Tuesday

Hydrogen Bomb ( 1950 ) President Truman approved U.S. construction of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon potentially 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb

The 1953 Great Storm
31st January ( 1953 ) : A major storm with winds in excess of 100 MPH caused flooding in 3 countries with North Sea coastal areas killing a total of more than 2,000 people in the Netherlands Great Britain and Belgium.

Dr Harold Shipman
31st January ( 2000 ) : Family GP Dr Harold Shipman is jailed for life for murdering 15 of his patients, he was also suspected of killing more than 100 other patients but did not confess to them. Dr Harold Shipman is now Britain's most prolific convicted serial killer


Chimp in Space 31st January ( 1961 ) A chimpanzee named Ham sent into space by the United States has been recovered alive and well. The test was one of many planned to ensure that a human being could survive space flight, think clearly and perform useful functions outside the Earth's atmosphere.

Monday

Adolf Hitler ( 1933 ) Adolf Hitler the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), becomes chancellor of Germany

Mahatma Gandhi Assassinated
30th January ( 1948 ) : After angering Hindu extremeists with his effort to bring peace to his beloved India by going on hunger strike to stop the fighting by his own countrymen and nearly dying from his fast Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by a terrorist sponsored by a right-wing Hindu militia group.

The Flying Wallendas
30th January ( 1962 ) : While performing their seven-person chair pyramid on a high wire 35 feet in the air at the State Fair Coliseum in Detroit the pyramid collapsed and after falling to the ground Richard Faughnan, Wallenda's son-in-law, and nephew Dieter Schepp are killed and adopted son, Mario, is paralyzed from the waist down.



The Beatles 30th January ( 1969 ) The Beatles make their last public performance giving an impromptu concert on the roof of the London recording studio. In April of the following year Paul McCartney formally announced the group's breakup.



Sunday

Dolly Parton ( 1981 ) Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" tops the Charts as many identify with the song and the movie .

49ers
29th January ( 1995 ) :The 49ers became the first team in history to win five Super Bowl titles

George W. Bush “Axis of Evil” Speech
29th January ( 2002 ) : A few months after the World Trade Center tragedy of September 11th, 2001, George W. Bush made probably one of the most memorable U.S. President State of the Union Addresses.
In his annual president speech he addressed the pressing problem of terrorism and the development of weapons used for mass destruction. Bush had also sent U.S. troops to the Middle East and Afghanistan to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who was one of the main al-Quaida terrorist leaders operating at this time. In his speech he describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.



Terrorist Bombs London 29th January ( 1976 ) Twelve bomb have been exploded in London's West End during the night, most of Oxford Street is closed for the rest of the day while searches by the bomb squad continue for more bombs. The IRA later admitted it had planted the bombs as part of it's campaign against the British government.



Saturday

Chrysler Building ( 1930 ) With the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York which is the tallest building in the world at 78 stories and dwarfs the 56 story Woolworths building and is even taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, this is at a cost of some $15,000,000 investment by Mr Chrysler and shows the world that the American Auto industry is the best in the world. Just 12 months later the Empire State Building is completed which is taller.

Pancho Villa Dead or Alive
28th January ( 1917 ) : US forces give up searching for Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa after nearly one year, following his massacre of 16 U.S. citizens at Santa Isabel in northern Mexico and 17 American Citizens in Columbus, New Mexico President Wilson had sent US forces into Mexico with orders to capture Villa dead or alive.

Elvis Presley
28th January ( 1956 ) : The young country rock singer Elvis Presley makes his first ever television appearance on Television in the musical variety program Stage Show singing "Heartbreak Hotel".
VIDEO ON OUR FULL THIS DAY IN HISTORY PAGE


Challenger Explodes 28th January ( 1986 ) The space shuttle Challenger explodes just after liftoff , killing the seven astronauts aboard, this was the 10th trip for Challenger and included a teacher from New Hampshire, Christa MacAuliffe, among the astronauts, as part of a new Teacher in Space project. The Launch was shown live on CNN and many schools set up televisions for children to watch due to the involvement of a teacher in the shuttle. Other crew members aboard the Challenger ship included Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ronald McNair, as well as Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik. A warning was ignored that certain equipment on the ship was vulnerable at new temperatures.



