takes web site off line
|
| 2008:
|
Obama wins South Carolina primary
|
| 2008:
|
National Hockey League to open 2008-09 season in Stockholm and Prague
|
| 2009:
|
Woman gives birth to octuplets
|
| 2009:
|
Israeli foreign minister says another war with Hamas possible
|
| 2009:
|
SLM shareholders led by Martin Garbus sue Spider-Man creator Stan Lee and Marvel for $750m
|
| 2009:
|
Fast food chain McDonald’s set to open up 1000 more stores by end of year
|
| 2009:
|
Tamil Tigers promise to fight back against Sri Lankan forces
|
| 2009:
|
Widespread strike action may hit France
|
| 2009:
|
Obama to Muslims: 'Americans are not your enemy'
|
| 2009:
|
Two British footwear chains enter administration
|
| 2009:
|
British Airways issues profits warning
|
| 2009:
|
Accident on set of British television program Heartbeat
|
| 2009:
|
Anger and unrest continue over US raid in Laghman, Afghanistan
|
| 2009:
|
Belgium's Queen Fabiola seriously ill
|
| 2009:
|
Sprinter Allan Davis wins the Tour Down Under
|
| 2009:
|
Search and rescue beacons soon to make the digital jump
|
| 2009:
|
Iceland's coalition government falls in economic crisis
|
| 2010:
|
Japanese company recalls two million needles in US
|
| 2010:
|
Obama to announce partial "spending freeze"
|
| 2010:
|
Votes in Sri Lankan presidential elections counted
|
| 2010:
|
Guinea swears in civilian prime minister
|
| 2010:
|
McDonald's unfairly dismissed worker for giving a colleague free cheese, says Dutch court
|
| 2010:
|
Baghdad bombing kills several people, scores injured
|
| 2010:
|
Man jailed for murder of doctor in South Yorkshire, England
|
| 2010:
|
South Korean economy grew 0.2% in last quarter
|
| 2010:
|
World Economic Forum security chief found dead on eve of summit
|
| 2010:
|
UK bans export of fraudulent bomb detector; arrests director of manufacturer
|
| 2010:
|
UK cabinet minister Jack Straw ignored advice that Iraq invasion was illegal
|
| 2010:
|
Suicide bomber attacks US base in Afghanistan
|
| 2010:
|
North and South Korea exchange fire
|
| 2010:
|
Haiti's banks reopen
|
| 2010:
|
Healing ozone layer may contribute to global warming
|
| 2010:
|
UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith admits to changing mind over Iraq war
|
| 2010:
|
Blast in Pakistan kills one, injures ten
|
| 2010:
|
Former Guatemalan president arrested
|
| 2010:
|
5.8 magnitude earthquake hits Peru
|
| 2010:
|
Dead children found in car in Sussex, UK
|
| 2010:
|
Seventeen-year-old shot dead in Merseyside, England
|
| 2011:
|
Indonesians charged with people-smuggling following Christmas Island wreck
|
| 2011:
|
Massive anti-government protests in Egypt continue into second day, several killed
|
| 2011:
|
Ivory Coast trade embargo backed by US
|
| 2011:
|
Car bomb kills at least three in Dagestan, Russia
|
| 2011:
|
Australia announces levy bill to offset cost of Queensland floods
|
| 2011:
|
BBC World Service to drop five languages
|
| 2011:
|
Boy arrested for murder after seventeen-year-old run over by bus
|
| 2012:
|
Report indicates Texas state parks still suffering following worst drought on record
|
History
Icons
Military engineer and architect, 
Composer Wolfgang Amadaeus Mozart born in Salzburg, Austria
Mathematician, logician, photographer and author, Lewis Carroll born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Guildford, England
Cigar maker and American Federation of Labor founder, Samuel Gompers born in London, England
Seminal blues singer and slide guitarist, Elmore James born in Richland, Mississippi
Academy and Golden Globe Award winning actress, Donna Reed born Donna Belle Mullenger in Dension, Iowa
Oscar nominated actor, James Oliver Cromwell born in Los Angeles, California
Astronomer, physicist, and Yale professor, Beatrice Tinsley born in Chester, England
Aikido expert and award winning actress, Susanna Thompson born in San Diego, California