21st JANUARY
Charles V, King of France (b. 1338)
John Frémont (b. 1813)
Thomas J (Stonewall) Jackson (b. 1824)
Duncan Grant (b. 1885)
Cristóbel Balenciaga (b. 1895)
Webster Booth (b. 1902)
Christian Dior (b. 1905)
OS Nock (b. 1905)
Sir Laurence Whistler (b. 1912)
Lally Bowers (b. 1917)
Paul Scofield (b. 1922)
Telly Savalas (b. 1924)
Benny Hill (b. 1924)
Wolfman Jack (b. 1938)
Edwin Starr (b. 1942)
Jam Master Jay (b. 1965)
James Stewart, Earl of Mornay (d. 1570)
Louis XVI, King of France (d. 1793)
John Couch Adams (d. 1892)
Elisha Gray (d. 1901)
Lenin (d. 1924)
Lytton Strachey (d. 1932)
George Moore (d. 1933)
Georges Méliès (d. 1938)
George Orwell (d. 1950)
Harry Gordon (d. 1957)
Cecil B De Mille (d. 1959)
Ann Sheridan (d. 1967)
Tommy Tucker (d. 1982)
Jackie Wilson (d. 1984)
Webster Booth (d. 1984)
Leslie Halliwell (d. 1989)
Champion Jack Dupree (d. 1992)
Col Tom Parker (d. 1997)
Wally Whyton (d. 1997)
Jack Lord (d. 1998)
Charles Brown (d. 1999)
Peggy Lee (d. 2002)
The Daily News (published by Charles Dickens) 1st appears, 1846
14 die in collision, Great Northern Railway, 1876
Taxi-cabs 1st officially recognised, UK, 1907
1st Monte Carlo rally begins, 1914
Edward VIII proclaimed king, 1936
Marcel Boulestin becomes 1st TV chéf, Cook's Night Out, 1937
1st nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, launched, 1954
Piltdown Man confirmed as a hoax, 1955
George Harrison marries Patti Boyd, Esher, 1966
Jimi Hendrix records All Along The Watchtower, Barnes, 1968
Concordes' inaugural flights, London-Bahrain & Paris-Rio, 1976
Pluto's orbit moves within that of Neptune, 1979
22nd JANUARY
Ivan the Great (b. 1440)
Sir Francis Bacon (b. 1561)
Pierre Gassendi (b. 1592)
Nicholas Lancret (b. 1690)
Joseph Hume (b. 1777)
Lord (George Gordon) Byron (b. 1788)
August Strindberg (b. 1849)
DW Griffith (b. 1875)
Franz Alexander (b. 1891)
Conrad Veidt (b. 1893)
U Thant (b. 1909)
Mary Hayley Bell (b. 1914)
Sir Alfred Ramsey (b. 1920)
Sam Cooke (b. 1931)
Nolan Strong (b. 1934)
Nyree Dawn Porter (b. 1936)
Joseph Hill (b. 1949)
Michael Hutchence (b. 1960)
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (d. 1552)
William Paterson (d. 1719)
Marie Alexandre Guérin (d. 1835)
Charles Kean (d. 1868)
David Hughes (d. 1900)
Victoria, Queen of the UK & Empress of India (d. 1901)
Walter Sickert (d. 1942)
Herbert Marshall (d. 1966)
Lyndon B Johnson (d. 1973)
Arthur Symons (d. 1975)
Telly Savalas (d. 1994)
Jean-Louis Barrault (d. 1994)
Rose Kennedy (d. 1995)
Billy Mackenzie (d. 1997)
Ann Miller (d. 2004)
Heath Ledger (d. 2008)
Jean Simmons (d. 2010)
South Sea Bubble speculation fever begins, 1720
Spain cedes Falkland islands to UK, 1771
Battle of Rorke's Drift, Zulu War, 1879
Columbia Phonograph Co (CBS) formed, Washington DC, 1889
Edward VII accedes to UK throne, 1901
Bloody Sunday massacre, Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 1905
Kate Mulcahey 1st woman to be arrested for smoking in public, New York NY, 1908
Arthur Miller's The Crucible opens on Broadway NY, 1915
1st Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald, takes office, 1924
Arsenal v Sheffield Utd becomes 1st broadcast football match, Highbury, 1927
Allied landings begin, Anzio, 1944
Buddy Holly's final recording sessions take place, New York NY, 1959