Friday

Apollo 1 ( 1967 ) Three astronauts aboard Apollo 1 ( Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee ) die while still on the launch pad as they are practicing for a two-week mission in space.

Outer Space Treaty
27th January ( 1967 ) : The Outer Space Treaty which banned the placing of nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth is signed by 60 countries of the world including the two most important superpowers at the time The Soviet Union and The United States Of America who both had large Space Exploration programmes and Large Nuclear programmes. This was an important treaty because if any country was to place Nuclear Weapons or other Weapons of Mass Destruction in Orbit no country in the world would be safe.

Michael Jackson
27th January ( 1984 ) : Michael Jackson receives serious burns to his head after his hair caught light while singing his hit "Billie Jean" for a Pepsi Cola commercial in Los Angeles when the special effects went wrong.


Birth of Television 27th January ( 1926 ) John Logie Baird, gives the first public demonstration of a television system in London. The BBC started the first public broadcasts in London in 1936. Regular television broadcasts began in the United States in 1939.



Thursday

India Independence ( 1950 ) India Formally becomes a republic no longer under British rule. The new President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, takes the oath of office. Dr Prasad was a key campaigner in the nationalist movement of Mahatma Gandhi, along with India's interim Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Auschwitz Poland
26th January ( 1945 ) : Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing 7,000 starving camp survivors from the network of concentration camps revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there.

Telegram
26th January ( 2006 ) : Western Union announces the end of Telegram Services from 31 January 2006 the last telegram is sent the next day. The Telegram service more than any other is superceded by the use of E-Mail with the dawning of the Internet age but still exists in some form or other around the world but not as the primary force of fast communication it was at it's beginnings when the Telephone still only had limited numbers. Today when it is used it is for such things as weddings, births, funerals and graduations and even as a secure form of communication ( due to perceptions of the Internet as an insecure medium.


The Phantom of the Opera 26th January ( 1988 ) Andrew Lloyd Webber's Musical The Phantom of the Opera ( Based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra 1909 by Gaston Leroux ) has its first performance on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in New York and is now the longest running Broadway show in history.

Wednesday

Cold War Jitters ( 1985 ) Russia prepares to launch a nuclear attack following a Norwegian launch of a Black Brant XII four-stage sounding rocket to study the aurora borealis over Svalbard ( Which the Russians mistook for a Trident missile ) the rocket landed near Spitsbergen 24 minutes after launch and the Russians decided it was not an attack . To understand this you must also understand the great mistrust by both sides during the Cold War years when both believed the other would launch an attack without notification to gain an upper hand

Burns' Day Storm
25th January ( 1990 ) : Hurricane Force winds with sustained winds of 75 mph and wind gusts of 104 mph part of the "Burns' Day Storm" have forced many ports and airports to close in one of the worst storms seen in the UK since 1987, causing overturned lorries blocking motorways, buildings collapsing and power and telecommunications lines blown down, at least half a million homes are without electricity. Current estimates put the loss of life over 90 making this storm the worst for casualties since the East Coast Flood disaster in 1953.

35 cents per hour
25th January ( 1933 ) : Many state emergency work relief bureau are cutting the hourly rate for laborers from 40 cents per hour to 35 cents per hour and implementing a five day week . These changes will affect workers pay down from $19.00 per week to $14.00 per week in line with the changing economic trends throughout the country and should help to provide more work for those seeking jobs.


I Want To Hold Your Hand 25th January ( 1964 ) The Beatles get their first number one with "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Tuesday


Winston Churchill ( 1965 ) Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, died aged 90 years old he was best known as leading his country through World War II as a great speaker and raising morale of his countrymen.

Ted Bundy
24th January ( 1989 ) : The serial killer Ted Bundy was electrocuted for murdering a 12-year-old girl.

First Canned Beer Sold
24th January ( 1935 ) : The first canned beer goes on sale "Krueger Cream Ale," sold by Krueger Brewing Co. of Richmond, Va.to the general public. Pabst was the second brewer in the same year to sell beer in cans and the cans came with a picture of a can opener on the side, with opening instructions.


