2015 Commercial space company SpaceX successfully launches its Falcon 9 rocket, which has released the Dragon cargo ship into orbit to the International Space Station; the rocket returned to Earth after releasing the Dragon but had a rough landing
2014 Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupts again, with pyroclastic flows streaming down the volcanic slope; the activity has caused the evacuation of 22,000 people from the danger zone around Sinabung
2013 A near-earth asteroid, called 99942 Apophis, passes close to Earth; astronomers in Europe estimate 99942 Apophis is larger than previously thought
2013 U.S. President announces the nomination of Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary, to replace Timothy Geithner, who is stepping down from his post
2012 U.S. 2012 Presidential contender Mitt Romney wins the New Hampshire Republican primary; Ron Paul places second, Jon Huntsman places third
2012 Justine Greening, the U.K. Secretary of State for Transport approves the HS2, a high-speed rail line that will link major cities in the U.K. to London
2011 Pope Benedict XVI urges Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy law whereby those who insult the Prophet Muhammed receive the death penalty
2011 Following general elections last year, Burma's new parliament is set to convene on January 31
2010 China surpasses Germany, becoming the. world's largest exporter
1998 18th United Negro College Fund raises (rebroadcasted Jan 17th)
1997 "Rehersal," closes at Criterion Theater New York City
1997 1st Comet of 1997 Discovered: Comet 1997 A1
1997 4,000th episode of "Entertainment Tonight"
1997 Dow Corning provides $295 billion to settle breast implant suits
1997 Italy's new 1,000 lire coin shows divided Germany on map
1997 Right-winger Arnoldo Aleman sworn in as president of Nicaragua
1996 Israel frees hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
1996 Jimmy Johnson announced as new coach of Miami Dolphins
1995 "Late Late Show" with Tom Snyder premieres on CBS at 12:30 AM
1994 Ukraine says it will give up world's 3rd largest nuclear arsenal
1994 Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agrees to abolish trade tariffs
1993 "My Favorite Year" closes at Vivian Beaumont New York City after 37 performances
1993 "Sea Gull" closes at Lyceum Theater New York City after 48 performances
1993 Maiden flight of Ultrair (Houston to LA)
1992 8th Soap Opera Digest Awards
1991 Japan ends routine fingerprinting of all adult ethnic Koreans
1991 U.S. Congress begins debate on Persian Gulf crisis
1990 "Les Miserables," opens at Mechanic Theatre, Baltimore
1990 China lifts martial law (imposed after Tiananmen Square massacre)
1990 NCAA approves random drug testing for college football players
1988 "Don't Get God Started" closes at Longacre Theater New York City after 86 performances