Sam Cooke signs to RCA Victor, 1960
Rolling Stones decline to stand on revolving stage, London Palladium, 1967
Rowan & Martin's Laugh In 1st broadcast, NBC TV, 1968
UK, Irish Republic & Denmark join Common Market, 1973
George Foreman beats Joe Frazier to become heavyweight champion, Kingston, 1973
Bjorn Borg retires from tennis, 1983
Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty to being the Unabomber, Sacramento CA, 1998
23rd JANUARY
Philipp Jakob Spener (b. 1635)
Stendhal (b. 1783)
Edouard Manet (b. 1832)
Subhas Chandra Bose (b. 1897)
Humphrey Bogart (b. 1899)
Lord (Alfred) Denning of Whitchurch (b. 1899)
Randolph Scott (b. 1903)
Django Reinhardt (b. 1910)
Airey Neave (b. 1916)
Bob Paisley (b. 1919)
Vernon Scannell (b. 1922)
Cyril Davies (b. 1932)
Bill Gibb (b. 1943)
William Baffin (d. 1622)
William Caslon (d. 1766)
John Cleland (d. 1789)
William Pitt the Younger (d. 1806)
Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (d. 1820)
Thomas Love Peacock (d. 1866)
Charles Kingsley (d. 1875)
Gustave Doré (d. 1883)
Anna Pavlova (d. 1931)
Dame Clara Butt (d. 1936)
Edvard Munch (d. 1944)
Pierre Bonnard (d. 1947)
Sir Alexander Korda (d. 1956)
Big Maybelle (d. 1972)
Kid Ory (d. 1973)
Paul Robeson (d. 1976)
Terry Kath (d. 1978)
Joseph Beuys (d. 1986)
Salvador Dali (d. 1989)
Freddie Bartholomew (d. 1992)
Brian Redhead (d. 1994)
Richard Berry (d. 1997)
Victor Pasmore (d. 1998)
Helmut Newton (d. 2004)
Johnny Carson (d. 2005)
Edward the Confessor marries Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin, 1045
830,000 die in earthquake, Shensi Province of China, 1556
Royal Exchange opened by Elizabeth I, London, 1571
Treaty of Utrecht signed, 1579
Principality of Liechtenstein constituted, 1719
Georgetown University established, Washington DC, 1789
Fletcher Christian and Bounty mutineers land, Pitcairns Island, 1790
Elizabeth Blackwell is 1st US woman to receive medical degree, New York NY, 1849
Battle of Spion Kop, Boer War, 1900
Charles Curtis is 1st American Indian to become a US Senator, 1907
1st Labour government formed, under Ramsay McDonald, UK, 1924
Nylon 1st produced in UK, Coventry, 1941
Tripoli captured by UK troops, 1943
Jerusalem proclaimed capital of Israel, 1950
Bathyscaphe Trieste descends 35,800 ft to Earth's deepest point, the Pacific,
1960
Dylan 1st arrives in New york ny and plays at Cafe Wha?, 1961
Kim Philby disappears (later to turn up in Moscow), Beirut, 1963
North Koreans seize USS Pueblo, claiming it is spying, 1968
1st Jumbo jet arrives, Heathrow, 1970
Van Morrison records live album at the Rainbow, London, 1973
Roots mini-series 1st shown, US, 1977
The A-Team premiered, US, 1983
House of Lords proceedings 1st televised, 1985
Liberals vote to merge with SDP to form SLDP, Blackpool, 1988
1000 die in earthquake and landslide, Tajikistan, 1989
Graham Gooch scores 100th 1st Class century, 1993
Intense burst of gamma rays indicates formation of millions of stars, 1999
24th JANUARY
Hadrian (b. 76)
Sir John Vanbrugh (bapt. 1664)
William Congreve (b. 1670)
Frederick II, the Great (b. 1712)
Pierre Beaumarchais (b. 1732)
ETA Hoffman (b. 1776)
Sir Edwin Chadwick (b. 1800)
Edith Wharton (b. 1862)
Ernst Heinkel (b. 1888)
Ann Todd (b. 1909)
Muir Mathieson (b. 1911)
Sharon Tate (b. 1943)
