This Week In History Jan 20th

  • 1077 German King Heinrich IV petitions Pope Gregory VII for forgiveness.

    1118 Death of Pope Paschal II

    1118 Paschalis II [Raniero], pope (1099-1118), dies.

    1189 Philip II, Henry II and Richard Lion-Hearted initiate third Crusade.

    1189 Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade.

    1276 Innocent V becomes Pope.

    1276 Pierre de Tarantaise elected Pope Innocent V.

    1287 The treaty of San Agayz is signed. Minorca is conquered by King Alfons III of Aragon.

    1324 Zen Buddhist religious debate between Tendai and Shingon.

    1338 Birth of Charles V (the Wise) king of France (1364-80).

    1519 Death of Vasco N��ez de Balboa, Spanish explorer

    1522 Head inquisitor Adrian Florisz Boeyens elected pope.

    1525 The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.

    1527 Death of Juan de Grijalva, Spanish conquistador

    1542 Parliament passes bill of attainder against Queen Katherine Howard.

    1546 Death of Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1491)

    1571 Birth of John I Pontanus physicist/historian (Amsterdam).

    1596 John Ligarius German theologist/prime minister, dies at age 66.

    1604 Tsar Ivan IV defeats the False Dmitri, who claims to be the true tsar.

    1609 Death of Joseph Justus Scaliger, French protestant scholar (b. 1540)

    1609 Joseph Justus Scaliger French inventor of “Julian Period”, dies at age 68.

    1626 John Dowland English musician/lyric poet (In Darkness We Dwell), dies at about age 63.

    1638 Death of Ignazio Donati, Italian composer

    1643 Abel Tasman discovers Tonga.

    1659 Birth of Adriaen van der Werff Dutch portrait painter/engraver/architect.

    1664 Count Mikl=s of Zrinyi sets out to battle Turkish invasion army.

    1665 Domenico Mazzocchi composer, dies at age 72.

    1665 Pierre de Fermat French mathematician (Fermat theorem), dies at age 63.

    1670 Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan French playwright, dies at age 80.

    1677 First medical publication in America (pamphlet on smallpox), Boston.

    1683 Anthony Ashley Cooper first Earl of Shaftesbury, dies at age 61.

    1683 Death of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, British politician (b. 1621)

    1686 Nicolas-Fran?ois Blondel French architect, dies.

    1699 Death of Obadiah Walker, English writer (b. 1616)

    1704 Willem B Schepers Dutch merchant/ship owner, dies at about age 83.

    1706 Death of Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)

    1710 Death of Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic (b. 1638)

    1720 Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.

    1722 Death of Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)

    1731 Death of Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)

    1732 Russia and Persia sign Treaty of Riascha.

    1743 Birth of John Fitch inventor (had a working steamboat years before Fulton).

    1746 Birth of Johann H Pestalozzi Zurich Switzerland, educator (Leonard and Gertrude).

    1746 Gottfried Kirkhoff composer, dies at age 60.

    1751 Birth of Josephus Andreas Fodor composer.

    1759 Birth of Johan Valckenaer Dutch politician/patriot.

    1762 Birth of Giuseppe Antonio Silvani composer.

    1766 Death of James Quin, English actor (b. 1693)

    1771 Birth of Arnold A Buyskes Dutch Vice-Admiral/colonial director.

    1773 Death of Alexis Piron, French writer (b. 1689)

    1774 Death of Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1717)

    1774 Mustapha III sultan of Turkey (1957-74), dies at age 56.

    1775 Birth of Manuel Garcia composer.

    1789 First American novel, WH Brown’s “The Power of Sympathy”, is published.

    1789 The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts.

    1792 Birth of Tsjalling Hiddes Halbertsma Fries story teller (Rhymes and Tales).

    1793 After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is guillotined.

    1793 Death of King Louis XVI of France (executed) (b. 1754)

    1793 Louis XVI French king (1774-93), beheaded by revolutionaries at age 38.

    1793 Prussia and Russia sign partition treaty (Poland divided).

    1793 Russia and Prussia partition Poland.

    1795 Death of Samuel Wallis, English navigator

    1796 Birth of John Gelinde van Blom Frisian notary/author.

    1799 Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccination is introduced.

