History of 31st January

314 - St Silvester I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
876 - Charles becomes king of Italy
1504 - By treaty of Lyons, French cede Naples to Ferdinand of Aragon
1531 - Kings Ferdinand of Austria/Janos Zapolyai of Hungary accept each other
1560 - Spanish king Philip II marries Elisabeth van Valois
1578 - Battle of Gembloers
1596 - Catholic League disjoins
1609 - Wisselbank of Amsterdam established
1627 - Spanish government goes bankrupt
1675 - Cornelia/Dina Olfaarts found not guilty of witchcraft
1679 - Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera "Bellerophon," premieres in Paris
1696 - Revolt of undertakers after funeral reforms (Amsterdam)
1747 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
1779 - Charles Messier adds M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog
1804 - British vice-admiral William Blighs fleet reaches Curacao
1814 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
1817 - Franz Grillparzer's "Die Ahnfrau," premieres in Vienna
1842 - John Tyler's daughter Elizabeth marries in White House
1846 - After the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1849 - Corn Laws abolished in Britain
1851 - Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk
1851 - SF Orphan's Asylum, 1st in Calif, founded
1854 - Dutch KNMI established (Royal Meteorological Institute)
1855 - Western railroads blocked by snow
1861 - Friedrich Hebbel's "Siegfrieds Tod," premieres in Weimar
1861 - State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans
1862 - Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius
1863 - 1st black Civil War regiment, SC Volunteers, mustered into US army
1865 - Congress passes 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America (121-24)
1865 - Gen Robert E Lee named Commander-in-Chief of Confederate Armies
1867 - Maronite nationalist leader Youssef Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
1871 - Millions of birds fly over western SF, darkens sky
1874 - Jesse James gang robs train at Gads Hill, Missouri
1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
1891 - The first attempt of a Portuguese republican revolution breakes out in the northern city of Porto.
1893 - "Westminster Gazette" begins publishing
1895 - Jose Martí & others leave NYC for invasion of Spanish Cuba
1901 - Boer general John Smuts & De la Rey conqueror Mud river Transvaal
1901 - Chekhov's "Three Sisters" opens at Moscow Art Theater
1901 - Winnipeg Victorias sweep Montreal Shamrocks in 2 for Stanley Cup
1904 - Bela Bartok's symphony "Kossuth," premieres
1905 - 1st auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach
1905 - Carroll Wright appointed 1st US Commissioner of Labor
1906 - Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake, Colombia, 8.6 Richter
1911 - Congress names SF as Panama Canal opening celebration site
1915 - 1st (German) poison gas attack, against Russians
1916 - Dutch Girl Guides form
1917 - Germany notifies US that U-boats will attack neutral merchant ship
1918 - A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
1919 - The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland.
1920 - 1st Ukrainian daily newspaper in US (NYC) begins publication
1920 - Joe Malone, Quebec Bulldogs, sets NHL record with 7 goals in a game
1920 - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, at Howard University, incorporates
1925 - Premier Ahmed Zogu becomes president of Angola
1927 - Intl allies military command in Germany disbands
1927 - NL Pres John Heydler rules Rogers Hornsby can't hold stock in the Cardinals & play for the Giants
1928 - Scotch tape 1st marketed by 3-M Company
1929 - Erich Maria Remarque publishes "Im Westen nichts Neues" in Berlin
1929 - Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey
1930 - 1st US glider flight from a dirigible, Lakehurst, NJ
1931 - NHL's Quebec Bulldogs' Joseph Malone scores a record 7 goals
1931 - Philip Barry's "Tomorrow & Tomorrow," premieres in NYC
1932 - US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction
1933 - French govt of Daladier takes power
1933 - Hitler promises parliamentary democracy
1934 - FDR devalus dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce
1936 - "Green Hornet" radio show is 1st heard on WXYZ Radio in Detroit
1940 - 40 U boats sunk this month (111,000 ton)
1940 - C Turney & J Horwin's "My Dear Children," premieres in NYC
1941 - 21 U boats sunk this month (127,000 ton)
1941 - Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem Netherlands
1941 - Joe Louis KOs Red Burman in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1941 - Layforce set sail.