John Belushi (b. 1944)
Warren Zevon (b. 1947)
Caligula (d. 41)
Lord (Randolph) Churchill (d. 1895)
Amadeo Modigliani (d. 1920)
Otto Harbach (d. 1963)
Sir Winston Churchill (d. 1965)
James Sheppard (d. 1970)
George Cukor (d. 1983)
L Ron Hubbard (d. 1986)
Alvin Robinson (d. 1989)
Henry III marries Eleanor of Provence, 1236
Schouten embarks on 1st rounding of Cape Horn, 1616
Chocolate-making machine patented, 1730
Gold 1st discovered, by James Marshall, Sutter's Mill, Coloma CA, 1848
1st train passes over Forth Bridge, 1890
Queen Lilioukalani, last monarch of Hawaii, abdicates, 1895
Rubber heel patented, US, 1899
Baden-Powell forms 1st troop of Boy Scouts, Glasgow, 1908
Battle of the Dogger Bank, 1915
1st conscription bill passed in House of Commons, 1916
Petrograd (St Petersburg) re-named Leningrad, 1924
Beer 1st sold in cans, Krueger Brewing Co, Richmond VA, 1935
Moon 1st contacted by radar, 1946
Mae West debuts on London stage in Diamond Lil, 1948
Beatles sign management contract with Brian Epstein, 1962
117 die when Boeing 707 crashes into Mont Blanc, 1966
Robert Moog 1st demonstrates the Moog synthesiser, 1970
Coggan enthroned as 101st Archbishop of Canterbury, 1975
Margaret Thatcher 1st called the Iron Lady, by Red Star, USSR, 1976
Orbiting USSR satellite crashes, Yellow Knife, Canada, 1978
Specials play 1st US gig, Hurrah Club, New york ny, 1980
Apple Macintosh launched, 1984
News International newspaper presses begin to roll, Wapping, 1986
Voyager 2 flies within 50,679 miles of Uranus, 1986
Enquiry into malpractice at West Midlands Police Serious Crimes Squad begins,
1989
Japan launches 1st spacecraft to Moon, Kagoshima, 1990
Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse temporarily dies in hospital, London, 1996
UK female team becomes 1st to walk to both N & S Poles, 2000
EMI and Time Warner announce merger, 2000
25th JANUARY
St Edmund Campion (b. 1540)
Govert Flinck (b. 1615)
Robert Boyle (b. 1627)
Pompeo Batoni (b. 1708)
Joseph Lagrange (b. 1736)
Robert Burns (b. 1759)
William McGillivray (b. 1796)
William Somerset Maugham (b. 1874)
Virginia Woolf (b. 1882)
Wilhelm Fürtwängler (b. 1886)
Dame Gwen Ffrancon-Davies (b. 1891)
Sleepy John Estes (b. 1899)
Lady (Maria) von Trapp (b. 1905)
Witold Lutoslawski (b. 1913)
Ewan MacColl (b. 1915)
Raymond Baxter (b. 1922)
Antonio Carlos Jobim (b. 1927)
Kathleen Tynan (b. 1937)
Linda Smith (b. 1958)
Lucas Cranach the Younger (d. 1586)
Robert Burton (d. 1640)
Sweeney Todd (d. 1802)
Dorothy Wordsworth (d. 1855)
Ouida (d. 1908)
Al Capone (d. 1947)
Robertson Hare (d. 1979)
Samuel Barber (d. 1981)
Kenny Clarke (d. 1985)
Ava Gardner (d. 1990)
Albert Grossman (b. 1986)
Edward II marries Isabella of France, 1308
Edward III accedes to throne, 1327
Henry VIII secretly marries Anne Boleyn, 1533
The Scotsman 1st issued, Edinburgh, 1817
Fox Talbot publishes details of photographic negative process, 1839
Nellie Bly completes record-breaking round world journey in 72 days, 6:11:14,
1890
USA purchases Virgin Islands, 1917
1st Winter Olympics inaugurated, Chamonix, 1924
John Dillinger captured, Tucson AZ, 1934
1st Emmy awards, US, 1949
Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock 1st record to enter UK charts at number one, 1958
1st transcontinental commercial jet flight takes place, Los Angeles-New York,