    1801 Birth of Ramon Vilanova y Barrera composer.

    1802 Birth of Francis Elias Spinner in German Flats, New York, USA; major general in New York militia, sheriff of Herkimer County (1834-37), Congressman (1855-61), US Tresurer (1861-75).

    1804 Birth of Eliza Roxcy Snow, American poet (d. 1887)

    1813 Birth of John C FrTmont [Pathfinder], map maker/explorer (western US)/Governor (AZ).

    1814 Birth of Thomas Attwood Walmisley composer.

    1814 Death of Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French writer and botanist (b. 1737)

    1815 Birth of Horace Wells dentist (pioneered use of medical anesthesia).

    1815 M Claudius writer, dies at age 74.

    1818 Keats writes his poem “On a Lock of Milton’s Hair”.

    1821 Birth of John Cabell Breckinridge (Democrat) 14th US Vice Pressident (1857-61)/Major-General (Confederacy).

    1821 Paramaribo Suriname catches fire, four die.

    1823 Birth of Alexandre Edouard Goria composer.

    1824 Ashantees defeat British at Accra, West Africa.

    1824 Birth of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, American Confederate Army general (d. 1863)

    1825 Birth of Imre Mad�ch, Hungarian writer (d. 1864)

    1827 Freedom Journal, first Black paper, begins publishing.

    1829 Birth of King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (d. 1907)

    1830 Portsmouth (Ohio) blacks forcibly deported.

    1831 Achim versus Arnim writer, dies at age 49.

    1831 Death of Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (b. 1781)

    1833 Birth of Norman Willis union leader (Britain’s Trades Union Congress).

    1840 Birth of Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake pioneer English woman physician.

    1846 First edition of Charles Dickens’ “Daily News”.

    1848 Birth of Henri Duparc, French composer (d. 1933)

    1851 Death of Albert Lortzing, German composer (b. 1801)

    1851 Gustav Albert Lortzing composer, dies at age 49.

    1853 Envelope-folding machine patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester Massachusetts.

    1853 Russell L. Hawes patents the envelope-folding machine.

    1855 Birth of John Moses Browning, American inventor (d. 1926)

    1859 Birth of Antoni Wincenty Rutkowski composer.

    1860 Birth of Karl Staaff, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)

    1861 American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.

    1861 Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other southern senators resign.

    1862 Bozena Nemcov� [Barnora Panklov�], Czechoslovakian author, dies at age 41.

    1863 City of Dublin leases part of Cattle Market for 100,000 years.

    1864 The Tauranga Campaign starts during the Maori Wars.

    1865 Birth of Heinrich E Albers-Sch�nberg German r�ntgenologist.

    1867 Birth of Ludwig Thoma, German writer (d. 1921)

    1870 Death of Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)

    1871 John J Rochussen Governor-General of Netherlands-Indies (1845-51), dies at age 73.

    1872 Birth of Jonkhr Frans Beelaerts van Blokland Dutch foreign minister.

    1872 Death of Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (b. 1791)

    1872 Franz Grillparzer Austrian playwright (Sappho/Libussa), dies at age 81.

    1874 Franz Grillparzer’s “Libussa” premieres in Vienna.

    1875 Birth of John Lindworsky German jesuit/psychologist (Der Wille).

    1877 in De Cewsville, Ontario, a meteorite falls to the ground; no damage or injuries.

