- 0066 5th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
- 1340 English king Edward III proclaimed king of France
- 1500 Vicente Yez Pinzn becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
- 1531 Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die
- 1531 Lisbon, Portugal hit by an earthquake--thousands die.
- 1564 The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
- 1565 Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
- 1589 Job is elected as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
- 1611 Madame de Poutrincourt leaves Dieppe, France with Jesuits Pierre Biard and Enémond Masse and her son, Charles Biencourt; first titled lady, first Jesuits in Canada
- 1654 Portuguese troops conquer last Dutch base on Recife
- 1689 Jean Racine's "Esther," premieres in Saint-Cyr
- 1697 Isaac Newton receives Jean Bernoulli's 6 month time-limit problem, solves problem before going to bed that same night
- 1699 Treaty of Carlowitz signed.
- 1699 Venice, Poland & Austria sign peace treaty with Turkey
- 1700 The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake took place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
- 1700 This great earthquake occurred about 9 pm on the Cascadia Fault, the boundary between the North American and Juan de Fuca plates. This was almost 100 years before the first European explorers made contact with native peoples on the west coast. This was one of the world's great earthquakes with a magnitude estimated at 9.
- 1736 Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
- 1736 Stanislaw Lesczynski flees Polish throne
- 1748 England, Netherlands, Austria & Sardinia sign anti-French treaty
- 1784 Ben Franklin expresses unhappiness over the eagle as America's symbol
- 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip forms English colony at Sydney, Botany Bay New South Wales as a penal colony
- 1788 The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Sydney Harbour to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. Commemorated as Australia Day
- 1788 The first group of European settlers arrives in Australia.
- 1788 UK hist First convicts (and free settlers) arrive in New South Wales (left Portsmouth 13 May 1787) — the 'First Fleet'; eleven ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip
- 1789 John Odell signs contract for £336 to build St Peter's church (Bronx)
- 1797 Russia, Prussia & Austria sign treaty
- 1802 Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library
- 1802 The Italian republic created January 26 from the former Cisalpine republic with Napoleon Bonaparte as president annexes Piedmont September 21 and annexes Parma and Piacenza in October
- 1808 Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia.
- 1828 Visitor posting - Duke of Wellington becomes British Prime Minister - United Kingdom
- 1837 Michigan admitted as 26th US state
- 1837 Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
- 1838 Tennessee becomes first state to prohibit alcohol
- 1841 Hong Kong proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain
- 1841 The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally ceded.
- 1855 Point No Point Treaty signed in Washington Territory.
- 1861 Louisiana becomes 6th state to secede
- 1862 Lincoln issues General War Order #1, calling for a Union offensive McClellan ignores order
- 1863 54th Regiment (Black) infantry forms
- 1863 War Department authorizes Massachusetts Governor to recruit black troops
- 1870 Virginia rejoins the Union, following the end of the Civil War.
- 1871 British Rugby Union forms
- 1871 US income tax repealed
- 1875 Electric dental drill is patented by George F Green
- 1881 Union of Baptists Communities forms in Foxholl
- 1882 France government of Gambetta falls
- 1885 Muhammad Ahmed ("Mahdi") rebels conquer Khartoum
- 1885 Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum.
- 1885 UK hist Fall of Khartoum, General Gordon killed
- 1887 Battle of Dogali Abyssinian Emperor John IV defeats Italians
- 1897 Battle at Bida Gold Coast British troops beat Nupe's army
- 1905 Han Yong-woon [Bongwan, Manhae] (1879-1944) ordained a monk in Korea
- 1905 The Cullinan Diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the Premier Mine.
- 1905 World's largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found in South Africa
- 1907 J M Synge's "Playboy of the Western World" opens; police are called
- 1907 The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the oldest military rifle still in official use.
- 1907 The first federal corrupt election practices law passed
- 1910 Heavy rains cause floods in Paris
- 1911 Glenn Curtiss pilots first successful hydroplane, San Diego CA
- 1911 Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful seaplane.