28 years later 24th January ( 1972 ) 28 years after the war ended local farmers found a Japanese sergeant who was unaware that World War II had ended, he had survived in the Jungle carving tools and hunting for all those years waiting for orders from the Japanese Army

Monday

Roots TV Mini Series ( 1977 ) The Alex Haley book "Roots" is turned into a TV Mini Series of 8 episodes and the first episode is shown on 23rd January and the last episode shown on 30th January. The mini series made history when it won 9 Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award.

Insulin First Used
23rd January ( 1922 ) : The first injection of Insulin ( called isletin originally ) on Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic who lay dying at the Toronto General Hospital on 11th January 1922 caused a severe allergic reaction. For the next 12 days the biochemist James Collip worked to improve and purify the ox-pancreas extract and on the second injection bought the boy out of his coma and was a complete success.

Santa Maria Hijacking
23rd January ( 1961 ) : Luxury Portuguese cruise liner Santa Maria is hijacked by a terrorists leftist rebel group who had boarded in Venezuela and Curacao led by Henrique Galvão. The terrorists took control of the ship after killing 1 crew member and injuring others. When they had control they cut off all communication to the outside world. They then sailed the ship to Brazil and 11 days after hijacking the ship agreed to release the ship, passengers and crew in exchange for political asylum in Brazil.


The Queen Mary 23rd January ( 1936 ) The Cunard ocean liner The Queen Mary is nearing completion on Clydebank in Scotland, and will begin sea trials within 10 weeks, she is scheduled for the Transatlantic trips between Southampton and New York and many details are appearing which confirm she will a success before she even starts her transatlantic sailings with the first passage on May 27th oversubscribed by 4 times already, she will be capable of 32 knots which is faster than any other passenger vehicle afloat and will be the biggest passenger ship afloat with a crew of 1200 and carrying 2200 passengers.

Sunday

Boeing 747 First Flights ( 1970 ) The Boeing 747 makes its first commercial passenger trip to London, England. This flight had departed from New York City, and had carried 332 passengers and 18 crew. Although most passengers enjoyed the flight, one had mentioned that this plane is too big for commercial travel (too big to give anyone proper service.

Roe Vs. Wade
22nd January ( 1973 ) : The legalization of abortion within the first three months of pregnancy was allowed as of this day. This decision was based on a ruling by the Supreme Court upon adjournment of the Roe Vs. Wade Case that women had a constitutional right to obtain an abortion.

Apple Macintosh
22nd January ( 1984 ) : A new Apple Computer was introduced . The ad for the new Macintosh computer was first displayed during the Super Bowl.


Queen Victoria 22nd January ( 1901 ) Queen Victoria passed away in the Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She had become queen when she was 18 and had ruled for nearly 64 years of her life. She was succeeded by Prince Edward VII, her oldest son, who was 59 years old at the time, and reigned for nine years until his death.

Saturday

Concorde First Flights ( 1976 ) The First Concordes with commercial passengers take off From London's Heathrow Airport to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and Paris Orly Airport to Rio de Janeiro .

Canadian Dollar
21st January ( 2002 ) : The Canadian dollar hits an all time low trading at US$0.6179 the current rate is closer to US$ .8 but was at close to parity just last year.

Vietnam Draft Dodgers
21st January ( 1977 ) : President Carter granted a complete and unconditional pardon today to all Vietnam draft dodgers


Black Monday 21st January ( 2008 ) Black Monday in worldwide stock markets ( The US Markets were closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ) BUT futures trading around the world on US markets showed significant losses ) The losses were mostly averted when the FED announced a surprise rate cut of 0.75%. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 9/11, and Asian stocks drop as much as 15%. In January 2008 the Dow was at about 14,000 by the end of the year the Dow had dropped to 9,000 and has continued it's downward path but much lower suggesting the bottom is close to 8,000 . The FTSE 100 has had a similar fall from about 6,000 at the beginning of the year to close to 4,000 currently

Friday

John F. Kennedy ( 1961 ) John F. Kennedy, the nation’s youngest president (at this time), took the oath of office today. He was sworn in by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Vice-President Lyndon Johnson (who became president after JFK was assassinated), was sworn in on the same day as JFK. As part of the inauguration celebration on this day, Robert Frost himself recited from memory one of his own poem entitled “The Gift Outright”. He was originally going to read a poem that he wrote especially for this day called “Dedication”, but he could not read the ink from the page he was viewing.