1942 - 62 U boats sunk this month (327,000 ton)
1943 - 39 U boats sunk this month (203,100 ton)
1943 - Chile breaks contact with Germany & Japan
1943 - Gen Friedrich von Paul surrenders to Russian troops at Stalingrad
1944 - Operation-Overlord (D-Day) postponed until June
1944 - U-592 sunk off Ireland
1944 - US forces invade Kwajalein Atoll
1945 - US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath
1946 - Yugoslavia adopts new constitution, becomes a federal republic
1948 - J D Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in NY
1948 - Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
1949 - 1st daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)
1950 - President Truman publicly announces development of H-bomb
1950 - Pres Truman OKs building of hydrogen bomb
1952 - Dutch Lutheran Church reunites after 1½ centuries
1952 - Harry Heilmann & Paul Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1953 - "Princess Victoria" capsized off Stanraer Scotland; 133 die
1953 - Hurricane-like winds flood Netherlands drowning 1,835
1953 - NY, Cleveland, & Boston retaliate at Bill Veeck, forcing the Browns to play afternoon games to avoid sharing TV revenues
1955 - RCA demonstrates 1st music synthesizer
1956 - French govt of Mollet forms
1956 - Juscelino Kubitschek becomes president of Brazil
1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
1957 - Liz Taylor's 2nd divorce (Michael Wilding)
1957 - Trans-Iranian oil pipe line finished
1957 - Eight people on the ground in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.
1958 - "Jackpot Bowling" premieres on NBC with Leo Durocher as host

1958 - James van Allen discovers radiation belt
1958 - US launches their 1st artificial satellite, Explorer 1
1959 - Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become head of AL
1960 - Songwriter Adolph Green marries actress/singer Phyllis Newman in NYC
1961 - David Ben-Gurion resigns as premier of Israel
1961 - Ham is 1st primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2
1961 - Houston voters approve bond to finance luxury domed stadium
1961 - Kanhai completes twin tons (117 & 115) v Aust at Adelaide
1961 - NATO secretary-general Paul-Henri Spaak says he'll resign
1961 - USAF launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights
1962 - Gen Charles P Cabell, USAF, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1962 - Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort "USS Falgout"
1963 - Tony Sheridan & Beat Brothers record "What'd I Say" & "Ruby Baby"
1964 - US report "Smoking & Health" connects smoking to lung cancer
1965 - Pud Galvin elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1966 - Belgian state police kills 2 striking mine workers
1966 - USSR launches Luna 9 towards Moon
1968 - Bobby Simpson takes 5-59 v India in his last Test for ten years
1968 - Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) declares independence from Australia
1968 - Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb, 32"), at Agata, USSR
1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1968 - Viet Cong's Tet offensive begins
1969 - Beatles perform last live gig (42-min concert on roof of Apple HQs)
1969 - Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, USN, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1970 - Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
1971 - "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison hit #1 on UK pop chart
1971 - Apollo 14 launched, 1st landing in lunar highlands
1971 - Jake Beckley, Joe Kelley, Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chick Hafey
1971 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Janet Lynn
1971 - US male Figure Skating championship won by John Misha Petkevich
1971 - & Dave Bancroft & George Weiss elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1972 - Aretha Franklin sings at Mahalia Jackson's funeral
1972 - Birenda, becomes leader of Nepal
1972 - Military coup ousts civilian government of Ghana
1972 - US launches HEOS A-2 for interplanetary observations (396/244,998)
1974 - MacDonald's founder Ray Kroc buys San Diego Padres
1975 - Barry Manilow's "Mandy" goes gold
1975 - John Lennon releases "#9 Dream"
1975 - UCLA wins NCAA basketball championship
1976 - "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players hits #1
1976 - Lance Gibbs becomes highest Test wicket-taker at 308
1977 - Frenchman Francois Claustre freed, after 33 months as hostage in Chad
1977 - Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, & Al Lopez elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1978 - "Elvis: The Legend Lives!" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 101 perfs