- 1913 Jim Thorpe relinquishes his 1912 Olympic medals for being a pro
- 1914 600 Dutch textile workers go on strike
- 1914 Vatican puts Belgian Nobel winner Maeterlinck's works in their index
- 1915 Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado established
- 1918 President Hoover calls for "wheatless" & "meatless" days for war effort
- 1920 Amadeo Modigliani's mistress jumps out of a window
- 1920 Former Ford Motor Co. executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
- 1924 Parliament approves the Red Ensign as Canada's official flag for government buildings at home and abroad
- 1926 Television first demonstrated (John L Baird, London)
- 1929 Indian National Congress proclaims goal for India's independence
- 1930 Cleveland's Terminal Tower opens (52 stories)
- 1930 The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) which occurred 20 years later.
- 1931 Hungary-Austria sign peace treaty
- 1932 British submarine M-2 sinks in Channel (60 dead)
- 1934 Bradman scores 128 New South Wales vs Victoria, 96 minutes, 17 fours 4 sixes
- 1934 German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
- 1934 Nazi Germany & Poland sign non-attack treaty for 10 years
- 1934 The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
- 1936 Heatherfield, coaster, 500 tons. Ran ashore in a fog at Whitby, Yorkshire. Crew rescued by breeches buoy.
- 1936 Visitor posting - Birth of Louise. Mayes - USA
- 1939 Federal Hall National Monument established
- 1939 Filming begins on "Gone With the Wind"
- 1939 Franco conquers Barcelona
- 1939 Spanish Civil War: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
- 1940 Nazis forbid Polish Jews to travel on trains
- 1942 Italian supreme command demands dismissal of German marshal Rommel
- 1942 The first US force in Europe during WWII goes ashore in Northern Ireland
- 1942 U.S. troops land in Northern Ireland to support the Allied effort during WWII.
- 1942 Wartime Prices and Trade Board brings in sugar rationing; 12 ounces per person per week
- 1942 World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
- 1945 Soviet forces reach Auschwitz concentration camp
- 1945 Soviet troops arrive at Auschwitz to discover 7,600 survivors and 648 corpses. Most of the prisoners in Auschwitz had been sent out on a death march on Jan 18.
- 1947 KLM Dakota crashes near Copenhagen, 22 die
- 1948 Executive Order 9981, end segregation in US Armed Forces signed
- 1949 USS Norton Sound, first guided-missile ship, launches first guided missile, Loon.
- 1950 India becomes a republic as new President Rajendra Prasad takes the oath of office.
- 1950 India promulgates its constitution forming a republic and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president Republic Day.
- 1951 Visitor posting - Born on Indian Republic Day - Qatar [email protected]
- 1952 Black Saturday in Egypt: riots burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
- 1954 Ground breaking begins on Disneyland
- 1956 7th Winter Olympic games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
- 1956 Buddy Holly's first formal recording session
- 1956 Porkkala military base returned to Finland by USSR
- 1957 Dutch PSP, Pacifist Socialistic Party, forms
- 1957 India annexes Kashmir
- 1958 H Laskow replaces Moshe Dayan as Israeli minister of Defense
- 1958 Jack Smith takes over for Art Baker as TV host of "You Asked for It"
- 1959 Italy government of Fanfani resigns
- 1961 "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley peaks to #1
- 1961 John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds this appointment.
- 1961 Number one hit on UK music charts - Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight
- 1962 Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker's "Twist" is impure & bans it from all Catholic schools
- 1962 Canadian Marine Service renamed Coast Guard
- 1962 Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later missed the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
- 1962 US launches Ranger 3, misses Moon by 22,000-mile (37,000-km)
- 1963 "Milk & Honey" closes at Martin Beck Theater New York City NY after 543 performances
- 1965 Hindi becomes the official language of India.
- 1965 South Vietnam military coup under General Nguyen Khanh
- 1966 The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia.