    1878 Birth of Egon Friedell Austria, journalist/actor/writer (Der Partylowe).

    1879 Henrik Ibsen’s “Et Dukkehjem” premieres in Copenhagen.

    1880 First US sewage disposal system separate from storm drains, Memphis Tennessee.

    1881 Death of Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1802)

    1882 Anton Emil Titl composer, dies at age 72.

    1883 Birth of Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (d. 1929)

    1883 Jacopo Tomadini composer, dies at age 62.

    1884 Auguste Franchomme composer, dies at age 75.

    1884 Birth of Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)

    1885 Birth of Leadbelly, American blues and folk musician (d. 1949)

    1886 Birth of Gustaaf Sap Belgian minister of Finance/Economy.

    1887 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) forms.

    1887 Birth of Georges Vezina, Canadian ice hockey goalie and innovator (d. 1926)

    1887 Brisbane receives a daily rainfall of 465 millimetres (18.3 inches), a record for any Australian capital city.

    1887 The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is formed.

    1888 Stephan Hale Alonzo Marsh composer, dies at age 83.

    1889 Birth of Bert Collins cricket player (Aussie batsman in the post WWI years).

    1890 First issue of Propria Cures, Amsterdam student-weekly newspaper.

    1891 Birth of Francisco Lazaro Portuguese runner.

    1891 Calixa Lavallee composer, dies at age 48.

    1891 Death of Calixa LavallTe, Canadian composer (b. 1842)

    1892 John Couch Adams English co-discoverer of Neptune, dies.

    1894 Guillaume Jean Joseph Nicolas Lekeu composer, dies at age 24.

    1894 Oscar Fredriksen skates world record 500m in 47.8 seconds.

    1895 Birth of Crist=bal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier (d. 1972)

    1897 Birth of J Carrol Naish New York City, New York; actor (Charlie Chan-Adventures of Charlie Chan).

    1898 Birth of Avery Claflin composer.

    1899 Opel Motors opens for business.

    1901 Clyde Fitch’s “Climbers” premieres in New York City, New York.

    1901 Death of Elisha Gray, American inventor (b. 1835)

    1903 Harry Houdini escapes police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam.

    1903 Hermanus J A M Schaepman Dutch clergyman/politician, dies at age 58.

    1903 International Theater (Majestic, Park) opens at 5 Columbus Circle New York City, New York.

    1904 Birth of Joseph Ford McGuinn Brooklyn New York; actor (Dick Tracy’s G-Men).

    1904 Leos Janacek’s opera “Jenufa” premieres in Brno Czechoslovakia.

    1905 Birth of Christian Dior, French fashion designer (d. 1957)

    1906 Birth of Igor Moiseyev, father of balletic folk dance

    1907 Kenora Thistles sweep Montana Wanderers in two for the Stanley Cup.

    1908 August Strindberg’s “Spoksonaten” premieres in Stockholm.

    1908 Birth of Bengt Str�mgren G�teborg Sweden, astrophysicist (studied gas cloud).

    1908 New York City, New York regulation makes it illegal for a woman to smoke in public.

    1908 New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.

    1909 Birth of Todor Skalovski composer.

    1910 Birth of Lord Cayzer British financier/Schweppes magnate/multi-millionaire.

    1910 British-Russian military intervention in Persia.

    1911 Birth of Stanley William Reed cineaste.

    1911 The first Monte Carlo Rally.

    1912 Birth of Konrad Emil Bloch, German-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2000)

    1913 Aristide Briand forms French government.

    1914 Death of Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)

    1915 Kiwanis International founded in Detroit.

    1915 Kiwanis International founded in Detroit, Michigan.

    1917 Birth of Rohan Butler historian.

    1918 Birth of Richard D. Winters, War hero

    1919 Birth of Jinx Falkenburg Barcelona Spain, actress (Masquerade Party).

    1919 Death of Gojong of Joseon, Emperor of Korea (b. 1852)

    1919 Meeting of the First D�il ÿireann in the Mansion House Dublin, Sinn FTin adopts Ireland’s first constitution. The first engagement of Irish War of Independence, Sologhead Beg, County Tipperary.

