Events 1595 - William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is performed for the first time. 1649 - King Charles I of England is beheaded. 1781 - Articles of Confederation ratified by 13th state, Maryland. 1790 - The first boat specialized as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne. 1820 - Edward Bransfield discovers Antarctica. 1835 - Unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Andrew Jackson in the United States Capitol -- first assassination attempt against a President. 1847 - Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco. 1862 - The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched. 1900 - United Kingdom forces fighting Boers in South Africa ask for reinforcements. 1911 - The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of James McCurdy 10 miles from Havana, Cuba. 1913 - House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill. 1925 - Government of Turkey throws Patriarch Constantine VI out of Istanbul. 1933 - Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg. 1933 - The first of 2,956 episodes of The Lone Ranger airs on the radio for the first time. 1944 - United States troops invade Majuro, Marshall Islands. 1948 - Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi is murdered by a Hindu extremist. 1948 - 1948 Winter Olympics open in St. Moritz, Switzerland. 1962 - Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed when their famous seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan. 1964 - Ranger 6 is launched by NASA. Its mission is it to carry television cameras and to crash-land on the moon. 1968 - Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begin when Viet Cong forces launch series of a surprise attacks in South Vietnam. 1969 - The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records. The impromptu concert was broken up by the police. 1972 - Bloody Sunday: United Kingdom forces kill thirteen Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland. 1972 - Pakistan withdraws from the British Commonwealth. 1989 - The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan closes. 1994 - Peter Leko becomes the youngest grand master in chess. 1995 - Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventative treatment for sickle cell anaemia. 1996 - Suspected leader of the Irish National Liberation Army Gino Gallagher is killed while in line for his unemployment benefit. 2002 - Slobodan Milosevic accuses the United Nations war crimes tribunal of an "evil and hostile attack" against him. 2003 - Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage. Births 1687 - Johann Balthasar Neumann, master builder (+ 1753) 1781 - Adelbert von Chamisso, poet (+ 1838) 1882 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States (+ 1945) 1894 - King Boris III of Bulgaria (+ 1943) 1901 - Rudolf Caracciola, driver of racing cars (+ 1959) 1902 - Nikolaus Pevsner, art historian 1912 - Barbara W. Tuchman, historian (+ 1989) 1914 - David Wayne, actor (+ 1995) 1914 - John Ireland, actor (+ 1992) 1920 - Delbert Mann, director 1922 - Dick Martin, comedian 1924 - Lloyd Alexander, writer 1925 - Dorothy Malone, actress 1927 - Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (+ 1986) 1928 - Hal Prince, stage producer, director 1930 - Gene Hackman, actor 1931 - Allan W. Eckert, historian, naturalist and author 1935 - Richard Brautigan, writer and poet (+ 1984) 1937 - Vanessa Redgrave, actress 1937 - Boris Spassky, chess grand master 1941 - Dick Cheney, politician 1943 - Marty Balin, musician 1945 - Michael Dorris, author (+ 1997) 1947 - Steve Marriott, musician ("The Small Faces") (+ 1991) 1951 - Phil Collins, musician 1972 - Tim Jones, Gonzo Journalist 1974 - Christian Bale, actor Deaths 1649 - King Charles I of England 1889 - Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria and Baroness Mary Vetsera, at Mayerling 1948 - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian politician 1958 - Jean Crotti, Swiss artist 1963 - Francis Poulenc, composer 1980 - Professor Longhair, King of New Orleans music 1982 - Lightning Hopkins, blues musician 1991 - John Bardeen, physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics twice 1991 - John McIntire, actor 1994 - Pierre Boulle, author 1995 - Gerald Durrell, naturalist, zookeeper, author and television presenter 1999 - Huntz Hall, actor 2001 - Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor 2002 - Daniel Pearl, journalist (one possible date) Holidays and observances See Also: January 29 - January 31 - December 30 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
January 29 - January 31 - December 30 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December