January 15
January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 350 days remaining (351 in leap years). Events 69 - Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but only survives for three months before committing suicide. 1559 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey by Owen Oglethorpe, the Bishop of Carlisle, instead of the Archbishop of Canterbury. 1582 - Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland. 1759 - The British Museum opens. 1777 - American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence. 1782 - Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage. 1844 - University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana. 1870 - A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly). 1892 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball. 1919 - The Boston Molasses Disaster kills 21 people. 1919 - Ignace Paderewski becomes Premier of Poland. 1936 - The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio (the building was for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company). 1943 - World War II: Japanese driven off Guadalcanal. 1943 - The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated (Arlington, Virginia). 1951 - Ilse Koch, The "Bitch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany. 1967 - Super Bowl I is played -- The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. 1969 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5. 1970 - After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders. 1970 - Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya. 1973 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. 1974 - Happy Days premiers on ABC. 1975 - Portugal grants independence to Angola. 1976 - Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison. 1990 - AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure. 1991 - The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm. 1992 - The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.1999 - The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak were killed by Yugoslav security forces. 2001 - Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online.
Births 1432 - King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481) 1481 - Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Ashikaga shogun (b. 1511) 1622 - Moličre, French playwright (d. 1673) 1747 - John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822) 1791 - Franz Grillparzer, Austrian lyricist 1809 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1865) 1850 - Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889) 1863 - Wilhelm Marx, German politician, chancellor of the Weimar Republic 1866 - Nathan Söderblom, Swedish Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1869 - Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish dramatist, poet, painter, architect (d. 1907) 1870 - Pierre S. DuPont, industrialist 1875 - Tom Burke, American runner 1879 - Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961) 1891 - Osip Mandelstam, Soviet poet and essayist (d. 1938) 1892 - Rex Ingram, director, writer (d. 1950) 1893 - Ivor Novello, actor, musician (d. 1951) 1899 - Goodman Ace, actor, comedian, writer (d. 1982) 1908 - Edward Teller (d. 2003) 1909 - Gene Krupa, drummer (d. 1973) 1913 - Lloyd Bridges, actor (d. 1998)1914 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, historian (d. 2004) 1918 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970)1918 - Joćo Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, Brazilian politician (d. 1999) 1918 - Robert Byrd, American politician1920 - John Cardinal O'Connor, Catholic Cardinal (d. 2000) 1923 - Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician 1926 - Maria Schell, Swiss actress1927 - Norm Crosby, comedian1927 - Phyllis Coates, actress 1929 - Martin Luther King Jr, American civil rights leader (d. 1968)1931 - Patricia Blair, American actress1933 - Ernest J. Gaines, author 1937 - Margaret O'Brien, actress 1941 - Captain Beefheart, singer 1942 - Charo, singer, actress1945 - Vince Foster, White House operative (d. 1993)1947 - Andrea Martin, Canadian actress 1948 - Ronnie VanZant, lead vocal for Lynyrd Skynyrd (d. 1977) 1957 - Mario Van Peebles, actor, director 1957 - Julian Sands, actor 1965 - Adam Jones, musician of Tool1968 - Chad Lowe, American actor1971 - Regina King, American actress 1981 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football star 1982 - Benjamin Agosto, American skater 1984 - Megan Quann, U.S. swimmer
Deaths 41 - Caligula, Roman Emperor (b. 12) 570 - Saint Ides, Irish nun, (b. ca. 475)1595 - Murat III, Ottoman Emperor1915 - Mary Slessor, Scottish Christian missionary to West Africa (b. 1848)1919 - Rosa Luxemburg, politician (b. 1870)1947 - Elizabeth Short, AKA The Black Dahlia, murder viction1955 - Yves Tanguy, Surrealist painter (b. 1900)1964 - Jack Teagarden, musician (b. 1905)1983 - Meyer Lansky, mobster (b. 1902)1987 - Ray Bolger, actor, singer, dancer (b. 1904)1990 - Gordon Jackson, film & tv actor; best known as the butler 'Hudson' on Upstairs Downstairs (b. 1923)1993 - Sammy Cahn, songwriter (b. 1913)1994 - Harry Nilsson, musician (b. 1941)1998 - Junior Wells, musician2000 - Zeljko Raznatovic, Serbian leader2001 - Ted Mann, screenwriter2003 - Gladys Kamakakuokalani Ainoa Brandt, Hawaiian educator; fought for native Hawaiian rights 2003 - Doris Fisher, singer and songwriter2005 - Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923) 2005 - Deem Bristow, video game voice actor 2005 - Walter Ernsting, German science fiction author (Perry Rhodan) 2005 - Elizabeth Janeway, United States feminist author (b. 1913) 2005 - Dan Lee, animator for movie Finding Nemo (b. 1969) 2005 - Werner Lesser, German ski jumper 2005 - Ruth Warrick, United States actress best known for Citizen Kane and All My Children (b. 1915)
Holidays and observances Roman Empire - Second day of the Carmentalia in honor of Carmenta Roman Catholic Church - Saint Ides, virgin, died Jan. 15, 570 Malawi - John Chilembwe Day United States - Traditionally, Martin Luther King Day Kerala in India - Makaravilakku or Makara Sankranthy at Sabarimala Jallikattu in South India
External links BBC: On This Day
January 14 - January 16 - December 15 - February 15 -- listing of all days
|
|