1978 - Israel turns 3 milt outposts in West Bank into civilian settlements
1980 - Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41
1981 - "The Tide Is High" by Blondie hits #1
1981 - 38th Golden Globes: Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter
1981 - Gaetan Boucher skates world record 1000m (1:13.39)
1982 - 10 Arabian oryx (extinct except in zoos) released in Oman
1982 - 12th AFC-NFC pro bowl, AFC wins 16-13
1982 - 32nd NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 120-118 at New Jersey
1982 - Gustafson skates world record 10 km (14:26.59)
1982 - Hollis Stacy wins LPGA Whirlpool Golf Championship of Deer Creek
1982 - NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 16-13
1982 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
1984 - 36th NHL All-Star Game: Wales beat Campbell 7-6 at NJ
1984 - Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network
1984 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1985 - "Harrigan 'n Hart" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 5 performances
1985 - S Afr pres PW Botha offers to free Mandela if he denounces violence
1986 - Mary Lund of Minn, is 1st female recipient of an artificial heart
1987 - 44th Golden Globes: Platoon, Marlee Matlin win
1987 - United Steel workers union ratified a concessionary with USX Corp
1988 - Barge sinks near Anacortes, WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
1988 - Superbowl XXII: Wash Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10 in San Diego Superbowl MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB
1990 - 1st McDonalds in Russia opens in Moscow, world's biggest McDonalds
1990 - 1st ever all-sports daily "National" begins publishing
1990 - Jushin "Thunder" Liger beats Naoki Sano to become New Japan IWGP champ
1990 - The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow, USSR.
1991 - Nugget's Michael Adams becomes shortest NBAer to get a triple-double
1991 - Robert Gibson flies record 27,040 feet altitude
1992 - MTA raised tolls on most NYC bridges from $2.50 to $3.00
1992 - Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires
1993 - "St Joan" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 49 performances
1993 - 81st Australian Mens Tennis: Jim Courier beats S Edberg (62 61 26 75)
1993 - Superbowl XXVII: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 52-17 in Pasadena Superbowl MVP: Troy Aikman, Dallas, QB
1994 - Barcelona opera theater "Gran Teatro del Liceo" burns down
1994 - Dow Jones hits a record 3,978.36
1995 - President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
1998 - 72nd Australian Womens Tennis: Martina Hingis beats C Martinez (63 63)
1998 - STS 89 (Endeavour 12) lands
2000 - Alaska Airlines flight 261 MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 persons aboard.
2001 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
2003 - The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia.
2007 - Suspects are arrested in Birmingham in the UK, accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a serving Muslim British soldier in Iraq.
2009 - In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.

History of 30th January

1077 - Pope Gregory VII pardons German emperor Henry IV
1349 - Gunther of Schwarzburg chosen German anti-king
1349 - Jews of Freilsburg Germany are massacred
1467 - Battle at Velke Kostolany: Hung king Mátyás Corvinus beats Bratrici
1487 - Bell chimes invented
1522 - Duke of Albany takes captured French back to Scotland
1544 - Adrian van Goes becomes land advocate of Holland
1592 - Ippolito Aldobrandini elected Pope Clement VIII
1647 - King Charles I handed over to English parliament
1647 - Scots agree to sell King Charles I to English Parliament for £400
1648 - Spain & Netherlands sign Peace of Munster, ending Tachtigjarige War
1661 - Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed after having been dead for two years.
1667 - Treaty of Andrussovo: Russia & Poland sign peace treaty
1713 - England & Netherlands sign 2nd anti-French boundary treaty
1774 - Capt Cook reaches 71°10' south, 1820km from south pole (record)
1781 - Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland
1790 - Lifeboat 1st tested at sea, by Mr Greathead, the inventor
1797 - Congress refuses to accept 1st petitions from American blacks
1798 - Rep Matthew Lyon (Vt) spits in face of Rep Roger Griswold (Ct) in US House of Representatives, after an argument
1800 - US population: 5,308,483; Black population 1,002,037 (18.9%)
1804 - Mungo Park leaves England seeking source of Niger River
1806 - Prussia takes possession of Hanover
1806 - The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.