Hostages Released
20th January ( 1981 ) : Iran released 52 weary American hostages, who were held for 444 days

Terry Waite
20th January ( 1987 ) : Terry Waite a special envoy of the archbishop of Canterbury disappeared while attempting to win freedom for Western hostages held in Lebanon. He was kidnapped by Shiite Muslims and released 4 years later.


China Monitors Internet Usage 20th January ( 1999 ) The Chinese News Service announces more restrictions including control of news and information on Internet often referred to the "Great Firewall of China" which blacklists thousands of web sites use in China ( Home to about 1/5th of the worlds population ).

Thursday


Palmer Raids ( 1920 ) 4,000 individuals are rounded up in a single night mostly members of the Industrial Workers of the World union who were suspected of being suspected radical leftists who were either deported or jailed as part of the Palmer Raids. The Palmer Raids ( named for Alexander Mitchell Palmer, United States Attorney General ) were a series of controversial raids by the U.S. Justice and Immigration Departments from 1919 to 1921 on suspected radical leftists in the United States . These arrests were made under the provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918

Algiers Accord
19th January ( 1981 ) : The United States and Iranian officials sign the Algiers Accords in Algeria to release 52 American hostages held by Islamist students in the Tehran American embassy after 14 months of captivity.

Miami Snow
19th January ( 1977 ) : Snow fell on Miami for the first time in history .


Apple Lisa 19th January ( 1983 ) Apple announces "The Apple Lisa" the first commercial personal computer to have a graphical user interface GUI and a computer mouse. The Lisa was targeted at businesses and cost a massive $9,995 ( over $20,000 in todays money ) and because of its high cost never made the impact Apple hoped for

Wednesday

Newbury Bypass ( 1996 ) Protesters against the A34 Newbury Bypass in Southern England now include six environmental organizations Friends of the Earth, the Council for British Archaeology, Greenpeace UK, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wildlife Trusts and the World Wide Fund for Nature all voiced disapproval of the new road scheme. Activists fighting the building of the bypass have built tunnels and tree houses and are using themselves as human shields to prevent security men and diggers from moving in.

Lisa Marie Presley
18th January ( 1996 ) : Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the Late Rock Singer Elvis Presley Filed for divorce from Michael Jackson, who was her husband since May 26, 1994. Quite a bit of speculation surrounded the joining of Lisa-Marie and Michael in Matrimony. One rumor floating around was that Michael Jackson married at this time to either cash in on some of Lisa’s Presley’s father’s inheritance money, or in order to boost declining record sales. Another suspicion was that perhaps Lisa-Marie wanted to use Michael to launch her own career.
Yet another theory of the reason for Michael Jackson and Lisa-Marie Presley’s union was to cover up child molestation allegations made against him. The reason that was given in court by Lisa-Marie was simply that of “irreconcilable differences”.


Scott of the Antarctic 18th January ( 1912 ) The British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrives at the South Pole only to find that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by just over a month. His efforts were later made into the movie Scott of the Antarctic

Tuesday

Volkswagen Beetle ( 1949 ) The first Volkswagen Beetle ( The Peoples Car ) in the U.S. arrived from Germany, designed by Ferdinand Porsche at the request of Adolf Hitler.

BBC Breakfast TV
17th January ( 1983 ) : The BBC launches a Breakfast Television Program featuring Frank Bough, Nick Ross and former ITN news reader Selina Scott. The BBC has launched this prior to the new TV-AM franchise due to launch a breakfast television program in February. ( Newspaper Critics said there was no need for breakfast Television possibly because they were concerned re newspaper sales ) By 1984 TV-am's "Good Morning Britain" and the BBC's "Breakfast Time" were bringing in 1.5 million viewers per day .


Brinks Robbery 17th January ( 1950 ) The Great Brinks Robbery ( Boston ) A team of 11 thieves, steal more than $2 million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston

Desert Storm 17th January ( 1991 ) Operation Desert Storm begins when aircraft from British, American, Kuwait, French and Saudi bomb military and strategic targets in Iraq, including an oil refinery and Baghdad airport.

Monday

Space Shuttle Columbia ( 2003 ) Space Shuttle Columbia was launched on its final mission featuring more than 80 experiments from around the world. Just a short time later Columbia exploded on re-entry killing all on board.