1959
Phil Spector appears on Juke Box Jury, London, 1964
John & Yoko shave their heads and declare 1970 Year One, 1970
Idi Amin deposes Milton Obote and becomes President of Uganda, 1971
Charles Manson & others found guilty of multiple murders, US, 1971
Formation of SDP announced, 1981
47 die in 110 mph winds and severe storms, UK, 1990
Iraq begins to pump millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf, Gulf War, 1991
Eric Cantona assaults spectator, Selhurst Park, 1995
26th JANUARY
Claude Helvétius (b. 1715)
Douglas MacArthur (b. 1880)
John Carmel Heenan (b. 1905)
Stéphane Grappelli (b. 1908)
Jimmy van Heusen (b. 1913)
Jack de Manio (b. 1914)
Kaye Webb (b. 1914)
Barry Bucknell (b. 1912)
Nicolae Ceausescu (b. 1918)
Akio Morita (b. 1921)
Michael Bentine (b. 1922)
Paul Newman (b. 1925)
Roger Vadim (b. 1928)
Eartha Kitt (b. 1928)
Jacqueline Du Pré (b. 1945)
Marti Caine (b. 1945)
Patrick Dewaere (b. 1947)
Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke (d. NS 1794)
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (d. 1795)
Edward Jenner (d. 1823)
Théodore Gericault (d. 1824)
Gérard de Nerval (d. 1855)
Kirkpatrick Macmillan (d. 1878)
Julia Margaret Cameron (d. 1879)
Charles George Gordon (d. 1885)
Nikolaus Otto (d. 1891)
Grace Moore (d. 1947)
Lucky Luciano (d. 1962)
Edward G Robinson (d. 1973)
Nelson A Rockefeller (d. 1979)
James Cameron (d. 1985)
Arthur Marshall (d. 1989)
José Ferrer (d. 1992)
Shinichi Suzuki (d. 1998)
Glen Tetley (d. 2007)
Edward III assumes arms and title of King of France, Ghent, 1340
Brazil discovered by Pinzon, 1500
Arthur Phillip lands 1st Fleet and founds Sydney, 1788
Premiere of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, Vienna, 1790
Michigan, the Wolverine or Great Lake State, becomes 26th state of the Union,
1837
Hong Kong proclaimed UK sovereign territory, 1841
Louisiana secedes from the Union, 1861
Australia ceases to be a convict settlement, 1865
Virginia rejoins the Union, US, 1870
Rugby Football Union founded, 1871
The Cullinan, largest diamond, discovered, Premiere Diamond Mine, Pretoria, 1905
Barcelona falls to Franco, Spanish Civil War, 1939
India proclaimed a Republic within the Commonwealth, 1950
Buddy Holly makes 1st recordings for Decca, US, 1956
Buddy Holly & Crickets appear on Ed Sullivan Show, US, 1957
Hindi becomes official language of India, 1965
National Provincial & Westminster banks merge to form National Westminster
Bank, 1968
John Lennon records Instant Karma, 1970
Godspell 1st produced, London, 1972
IBM PC computer arrives in UK, 1983
Michael Jackson's hair catches fire while filming Pepsi advert, US, 1984
Barnum Barnum raises flag to claim England for Aboriginal people, Dover, 1988
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom Of The Opera opens on Broadway, New York NY, 1988
Vaclev Havel elected president of new Czech Republic, 1993
25,000 die in earthquake, Bhuj, Gujarat, India, 2001
27th JANUARY
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1756)
Friedrich von Schelling (b. 1775)
Samuel Palmer (b. 1805)
Lewis Carroll (b. 1832)
Alfred Watkins (b. 1855)
Léon Baks (b. OS 1866)
Jerome Kern (b. 1885)
Buddy DeSylva (b. 1895)
William Randolph Hearst Jr (b. 1908)
Elmore James (b. 1918)
