On This Day in History...

0624 Moslem army occupies Kurashitische Caravan
0794 Church at Lindisfarne, England destroyed by Vikings
0871 Battle at Ashdown Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army
1198 Lotario di Segni elected Pope Innocentius III
1214 Earl Ferrand of Flanders drops ties with France
1499 Louis XII of France after papal divorce marries Anne, Duchess of Brittany to keep the duchy for the crown
1558 French troops under duke de Guise occupy Calais
1598 Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy
1598 Genoa Italy expels Jews
1656 Oldest surviving commercial newspaper begins (Haarlem, Netherlands)
1675 1st American commercial corporation chartered (New York Fishing Co)
1705 Georg F Händels 1st opera "Almira" premieres in Hamburg
1716 Dutch gang leader "Sjako" arrested
1745 England, Austria, Netherlands & Saxon sign anti-Prussian Quadruple Alliance
1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Stirling
1760 Comet C/1760 A1 (Great comet) approaches within 0.0682 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1790 George Washington delivers 1st "State of the Union" address
1798 11th Amendment ratified, judicial powers construed
1800 Austrians defeat French in 2nd battle of Novi
1800 Wild Boy of Aveyron discovered in southern France
1806 Cape colony becomes English colony
1806 Lewis & Clark find skeleton of 105' blue whale in Oregon
1811 Louisiana slave revolt by Charles Deslondes at German Coast
1815 Battle of New Orleans-War of 1812 ended 12/24/1814 but nobody knew
1830 Dutch King Willem I fires him displeasing parliament members
1833 Boston Academy of Music, 1st US music school, established
1838 1st telegraph message sent using dots & dashes, New Jersey
1838 Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out
1842 Dutch King Willem II charters Technical College Delft
1848 Austrian soldiers kill 10 students, Pavia
1853 1st US bronze equestrian statue (of Andrew Jackson) unveiled, Washington
1856 Dr John A Veatch discovers borax, Tuscan Springs CA
1857 Dion Boucicauly's "Poor of NY" premieres in New York City NY
1867 Legislation gives suffrage to DC blacks, despite President Johnson's veto
1870 US mint at Carson City NV begins issuing coins
1878 Secret meeting of King Leopold II's agent & Henry Morton Stanley
1884 Chrome tanning process for leather patented by Augustus Schultz
1889 Dr Herman Hollerith receives 1st US patent for a tabulating machine (1st Computer)
1894 Columbus World's fair in Chicago destroyed by fire
1897 Michael Eagan wins 1st US national amateur handball championship
1901 New South Wales score 918 all out vs South Australia in 560 minutes
1902 1st National Bowling Championship held (Chicago IL)
1904 Pope Pius X banned low cut dresses in the presence of churchmen
1913 Frank Chance becomes Yankee manager
1917 Austria-Hungarian troops conquer Forlani Italy
1918 Mississippi becomes 1st state to ratify 18th amendment (prohibition)
1918 President Wilson outlines his 14 points for peace after WWI
1923 Typography strike in Amsterdam
1925 1st all-female US state supreme court appointed, Texas
1926 Abdul-Aziz ibn Sa'ud becomes king of Hejaz; renames it Saudi Arabia
1929 1st telephone connection between Netherlands & West-Indies
1929 CBS radio network buys WABC in New York City NY
1930 Belgium Princess Marie-José marries Italian's crown prince Umberto
1931 Philadelphia Quakers set then NHL record of 15 straight loses
1932 Ratification of present San Francisco City Charter
1934 Jaap Speyers "Bluejackets" premieres in Amsterdam
1935 Spectrophotometer patented, AC Hardy
1937 -50ºF (-45.6ºC), San Jacinto NV (state record)
1938 Bradman scores 107 for South Australia vs Queensland (1st innings)
1940 Britain's 1st WWII rationing (bacon, butter & sugar)
1941 British Air Marshal Richard Peirse resigns
1945 "Youth for Christ" organizes
1947 Toronto Maple Leaf rookie Howie Meeker scores 5 goals in a game
1947 General George Marshall becomes Secretary of State
1948 Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason
1949 "Make Mine Manhattan" closes at Broadhurst Theater New York City NY after 429 performances
1949 "My Romance" closes at Shubert Theater New York City NY after 95 performances
1949 "Small Wonder" closes at Coronet Theater New York City NY after 134 performances
1951 Thought extinct since 1615, a Cahow is rediscovered in Bermuda
1952 Jordan adopts constitution
1953 Indians bar night games with Browns (who refuse to share TV receipts)
