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Today January 28th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.
1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
1547 – Henry VIII dies. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.
1573 – Articles of Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
1754 – Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity.
1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on Saint Kitts.
1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented in the Senate decree. It was called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
1760 – Pownal, Vermont created by Benning Wentworth as one of the New Hampshire Grants.
1813 – Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
1820 – Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovered the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast.
1846 – Battle of Aliwal, India won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
1855 – The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on the Panama Railway.
1871 – Franco-Prussian War: Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.
1887 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world s largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.
1902 – The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.
1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
1916 – Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
1917 – Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco, California.
1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
1921 – A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honor the unknown dead of World War I.
1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C. s biggest snowfall, causes the city s greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapses.
1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
1934 – The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195.
1941 – French-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
1958 – The Lego company patented their design of Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
Births
1980 – USCGC Blackthorn (WLB-391) collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa Florida and capsizes killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity under the Red Brigades.
1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission (Space Shuttle Challenger disaster) – Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts onboard.
2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.
Deaths
1225 – Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)
1312 – Queen Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349)
1457 – King Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610)
1582 – John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621)
1600 – Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
1611 – Johannes Hevelius, astronomer (d. 1687)
1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)
1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
1706 – John Baskerville, English printer (d. 1775)
1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)
1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774)
1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749)
1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (d. 1830)
1784 – George Hamilton Gordon Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
1818 – George S. Boutwell, 20th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)
1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
1833 – Charles George Chinese Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)
1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
1853 – José Martí, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1895)
1855 – William Seward Burroughs I, American inventor (d. 1898)
1863 – Ernst William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918)
1864 – Charles W. Nash, co-founder of Nash Motors, which would become American Motors as well as co-founder of Buick (d. 1948)
1864 – Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English engineer – inventor of the first compression ignition engine (d. 1927)
1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, first president of Finland (d. 1952)
1873 – Colette, French writer (d. 1954)
1874 – Vsevolod Meyerhold, Russian theatre director (d. 1940)
1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)
1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)
1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)
1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (d. 1976)
1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist and conductor (d. 1982)
1890 – Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)
1891 – Bill Doak, American baseball player (d. 1954)
1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)
1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (d. 1986)
1899 – Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (d. 1940)
1900 – Alice Neel, American artist (d. 1984)
1903 – Aleksander Kaminski, Polish writer (d. 1978)
1904 – Canuplin, Filipino magician and bodabil entertainer (d. 1979)
1908 – Paul Misraki, French composer and songwriter (d. 1998)
1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
1910 – Arnold Moss, American actor (d. 1989)
1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer (Sooty) (d. 1989)
1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-born British politician (d. 2004)
1919 – Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (d. 2002)
1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1993)
1927 – Ronnie Scott, British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner (d. 1996)
1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001)
1929 – Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist
1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-born artist
1933 – Jack Hill, American film director
1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
1934 – Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
1935 – David Lodge, English author
1936 – Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer
1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director
1938 – Leonid Zhabotynsky, Ukrainian weightlifter
1939 – John M. Fabian, NASA astronaut
1940 – Carlos Slim Helú, Mexican businessman
1941 – Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985)
1943 – Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player
1943 – Dick Taylor, English musician (The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things)
1944 – Susan Howard, American actress
1944 – John Tavener, English composer
1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
1945 – Robert Wyatt, English musician
1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American politician
1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer
1948 – Charles Taylor, President of Liberia
1949 – Gregg Popovich, NBA Basketball Coach
1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress
1950 – Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, King of Bahrain
1950 – David C. Hilmers, NASA astronaut
1950 – Bob Hay, American songwriter and musician
1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut
1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
1953 – Chris Carter, English musician (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey)