Donna Reed (b. 1921)
Ingrid Thulin (b. 1926)
John Ogdon (b. 1937)
Kate Wolf (b. 1942)
Kevin Coyne (b. 1945)
Bartolommeo Cristofori (d. 1731)
John James Audubon (d. 1851)
Guiseppe Verdi (d. 1901)
Thomas Crapper (d. 1910)
Mahalia Jackson (d. 1972)
Lilli Palmer (d. 1986)
Dame Gwen Ffrancon-Davies (d. 1992)
Rikki Fulton (d. 2004)
John Updike (d. 2009)
JD Salinger (d. 2010)
Valved flush lavatory patented by Joseph Bramah, 1778
University of Georgia founded, US, 1785
Independence of Greece proclaimed, 1822
Thomas Edison patents electric lamp, 1879
Thames catches fire due to oil pollution, 1906
1st Nazi rally held, Munich, 1923
John Logie Baird 1st publically demonstrates TV, London, 1926
1st all-US bomb raid on Germany, Wilhelmshaven, 1943
Civilian women 1st conscripted, Germany, 1943
Red Army troops liberate Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, 1945
1st tape recorder sold, US, 1948
Atomic testing begins when USAF drops 1-kiloton bomb, Frenchman Flats NV, 1951
Gus Grissom, Edward White & Roger Chaffee die in Apollo tests, Cape Kennedy
FL, 1967
Formal cease fire between US and N Vietnam takes effect, 1973
Gorbachev announces reform and democratisation, USSR, 1987
Ariane-2 satellite launched, Kourou, French Guiana, 1989
1,000 die in explosion and fire at weapons depot, Lagos, 2002
28th JANUARY
Henry VII, King of England (b. 1457)
Giovanni Borelli (b. 1608)
John Baskerville (b. 1706)
Charles George Gordon (b. 1833)
Sir Henry Stanley (b. 1841)
José Marti (b. 1853)
William Seward Burroughs (b. 1855)
Colette (b. 1873)
Auguste Piccard (b. 1884)
Artur Rubinstein (b. 1885)
Ernst Lubitsch (b. 1892)
Sir Jimmy Shand (b. 1908)
Jackson Pollock (b. 1912)
Harry Corbett (b. 1918)
Alfred Marks (b. 1921)
Ronnie Scott (b. 1927)
James Jamerson (b. 1936)
King Tubby (b. 1941)
Charlemagne (d. 814)
Henry VIII, King of England (d. 1547)
Sir Francis Drake (d. 1596)
Sir Thomas Bodley (d. 1613)
Peter The Great (d. OS 1725)
William Burke (d. 1829)
Sir William Beechey (d. 1839)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (d. 1881)
WB Yeats (d. 1939)
Derek Bentley (d. 1953)
Ray Nance (d. 1976)
Billy Fury (d. 1983)
Christa McAuliffe (d. 1986)
Jim Capaldi (d. 2005)
Charles III crowned King of France (Fulk), 893
Diet of Worms begins, 1521
Edward VI accedes to throne of England, 1547
Botany Bay, 1st penal colony, founded, 1788
Pall Mall 1st street to be lit by gas light, London, 1807
United States ends direct control over Cuba, 1909
Abortion 1st legalised, Iceland, 1935
British Eighth Army retreats to El Alamein, 1942
Russians end seige of Leningrad after 872 days, 1944
Elvis Presley makes national TV debut, Dorsey Bros Stage Show, US, 1956
Construction of 1st thorium-uranium nuclear reactor begins, 1958
1st photograph bounced off the Moon, Washington DC, 1960
The Who 1st appear on Ready Steady Go!, UK, 1965
New York, New Jersey & Ohio declared disaster areas in freezing blizzards,
1977
Trade union membership banned to employees at GCHQ, Cheltenham, 1984
7 die when US space shuttle Challenger 10 explodes in space, 1986
Nirvana make 1st demo recordings, Seattle WA, 1988
Independent On Sunday 1st published, 1990
29th JANUARY
Emmanuel Swedenborg (b. 1688)
Daniel Bernoulli (b. 1700)
Thomas Paine (b. 1737)
William McKinley (b. 1843)