1986 Palau signs Compact of Free Association with U.S.
1986 STS-61-C mission scrubbed T -9m because of bad weather at Kennedy
1985 Daniel Ortega Saavedra inaugurated as president of Nicaragua
1984 Argentine ex-president/general Bignone arrested
1984 Bulgarian Tupolev 134 crashs at Sofia airport in Bulgaria, 50 die
1984 Clara Peller 1st asks, "Where's the Beef?"
1984 Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew, and D Drysdale elected to Hall of Fame
1984 U.S. establishes full diplomatic relations with Vatican after 117 years
1983 NY Supreme Court issues a preliminary injunction barring New York Yankees from playing season-opening series against Tigers in Denver
1982 -17 degrees F (27.2 degrees C) in Braemar Grampian (equals U.K. record)
1982 Bengals beat Chargers in -59 degrees F (-51 degrees C) to win AFC championship
1982 Petra Schneider swims world record 1500 m freestyle (15:43.31)
1981 El Salvador guerrilla group FMLN opens "general offensive"
1981 John Severin sets 100-mi unicycle speed record, 9 h 21 m
1980 Last broadcast of "Rockford Files" on NBC
1980 Jim Stewart, Bruin's rookie goalie allows 3 goals in his 1st 4 minutes and a total of 5 in 1st period; he never again plays in NHL
1979 1st brother Billy Carter makes allegedly anti-Semitic remarks
1979 Entertainer of the Year Awards
1978 Soyuz 27 carring 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station, launched
1977 20th hat trick in Islander history - Bobby Nystrom
1973 Gas tank on Staten Island explodes, 40 die
1972 Los Angeles Lakers 33 straight win streak snapped, losing to Bucks 120-104
1972 Sheik Mujib ur-Rahman arrives in Dacca, East-Pakistan
1972 Triple album set "Concert for Bangladesh" released in UK
1971 "Light, Lively and Yiddish" closes at Belasco Theater New York City after 87 performances
1971 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Richard Wilbur
1970 Preview Center Opens
1969 Sweden (1st Western country) recognizes North Vietnam
1969 U.S.S.R.'s Venera 6 launched for parachute landing on Venus
1968 U.S. Surveyor 7 lands near lunar crater Tycho
1967 Dutch Princess Margret marries Pieter van Vollenhoven
1967 Lester Maddox inaugurated as governor of Georgia
1967 PBS (the National Educational TV) begins as a 70 station network
1967 Princess Margret marries Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven
1966 India and Pakistan sign peace accord
1966 Julian Bond denied seat in Georgia legislature for opposing Vietnam War
1965 Bollingen prize for poetry awarded to Horace Gregory
1965 NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 34-14
1965 WKBD TV channel 50 in Detroit, MI (IND) begins broadcasting
1964 Battles between moslems and hindus in Calcutta
1964 Panama severs diplomatic relations with U.S.
1964 U.S. version of "That Was The Week That Was," premieres
1962 4,000 die in avalanche, Ranrahirca, Peru
1962 Eruptions on Mount Huascaran in Peru destroy 7 villages and kill 3,500
1960 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Delmore Schwartz
1958 Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" reaches #1
1957 Anthony Eden resigns and Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister Britain
1957 Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick rules Bing Crosby can keep token stock in the Detroit Tigers, even though he owns part of Pittsburgh Pirates
1956 Elvis records "Heartbreak Hotel"
1954 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to W H Auden
1953 "My Darlin' Aida" closes at Winter Garden Theater New York City after 89 performances
1953 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Archibald MacLeish
1953 NFL Pro Bowl: National Conference beats American Conference 27-7
1952 Jean Anouilh's "La valse des toreadors," premieres in Paris
1951 1st jet passenger trip made
1951 U.N. headquarters opens in Manhattan NY
1949 1st Jewish family show "Goldbergs" premieres on CBS
1949 RCA introduces 45 RPM record
1948 "Call Me Mister" closes at National Theater New York City after 734 performances
1947 "Finian's Rainbow" opens at 46th St. Theater New York City for 725 performances
1947 British stop ships Independence and In-Gathering from landing in Israel
1947 Greek steamer "Himara" strikes a wartime mine in Saronic Gulf south of Athens with loss of 392 of 637 aboard
1946 U.N. General Assembly meets for 1st time in London
1946 U.S. Army establishes 1st radar contact with Moon, Belmar, New Jersey
1945 Baseball writers again fail to elect a new Hall of Famer
1945 LA Railway (with 5 streetcar lines) forced to close
1945 No one is elected to baseball's Hall of Fame
1944 1st mobile electric power plant delivered, Philadelphia
1944 British troops conquer Maungdaw, Burma
1943 Russian offensive against German 6th/4th Armies near Stalingrad