1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player
1957 – Frank Skinner English comedian
1959 – Frank Darabont, American filmmaker
1959 – Burkhard Dallwitz, German-born composer
1959 – Randi Rhodes, Nova M Radio personality
1959 – Dave Sharp, Welsh guitarist (The Alarm)
1960 – Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer
1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 – Creflo Dollar, American televangelist
1962 – Keith Hamilton Cobb, American actor
1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer
1963 – Dan Spitz, American musician, guitarist for Anthrax
1965 – Lynda Boyd, American actress
1967 – Jan Lamb, Hong Kong disc jockey & stand-up comedian
1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter
1968 – DJ Muggs, American musician (Cypress Hill)
1968 – Rakim, born William Michael Griffin Jr., American rapper
1969 – Kathryn Morris, American actress
1969 – Mo Rocca, American writer and comedian
1969 – Linda Sanchez, American politician
1971 – Anthony Hamilton, American soul singer
1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer
1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player
1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 – David Zingler, American writer
1975 – Anne Montminy, Canadian Olympic diver
1975 – Lee Latchford-Evans, English singer
1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player
1975 – Terri Colombino, American Actress
1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player
1976 – Jarrod Montague, American drummer (Taproot)
1976 – Lee Ingleby, British actor
1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
1976 – Emiko Kado, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 1999)
1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
1977 – Matt DeVries, American guitarist (Chimaira)
1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese Formula One driver
1977 – Lyle Overbay, American baseball player
1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer
1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
1979 – Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder
1980 – Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
1980 – Jesse James Hollywood, American drug dealer and fugitive
1981 – Rick Razzano, American football player
1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor
1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American Football Player
1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
1986 – Jessica Ennis, English heptathlete
1986 – Shruti Haasan, Indian actress
1986 – Alexis Texas, porn star
1988 – Henry Mortensen, American actor
Holidays and observances
814 – Charlemagne (b. 742)
1061 – Duke Spytihnev II of Bohemia (b. 1031)
1271 – Isabella of Aragon, queen of Philip III of France (b. 1247)
1443 – Robert le Maçon, Chancellor of France
1547 – King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer (b. 1547)
1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)
1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
1681 – Richard Allestree, English royalist churchman (b. 1619)
1672 – Pierre Séguier, Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer (b. 1611)
1697 – John Fenwick, English conspirator
1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)
1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
1859 – Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (b. 1799)
1903 – Augusta Holmès, French composer (b. 1847)
1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)
1915 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist (b. 1846)
1918 – John McCrae, Canadian poet (b. 1872)
1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer (b. 1859)
1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (b. 1862)
1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German racecar driver (b. 1909)
1939 – William Butler Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1865)
1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, French composer (b. 1875)
1947 – Therese Brandl, Nazi concentration camp guard, executed (b. 1902)
1947 – Hans Aumeier, German Nazi official and concentration camp commandant, executed (b. 1906)
1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician (b. 1883)
1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, president of Finland (b. 1867)
1953 – James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
1953 – Derek Bentley (b. 1933) (executed)
1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American author (b. 1891)
1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
1965 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
1965 – Maxime Weygand, French soldier (b. 1867)
1971 – Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
1979 – Eileen Shanahan, Irish Poet (b. 1901)
1973 – John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
1975 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (b. 1887)
1983 – Billy Fury, British singer (b. 1940)
1983 – Frank Forde, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
1986 – Greg Jarvis – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1944)
1986 – Christa McAuliffe – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1948)
1986 – Ronald McNair – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1950)
1986 – Ellison Onizuka – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1946)
1986 – Judith Resnik – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1949)
1986 – Francis R. Scobee – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1939)
1986 – Michael J. Smith – Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger (b. 1945)
1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)
1994 – Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)
1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Laureate (b. 1940)
1996 – Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
1996 – Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist (b. 1911)
1999 – Markey Robinson, Irish painter (b. 1918)
1999 – Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
2001 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player (b. 1943)
2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (b. 1907)
2004 – Lloyd M. Bucher, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1927)
2004 – Don Cholito, Puerto Rican radio host (b. 1923)
2004 – Elroy Hirsch, American football player (b. 1923)
2004 – Don Stansauk, American professional wrestler (b. 1936)
2004 – Joe Viterelli, American actor (b. 1937)
2005 – Jim Capaldi, English singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
2005 – Karen Lancaume, French actress (suicide) (b. 1973)
2005 – Jacques Villeret, French actor (b. 1951)
2006 – Yitzchak Kaduri, rabbi
2006 – Henry McGee, English comedian (b. 1929)
2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss professional road racing cyclist (b. 1929)
2007 – Father Robert Drinan, Roman Catholic Priest and American politician (b. 1920)
2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer of popular music (b. 1938)
2007 – Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (b. 1978)
2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (b. 1963)
2007 – Emma Tillman, the world s oldest living person from January 24-28, 2007 (b. 1892)
2008 – Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (b. 1939)
2008 – Bengt Lindström, Swedish artist (b. 1925)
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