1527 The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
1532 Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
1568 Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
1569 Dirk Willems (died), Dutch anabaptist
1718 Maria Gaetana Agnesi (born), Italian mathematician and philosopher (died 1799)
1763 Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (born), French pharmacist and chemist (died 1829)
1770 14-year old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste who later becomes king of France.
1771 The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The “Regulators”, occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
1801 William H. Seward (born), American politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (died 1872)
1821 Pafnuty Chebyshev (born), Russian mathematician (died 1894)
1830 Joseph Fourier (died), French mathematician and physicist (born 1768)
1831 David Edward Hughes (born), Welsh-American scientist, co-invented the microphone (died 1900)
1843 The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri.
1845 Élie Metchnikoff (born), Ukrainian-French biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1916)
1866 The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel.
1868 President Andrew Johnson is acquitted in his impeachment trial by one vote in the United States Senate.
1888 Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
1891 The International Electro-Technical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, and will feature the world’s first long distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electrical current (the most common form today).
1905 Henry Fonda (born), American actor, singer, and producer (died 1982)
1912 Studs Terkel (born), American historian and author (died 2008)
1913 Louis Perrier (died), Swiss politician (born 1849)
1913 Woody Herman (born), American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (died 1987)
1914 Edward T. Hall (born), American anthropologist and author (died 2009)
1918 The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
1919 Liberace (born), American singer, pianist, and actor (died 1987)
1920 In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
1921 Harry Carey, Jr., American actor (died 2012)
1923 Peter Underwood (born), English parapsychologist and author
1929 In Hollywood, California, the first Academy Awards are awarded.
1944 Billy Cobham (born), Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader (Mahavishnu Orchestra, New York Jazz Quartet, Jazz Is Dead, and Bobby and the Midnites)
1946 Robert Fripp (born), English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (King Crimson, Fripp & Eno, and The League of Gentlemen)
1946 Roger Earl (born), English drummer (Savoy Brown and Foghat)
1947 Barbara Lee (born), American singer (The Chiffons) (died 1992)
1947 Darrell Sweet (born), English drummer (Nazareth) (died 1999)
1951 The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
1952 James Herndon (born), American psychologist
1953 American journalist William N. Oatis is released after serving 22 months of a ten-year prison sentence for espionage in Czechoslovakia.
1953 Pierce Brosnan (born), Irish-American actor, singer, and producer
1955 Debra Winger (born), American actress
1955 James Agee (died), American author, screenwriter, and critic (born 1909)
1955 Olga Korbut (born), Belarusian gymnast
1956 H. B. Reese (died), American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (born 1876)
1957 Eliot Ness (died), American federal agent (born 1903)
1960 Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
1964 Boyd Tinsley (born), American singer-songwriter and violinist (Dave Matthews Band)
1965 Krist Novoselic (born), American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist (Nirvana, Flipper, Sweet 75, The No WTO Combo, and Eyes Adrift)
1969 Tucker Carlson (born), American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
1973 Tori Spelling (born), American actress, producer, and author
1974 Josip Broz Tito is re-elected president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This time he is elected for life.
1975 Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
1986 The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain.
1988 A report by United States’ Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
1990 Jim Henson (died), American puppeteer, director, screenwriter, and producer, created The Muppets (born 1936)
1990 Sammy Davis, Jr. (died), American singer, dancer, and actor (born 1925)
1991 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
1997 Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
2005 Kuwait permits women’s suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote.
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy takes office as President of France.
2008 Robert Mondavi (died), American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (born 1913)
2010 Ronnie James Dio (died), American singer-songwriter and producer (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven & Hell, and Elf) (born 1942)
2011 STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017