1815 - Burned Library of Congress reestablished with Jefferson's 6500 vols
1818 - Keats composes his sonnet, "When I Have Fears"
1820 - Edward Bransfield aboard Williams discovers Antarctica (UK claim)
1826 - The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales is opened.
1835 - Richard Lawrence misfires at Pres Andrew Jackson in Washington DC
1841 - A fire destroys two-thirds of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
1847 - Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
1853 - Emperor Napoleon III marries Eugenie Maria de Montijo y de Guzman
1854 - 1st election in Washington Territory; 1,682 votes cast
1858 - Charles Halle founds Halle Orchestra in Manchester
1858 - William Wells Brown published 1st Black drama, "Leap to Freedom"
1862 - US Navy's 1st ironclad warship (Monitor) launched
1877 - Storm flood ravages Dutch coastal provinces
1879 - French President MacMahon resigns
1883 - England team presented with ashes of a bail after Sydney Test
1888 - Harry Moses 297 not out for NSW against Victoria
1889 - John Herschel uses camera obscura to photograph 48" (120cm) telescope
1889 - Victoria beat NSW after following on (NSW all out 63 needed 76)
1889 - Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling.
1892 - Bobby Abel carries his bat for 132* for England in SCG Test
1892 - Capt Lugard occupies Uganda's King Mwanga's hide out
1894 - Pneumatic hammer patented by Charles King of Detroit
1894 - US flag fired on in Rio; prompt satisfaction exacted by Adm Benham
1895 - C J Eady (Tas) 1st Australian to score twin centuries (v Vic)
1895 - SS Elbe sinks after collision in North Sea, 332 killed
1895 - Tasmania beat Victoria for 1st F-C victory in 41 years
1911 - 1st rescue of an air passenger by a ship, near Havana, Cuba
1913 - House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill
1915 - German submarine attack on Le Havre
1915 - No 10 batsman F W Hyett scores century on debut, Vic v Tas
1917 - 1st jazz record recorded (Dark Town Strutters Ball)
1919 - Reds hire Pat Moran as manager as Christy Mathewson, is still in France with US Army
1920 - Quebec's Joe Malone sets NHL record of 7 goals in a game
1921 - French rapist-murderer Henri-Desire Landru sentenced to death
1922 - Ted McDonald takes 8-58 in big Victorian win over NSW
1922 - World Law Day, 1st celebrated
1924 - Ponsford scores second 110 of the game in Vic win over NSW
1925 - Turkish govt throws out Constantine VI of Constantinople
1927 - Left wins national election in Thuringen
1928 - 1st radio telephone connection between Netherlands & US
1928 - Bradman scores 134 not out (225 mins, 13 fours) NSW v Vic
1928 - Eugene O'Neill's "Strange Interlude," premieres in NYC
1930 - Vladimir Mayakovsky's "Banya," premieres in Leningrad
1930 - The world's first radiosonde is launched in Pavlovsk, USSR.