    1919 Sinn Fein proclaims parliament of Free Ireland.

    1920 Birth of Donald Cuthbert Coleman economic historian.

    1921 Birth of Howard Unruh, American mass murderer

    1922 Birth of Paul Scofield, English actor

    1922 First slalom ski race run, Mnrren, Switzerland.

    1923 Birth of Lola Flores, Spanish singer (d. 1995)

    1924 Birth of Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)

    1924 Death of Vladimir Lenin, Russian Revolutionary (b. 1870)

    1924 Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin, Russian leader, dies of a stroke at age 54.

    1924 Vladimir Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin begins to purge his rivals to clear way for his leadership.

    1925 Albania declares itself a republic.

    1926 Belgian parliament accepts Locarno treaties.

    1926 Birth of Steve Reeves, American actor (d. 2000)

    1926 Camillo Golgi, Italian medical research (malaria, Nobel Prize 1906), dies at age 81.

    1926 Death of Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1843)

    1927 Floris H Verster, Dutch painter/cartoonist/etcher, dies at age 65.

    1928 Death of George Goethals, American army engineer (b. 1858)

    1931 Death of Felix Blumenfeld, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1863)

    1932 Birth of Boris Shakhlin in Russia; gymnast (Olympics-gold-1956, 1960, 1964).

    1932 Death of Giles Lytton Strachey British writer (b. 1880)

    1932 Finland and the Soviet Union sign a five-year Pact of Non-Aggression.

    1932 [Giles] Lytton Strachey, British biographer/critic, dies at age 51.

    1933 Birth of Itzhak Fuks; Israeli El Al captain, crashed in Amsterdam.

    1933 Death of George A. Moore, Irish novelist (b. 1852)

    1935 The Wilderness Society is founded.

    1936 Birth of Koji Hashimoto, Japanese film director (d. 2005)

    1938 Birth of Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian football player

    1938 Dutch government starts obligatory unemployment insurance.

    1939 Birth of Wolfman Jack, disk jockey and actor (d. 1995)

    1939 US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer.

    1939 US male Figure Skating championship won by Robin Lee.

    1940 Birth of Jack Nicklaus, American golfer

    1940 Foreign correspondents in Netherlands under censorship.

    1941 Australian infantry with 16 Matilda tanks attacks Tobruk, Libya, forcing the surrender of 25,000-30,000 Italians and 87 tanks.

    1941 Birth of Pl�cido Domingo, Spanish-born tenor

    1941 First anti-Jewish measures in Bulgaria.

    1941 First commercial extraction of magnesium from seawater, in Freeport, Texas.

    1941 World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.

    1942 Birth of Mac Davis, American musician

    1942 Bronx magistrate rules all pinball machines illegal.

    1942 Henryk Opienski, Polish composer/musicologist/conductor, dies at age 72.

    1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul, New Britain.

    1942 Tito’s partisans occupy Foca.

    1943 Soviet forces reconquer Gumrak airport near Stalingrad.

    1943 Soviet forces reconquer Worosjilowsk.

    1943 Vice-Admiral Cunningham appointed British Admiral of fleet.

    1944 447 German bombers attack London, England.

    1944 649 British bombers attack Magdeburg.

    1944 Gustaaf DFL Schamelhout, Flemish physician/writer, dies at age 74.

    1944 US General Dwight Eisenhower accepts the revised plan for Operation Overlord, with five divisions landing on fifty miles of Normandy beaches. Americans are to land on the west, aiming for Cherbourg, Brest, and ports around the Loire estuary. British and Canadian forces are to land on the east near Caen, seizing Caen on the first day. D-Day is set for June 5.

    1945 Birth of Andrew Stein; president of New York City council (Democrat).

    1945 British troops land on Ramree, near coast of Burma.

    1946 Birth of Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (d. 2004)

    1947 Birth of Jimmy Ibbotson in Pennsylvania, USA; country singer (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band).

