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What happened in history on this day: January 4?
On January 4 in ...
- 275 - Saint Eutychian begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
- 838 - Babak, Persian social/religious reformer, martyred.
- 871 - Battle at Reading: Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army.
- 1334 - Birth of Amadeus VI [Green Earl], Earl of Savoye.
- 1357 - Flemish Earl Louis and Luxembourg Duke Wenceslaus sign peace treaty.
- 1428 - Death of Friedrich I in Altenburg, Germany; Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey.
- 1519 - First Altenburger sermon (Luther and Karl von Miltitz).
- 1567 - Birth of Franciscus Aguilon physicist/mathematician/jesuit/architect.
- 1570 - Spanish viceroy Alva banishes Zutphen City's only physician, Joost Sweiter, "because he is a Jew".
- 1579 - Birth of Willem Teellinck Dutch theologist/vicar.
- 1581 - Birth of Bishop James Ussher Archbishop of Armagh, calculated Earth's beginning (November 23, 4004 BC).
- 1584 - Tobias Stimmer Swiss painter/cartoonist/playwright, dies at age 44.
- 1604 - Birth of Jacob Balde German jesuit/barok conductor (Jephthe).
- 1612 - Henry L Spieghel Dutch merchant/writer, dies at age 62.
- 1643 - Birth of Isaac Newton in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England; physicist/mathematician/astronomer (Laws of Motion and Gravity) (dies 1727).
- 1675 - Birth of Bl. Liberatus (Johannes Laurentius Weiß) in Konnersreuth, Germany (near Bayreuth); missionary to Ethiopia, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
- 1678 - Johan Maetsuyker Dutch Governor-General of Ceylon (1653-78), dies at age 71.
- 1695 - Duke of Luxembourg Luxembourg/French marshal, dies.
- 1701 - Ernst R Tarhemberg Austria, field marshal, dies at age 62.
- 1707 - Louis Willem I count of Baden-Baden, dies.
- 1710 - Birth of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Italian composer (Il Prigioniero Superbo).
- 1717 - Netherlands, England and France sign Triple Alliance.
- 1725 - Benjamin Franklin arrives in London.
- 1726 - Birth of Cornelis Ploos van Amstel Dutch engraver/art collector.
- 1729 - Joseph de Montesquiou Earl d'Artagnan French Lieutenant-General , dies at age 77.
- 1739 - Birth of Henrik C Cras Dutch lawyer (Laudatio Hugonis Grotii).
- 1746 - Birth of Benjamin Rush in Byberry, Pennsylvania; medical doctor, delegate to Continental Congress, signed Declaration of Independence for Pennsylvania, Surgeon-General of Continental Army, president of Philadelphia Medical Society, US Mint Treasurer (1797-1813).
- 1752 - Gabriel Cramer Swiss mathematician (paradox of Cramer), dies at age 47.
- 1754 - Columbia University founded, as Kings College (New York City New York).
- 1761 - Stephen Hales English vicar/inventor (ventilator), dies at age 83.
- 1762 - England declares war on Spain and Naples.
- 1780 - Snowstorm hits Washington's army at Morristown, New Jersey.
- 1781 - André Méchain discovers M80 (globular cluster in Scorpio).
- 1782 - Death of Ange-Jacques Gabriel at age 83; French architect (Ecole Military).
- 1785 - Birth of Jakob Grimm in Hanau, Germany; linguist, published collection of German legends and a complete German grammar, worked on a complete German dictionary, he and brother Wilhelm known most for the Grimms' fairy tales.
- 1786 - Death of Moses Mendelssohn at age 56 in Berlin; Jewish/German philosopher (Haksalah).
- 1793 - Death of Bengt Lidner at age 35; Swedish poet (Medea/Yttersa domen).
- 1797 - Birth of Wilhelm Beer in Berlin, Germany; amateur astronomer, constructed first Moon map.
- 1804 - Death of Charlotte Lennox; English novelist (The Female Quixote).
- 1809 - Birth of Louis Braille in Coupvray, France; developer of reading system for blind (dies 1852).