1931 - Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" premieres at Los Angeles Theater
1932 - Grimmett 7-116 in South Africa 1st innings at Adelaide Oval
1933 - "Lone Ranger" begins a 21-year run on ABC radio
1933 - Adolph Hitler named German Chancellor, forms govt with Von Papen
1933 - Grimmett takes 7-86 for SA in Qld 2nd inn, 13-135 for match
1934 - 1st theatrical presentation sponsored by US government, NYC
1934 - Bert Ironmonger ends Sheffield Shield career age 51 yrs 298 days
1934 - Hitler proclamation on German unified states
1935 - Ezra Pound meets Mussolini, reads from a draft of "Cantos"
1936 - New owners of Boston Braves ask newspapermen to pick a new nickname
1936 - Victoria need 442 to win against NSW, but lose, all out for 415 They pick "The Bees" it doesn't catch on & is scrapped by 1940 season
1937 - 2nd of Stalin's purge trials; Pyatakov & 16 others sentenced to death
1939 - Heavy after shocks destroy some of Chile
1939 - Hitler calls for extermination of European Jews
1940 - Benjamin Britten's "Lesson Illuminations" premieres in London
1940 - Cor Jongert wins 6th Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race
1940 - Hassett's second 122 of the game for Vic can't stop a NSW win
1941 - Australian troops conquer Derna Libya
1942 - Japanese troops land on Ambon
1943 - 6 British Mosquito's daylight bomb Berlin
1943 - German assault on French in Tunisia
1943 - German under officers shot down in Haarlem Neth
1943 - Hitler promotes Friedrich von Paul to general-fieldmarshal
1943 - Illegal opposition newspaper Loyal begins publishing
1943 - USS Chicago sinks in Pacific Ocean
1944 - US invades Majuro, Marshall Islands
1944 - World War II: United States troops land on Majuro.
1945 - "Wilhelm Gustloff" torpedoed off Danzig by Soviet sub-c 7,700 die
1945 - German ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" torpedoed, 4,800 killed
1946 - 1st issue of Franklin Roosevelt dime
1948 - 5th Winter Olympic games open in St Moritz, Switzerland
1950 - "Robert Montgomery Presents" dramatic anthology premieres on NBC TV
1951 - Belgium refuses to allow communists to make speeches on radio

1952 - Lehmer verifies: 2^521-1 & 2^607-1 (183 ciphers) Mersenne-prime #
1952 - Paul Creston's 4th Symphony, premieres
1954 - Belgium ends trade agreement with USSR
1954 - Italy's Fanfani govt resigns
1956 - Elvis Presley records his version of "Blue Suede Shoes"
1956 - KRMA TV channel 6 in Denver, CO (PBS) begins broadcasting
1956 - KTXS TV channel 12 in Sweetwater-Abilene, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 - Martin Luther King Jr's home bombed
1957 - US Congress accepts "Eisenhower-doctrine"
1958 - 1st 2-way moving sidewalk in service, Dallas Tx
1958 - Baseball announces players & coaches rather than fans pick all stars
1958 - Dore Schary's "Sunrise at Campobello," premieres in NYC
1958 - House of Lords passes bill allowing women in
1959 - Australia 1-200 1st day 4th Test v England, Adelaide Oval
1959 - Paul Hindemith's symphony "Pittsburgh," premieres
1960 - CIA OKs Lockheed to produce a new U-2 aircraft (Oxcart)
1960 - Dutch communist trade union EVC'58 disbands
1960 - Riot curtails third days play at Port-Of-Spain WI v England
1960 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Carol Heiss
1960 - US male Figure Skating championship won by David Jenkins
1961 - Bobby Darin is youngest performer to headline a TV special on NBC
1961 - JFK asks for an Alliance for Progress & Peace Corp
1961 - KAET TV channel 8 in Phoenix, AZ (PBS) begins broadcasting
1961 - Lance Gibbs takes hat-trick (Mackay, Grout, Misson) at Adelaide
1962 - UN General Assembly censures Portugal (because of Angola)
1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1962 - 2 members of Flying Wallendas' high-wire act killed when their 7-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit
1964 - Military coup of Gen Nguyen Khanh in South Vietnam
1964 - Ranger 6 launched; makes perfect flight to Moon, but cameras fail
1965 - "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis hits #3
1965 - State funeral of Winston Churchill
1966 - -19°F (-28°C), Corinth, Mississippi (state record)
1966 - -27°F (-33°C), New Market, Alabama (state record)
1966 - Ard Schenk skates world record 1500m (2:05.2)