    1948 Death of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (b. 1876)

    1948 West Indies versus England, Test debut Walcott, Weekes and Jim Laker.

    1949 First inaugural parade televised (US President Harry Truman).

    1950 Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.

    1950 Birth of Billy Ocean, West Indian musician

    1950 Death of George Orwell, British writer (b. 1903)

    1950 New York jury finds former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury.

    1951 Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Tampa Women’s Golf Open.

    1952 Nehru’s Congress party wins general election in India.

    1953 Birth of Paul Allen, American entrepreneur

    1953 John Foster Dulles appointed as US Secretary of State.

    1954 First gas turbine automobile exhibited (New York City, New York).

    1954 The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, then the First Lady of the United States.

    1955 Birth of Jeff Koons, American artist

    1955 Death of Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)

    1955 Maarten P Vrij, Dutch lawyer/criminologist/High Council, dies at age 59.

    1956 Birth of Robby Benson, American actor

    1956 Death of Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (b. 1883)

    1957 Arthur L Bowley, English statistician/economist, dies at age 87.

    1957 Birth of Jacob Green; NFL defensive end (Seattle Seahawk).

    1958 Birth of Michael Wincott, Canadian actor

    1958 Philadelphia Phillies agree to televise 78 games into New York City, New York (doesn’t happen).

    1958 The last Fokker C.X in military service, the FAF FK-111 target tower, crashed killing the pilot and winch-operator.

    1959 Death of Cecil B. DeMille, American director (b. 1881)

    1960 Little Joe 4 suborbital Mercury test reaches 16 km.

    1960 Rock fall traps 437 at Coalbrook, South Africa, 417 die of methane poisoning.

    1961 Death of Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (b. 1887)

    1962 AndrT Lhote, French painter/art historian, dies at age 76.

    1962 Birth of Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)

    1962 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Sea Island Women’s Golf Invitational.

    1963 Birth of Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-born basketball player

    1964 Carl T Rowan named director of US Information Agency.

    1965 Birth of Jam Master Jay, American disc jockey (d. 2002)

    1966 Birth of Chris Hammond; US baseball pitcher (Florida Marlins).

    1966 The Beatles’ George Harrison marries model Patti Boyd.

    1967 AFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 30-23.

    1967 Birth of Ulf Stenlund in Sweden; tennis star.

    1967 Death of Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)

    1967 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming.

    1967 US male Figure Skating championship won by Gary Visconti.

    1968 AFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 25-24.

    1968 Birth of Charlotte Ross, American actress

    1968 Death of Will Lang Jr., Chief Bureau Director of LIFE Magazine (b. 1914)

    1968 NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 38-20.

    1968 One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the Vietnam War war begins the Battle of Khe Sanh.

    1968 Simon & Garfunkel release the Original Soundtrack to The Graduate, which quickly goes to #1 on the pop charts and which will bring Simon a Grammy for Best Original Score.

    1968 US B-52 bomber with nuclear bomb crashes in Greenland.

    1969 22nd NHL All-Star Game: West beat East 3-3 at MontrTal, Quebec, Canada.

    1969 An experimental underground nuclear reactor at Lucens Vad, Switzerland, released radiation into a cavern, which was then sealed.

    1969 Birth of Ashley Sheppard; NFL linebacker (Jacksonville Jaguars).

    1970 Birth of Brennan Little in Saint Thomas, Ontario, Canada; golfer (1994 Western States mini-tour).

    1971 Birth of Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player

    1971 Richard B Russell, American politician (Senator-Democrat-Georgia), dies at age 73.

    1972 Assam’s North East Frontier Agency becomes Arunachal Pradesh territory.

    1972 Belgium government of Eyskens-Cools forms.

    1972 Birth of Chan Marshall, American musician (Cat Power)

    1972 Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura become separate states of Indian union.