- 1813 - Birth of Alexander Freiherr von Bach in Austria; attorney/premier (1852-59).
- 1813 - Birth of Louis L Bonaparte; English/French linguist/senator.
- 1813 - Birth of Isaac Pitman; inventor (shorthand).
- 1821 - Birth of John James Peck; US Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1878).
- 1822 - Birth of Joseph Jones Reynolds; US Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1899).
- 1823 - Birth of Otto van Rees; Governor-General of Dutch-Indies (1884-88).
- 1823 - Birth of Peter Joseph Osterhaus; US Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1917).
- 1825 - Ferdinand I, King of Sicily/Naples (Ferdinand IV), dies at age 73.
- 1832 - Insurrection of Trinidad negroes.
- 1837 - Birth of Casimiro de Abreu in Brazil; poet (Camoes e o jau).
- 1838 - Birth of Charles Stratton AKA General Tom Thumb; famous short person.
- 1839 - Birth of Karl Humann in Steele, Germany; archaeologist, excavated ancient Greek cities.
- 1843 - Royal Academy (Technical Hague court) Delft opens.
- 1852 - The Royal Mail steam packet Amazon burns and sinks in Nay of Biscay, carrying first postage stamps for use in Barbados.
- 1861 - Fort Morgan, Mobile, seized by Alabama.
- 1863 - Four-wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of New York, USA.
- 1874 - Birth of Josef Suk; Czech violinist/composer (Asrael).
- 1877 - Birth of Gibson Gowland in England; actor (Blind Husbands, Phantom of the Opera).
- 1877 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, US robber baron, dies at age 82.
- 1878 - Birth of Alfred Edgar Coppard in England; writer (Black Dogs and Other Stories).
- 1881 - Birth of Wilhelm Lehmbruck in Meiderich, German; painter/poet/sculptor (Seated Youth).
- 1883 - Birth of Johanna Westerdijk; botanist/Netherlands first female professor (Utrecht, 1917-52).
- 1883 - Birth of Max F Eastman; US critic/essayist (Masses).
- 1883 - Ontario Rugby Football Union (forerunner of Canadian Football League) forms in Canada.
- 1884 - Last sighting of an eastern cougar (Ontario, Canada).
- 1885 - Dr W W Grant of Iowa performs first appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, age 22).
- 1886 - Ernest Panckoucke, French publisher (Horace), dies at age 77.
- 1887 - Thomas Stevens is first man to bicycle around the world (San Francisco-San Francisco); 21,700km.
- 1888 - Birth of Arthur Berry in England; soccer player (Olympics-gold-1908, 1912).
- 1889 - Birth of Albertus W "Albert" van Dalsum; actor/director (Abandoned Child).
- 1890 - Birth of Alfred G Jodl; German Wehrmacht General/Chief of Staff.
- 1890 - Birth of Mosa Pijade in Yugoslavia; Member of Parliament (communist).
- 1891 - Joe Hunter, cricket wicket-keeper (England on 1884-85 Autralian tour), dies.
- 1893 - US President Benjamin Harrison grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy.
- 1894 - France ratifies Duple Alliance with Russia.
- 1896 - AFL charters Actors' National Protective Union, New York City, New York.
- 1896 - Birth of André Aimé René Masson; French surrealist artist (Labyrinth).
- 1896 - Birth of Everett McKinley Dirkson; American politician (Senator-Republican-Illinois).
- 1896 - Following Mormon abandonment of polygamy, Utah is admitted as 45th state of the USA.
- 1903 - Birth of Joris Diels; Flemish actor/director (Haagsche Comedy).
- 1903 - Birth of Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés; Honduras President (1971-72) (overthrown).
- 1903 - W H M "Dicky" Richards, cricket player (score 4 and 0 in Test for South Africa), dies.
- 1904 - Ottawa Silver Seven beat Winnipeg Rowing Club two games to one (Stanley Cup).
- 1904 - US Supreme Court rules Puerto Ricans cannot be denied admission to US.
- 1905 - Birth of Sterling Holloway in Cedartown, Georgia, USA; actor (Rin Tin Tin, Willy, Waldo - The Life of Riley, The Baileys of Balboa, Adventures of Superman, Gilligan's Island, That Girl, F-Troop), voice of Winnie the Pooh in TV and film.
- 1906 - South Africa beats England in cricket by one wicket, their first Test win.
- 1908 - Antony Winkler Prins, writer (Groiller Encyclopaedia), dies at age 70.
- 1908 - Birth of Angela Maria "Geli" Raubal; Austrian nude model/Hitler's lover.
- 1912 - Smallest earth-moon distance this century, 356,375 km center-to-center.
- 1913 - Death of Alfred Graf von Schlieffen in Berlin, Germany, at age 79; Prussian General-field marshal, developed "Schlieffen Plan" used in World War I.
- 1913 - Birth of Malietoa Tanumafili II; King of West-Samoa (1962-).
- 1914 - The stolen Mona Lisa painting is returned to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
- 1914 - Birth of Mohammed Sahir; shah (Afghanistan).
- 1914 - Silas Weir Mitchell, US physician/author (Free Quaker), dies at age 84.
- 1915 - Trans-Caucausus Russians defeat Turkish troops.
- 1916 - Birth of Robert Parrish in Columbus, Georgia, USA; director (Casino Royale).
- 1917 - Birth of Jesse Marc Weidenfeld AKA Jesse White in Buffalo, New York, USA; actor (Maytag Repairman in commercials, Bedtime for Bonzo, Million Dollar Mermaid, Private Secretary, Make Room for Daddy).
- 1918 - Birth of Norman Dale Baker AKA Buddy Baker in Missouri, USA; musician, composer for hundreds of Disney attractions, movies, TV shows, The Mickey Mouse Club, The Monkey's Uncle, named a Disney Legend in 1998.
- 1919 - Birth of Albert Richard Collins AKA Jazzbo in Rochester, New York, USA; radio personality (created the Purple Grotto program on WNEW New York, talk shows at KGO San Francisco), disk jockey (Tonight! America After Dark).
- 1919 - Birth of Havelock Henry Trevor Hudson; underwriter (Lloyd's of London).
- 1920 - Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish writer (Gloria), dies at age 76.
- 1920 - Birth of Benito Perez Galdos; Spanish writer (Fortunata y Jacinta).
- 1920 - Birth of William Egan Colby; US Central Intelligence Agency director (under President Richard Nixon).
- 1923 - Vladimir Lenin's "Political Testament" calls for removal of Josef Stalin.
- 1925 - Birth of Veikko Hakulinen in Finland; 30km/50km cross country skier (Olympics-gold-1956).
- 1925 - Death of George T. Morgan, chief engraver of the US Mint (1917-25).
- 1926 - Theodorus Pangalos resigns as Greek dictator.
- 1927 - Birth of Barbara Rush in Denver, Colorado, USA; actress (Marsha - Peyton Place, Flamingo Road, Seventh Heaven).
- 1928 - NBC radio debuts one of radio's first variety shows, "The Dodge Victory Hour" starring Will Rogers, Paul Whiteman, and his Orchestra and singer Al Jolson.
- 1929 - Birth of Amitai W Etzioni; American sociologist (Active Society).
- 1930 - Birth of Don Shula; NFL coach (Miami Dolphins).
- 1930 - Birth of Iain Cuthbertson; British actor (Guilty, Scandal, Rep, Danger UXB).
- 1930 - Birth of Sorrell Booke in Buffalo, New York, USA; actor (Bye Bye Braverman, Black Like Me, Boss Hogg - Dukes of Hazzard).
- 1931 - Death of Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, British royal, eldest daughter of Edward VII (born 1867).
- 1931 - Art Acord, American western actor (Set Free, Spurs and Saddles), dies at age 40.
- 1932 - Birth of Richard Stahl in Detroit, Michigan, USA; actor (Howard - It's a Living).
- 1932 - Donald Bradman scores 167 for Australia versus South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- 1932 - British East Indies' Viceroy Willingdon arrests Gandhi and Nehru.