1966 - Dmitri Sjostakovitsj completes his 11th string quartet
1968 - Bobby Goldsboro records his biggest hit, "Honey"
1968 - Vietcong launch Tet-offensive on US embassy in Saigon
1969 - Beatles perform their last gig together, a free concert
1969 - US/Canada ISIS 1 launched to study ionosphere
1971 - "Ari" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 19 performances
1971 - Dennis Lillee takes 5-84 in his 1st Test bowl, v England
1971 - UCLA starts 88 basketball game win streak
1972 - Bloody Sunday: Brit soldiers shoot on catholics in Londonderry, 13 die
1972 - Pakistan withdraws from Commonwealth
1973 - 1st Kiss concert (Queens NY)
1973 - 26th NHL All-Star Game: East beat West 5-4 at NY Rangers
1973 - Jury finds Watergate defendants Liddy & McCord guilty on all counts
1973 - KISS plays their 1st show (Coventry Club in Queens NY)
1974 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1976 - 1st-class debut of Dav Whatmore, in Johannesburg
1976 - George Bush becomes 11th director of CIA (until 1977)
1976 - William E Colby, ends term as 10th director of CIA
1977 - 8th (final) part of "Roots" is most-watched entertainment show ever
1977 - Allan Border scores 36 in his 1st-class innings (NSW v Qld)
1977 - Edward W Stack replaces Paul Kerr president of Hall of Fame
1978 - Addie Joss & Larry MacPhail elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1978 - Mutual Broadcasting Network begins airing Larry King Show on radio
1979 - Rhodesia agrees to new constitution
1979 - Varig 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
1980 - Edward Albee's "Lady from Dubuque," premieres in NYC
1981 - 8th American Music Award: Kenny Rogers wins
1982 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Rosalynn Sumners
1982 - Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner".
1983 - Hilbert van Thumb becomes European skating champ
1983 - Pat Bradley wins LPGA Mazda of Deer Creek Golf Classic
1983 - Superbowl XVII: Wash Red Skins beat Miami Dolphins, 27-17 in Pasadena Superbowl MVP: John Riggins, Washington, RB
1988 - Hansie Cronje gets a pair in 2nd 1st-class game (OFS v N Tvl)
1989 - 16th American Music Award: Randy Travis & George Michael wins
1989 - 5 pharoah sculptures from 1470 BC found at temple of Luxor
1989 - Joel Steinberg found guilty of 1st degree manslaughter of daughter
1989 - Last day of 1st class cricket for Dav Whatmore
1989 - Olympian, Bruce Kimball, is sentenced to 17 years in prison for killing 2 teenagers in a drunk driving accident
1989 - The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan closes.
1992 - Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) lands
1993 - 100,000n Europeans demonstrate against fascism & racism
1993 - 67th Australian Women's Tennis Open: Monica Seles beat Graf (46 63 62)
1994 - 68th Australian Women's Tennis Open: S Graf beats A S Vicario (60 62)
1994 - 82nd Australian Mens Tennis: Pete Sampras beats Todd Martin (76 64 64)
1994 - Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.76)
1994 - Kapil Dev equals Richard Hadlee's world record of 431 Test wkts
1994 - Superbowl XXVIII: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 30-13 in Atlanta Superbowl MVP: Emmitt Smith, Dallas, RB
1994 - Péter Lékó becomes the youngest chess grand master.
1995 - 22nd American Music Award: Boyz II Men & Ace of Base win
1995 - Belgium's TV channel 2 in Flanders goes on the air
1995 - Car bomb explodes in Algiers, 42 killed/296 injured
1995 - Kevin Eubanks officially becomes band leader of "Tonight Show"
1995 - Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.
1996 - Gino Gallagher, the suspected leader of the Irish National Liberation Army, is killed while waiting in line for his unemployment benefit.
1997 - Minuteman III launches
1998 - All-Star Fla Marlin catcher Darren Daulton, retires
1998 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Indianapolis IN on WNAP 93.1 FM
1998 - Paul Simon's "The Capeman," premieres
2000 - Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams beat Tennessee Titans, 23-16 at the Georgia Dome Atlanta MVP: Kurt Warner, St. Louis, QB
2000 - Off the coast of Ivory Coast, Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 169.
2003 - Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage.