19 BC Virgil (died), Roman poet (born 70 BC)
1327 Edward II of England (died) (born 1284)
1415 Frederick III (born), Holy Roman Emperor (died 1493)
1452 Girolamo Savonarola (born), Italian priest and philosopher (died 1498)
1558 Charles V (died), Holy Roman Emperor (born 1500)
1576 Gerolamo Cardano (died), Italian mathematician, physician, and astrologer (born 1501)
1756 John Loudon McAdam (born), Scottish engineer and road builder (died 1836)
1776 Part of New York City is burned shortly after being occupied by British forces.
1780 American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
1792 The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the monarchy.
1832 Walter Scott (died), Scottish author, poet, and playwright (born 1771)
1843 John Williams Wilson takes possession of the Strait of Magellan on behalf of the newly independent Chilean government.
1849 Maurice Barrymore (born), Indian-American actor (died 1905)
1860 Arthur Schopenhauer (died), German philosopher and author (born 1788)
1866 H. G. Wells (born), English journalist, historian, and author (died 1946)
1874 Gustav Holst (born), English composer and educator (died 1934)
1890 Max Immelmann (born), German pilot (died 1916)
1897 The “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial is published in the New York Sun.
1902 Allen Lane (born), English publisher, founded Penguin Books (died 1970)
1903 Preston Tucker (born), American automobile designer, designed the Tucker Sedan (died 1956)
1904 Chief Joseph (died), American tribal leader (born 1840)
1906 Samuel Arnold (died), American conspirator (born 1838)
1924 Hermann Buhl (born), Austrian mountaineer (died 1957)
1926 Donald A. Glaser (born), American physicist and neurobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
1929 Bernard Williams (born), English philosopher and academic (died 2003)
1931 Larry Hagman (born), American actor, director, and producer (died 2012)
1934 Leonard Cohen (born), Canadian singer-songwriter and author
1935 Henry Gibson (born), American actor and singer (died 2009)
1937 J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is published.
1938 The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500-700 people.
1939 Romanian Prime Minister Armand Călinescu is assassinated by far-right legionnaires of the fascist paramilitary organization called the Iron Guard.
1942 The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
1944 Bobby Tench (born), English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Gass, Hummingbird, Humble Pie, and Streetwalkers)
1944 Fannie Flagg (born), American actress and author
1944 Hamilton Jordan (born), American politician, 8th White House Chief of Staff (died 2008)
1945 G. C. Cameron (born), American singer (The Spinners)
1945 Jerry Bruckheimer (born), American film and television producer
1947 Don Felder (born), American guitarist and songwriter (Eagles)
1947 Stephen King (born), American author and screenwriter
1950 Bill Murray (born), American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1953 Arie Luyendyk (born), Dutch race car driver
1961 Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter.
1962 Bo Carter (died), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Mississippi Sheiks) (born 1892)
1964 Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1964 The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world’s first Mach 3 bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
1965 Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.
1967 Faith Hill (born), American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1967 Tyler Stewart (born), Canadian drummer (Barenaked Ladies)
1970 Samantha Power (born), Irish-American diplomat, 28th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
1971 Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations.
1971 David Vetter (born), American victim of severe combined immune deficiency syndrome (died 1984)
1972 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signs Proclamation № 1081, placing the entire country under martial law and marking the beginning of his authoritarian rule.
1974 Jacqueline Susann (died), American author and actress (born 1918)
1974 Walter Brennan (died) American actor and singer (born 1894)
1976 Seychelles joins the United Nations.
1977 A nuclear non-proliferation pact is signed by 15 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union.
1980 Tomas Scheckter (born), South African race car driver
1981 Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
1981 Nicole Richie (born), American actress, singer, fashion designer, and author
1981 Sandra Day O’Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
1984 Brunei joins the United Nations.
1987 Jaco Pastorius (died), American bass player, composer, and producer (Weather Report and Trio of Doom) (born 1951)
1991 Armenia is granted independence from Soviet Union.
1993 Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and scraps the then-functioning constitution, thus triggering the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
1998 Florence Griffith-Joyner (died), American runner (born 1959)
2001 Deep Space 1 flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.
2003 Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.
2006 Boz Burrell (died), English singer-songwriter and bass player (Bad Company and King Crimson) (born 1946)
2007 Rex Humbard (died), American evangelist and television host (born 1919)
2013 al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017