Historical Events
- 35th Orange Bowl: #3 Penn State beats #6 Kansas, 15-14
- 35th Sugar Bowl: #9 Arkansas beats #4 Georgia, 16-2
- 55th Rose Bowl: #1 Ohio State beats #2 Southern California, 27-16
- Jack Kent Cooke, owner of NHL's LA Kings, fines each player $100 for "NOT" arguing with the referee
- People's Democracy (PD) begin a march from Belfast to Derry, inspired by ML King's Selma to Montgomery march in the US
Famous Birthdays
- Christi Paul, American news anchor
- Morris Chestnut, American actor (Ricky-Boyz n the Hood; The Enemy Within), born in Cerritos, California
- Nicolle Dickson, Australian actress
- Paul Lawrie, Scottish golfer (British Open 1999; Ryder Cup 2012), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
- Verne Troyer, American actor (Mini-Me in Austin Powers movies), born in Sturgis, Michigan (d. 2018)
Famous Deaths
- Barton Maclane, American actor (The Quarterback, I Dream of Jeannie), dies of cancer at 66
- Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver pole vault & bronze javelin 1906; bronze pole vault 1908; popularized bowling in Sweden), dies at 87
About January 1, 1969
Day of the Week: Wednesday
How Long Ago? 54 years, 8 months and 27 days
Leap Year: No
Generation: Generation X
Chinese Zodiac: Monkey
Star Sign: Capricorn
Music Charts
#1 Song: I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
#1 Song: Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da - Marmalade