- 1932 - State of siege proclaimed in Honduras.
- 1932 - NBC Red network radio debuts "The Carnation Contented Hour".
- 1933 - Birth of Ed Jenkins; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Georgia, 1977-).
- 1933 - Lucas Lindeboom, Dutch evangelist (Vredebond), dies at age 87.
- 1933 - In an attempt to gain power, Franz von Papen makes a deal with Adolf Hitler and is able to have him appointed chancellor of Germany. Von Papen believed he would be able to control Hitler and the Nazis.
- 1934 - First Dutch talkie movie, Jan Teunissen's Willem of Orange premieres.
- 1935 - Birth of Floyd Patterson; heavyweight champion (1956-59, 1960-62) (Olympics-gold-1952) (dies 2006).
- 1935 - Birth of Kenneth Money in Canada; astronaut (STS 42-alternate).
- 1935 - Fort Jefferson National Monument, Florida established.
- 1936 - The first pop music chart based on national sales is published by Billboard magazine. Joe Venuti, jazz violinist, is at the top of the chart with a song called "Stop! Look! Listen!".
- 1936 - Clarrie Grimmett becomes world record wicket taker with no 190 versus South Africa.
- 1937 - Birth of Dyan Cannon in Tacoma, Washington, USA; actress (Heaven Can Wait, Three Sisters, Ally McBeal, The Practice).
- 1937 - Birth of Grace Bumbry in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; mezzo-soprano ("Venus in Tannhäuser").
- 1937 - Birth of R Surendranath; cricket player (Indian pace bowler in 11 Tests early 60s).
- 1938 - Birth of Louis Krebs Graham in Nashville, Tennessee, USA; PGA golfer (1975 US Open).
- 1939 - Birth of Oliver Clark in Buffalo, New York, USA; actor (Bob Newhart Show, Two of Us).
- 1939 - Hermann Goering appoints Reinhard Heydrich head of Jewish Emigration.
- 1940 - Birth of Anthony Skooter Teague in Texas, USA; actor (How to Succeed in Business).
- 1940 - Birth of Brian Josephson; British physicist (Nobel Prize 1973).
- 1940 - Conrad Weiss, German writer/poet (Heart of Words), dies at age 59.
- 1941 - Birth of John Bennett Perry in Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA; singer/actor (Falcon Crest).
- 1941 - Henri Bergson, French philosopher (Le Rire, Nobel Prize 1928), dies at age 81.
- 1942 - Birth of John McLaughlin; rock guitarist ("Sentimental Journey" / "Clouds of Joy").
- 1942 - NFL Pro Bowl: Chicago Bears beats NFL All-Stars 35-24.
- 1942 - Rogers Hornsby is 14th player selected to the Hall of Fame.
- 1943 - Birth of Tom Wilkinson; Canadian Football League quarterback (Edmonton Eskimos).
- 1943 - Thomas Mann completes his tetralogy, Joseph and His Brothers.
- 1944 - Birth of Volker Hornback; rocker (Tangerine Dream).
- 1944 - Kaj Munk [Harald Leininger], anti-fascist writer (Kaj Munk), dies.
- 1945 - Birth of Jay Dee Maness in Loma Linda, California, USA; singer (Desert Rose Band - "Love Reunited").
- 1945 - Germans execute resistance fighters in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- 1945 - US jeep-aircraft carrier Ommaney Bay sinks after kamikaze attack.
- 1945 - Sixty-nine American B-29 bombers from the Marianas Islands attack Kobe, Japan, with incendiary bombs, destroying 2.5 million square feet of the city.
- 1946 - Birth of Bernard Sumner; rocker (New Order - "Round and Round").
- 1947 - The first issue of the German news magazine Der Spiegel is published. It starts as a publication under the authority of the British occupation forces. Former name was Diese Woche.
- 1947 - Show Boat closes at Ziegfeld Theater in New York City, New York after 417 performances.
- 1947 - Forrest Reid, Irish author/critic (Young Tom, Apostate), dies at age 71.