- 1968 Israeli submarine Dakar crashes in Mediterranean Sea, 69 die
- 1971 Charles Manson convicted of murder
- 1971 Visitor posting - Sundiata Brown born
- 1972 Stewardess Vesna Vulovic survives 10,160m fall without parachute
- 1973 Actor Edward G. Robinson dies at age 79.
- 1974 Number one hit on UK music charts - Mud - Tiger Feet
- 1976 Belgium catholic elite start amnesty campaign for war criminals
- 1976 Israel opens "Good Fence" to Lebanon
- 1977 Soviet figure skaters Sergei Shakrai & Marine Tcherkasova are first to perform a quadruple twist lift, Helsinki
- 1978 International Ultraviolet Explorer placed in Earth orbit
- 1978 Mario Soares forms Portuguese government
- 1978 Strikers riot in Tunisia, killing about 40
- 1979 "The Dukes of Hazzard" premieres on CBS's vast wasteland
- 1979 Music Center Vredenburg opens in Utrecht Netherlands
- 1980 175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro!
- 1980 Israel & Egypt establish diplomatic relations
- 1980 Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
- 1980 Prime Minister Joe Clark warns USSR that Canada will boycott Summer Olympics in Moscow if Soviet troops do not leave Afghanistan
- 1981 Sandeep Patil scores memorable 174 vs Australia at Adelaide Oval
- 1982 Mauno Koivisto elected President of Finland
- 1982 UK hist Unemployment reached 3 million in Britain (1 in 8 of working population)
- 1982 Visitor posting - Marcie Petty was born in an ambulance in downtown Baltimore! - USA
- 1983 Dutch/British infrared satellite IRAS launched from California
- 1984 Federal government announces land claims settlement with Yukon first nations, who receive $620 million and title to 20,000 sq km
- 1984 US navy exhibits Piasecki helistat-4 helicopters & a blimp able to lift 26 tons-Lakehurst New Jersey
- 1985 42th Golden Globes Amadeus wins
- 1985 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 50th goal in 49th game of season
- 1986 Yoweri Museveni's rebel army conquerors Kampala Uganda
- 1987 14th American Music Award Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie & Alabama
- 1987 Hart Foundation beat British Bulldogs for WWF tag team title
- 1988 "Phantom of the Opera" opens at Majestic Theater New York City NY for 4,000+ performances
- 1988 Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera has its first performance on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in New York.
- 1988 Australia's 200th anniversary-parade of tall ships in Sydney Harbor
- 1988 CIBC buys 65% of Wood Gundy for $190 million, mostly in shares
- 1989 AT&T reports first loss in 103 years; $1.67 B in 1988
- 1989 Test debut of Mark Taylor, Australia vs West Indies, Sydney
- 1989 US computer security expert warns of catastrophic virus
- 1990 Annular eclipse visible over Antarctica & South Atlantic
- 1991 Alfaro Vive guerrilla group of Ecuador gives arms to Catholic church
- 1991 Jan Stenerud becomes first pure placekicker to make NFL Hall of Fame
- 1991 Mohamed Siad Barre is removed in Somalia, ending centralized government
- 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect
- 1992 Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia is going to stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
- 1993 Brian Tobin sworn in as Premier of Newfoundland
- 1993 Jeanne Sauvé dies in hospital; Sauvé served as Canada's first woman Governor General
- 1993 West Indies defeat Australia by one run in 4th Test at Adelaide
- 1995 New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman, dedicates a rest stop to Howard Stern
- 1998 25th American Music Award Spice Girls & Babyface win
- 1998 Intel launches 333 MHz Pentium II chip
- 1998 Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
- 1998 President Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people, I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"
- 2000 Rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine plays in front of Wall Street, prompting an early closing of trading due to the crowds.
- 2001 An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
- 2004 A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing Sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion.
- 2004 President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan.
- 2005 A CH-53 Sea Stallion transport helicopter went down in a sandstorm in western Iraq, killing 31 U.S. troops.
- 2005 Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, becoming the first African American woman to hold the post.
- 2005 Glendale train crash: Two trains derail killing 11 and injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles.
- 2006 Western Union discontinues use of its telegram service.
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