- 817 St Paschal I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Stephen IV
- 1118 Giovanni Caetani elected Pope Gelasius II
- 1121 English King Henry I marries 2nd wife Adeliza [Adela] of Louvain at Windsor Castle
- 1458 Matthias I Corvinus chosen King of Hungary
- 1534 Francois I signs classified treaty with evangelical German monarchy
- 1568 Abdij Church in Middelburg destroyed by fire
- 1568 In Netherlands, Duke of Alva declares William of Orange an outlaw
- 1613 Amsterdam merchant Hans Bontemantel baptized
- 1616 Dutch mariner Jacob Le Maire discovers Le Maire Strait, Tierra del Fuego
- 1634 Emperor Ferdinand II declares Albrecht von Wallenstein a traitor
- 1639 Connecticut colony organizes under Fundamental Orders
- 1644 Parliamentary army wins battle of Nantwich, Cheshire, English Civil War
- 1648 Lord Baltimore's representative Margaret Brent ejected from the Maryland Council after requesting right to vote
- 1652 Duke of Orleans joins Fronde rebels
- 1656 1st Jewish doctor in North American colonies, Jacob Lumbrozo, arrives in Maryland
- 1659 Pierre Corneille's "Oedipe" premieres in Paris
Event of Interest
1679 King Charles II disbands English parliament
Charles II
Event of Interest
1722 Tsar Peter the Great begins civil system
Peter the Great
- 1722 Edward Wigglesworth appointed 1st north American divinity professor (Harvard)
- 1742 German leaders elect Charles VII Albert Emperor
- 1764 Governor Winthrop's Telescope is destroyed in a Harvard fire
- 1776 Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga
Election of Interest
1839 Charles Darwin elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Charles Darwin
- 1847 1,500 New Mexican Indians & Mexicans defeated by US Colonel Price
- 1848 James Marshall finds gold in Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California
- 1857 University of Calcutta founded as the first full-fledged university in South Asia
- 1859 Political union of Moldavia and Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as ruler
- 1861 Federal troops from Ft Monroe are sent to Ft Pikens
- 1862 Romanian principality arises under King Alexander Cuza. Bucharest proclaimed its capital.
- 1874 Gen J van Swieten conquers Kraton Atjeh, after thousands die
- 1874 Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov" premieres in St Petersburg
- 1875 Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre" premieres
- 1878 Revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, Governor of Saint Petersburg
- 1892 Battle of Mengo, Uganda: French missionaries attack British missionaries
- 1899 Belgium government of Vandenpeereboom forms
- 1899 Rubber heel for boots or shoes patented by American Humphrey O'Sullivan
- 1900 Battle of Tugela-Spionkop, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
- 1900 Newcastle Badminton Club, world's oldest, forms in England
- 1901 Emily Hobhouse views the British administrated concentration camp at Bloemfontein for women and children
- 1901 Denmark and the US sign a treaty under which Denmark will sell the Danish West Indies to the USA for $5 million, but the sale will be postponed until 1917
Historic Publication
1908 Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell publishes "Scouting for Boys" as a manual for self-instruction in outdoor skills and self-improvement. The book becomes the inspiration for the Scout Movement.
Robert Baden-Powell
Event of Interest
1913 Franz Kafka stops working on "Amerika"; it will never be finished
Franz Kafka
- 1914 Opera "Madeleine" premieres in NYC
- 1915 German-British sea battle at Dogger Bank & Helgoland
- 1916 The Military Service Bill, calling for conscription of men for war services, passes in the British House of Commons
- 1920 Australasian Championships Men's Tennis, Sydney: Englishman Algernon Kingscote beats Eric Pockley of Australia 6-4, 6-0, 6-3
- 1921 Paris Conference on reparations is held
- 1922 -54°F (-48°C), Danbury, Wisconsin (state record)
- 1922 Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)
- 1922 Lehman Caves National Monument established
- 1923 Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico established
Event of Interest
1924 Benito Mussolini disallows non-fascists work union
Benito Mussolini
Film Release
1927 Alfred Hitchcock releases his first film as director - The Pleasure Garden, in England
Alfred Hitchcock
Beer in a Can
1935 1st canned beer, "Krueger's Cream Ale," is sold by American company Krueger Brewing Co.