- 1948 - Britain grants independence to Burma.
- 1951 - Birth of Barbara Ann Cochran in Claremont, New Hampshire, USA; slalom skier (Olympics-gold-1972).
- 1951 - During Korean conflict, North Korean forces capture Seoul.
- 1952 - Constantly Permeke Flemish, painter (Boerin), dies at age 65.
- 1953 - Arthur Hoyt, actor (Gold Rush Gertie, Lost World), dies at age 78.
- 1954 - TV soap opera The Brighter Day premieres.
- 1954 - Elvis Presley pays $4 to the Memphis Recording Service to record him singing "Casual Love Affair" and "I'll Never Stand in Your Way".
- 1955 - Birth of Kathy Forester in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, USA; country singer (The Forester Sisters - "Men").
- 1955 - Birth of Mark Hollis; English pop musician ("Talk Talk", "Dum Dum Girl").
- 1956 - Birth of Ann Magnuson in Charleston, West Virginia, USA; actress (Anything But Love, Hunger, Wanda at Large).
- 1956 - Birth of Bernard Sumner; rock guitarist/vocalist (New Order - "Blue Monday", Joy Division).
- 1956 - Birth of Bernard Albrecht; English pop guitarist (Joy Division).
- 1957 - Birth of Patty Loveless [Ramey] in Pikeville, Kentucky, USA; singer ("Blue Side of Town").
- 1957 - Brooklyn Dodgers buy 44-passenger twin-engine airplane for US$775,000.
- 1957 - Death of Theodor Körner in Vienna, Austria, at age 84; colonel in the Austrian army when World War I began, rose to the office of chief of staff, then inspector general of the new Austrian army after the war, post-war mayor of Vienna, then finally elected president of Austria in 1951.
- 1958 - Birth of Matt Frewer in Washington DC, USA; actor (Max Headroom, Doctor Doctor, Intelligence, Star Trek: The Next Generation).
- 1958 - Birth of Nina Foust in Asheboro, North Carolina, USA; LPGA golfer (1994 Hawaiian Ladies Open-6th).
- 1958 - Sputnik 1 re-enters Earth's atmosphere from its orbit and burns up.
- 1958 - Waverley John Anderson of Scotland, Viscount/Governor of Bengal, dies at age 75.
- 1959 - Birth of Vanity [Denise Marquardt] in Ontario, Canada; actress (52 Pick Up).
- 1959 - Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes first spacecraft to leave Earth's gravity and reach the vicinity of the Moon.
- 1959 - CBS premieres The General Electric College Bowl 30-minute TV game show.
- 1960 - Death of Albert Camus in car accident at age 46; French author (Stranger), Nobel Prize for Literature (1957).
- 1960 - Birth of Cory Everson in Racine, Wisconsin, USA; body builder (six times Ms Olympia).
- 1960 - Birth of Michael Stipe; US rock vocalist (REM - "Losing My Religion", "Stand").
- 1960 - European Free Trade Association forms in Stockholm, Sweden.
- 1961 - Barry Fitzgerald, actor (Going My Way), dies at age 72.
- 1961 - Birth of Lee Curreri in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Bruno Martelli - Fame).
- 1961 - Longest recorded strike ends-33 years-Danish barbers' assistants.
- 1961 - Death of Erwin Schrödinger in Vienna, Austria; theoretical physicist, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933 for his work on the wave theory of matter.
- 1962 - New York City introduces the first automated subway train that operates without a crew on-board.
- 1962 - Birth of Joe Kleine; NBA center (Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls).
- 1962 - Birth of Martin McAloon; rocker (Prefab Sprout - "2 Wheels Good").
- 1962 - Birth of Patrick Cassidy in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor/composer (Fever Pitch, Off the Wall, Smallville, Dirty Dancing).
- 1963 - Birth of Dave Foley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; actor/comedian (Kids In The Hall, Robson Arms, Dave Nelson - News Radio).
- 1963 - Birth of Linda Muri in Killingly, Connecticut, USA; rower (Olympics-1996).