Sir Ebenezer Howard (b. 1850)
Frederick Delius (b. 1862)
Shigechiuyo Izumi (b. 1865)
Romain Rolland (b. 1866)
Havergal Brian (b. 1876)
WC Fields (b. 1880)
Boris Pasternak (b. OS 1890)
Robert Stroud (b. 1890)
Jack Wilson (b. 1894)
Lord (Thomas) Tonypandy (b. 1909)
Victor Mature (b. 1916)
Paddy Chayefsky (b. 1923)
Derek Bailey (b. 1930)
Sacha Distel (b. 1933)
Tim Souster (b. 1943)
George III, King of Gt Britain (d. 1820)
Louisa, Countess of Albany (d. 1824)
Aleksandr Pushkin (d. 1837)
Edward Lear (d. 1888)
Sir William Gull (d. 1890)
Alfred Sisley (d. 1899)
Lord (Douglas) Haig (d. 1928)
HL Mencken (d. 1956)
Fritz Kreisler (d. 1962)
Robert Frost (d. 1963)
Alan Ladd (d. 1964)
Jack Hylton (d. 1965)
HE Bates (d. 1974)
Jimmy Durante (d. 1980)
Chic Murray (d. 1985)
Willie Dixon (d. 1992)
Nam June Paik (d. 2006)
John Martyn (d. 2009)
Cape Horn 1st rounded by Capt Schouten in Unity, 1616
Académie Française founded, 1635
Beggar's Opera 1st performed, London, 1728
George IV accedes to throne, UK, 1820
GMT adopted in Scotland, 1848
Victoria Cross instituted, 1856
Kansas, the Sunflower State, becomes 34th Union State, 1861
Karl Benz patents motor-driven 2-seater tricycle, 1886
1st tank tested, Hatfield, 1916
1st bombing of Paris by Zeppelins, 1916
Park Lane Hotel opened, London, 1927
Shank-Weiler's Drive-In Movie Theater, the longest-running, opened, Orefield PA,
1934
London County Council approves Green Belt scheme, 1935
1st Desert Island Discs broadcast, 1942
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward marry, 1958
Beatles record She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand in French, Paris, 1964
PJ Proby splits trousers on stage, Croydon, 1965
Last Tango In Paris ruled obscene, Rome, 1976
Buzzcocks' Spiral Scratch EP released on independent New Hormones label, 1977
Brenda Spencer says "I don't like Mondays", after killing 11 pupils,
San Diego CA, 1979
30th JANUARY
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (b. 1628)
Bernardo Bellotto (b. 1720)
Walter Savage Landor (b. 1775)
Franklin D Roosevelt (b. 1882)
Lord (Sidney) Bernstein (b. 1899)
Martita Hunt (b. 1900)
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (b. 1902)
Christina Foyle (b. 1911)
Percy Thrower (b. 1913)
Patrick Heron (b. 1920)
John Profumo (b. 1915)
Olaf Palme (b. 1927)
Ruth Brown (b. 1928)
Richard Brautigan (b. 1933)
Steve Marriott (b. 1947)
Charles I, King of Gt Britain & Ireland (d. 1649)
Georges de la Tour (d. 1652)
Betsy Ross (d. 1836)
Archduke Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (d. 1889)
Frank Nelson Doubleday (d. 1934)
Orville Wright (d. 1948)
Mahatma Gandhi (d. 1948)
Ferdinand Porsche (d. 1951)
Ernst Heinkel (d. 1958)
Francis Poulenc (d. 1963)
Prof Longhair (d. 1980)
Lightnin' Hopkins (d. 1982)
Stanley Holloway (d. 1982)
Alexandra, Queen of Yugoslavia (d. 1993)
Gerald Durrell (d. 1995)
Coretta Scott King (d. 2006)
Sidney Sheldon (d. 2007)
Jeremy Beadle (d. 2008)
Miles Kington (d. 2008)
1st of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators executed, 1606
Commonwealth of England established, 1649
1st purpose built lifeboat launched, South Shields, 1790
Mungo Park begins 2nd African voyage, 1805
Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge opened, 1826