Learn More >>
Event of Interest
1936 Pierre Laval's second French government falls
Pierre Laval
Hall of Fame
1939 Eddie Collins, Willie Keeler & George Sisler elected to Hall of Fame
Eddie Collins
- 1939 Spanish government moves to Figueras
Film Release
1940 "The Grapes of Wrath", directed by John Ford and based on John Steinbeck's novel of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell, is released
Event of Interest
1943 Adolf Hitler orders German troops at Stalingrad to fight to the death
Adolf Hitler
- 1943 Jewish patients, nurses and doctors incinerated at Auschwitz-Birkenau
- 1944 Allied troops occupy Nettuno Italy
- 1945 Scottish 52nd Lowland division occupies Heinsberg
- 1947 NFL adds 5th official (back judge) & allows sudden death in playoffs
- 1948 "Music in My Heart" closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 124 performances
Donald Bradman
- 1948 Dutch Liberal Party forms - People's party for Freedom & Democracy (VVD)
Contract of Interest
1950 Jackie Robinson signs highest contract ($35,000) in Dodger history
Jackie Robinson
- 1951 Dutch government Drees-van Schaik resigns
- 1952 1st NFL team in Texas, Dallas Texans formerly NY Yanks
- 1952 Fire in main building of French Port Martin Antarctic base
- 1954 BPAA All-Star Tournament won by Don Carter
- 1955 Photography exhibition "The Family of Man" curated by Edward Steichen opens at MOMA, New York, "greatest photographic enterprise ever undertaken"
- 1956 96.5 cm precipitation at Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
- 1956 An inquiry considers building homes in a war devastated area in London
NBA All-Star Game
1956 6th NBA All Star Game, Rochester War Memorial Coliseum, NY: West beats East, 108-94; MVP: Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks, C
Bob Pettit
Event of Interest
1959 Dmitri Shostakovich's comedy "Cheryomushk" premieres in Moscow
Dmitri Shostakovich
Event of Interest
1961 Edward Albee's "American Dream" premieres in NYC
Edward Albee
- 1961 Lazard Brothers Ltd draw a check for $334,867,807.68
- 1962 28 refugees escape from East to West Germany
- 1962 Brian Epstein signs management contract with the Beatles
- 1962 Jackie Robinson is 1st African American elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. Bob Feller is also elected.
- 1963 Buddy Rogers & Lou Thesz wrestle in Toronto, Rogers becomes WWF wrestling champ & Thesz becomes NWA champion
- 1964 CBS purchases 1964 & 1965 NFL TV rights for $28.2 million
- 1964 Eric de Noorman, a Dutch comic strip by Hans G. Kresse, ends
- 1964 24th Amendment to US Constitution goes into effect & states voting rights could not be denied due to failure to pay taxes
- 1966 WDIO TV channel 10 in Duluth, MN (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1966 117 passengers are killed after an Air India Boeing-707 plane crashes into Mont Blanc, France
- 1968 Operation Coburg, an Australian and New Zealand military action during the Vietnam War, begins
- 1969 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands appointed honorary citizen of Addis Ababa
Event of Interest
1969 Spanish dictator General Franco announces state of emergency
Francisco Franco
Event of Interest
1969 Deputy Prime Minister Brian Faulkner resigns from the Northern Ireland cabinet in protest at the lack of 'strong government' on the part of PM Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
- 1969 Students protest the erection of steel gates around the London School of Economics
- 1970 3rd ABA All-Star Game: West 128 beats East 98 at Indiana
- 1970 Valeri Muratov skates world record 500m (38.99 sec)
- 1971 21st NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: NFC beats AFC, 27-6; MVPs: Fred Carr, Green Bay Packers, LB; Mel Renfro, Dallas Cowboys, CB
- 1972 WRIP (now WDSI) TV channel 61 in Chattanooga, TN (IND) 1st broadcast
- 1972 Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
- 1973 Warren Spahn is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1974 10th British Commonwealth Games open in Christchurch, New Zealand
- 1975 "Hot l Baltimore" situation comedy premieres on ABC TV
- 1975 Fastest Earth-bound object, 7200 kph, in vacuum centrifuge, England
- 1976 Cleveland Cavaliers biggest margin victory-43 pts (beat Milwaukee 132-89)
Boxing Title Fight
1976 Former world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman KOs Ron Lyle in 5th round at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas; Foreman knocked down twice in 4th; 'The Ring' Fight of the Year
George Foreman
Golden Globes
1976 33rd Golden Globes: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", Jack Nicholson, & Louise Fletcher win
Jack Nicholson
Louise Fletcher
- 1977 Massacre of Atocha in Madrid: Five labor lawyers murdered by fascists in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy
- 1978 31st NHL All-Star Game, Buffalo Municipal Auditorium, Buffalo, NY: Wales beats Campbell, 3-2 (OT); MVP: Billy Smith, NY Islanders, G
- 1978 Carter Executive Order on Intelligence (# 12036)
- 1979 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1981 Islanders scored 5 power play goals against Nordiques
- 1981 Kim Hughes scores 213 v India at Adelaide
Super Bowl
1982 Super Bowl XVI, Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, MI: San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21; MVP: Joe Montana, SF, QB
Joe Montana
Event of Interest
1983 Hulk Hogan pins Iron Sheik for World Wrestling Federation title
Hulk Hogan
Golden Globes
1986 43rd Golden Globes: "Out of Africa", Jon Voight, & Whoopi Goldberg win
Whoopi Goldberg
Jon Voight
Event of Interest
1986 NY Islander Mike Bossy scores his 1,000th point
Mike Bossy