- 1963 - Soviet Luna (4) reaches Earth orbit but fails to reach Moon.
- 1964 - Birth of Stephanie Maxwell-Pierson in Somerville, New Jersey, USA; American rower (Olympics-1992).
- 1964 - Ralph Dumke, actor (Movieland Quiz), dies at age 64.
- 1965 - Birth of David Glasper; rocker (Breathe - "All I Need").
- 1965 - Birth of Jergus Baca Liptovsky in Mikulas, Czechoslovakia; IHL defenseman (Team Slovakia 1998).
- 1965 - Birth of John Jackson; NFL offensive tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers).
- 1965 - Birth of Julia Ormond in London, England; actress (Sabrina, Legends of the Fall, Traffik, Young Catherine).
- 1965 - Birth of Kevin Wickander; US baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds).
- 1965 - Birth of Mitch Booth; Australian tornado yachter (Olympics-1996).
- 1965 - Birth of Rick Hearst Howard Beach, New York City, New York, USA; actor (Alan-Michael - Guiding Light).
- 1965 - Leo Fender sells the Fender Guitar Company to CBS for $13 million.
- 1965 - US President Lyndon Johnson gives "Great Society" State of the Union Address.
- 1965 - T.S. Eliot, poet (Washed Country), dies in London, England, at age 76.
- 1966 - Birth of Deana Carter; country singer ("Strawberry Wine").
- 1966 - Doug Walters scores second Test century in his second Test.
- 1966 - CBS airs the last episode of Rawhide.
- 1967 - Birth of David Wayne Toms in Monroe, Louisiana, USA; PGA golfer (1992 Northern Telecom-third).
- 1967 - Birth of Michael "Mike" Peterson in Washington DC; rower (Olympics-1996).
- 1967 - Birth of Rick Cunningham; NFL tackle (Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders).
- 1967 - Donald Campbell, boat racer, dies trying to break 300 mph on water.
- 1967 - Birth of Benjamin Darvill; rock musician (Crash Test Dummies).
- 1968 - Birth of Jackie Harris; NFL tight end (Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
- 1968 - Joseph Pholien, Belgian Prime Minister (1950-52), communist fighter, dies at age 83.
- 1968 - Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for US$13 million.
- 1969 - Birth of Corie Blount; NBA forward (Los Angeles Lakers).
- 1969 - Birth of Kees van Wonderen; Dutch soccer player (NEC/NAC).
- 1969 - Birth of Lindsay Kennedy in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; actor (Jeb - Little House on the Prairie).
- 1969 - France begins arms embargo against Israel.
- 1970 - Birth of Colin Scrivener; Canadian Football League defensive tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers).
- 1970 - Birth of Sean Lumpkin; NFL safety (New Orleans Saints).
- 1970 - Kansas City Chiefs beat Oakland Raiders 17-7 in AFC championship game.
- 1970 - Minnesota Vikings beat Cleveland Browns 27-7 in NFC championship game.
- 1970 - Walter Cronkite hosts the final episode of the weekly documentary The Twentieth Century after a 13-year run on CBS TV.
- 1970 - In Tonghai, Yunnan Province, China, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurs. 10,000 deaths. The quake was felt at Hanoi, Vietnam.
- 1970 - Final studio appearance of The Beatles, as three of the group (without John Lennon) re-record vocals and a new guitar solo on "Let It Be' at Studio Two, EMI Studios, London.
- 1971 - Birth of Carlos Perez; Dominican/US baseball pitcher (Montreal Expos).
- 1971 - Birth of Deb Sonnenberg in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; softball pitcher (Olympics-1996).
- 1971 - Birth of Errol Brown; Canadian Football League defensive back (Winnipeg Blue Bombers).
- 1971 - Birth of Garrison Hearst; NFL running back (Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers).
- 1971 - Birth of Jeremy Licht in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Mark - Valerie, Hogan Family).
- 1971 - Birth of Orlanda Truitt; wide receiver (Oakland Raiders).
- 1971 - Birth of Richard Chee Quee; cricket player (New South Wales opening batsman Fiji/Chinese ancestry).