1943 1st U.S. President to visit a foreign country in wartime-FDR leaves for Casablanca, Morocco
1942 Japan invades North-Celebes, Netherlands Indies
1941 Joseph Kesselring's "Arsenic and Old Lace," premieres in New York City
1941 Seyss-Inquart begins registration of Jews
1939 Bradman hits 186 SA vs. Qld before Christ catches him at short-leg
1938 Eduard van Beinum becomes world's 1st conductor at Concert Hall
1938 Jean Anouilh's "La Sauvage," premieres in Paris
1938 Paul Vincent Carroll's "White Seed," premieres in New York City
1935 Actress Mary Pickford marries actor Douglas Fairbanks
1932 "Mickey Mouse" and "Silly Symphony" comics syndicated
1932 "Pete the Tramp" cartoon strip by C D Russell debuts
1931 Philadelphia Quakers defeat Montreal, ends NHL-record 15-game losing streak
1930 Commencement of New Zealand's 1st Test, vs. England Christchurch
1930 Maurice Allom takes Test hat-trick England vs. New Zealand Christchurch
1930 Mordovian Autonomous Region in RSFSR constituted
1929 Elmer Rice's "Street Scene," premieres in New York City
1928 G/I Gershwin/Romberg/Wodehouse's musical "Rosalie," premieres in New York City
1928 Soviet Union orders exile of Leon Trotsky
1927 Fritz Lang's Metropolis premieres
1925 France-Saarland forms
1925 Miriam (Ma) Ferguson sworn in as Texas gov, nation's 2nd woman governor
1923 Last U.S. troops leave Rhineland (Germany)
1923 Lithuania seizes and annexes country of Memel
1920 League of Nations established
1920 Mont Canadiens (14) and Tor St. Patricks (7) score NHL record 21 goals
1920 Silver reaches record $1.37 an ounce
1916 Russian offensive in Kaukasus
1914 1st edition of Hague's Post under San Francisco van Oss, published
1914 Oscar Mathisen skates world record 500 m in 43.7 sec in Oslo
1912 Caillaux government in France resigns
1912 World's 1st flying boat's maiden flight, (Glenn Curtiss in New York)
1911 1st photo in U.S. taken from an airplane, San Diego
1911 Honduras signs treaty turning over customs to U.S. (not ratified)
1911 Trumper scored double cricket ton vs. South Africa, goes on to get 214
1910 1st international air meet in U.S. held, in LA
1910 Lunt-Fontanne Theater (Globe) opens at 205 W 46th St. New York City
1902 Alphons Diepenbrock's "Te Deum" premieres (Amsterdam)
1901 Oil discovered in Texas
1900 Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener reach Capetown
1897 Henrik Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman," premieres in Helsingfors
1897 Vincent d'Indy's "Istar" premieres in Amsterdam and Brussels
1893 Richard Drigo's ballet "Magic Flute" premieres, St. Petersburg
1890 Edward Macdowell's "Lancelot and Elaine," premieres
1890 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Sapientiae Christianae
1889 Ivory Coast declared a protectorate of France
1883 Fire at uninsured Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin kills 71. General Tom Thumb of P T Barnum fame, escapes unhurt
1878 U.S. Senate proposes female suffrage
1870 Georgia legislature reconvenes
1870 John D Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil
1863 1st underground railway opens in London
1863 General McClernand's Union troops surround Fort Hindman Ark
1863 January-uprising begins in Poland
1863 London's 1st subway opens
1862 Battle of Big Sandy River, Kentucky (Middle Creek)
1862 Battle of Romney, WV
1861 Florida becomes 3rd state to secede from US
1861 Ft. Jackson and Ft. Philip are taken over by LA state troops
1861 U.S. forts and property seized by Mississippi
1853 Charles Reade's "Gold," premieres in London
1845 Poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning begin corresponding
1840 Penny Post mail system is starts
1839 Tea from India 1st arrives in UK
1833 Felix Mendelssohn's "Die erste Walpurgisnacht," premieres in Berlin
1811 Louisiana slaves rebell in 2 parishes
1810 French church annuls marriage of Napoleon I and Josephine
1808 Herman Daendels succeeds A Wiese as Governor-General of Netherlands Indies
1806 Dutch in Capetown surrender to British
1799 Friedrich von Schiller's "Die Piccolomini," premieres in Weimar
1776 "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine, published
1731 Charles Farnese becomes duke of Parma/Piacenza
1663 King Charles II affirms charter of Royal African Company
1642 King Charles I and family flee London for Oxford
1550 1st sitting of "Vurige Chamber" in Paris
1514 Complutensian New Testament in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin finished
1430 Duke Philip the Good marries Isabella of Portugal
1430 Order of the Guilder forms
1429 Order of Golden Fleece established in Austria-Hungary and Spain
1356 German emperor Charles I delegates Golden Degree
1072 Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo
236 St. Fabian begins his reign as Catholic Pope
69 Roman emperor Galba adopts Marcus Piso Licinianus as Caesar