1812 – “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” or “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm is first published
0069 – General Vespasian’s troops occupy Rome after defeating the Emperor Vitellius
1046 – Pope Gregory VI abdicates at the Council of Sutri, ending a conflict between himself, Benedict IX and Sylvester III; Clement II becomes the new Pope
1192 – Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna
1522 – Suleiman the Magnificent accepts surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle in Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
1606 – The “Susan Constant,” “Godspeed” and “Discovery” set sail from London. Their landing at Jamestown, VA, was the start of the first permanent English settlement in America.
1669 – 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection & sentenced to flogging, branding & slavery
1699 – Peter the Great ordered that the Russian New Year be changed from September 1 to January 1.
1780 – Britain declares war on Holland
1790 – The first successful cotton mill in the United States began operating at Pawtucket, RI.
1812 – “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” or “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm is first published
1820 – The state of Missouri enacted legislation to tax bachelors between the ages of 21-50 for being unmarried. The tax was $1 a year.
1860 – South Carolina became the first state to secede from the American Union.
1879 – Thomas A. Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, NJ.
1880 – New York’s Broadway became known as the “Great White Way” when it was lighted by electricity.
1893 – 1st state anti-lynching statute approved, in Georgia
1907 – Explosion at Yolande Alabama, coal mine kills 91
1917 – A second nationwide referendum on military conscription is rejected by the Australian public
1917 – Cheka formed – Soviet state security force and forerunner to the KGB, under Felix Dzerzhinsky after decree by Lenin
1922 – 14 republics form Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics (USSR)
1928 – Mail delivery by dog sled began in Lewiston, ME.
1941 – World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the “Flying Tigers” in Kunming, China.
1946 – The Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life” had a preview showing for charity at New York City’s Globe Theatre, a day before its “official” world premiere. James Stewart and Donna Reed star in the film.
1946 – In Indochina (Vietnam), full-scale guerrilla warfare between Vietnam partisans and French troops began.
1951 – Walter Zinn’s Experimental Breeder Reactor I, the first nuclear reactor to produce electric power, goes live at the Argonne National Laboratory, USA
1956 – Montgomery, Alabama removes race-based seat assignments on its buses
1963 – The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners. It was only for the holiday season. It closed again on January 6, 1964.
1967 – 474,300 US soldiers in Vietnam
1968 – The Zodiac Killer murders teenagers Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday while on their first date together in Vallejo, California
1973 – Spanish Prime Minister Carrero Blanco assassinated, A confidant of dictator Francisco Franco, Blanco was assassinated by the Basque nationalist and separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA.
1977 – 1st Space walk made by Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Grechko during Salyut 6 EO-1 mission
1978 – H. R. Haldeman, Nixon’s White House Chief of Staff released from jail
1983 – PLO chairman Yasser Arafat & 4,000 loyalists evacuate Lebanon
1985 – Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC
1986 – White teenagers beat blacks in New York City’s Howard Beach
1987 – More than 3,000 people were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island, setting off a double explosion.
1989 – General Noriega, Panama’s former dictator, was overthrown by a United States invasion force invited by the new civilian government. The project was known as Operation Just Cause.
1990 – The world’s first website and server go live at CERN
1991 – A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
1994 – Marcelino Corniel, a homeless man, was shot and mortally wounded by White House security officers. He had brandished a knife near the executive mansion.
1998 – In Houston, TX, a 27-year-old woman gave birth to the only known living set of octuplets.
1999 – The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples were entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples of the opposite sex.
1999 – Sovereignty over the colony of Macao was transferred from Portugal to China.
2001 – The U.S. Congress passed a $20 billion package to finance the war against terrorism taking place in Afghanistan.
2005 – New York City’s Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike over pension and wage increases, shutting down all subway and bus services for three days
2005 – US District Court Judge John E. Jones III rules against mandating the teaching of “intelligent design” in his ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
2006 – A judge rules against the death penalty in the case of Naveed Haq, a man convicted in the shooting death and injuries at the Jewish Federation in Seattle.
2007 – Queen Elizabeth becomes the longest-living British monarch, The previous longest living monarch – Queen Victoria – died on Jan 22, 1901, when she was 81 years, 7 months, and 29 days old. Queen Elizabeth, who was born on 21 April 1926, turned 81 years, 7 months and 30 days on this day.
2014 – Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley kills 2 NYPD officers in Brooklyn, New York, supposedly in revenge for the killing of Eric Garner, before killing himself
2017 – US House and Senate pass $1.5 trillion tax and jobs bill, the biggest tax overhaul for decades
2018 – New figures show average US male weighs 198 pounds and stands 5 feet 9 inches, women 171 pounds and 5 feet 4 inches
2018 – US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis announces his resignation after disagreements with President Donald Trump
2019 – Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana granted US federal recognition, providing the right to certain legal and government benefits
2021 – First Hong Kong legislative elections with only ‘patriot’ candidates allowed to stand has low turnout of 30%
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