    1973 Birth of Bubba Miller; corner (Philadelphia Eagles).

    1973 Third NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 33-28.

    1974 Birth of Jerald Sowell; fullback (New York Jets).

    1974 Gold hits record US$161.31 an ounce in London, England.

    1974 Jan Arends, Dutch poet/author, dies at age 48.

    1974 Ken Viljoen, cricket player (played 27 Tests for South Africa 1930-47), dies.

    1974 Lewis L Strauss, head US Atomic Energy Commission (1953-58), dies at age 78.

    1974 Silver hits record US$3.97 an ounce in London, England.

    1975 28th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 7-1 at MontrTal.

    1975 Birth of Nicky Butt, English footballer

    1976 Birth of Emma Bunton, English singer (Spice Girls)

    1976 Supersonic Concorde, first commercial flights, by Britain and France.

    1976 The first commercial service Concorde flight took off.

    1977 Birth of Al Baxter, Australian rugby player

    1977 Italy legalizes abortion.

    1977 President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.

    1977 U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War.

    1978 Bee Gees’ “Saturday Night Fever” album goes #1 for 24 weeks.

    1978 Birth of Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player

    1979 Birth of Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby player

    1979 Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Dallas Cowboys, 35-31 in Miami, Florida; Most Valuable Player: Terry Bradshaw, quarterback.

    1980 Birth of Kevin McKenna; Canadian football player.

    1980 Death of Georges Painvin, French cryptographer (born 1886).

    1980 Les Henson, Virginia Tech, makes 89-foot 3-inch basketball field goal.

    1980 The London Gold Fixing hits its highest price ever, at US$850 a troy ounce.

    1981 Birth of Andy Lee, rapper in the korean group Shinhwa

    1981 The first De Lorean DMC-12 automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.

    1983 Birth of Moritz Volz; German football player.

    1983 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Anthony E Hecht.

    1983 US President Ronald Reagan certifies El Salvador human-rights abuses have decreased making country eligible for US military aid.

    1984 Death of Jackie Wilson, American singer (born 1934).

    1984 Jackie Wilson, US singer (“I Get the Sweetest Feeling”), dies at age 49.

    1984 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton.

    1985 -19 degrees F (-28 degrees C), Caesar’s Head, South Carolina (state record).

    1985 -34 degrees F (-37 degrees C), Mount Mitchell, North Carolina (state record).

    1985 Barbara Cowsill, rocker (Cowsills), dies of emphysema.

    1985 Because January 20 had fallen on a Sunday, Ronald Reagan’s public inaugural ceremony (for his second term as President) was moved to Monday, January 21. Due to bad weather, the ceremony was held indoors in the United States Capital Rotunda.[1]

    1985 Bomb attack on Borobudur temple in Java.

    1985 Death of James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)

    1985 Dennis Potvin ties Bobby Orr’s career record of 270 NHL goals.

    1986 100 participate in Nude Olympics race in 38 degrees F (3 degrees C), Indiana, USA.

    1986 Allison J Brown, age 17 of Oklahoma, crowned fourth Miss Teen USA.

    1986 Bomb attack in East-Beirut, 27 killed.

    1987 BB King donates his 7,000 record collection to University of Mississippi.

    1987 Death of Charles Goodell, American politician (born 1926).

    1988 US accepts immigration of 30,000 US-Vietnamese children.

    1989 Death of Billy Tipton, American musician (born 1914).

    1989 Wayne Gretzky passes Marcel Dionne to become NHL’s second all time scorer.

    1990 41st NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 12-7 at Pittsburgh.

    1990 Bob Goodenow succeeds Alan Eagleson as NHL players association executive director.

    1990 John McEnroe becomes the first ever expelled from the Australian Open for throwing a tantrum and swearing at an official.

    1990 Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Jamaica Golf Classic.

    1990 The East German political party, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, changes its name to the Party of Democratic Socialism to minimize negative association with East Germany.