Prohibition
16th January ( 1920 ) : Prohibition takes effect stopping the sale and consumption of alcohol when the 18th Amendment went into effect it ended in 1933


Galapagos Islands 16th January ( 2001 ) The fuel supply tanker 'Jessica' has run aground on the Island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands, marine biologists are warning of an ecological disaster to the Archipelago. ( the ship did leak 180,000 gallons of oil which caused an ecological disaster with up to 62% of the marine iguana population on one island killed off.

First Corvette 16th January ( 1953 ) For the first time, the Corvette is brought to New York. The first corvette was presented at a car show that took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The body of these sports cars were made from fiberglass, giving this car a unique look.

Sunday

Land Mines ( 1997 ) Princess Diana angers defense ministers around the world after calling for an immediate international ban on land mines during a visit to Angola. ( The international Ottawa convention on banning landmines came into force on 1st March 1999 but key countries refused to sign, including the United States, Russia and China, making the convention worthless )

Pentagon
15th January ( 1943 ) : The Pentagon headquarters of the Department of Defense was completed after just 16 months construction


1st Super Bowl 15th January ( 1967 ) In the first Super Bowl The Green Bay packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Los Angeles

Hill Street Blues 15th January ( 1981 ) The television cop drama Hill Street Blues had aired on this day. This show was set in an unnamed city, although the outsides of the set were filmed in Chicago. This television series has been described as the first real attempt to portray police officers as fallible human beings. Unlike other cop dramas, the crimes were rarely solved in one Hill Street Blues episode .

Saturday

Loch Ness Monster ( 1934 ) More reports are coming in from Loch Ness in Scotland where they make the strongest Whisky on earth from tourists and locals of sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. It is described as a sea serpent estimated at over 50 ft long and the secretary of state for Scotland has forbidden the capture or shooting of the creature.

Executive Order 9066
14th January( 1942 ) : A reluctant but resigned Roosevelt signed the War Department’s blanket Executive Order 9066, which authorized the physical removal of all Japanese Americans into internment camps.

Hostage Crisis Ends
14th January( 1981 ) : Finally, this date was the end of a hostage crisis that started in the year 1979. University students who were backed by leaders of Iran’s post-revolutionary regime (group of people in power after Iran was changed from a monarch to an Islamic republic). Originally, over 60 people had been held captive, 52 of which for a total of 444 days.


Marilyn Monroe 14th January( 1954 ) Marilyn Monroe’s wedding took place. She had married Joe DeMaggio. Unfortunately, the marriage had only lasted nine months. She had married again before she had died from an overdose of barbiturates. Her first husband had sent her flowers to her grave every day until he died in the year 1999

Friday

Johnny Cash Folsom Prison ( 1968 ) Johnny Cash performs live for the second time at Folsom Prison in the prison cafeteria which was recorded as the album Johnny Cash at At Folsom Prison.

Black Friday Bushfires
13th January ( 1939 ) : Bush Fires covering more than 4,942,000 acres in Victoria, Australia destroys more than 1,000 homes and leaves towns entirely destroyed, the bush fires known as ( Black Friday fires ) claims over 70 Lives during what is thought to be the worst natural bush fires (wildfires) in the world


Frisbee 13th January ( 1957 ) Wham-O begins begins production of the Pluto Platters ( Changed Name to "Frisbee" in June 57 ). following the name change sales rocketed as the Frisbee took off as a sport rather than the original marketing as a toy.

Thursday

First Presidential Radio Address ( 1924 ) Calvin Coolidge became the first U.S. president to deliver an address by radio. This was the first day that radio programming had included commercials.

James Bulger
12th February ( 1993 ) : Two 10-year-old boys lured 2-year-old James Bulger from his mother at a shopping mall in Liverpool, England, then beat him to death

Transatlantic Jet Service
12th February ( 1958 ) :The first Trans Atlantic passenger jetliner service begins by BOAC with flights between London and New York on the new Comet Jet Airliner.


Last Emperor of China 12th February ( 1916 ) Hsian-T'ung, the last emperor of China, is forced to abdicate following Sun Yat-sen's republican revolution, ending 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial rule. 1912