- 1971 - US Congressional Black Caucus organizes.
- 1971 - Dr Melvin H Evans inaugurated as first elected Governor of Virgin Islands.
- 1971 - Ohio agrees to pay US$675,000 to relatives of Kent State prison victims.
- 1971 - Philadelphia's Veteran Stadium dedicated.
- 1972 - Birth of Mike McCoy; WLAF quarterback (Amsterdam Admirals).
- 1973 - Birth of Lamont Warren; NFL running back (Indianapolis Colts).
- 1973 - Birth of Ray Mickens; cornerback (New York Jets).
- 1973 - Birth of Todd Sauerbrun; NFL punter/kicker (Chicago Bears).
- 1974 - Birth of Carl Powell; defensive end (Indianapolis Colts).
- 1974 - US President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over tapes subpoenaed by Watergate Committee.
- 1975 - Carlo Levi, Italian writer (Parole Sono Pietre), dies at age 72.
- 1975 - US President Gerald Ford signs Executive Order No. 11828 on US Central Intelligence Agency Activities within the US.
- 1975 - Montreal Canadiens shutout Washington Capitals 10-0.
- 1975 - Birth of Jill Marie Jones; actress-singer (Girlfriends).
- 1976 - Jan B Cammans, Flemish actor (Brothers Karamazov), dies at age 84.
- 1977 - Mary Shane is hired by Chicago White Sox as TV play-by-play.
- 1978 - A referendum in Chile supports the policies of Augusto Pinochet.
- 1979 - The State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of the dead and injured in the Kent State shootings.
- 1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
- 1981 - 69th Australian Mens Tennis: B Teacher beats Kim Warwick (7-5, 7-6, 6-3).
- 1981 - Sheffield police arrest Peter Sutcliffe, a 34-year-old lorry driver, on suspicion of being the Yorkshire Ripper who has killed 13 women and attacked seven others over the last six years (later convicted).
- 1982 - San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge closed for third time by fierce storm.
- 1983 - US Football League holds its first player draft.
- 1984 - Edmonton Oilers beats Minnesota North Stars 12-8 - highest-scoring modern NHL game to date.
- 1984 - NBC TV premieres the zany sitcom Night Court starring Harry Anderson.
- 1985 - Brian Gwynne Horrocks, English Lieutenant-General (A Full Life), dies at age 89 (born 1895).
- 1986 - Christopher Isherwood, British writer (Lions and Shadows), dies at age 81.
- 1986 - David Boon's second Test century, 131 versus India at Adelaide.
- 1986 - NCAA basketball's David Robinson blocks a record 14 shots.
- 1986 - Death of Phil Lynott of drug overdose at age 34; lead singer and bassist (Thin Lizzy) (born 1949).
- 1987 - Danish East India Company merchant vessel Nicobar is discovered off the coast of False Bay, South Africa, where it sunk in 1783.
- 1987 - An Amtrak train en route from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16.
- 1987 - Jack Martin, cricket player (English pace bowler, 1-111 and 0-18 in Test), dies.
- 1987 - Peggy Bacon, author/illustrator (Off With Their Heads), dies at age 91.
- 1989 - Comet Tempel 1 at perihelion.
- 1989 - Over the Gulf of Sidra, two Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are engaged and shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcats.
- 1989 - US Vice President George Bush is first since Vice President Van Buren to declare himself President.
- 1990 - Alberto Lleras Camargo, President of Colombia (1945-46, 1958-62), dies.
- 1990 - Robert F Adams, American sci-fi author (Castaways in Time), dies at age 57.
- 1990 - Over 300 people are killed in a train accident in Ghotki, Pakistan.
- 1991 - Berry Kroeger, actor (Demon Seed), dies of kidney failure at age 78.
- 1991 - Fu Mingxia, 12, of China wins World Swimming Championships gold medal.
- 1991 - Harry Krimer, actor (Napoleon), suicide at age 94.
- 1991 - Jan Krzystof Bielecki becomes premier of Poland.
