Historical Events
- 10th Orange Bowl: LSU beats Texas A&M, 19-14
- 10th Sugar Bowl: Georgia Tech beats Tulsa, 20-18
- 1st feature-length foreign movie "African Journey", shown on TV, NYC
- 30th Rose Bowl: Southern California beats #12 Washington, 29-0
- Army defeats Navy 10-7 in football "Arab Bowl," Oran, North Africa
- General Clark replaces General Patton as commander of US 7th Army
Famous Birthdays
- Charlie Davis, West Indies cricket batsman (15 Tests, 4 x 100s, 54.20 average), born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
- Dick Gordon, American NFL wide receiver (Pro Bowl 1970-71, Chicago Bears), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Don Novello, American actor and comedian (Father Guido Sarducci-Saturday Night Live), born in Ashtabula, Ohio
Omar al-Bashir (79 years old)
Sudanese politician and 7th President of Sudan (1989-2019), born in Hosh Bannaga, Sudan
- Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani politician
- Ziya Şengül, Turkish soccer defender (20 caps; Fenerbahçe SK, PTT Ankara), born in Istanbul, Turkey (d. 2023)
Famous Deaths
- Charles Turner, Australian cricket fast bowler (17 Tests; 101 wickets @ 16.53; fastest to 50 Test wickets; NSWCA), dies at 81
- Edwin Lutyens, English architect (Viceroy's House, New Delhi), dies at 74
About January 1, 1944
Day of the Week: Saturday
How Long Ago? 79 years, 5 months and 8 days
Leap Year: Yes
Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Goat/Sheep
Star Sign: Capricorn