    1991 Birth of Brittany Tiplady, Canadian actress.

    1991 CBS News correspondent Bob Simon captured by Iraqis in Persian Gulf.

    1991 Howard “Red” Grange, football’s galloping ghost, dies at age 87.

    1991 Richard Bolling, American politician (Representative-Democrat-Missouri)/US civil-rights leader, dies at age 74.

    1992 Birth of Logan O’Brien, American actor.

    1992 William T “Champion Jack” Dupree, US boxer/pianist, dies at age 81.

    1993 Death of Charlie Gehringer, baseball player (b. 1903)

    1994 Basel al-Assad, Syrian President Assad’s son, dies in car accident at age 31.

    1994 Birth of Marny Kennedy, Australian actress.

    1994 Dow Jones Industrial Average passes 3900 (record 3,914.20).

    1994 In Halmahera, Indonesia, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs. Seven people killed, 40 injured and 550 houses damaged in the Kau area.

    1995 Flavio “Negao” Pires da Conceicao, drug trafficker, dies at age 25.

    1995 John Halas, animator, dies at age 82.

    1995 Philippe Casado, Moroccan/French cyclist, dies at age 30.

    1996 53th Golden Globes: Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, John Travolta.

    1996 Karrie Webb wins LPGA HealthSouth Inaugural Golf Tournament.

    1996 Roman Ciesiewicz, artist/graphic designer, dies at age 65.

    1996 Sam Green, industrialist/inventor, dies at age 88.

    1996 US male Figure Skating championship won by Rudy Galindo.

    1997 Death of Colonel Tom Parker, Dutch-born celebrity manager (Elvis Presley), at age 87 (born 1909).

    1997 Dennis Main Wilson, TV/radio producer, dies at age 72.

    1997 In Southern Xinjiang, China, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurs. At least 12 people killed, 40 injured, and 2,500 families homeless; about 31,000 homes destroyed or damaged.

    1997 Michael Duane, educationalist, dies at age 81.

    1997 Newt Gingrich becomes the first leader of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.

    1997 Newt Gingrich becomes the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.

    1998 Death of Jack Lord, American actor (b. 1920)

    1998 Pope John Paul II visits Cuba.

    1999 Death of Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)

    1999 In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 9,500 pounds (4.3 t) of cocaine aboard, headed for Houston, Texas.

    1999 War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 9,500 pounds (4,300 kg) of cocaine on board.

    2001 Death of Byron De La Beckwith, American white supremacist (b. 1921)

    2002 Canadian Dollar sets all-time low against the US Dollar (US$0.6179).

    2002 Death of Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)

    2004 Birth of Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

    2004 Canada: The residence of reporter Juliet O’Neill is searched by the RCMP investigating leaks concerning the deportation of Maher Arar.

    2004 Death of Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer (b. 1929)

    2004 NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies with Flash Memory management and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6th.

    2005 Death of Don Poier, U.S. play-by-play man for the Memphis Grizzlies (born 1951).

    2005 In Belize’s capital city, the unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.

    2005 In Belmopan, Belize, unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.

    2005 Roger Clemens agrees to one-year, US$18 million deal with the Houston Astros, making Clemens the most expensive pitcher in major league history.

    2006 Death of Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (born 1944).

    2007 Death of U;Nee, K-pop singer and actress (born 1981).

    2007 Yokozuna Asashoryu wins the Emperor’s Cup at the New Year’s Grand Sumo Tournament (Hatsu Basho) in Tokyo, Japan.

    2008 Death of Marie Smith (native name Udachkuqax*a’a’ch), last speaker of the Egak language, at age 89, in Alaska.

    2008 Stock market share prices worldwide drop in the worst day of trading since September 11, 2001.

    2009 Israel completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Intermittent air strikes by both sides of the preceding war continue in the weeks to follow.

    2009 The U.S. Senate endorses former New York Senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.