- 1991 - The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to condemn Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
- 1991 - Leo N Wright, US saxophonist ("I Left My Heart in San Francisco"), dies at age 57.
- 1992 - William Walker, stuntman/actor (Our Man Flint), dies at age 74.
- 1993 - Joe Keenan, actor (Conviction of Kitty Dodd), dies of cancer at age 69.
- 1993 - In the UK, BBC Two TV network airs the world's first virtual reality game show, Cyberzone, in which players battle in a sybertown, run on an network of Intel 486-based computers.
- 1994 - Jim Booth, New Zealand producer (Heavenly Creatures), dies at age 48.
- 1994 - The last episode of the TV show Bakersfield P.D. airs.
- 1994 - Michiel P "Michael" Gorsira, Governor of Curaçao (1951-67), dies at age 80.
- 1995 - Dorothy Granger, US actress (Hog Wild, Dentist), dies at about age 80.
- 1995 - Leonard Hirsch, British violinist/conductor (BBC Empire Orchestra), dies at age 92.
- 1995 - The 104th US Congress convenes, the first controlled by Republicans in both houses since 1953. Newt Gingrich is speaker of the House.
- 1997 - Death of Harry Helmsley, American real estate mogul (Empire State Building), at age 87 (born 1909).
- 1998 - Death of John Gary of cancer at age 65 in Richardson, Texas, USA; singer ("The Nearness Of You" (1965)).
- 1998 - Wilaya of Relizane massacres in Algeria: Over 170 are killed in three remote villages.
- 1999 - Aluminum Company of America changes its company name to Alcoa Incorporated.
- 1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 16 people and injuring 25.
- 2000 - Alan Greenspan is nominated for a fourth term as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman.
- 2000 - The Russian-registered tanker Volganeft 248 splits apart in the strait through Istanbul, Turkey, dumping about 1 million litres of fuel oil which washes up along 5km of the coast.
- 2001 - Death of Les Brown at age 88 of lung cancer; bandleader (Band of Renown, Bob Hope, "Sentimental Journey", "My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time", "Leap Frog", "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"), musical director (Dean Martin).
- 2002 - The Saint Louis Cardinals agrees to a three-year, $27 million deal with Matt Morris.
- 2004 - The LSU Tigers defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 21-14 for the national Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title.
- 2004 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
- 2004 - NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
- 2004 - Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 2005 - Gunmen assassinate the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri.
- 2006 - Death of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (born 1946).
- 2006 - Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, after Sharon suffers a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
- 2007 - A dense metallic meteorite about 1-inch in diameter crashes through the roof of a house in eastern New Jersey, USA.
- 2007 - Death of Marais Viljoen, State President of South Africa (born 1915).
- 2008 - In the USA, Warner Bros studio announces it will drop support for the HD DVD video disc format on June 1, and will exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Sony's Blu-ray format. Warner Bros is Hollywood's biggest seller of DVDs, representing about 19 percent of sales in the United States.
- 2009 - At least 33 people die in a landslide in northern Guatemala; many more are missing.
- 2010 - Dubai opens the world's tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa tower, at 828 metres, built at a cost of US$1.5 billion.
- 2010 - Death of Johan Ferrier, 1st President of Suriname (born 1910).
- 2010 - Death of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese dual atomic bomb survivor (born 1916).
- 2011 - Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi dies after setting himself on fire a month earlier, sparking anti-government protests in Tunisia and later other Arab nations. These protests become known collectively as the Arab Spring.
- 2011 - Death of Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi of Iran (born 1966).
- 2012 - (to January 5) In New York City, The New York Sale auctions the Prospero Collection. Some highlights:
- Greek Pantikapaion gold stater, circa 350-300 BCE, unique: US$3.8 million, record price for a single Greek gold coin,
- Greek Naxos silver tetradrachm: US$994,500, record price for a single Greek silver coin,
- Roman gold aureus of Galba, circa 68-69, extremely fine: US$432,000.
- 2021 - The border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopens.
- 2023 - Death of Fay Weldon at age 91; novelist, screenwriter (The Life and Loves of a She-Devil).
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