- 1986 South Yemen Premier Haydar Bakr al-Attas becomes interim-president
Voyager 2 Spacecraft
1986 Voyager 2 makes 1st fly-by of Uranus (81,593 km), finds new moons
Learn More >>
- 1986 Leon Brittan, Trade and Industry Secretary under Thatcher is 2nd cabinet minister to resign after 'Westland affair'
Tennis Open
1987 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Hana Mandlíková of Czechoslovakia wins her 4th and final Grand Slam singles crown; beats Martina Navratilova 7-5, 7-6
Hana Mandlikova
Martina Navratilova
- 1988 1st WWF Royal Rumble - Jim Duggan wins
- 1988 9th ACE Cable Awards: Discovery Channel wins the Golden CableACE for "Russia: Live From the Inside"
- 1988 Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- 1988 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $21 million
- 1988 NBC premiere of fact based "The Murder of Mary Phagan"
Australian Tennis Open
1988 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander wins 3rd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6
Mats Wilander
Pat Cash
- 1988 4th Sundance Film Festival: "Heat and Sunlight" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- 1989 1st reported case of AIDS transmitted by heterosexual oral sex
- 1990 Japanese MUSES-A (Hiten) launched towards moon
- 1990 14th Commonwealth Games open in Auckland, New Zealand
- 1990 LAs' Pat Riley becomes the 13th and fastest coach to reach the 500-victory plateau as the Lakers down the Indiana Pacers, 120-111; Riley (500-184) surpasses Don Nelson (500-317) to reach milestone
- 1991 "Les Miserables" opens at Theatre St Denis, Montreal
- 1993 14th annual star-athon $24,000,000
- 1993 Polish ferry boat John Heweliusz sinks, 52 killed
- 1993 Soyuz TM-16 launches
- 1993 US men's Figure Skating championship won by Scott Davis
- 1993 Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb in Ankara.
- 1994 Dow Jones closes above 3,900 for 1st time (3,914.48)
- 1997 The Swiss government and several banks and businesses agree to create a memorial fund for victims of the Holocaust
- 1999 David Duval eagles the 18th hole for a final round 59 to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at PGA West; becomes only the 3rd player to fire a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour
NHL All-Star Game
1999 49th NHL All-Star Game, Ice Palace, Tampa, FL: North America beats World, 8-6; MVP: Wayne Gretzky, NY Rangers, C
Wayne Gretzky
Golden Globes
1999 56th Golden Globes: "Saving Private Ryan", Jim Carrey, and Cate Blanchett win
Election of Interest
2006 After losing the federal election to Stephen Harper, Paul Martin resigns as leader of the Liberal party
Paul Martin
Stephen Harper
- 2007 55th NHL All-Star Game, American Airlines Centre, Dallas, TX: West beats East, 12-9; MVP: Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres, C
Excommunication
2009 Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated without papal consent in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Benedict XVI
- 2010 AFC Championship, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Colts beat New York Jets, 30-17
- 2010 NFC Championship, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Saints beat Minnesota Vikings, 31-28 (OT)
- 2011 At least 35 died and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.
- 2013 17 people are killed and 34 are injured in a bus crash in Taperas, Bolivia
- 2013 A Japanese Coast guard ship engages a Taiwanese activist ship in the Senkaku Islands dispute
- 2013 Russian police kill 13 rebels in Vedeno District, Chechnya
- 2016 TV drama "The X-Files" returns after 13 years, reuniting lead actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and produced again by Chris Carter
- 2016 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO: Denver Broncos beat New England Patriots, 20-18
- 2016 NFC Championship, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC: Carolina Panthers beat Arizona Cardinals, 49-15
Agreement of Interest
2017 President Trump withdraws the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)
Donald Trump
- 2018 Former US Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar found guilty of molesting over 150 girls, sentenced up to 175 years in prison
- 2018 UK charity Presidents Club forced to close after revelations of sexual harassment at event revealed by the "Financial Times"
- 2019 Search for missing Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala is called off after rescuers fail to find aircraft that disappeared from radar over English Channel 3 days earlier; search resumes funded by soccer community donations; wreckage discovered Feb 3
Event of Interest
2019 US government recognises Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's President
Juan Guaidó
- 2019 17 temperature records broken in South Australia including highest ever recorded for capital Adelaide at 46.6C
January in History
The British: 139. Zulu Warriors: 4,000. Let Battle Begin
It was one of the most remarkable military engagements ever: the day that 139 British soldiers took on 4,000 Zulu warriors – and won.
January 22, 1879'I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman'
One of the most notorious denials in political history came on this day when President Bill Clinton held a news conference on his relations with Monica Lewinsky.
January 26, 1998Crippled Kaiser Had Grip of Iron
German Emperor 'Kaiser Bill,' was born on this day, strong-willed and determined to overcome the deformity that afflicted him from birth.
January 27, 1859Riot Leader Accuses a Queen
How did Lord George Gordon, an aristocrat who led the Gordon Riots in London, lose a libel case on this day to French Queen Marie Antoinette?
January 28, 1788
