January 22

Events

• 1771 - Spain cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to England.
• 1824 - Ashantis crush British forces in the Gold Coast.
• 1840 - British colonists reach New Zealand.
• 1863 - The January Uprising broke out in Poland, Lithunania and Belorussia. The aim of the national movement was to regain Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation of Russia.
• 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Zulu troops massacre British troops at Isandhlwana.
• 1889 - Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC.
• 1899 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation.
• 1901 - Edward VII becomes King after his mother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, dies.
• 1905 - 'Bloody Sunday' in St. Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
• 1917 - World War I: President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.
• 1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister.
• 1931 - Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
• 1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom captures Tobruk from Nazi forces.
• 1944 - World War II: Allies begin Operation Shingle (an assault on Anzio, Italy).
• 1947 - The first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, KTLA, begins operation in Hollywood, California.
• 1947 - Paul Ramadier becomes Prime Minister of France
• 1953 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway.
• 1957 - Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula (they invaded Egypt on October 29, 1956).
• 1957 - The New York City "Mad Bomber," George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and is charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
• 1962 - The Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Cuba's membership.
• 1963 - Elysée treaty between France and Germany.
• 1967 - Simon & Garfunkel perform live at Philharmonic Hall in the Lincoln Center, New York City. The recording is not released until 16 July 2002.
• 1968 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, debuts on NBC.
• 1973 - The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe vs. Wade striking down state laws restricting abortion during the first six months of pregnancy.
• 1973 - A chartered Boeing 707 exploded in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria killing 176
• 1973 - George Foreman breaks Joe Frazier's professional career undefeated heavyweight world boxing champion status.
• 1980 - Andrei Sakharov is arrested in Moscow.
• 1983 - Björn Borg retires from tennis after winning five consecutive Wimbledon championships.
• 1984 - The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to use a computer mouse and GUI interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII. In the game, the Los Angeles Raiders defeat the Washington Redskins, 38-9.
• 1990 - Robert Tappan Morris is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm.
• 1992 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
• 1992 - Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in space.
• 1995 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: In central Israel, two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves-up at a military transit point killing 19 Israelis.
• 1995 - 11 airliners would have been bombed the previous day, January 21, and this day if Project Bojinka, an Al Qaeda plot, was not discovered in a Manila apartment on the night of January 5 and the morning of January 6
• 1997 - Madeleine Albright becomes the first female secretary of state after confirmation by the United States Senate.
• 1998 - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty and accepts a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
• 2001 - Four of the "Texas 7" are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado and a fifth killed himself inside a motor home.
• 2002 - AOL Time Warner brings a federal suit against Microsoft seeking damages. The suit alleges that the market for AOL's Netscape Navigator Internet browser was harmed when Microsoft started to give away a competing browser.
• 2002 - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
• 2003 - The Netherlands vote for a new parliament after the previous had only been into power for 86 days.
• 2003 - Last successful contact with the spacecraft Pioneer 10, one of the most distant man-made objects.

Births

• 1440 - Ivan III, grand duke of Moscow, (d. 1505)
• 1561 - Sir Francis Bacon, philosopher, (d. 1626)
• 1729 - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, author and philosopher, (d. 1781)
• 1775 - Andre Marie Ampere, physicist, (d. 1836)
• 1788 - George Gordon, Lord Byron, poet, (d. 1824)
• 1849 - August Strindberg, poet and writer, (d. 1912)
• 1875 - D. W. Griffith, director, (d. 1948)
• 1893 - Conrad Veidt, actor, (d. 1943)
• 1902 - Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler
• 1904 - George Balanchine, choreographer, (d. 1983) (N.S.)
• 1906 - Robert E. Howard, author, (d. 1936)
• 1909 - U Thant, 3rd United Nations Secretary General, (d. 1974)
• 1909 - Ann Sothern, actress, (d. 2001)
• 1911 - Bruno Kreisky, Prime Minister of Austria, (d. 1990)
• 1915 - Heinrich Albertz, theologian and politician, (d. 1993)
• 1931 - Sam Cooke, singer, (d. 1964)
• 1932 - Piper Laurie, actress
• 1934 - Bill Bixby, actor, (d. 1993)
• 1936 - Joseph Wambaugh, author
• 1940 - John Hurt, actor
• 1948 - George Foreman, boxer
• 1953 - Jim Jarmusch, director
• 1954 - Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
• 1957 - Mike Bossy, ice hockey player
• 1959 - Linda Blair, actress
• 1960 - Michael Hutchence, musician ("INXS"), (d. 1997)
• 1975 - Balthazar Getty, actor
• 1980 - Christopher Masterson, actor

Deaths

• 1666 - Shah Jahan, Mogul Emperor of India, (b. 1592)
• 1840 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German anthropologist, (b. 1752)
• 1901 - Queen Victoria I of the United Kingdom, (b. 1819)
• 1922 - Pope Benedict XV, (b. 1854)
• 1945 - Else Lasker-Schuler, poet
• 1959 - Mike Hawthorn, racing champion, (b. 1929)
• 1968 - Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer, (b. 1890)
• 1973 - Lyndon Johnson, President of the United States, (b. 1908)
• 1975 - Andrew George Burry, manufacturer and businessman, dies at 101, (b. 1873)
• 1988 - Parker Fennelly, comedian, actor
• 1993 - Abe Kobo, writer, (b. 1924)
• 1994 - Telly Savalas, actor, (b. 1924)
• 1995 - Rose Kennedy, matriarch of the Kennedy family, (b. 1890)
• 2002 - Jack Shea, Olympics speed skating gold medalist

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Feast day of St. Vincent.

January 21 - January 23 - December 22 - February 22 -- listing of all days

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Referenced By