Emperor of China bans all trade with UK, 1840
Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco, 1847
1st regular concert by Hallé Orchestra performed, 1858
Hitler's father dies, 1903
1,300 die in Taal volcanic eruption, Philippines, 1911
Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany, 1933
Lone Ranger 1st broadcast, Radio WXYZ, Detroit MI, 1933
Balloon ascends over 13 miles, USSR, 1934
Hitler repudiates Versailles Treaty, 1937
Hitler makes his last radio broadcast, 1945
Elvis Presley records Blue Suede Shoes, RCA, New York NY, 1956
2 of the Flying Wallendas die when their 7-person pyramid collapses, Detroit MI,
1962
State funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, 1965
Vietcong capture US Embassy, Saigon, 1968
Beatles play final public performance, Apple rooftop, London, 1969
Marc Bolan marries June Child, Kensington, 1970
Pakistan leaves British Commonwealth, 1972
13 people shot dead by troops in demonstrations, Bloody Sunday, Londonderry,
1972
Brian Wilson rejoins Beach Boys, 1976
Newsnight 1st broadcast, BBC, 1980
31st JANUARY
André Garnerin (b. 1769)
CF Martin (b. 1796)
Franz Schubert (b. 1797)
Don Carlos (Charles VI) (b. 1818)
Zane Grey (b. 1872)
Anna Pavlova (b. 1881)
Charles Carter (b. 1887)
Eddie Cantor (b. 1892)
Dame Freya Stark (b. 1893)
Tallulah Bankhead (b. 1903)
Lord (Donald) Soper of Kingsway (b. 1903)
John O'Hara (b. 1905)
Roosevelt Sykes (b. 1906)
Mario Lanza (b. 1921)
Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
Joanne Dru (b. 1923)
Chuck Willis (b. 1928)
Jean Simmons (b. 1929)
Suzanne Pleshette (b. 1937)
Derek Jarman (b. 1942)
Terry Kath (b. 1946)
Guy Fawkes (and conspirators) (d. 1606)
Bonnie Prince Charlie, The Young Pretender (d. 1788)
Sir John Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry (d. 1900)
Cora Crippen (d. 1910)
John Galsworthy (d. 1935)
Jean Giraudoux (d. 1944)
Sir Charles Cochran (d. 1951)
Edwin Armstrong (d. 1954)
AA Milne (d. 1956)
Lady (Cynthia) Asquith (d. 1960)
Meher Baba (d. 1969)
Slim Harpo (d. 1970)
Samuel Goldwyn (d. 1974)
Buster Brown (d. 1976)
Winifred Atwell (d. 1983)
George Abbott (d. 1995)
Moira Shearer (d. 2006)
Fox-Talbot describes "photogenic drawings" to Royal Society, 1839
Corn Laws repealed, 1846
Brunel's Great Eastern launched, 1858
Palace Th opened (as Royal English Opera House), 1891
Westminster Gazette 1st issued, 1893
Westminster Gazette last issued, 1928
Sellotape 1st goes on sale, 1928
Trotsky exiled from USSR by Stalin, 1929
Gen Marshal Paulus surrenders German 6th Army to Russia, Stalingrad, 1943
307 die when Thames Estuary overflows its banks, Kent & Essex, 1953
Abadan-Teheran oil pipeline completed, 1957
1st US earth satellite Explorer 1 launched, 1958
Ham the chimpanzee becomes 1st US animal in space, 1961
Nauru becomes an independent state, 1968
Apollo 14 launched on Moon mission, Cape Kennedy FL, 1971
Joy Division record 1st BBC session, for John Peel, 1979
Captain Beefheart and Magic Band play final concert, Huntingdon Beach CA, 1981
Wearing of front seat belts becomes compulsory, UK, 1983
Trial of Oliver North begins, US, 1989
McDonalds 1st opened in Moscow, 1990
Italian communist party ceases to exist, Rimini, 1991
Sizewell B, 1st water-pressurised nuclear reactor, turned on, 1995
Last updated: February 12, 2010