1953 René Mayer forms French government
1954 Elvis Presley pays $4 to a Memphis studio & records his 1st two songs, "Casual Love" & "I'll Never Stand in Your Way"
1955 Furman sets NCAA basketball single-game scoring record with 154 points
1955 Georgia Tech ends Kentucky's 130-game home basketball win streak
1955 Louise Sugg wins LPGA Los Angeles Golf Open
1955 WUNC TV channel 4 in Chapel Hill NC (PBS) begins broadcasting
1956 Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" single goes to #1 & stays #1 for a record 11 weeks (for a single)
1956 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Conrad Aiken
1958 Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana
1959 Charles de Gaulle inaugurated as President of France's 5th Republic
1961 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Yvor Winters
1962 Dutch express train crashes into slow commuter train, 91 die (Netherlands)
1962 Golfer Jack Nicklaus, 21, 1st pro appearance, he came in 50th
1963 "Mona Lisa", on loan, unveiled in America's National Gallery of Art
1963 Dmitri Shostakovich's Katharina Ismailova, premieres in Riga
1964 President Lyndon B Johnson declares "War on Poverty"
1964 European Parliament accept Mansholt Plan
1965 Senator Everett Dirksen introduces a bill to make marigold the national flower (didn't pass)
1965 Star of India returned to American Museum of Natural History
1966 Beatles' "Rubber Soul" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 6 weeks
1966 Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" single goes #1 & stays #1 for 3 weeks
1966 Georges Pompidou appointed French premier
1966 Who & the Kinks perform on the last "Shindig" TV show on ABC
1968 Jacques Cousteau's 1st undersea special on US network TV
1971 Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota established
1971 29 pilot whales beach themselves & die at San Clemente Island CA
1972 Dmitri Shostakovich's 15th Symphony, premieres in Moscow
1972 NCAA announces freshman can play on teams starting in fall
1973 Secret peace talks between US & North Vietnam resumed near Paris
1973 USSR launches Luna 21 for Moon landing
1973 "Tricks" opens at Alvin Theater New York City NY for 8 performances
1973 Greg Chappell's best Test bowling, 5-61 vs Pakistan at SCG
1974 Gold hits record $126.50 an ounce in London
1974 Silver hits record $3.40 an ounce in New York
1974 E Wilson Jr's musical "Let My People Come" premieres in New York City NY
1974 Loch Ness Monster photographed
1975 Judge Sirica orders release of Watergate's John W Dean III, Herbert W Kalmbach & Jeb Stuart Magruder from prison
1976 Franklin Mint strikes 1st gold coins for Netherlands Antilles
1978 Israel's Cabinet votes to `strengthen' settlements in occupied Sinai
1979 512 die as oil tanker Bantry Bay blows up
1979 Today Show gets a new theme song
1979 Argentina & Chile sign Beagle Canal accord
1979 Vietnamese troops overtook Khmer Rouge & occupy Phnom Penh
1980 Islander Glenn Resch's 20th shut-out opponent-Canucks 3-0
1980 NCAA decides to sponsor women's championships in 5 sports
1981 "Pirates of Penzance" opens at Uris Theater New York City NY for 772 performances
1981 India all out 63 in one-day international vs Australia
1981 Reds become last team to sign a free agent (Larry Biitner)
1982 Justice Department withdraws antitrust suit against IBM, pending since 1969
1982 Johnny Cash Parkway opens in Hendersonville Tennessee
1984 Washington Capitals Bengt Gustafsson scores 5 goals
1984 NCAA announces that basketball tournament will have 64 teams
1985 Japan launches Sakigake space probe to Halley's Comet
1986 President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the US
1986 Willie McCovey is 16th elected to Hall of Fame in his 1st year
1987 Jack Sikma (Milwaukee) begins NBA free throw streak of 51 games
1987 Dow Jones closes above 2,000 for 1st time (2,002.25)
1988 9th largest NBA crowd 38,873-Chicago at Detroit
1988 Dow Jones down 140.58 points
1988 Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP-28S Advanced Scientific Calculator
1988 US female Figure Skating championship won by Debi Thomas
1989 Soviet Union promises to eliminate stockpiles of chemical weapons
1989 "42nd Street" closes at Winter Garden Theater New York City NY after 3,486 performances
1989 "Starlight Express" closes at Gershwin Theater New York City NY after 761 performances
1989 Boeing 737-400 crashes in England, 46 die
1991 Davis Rules with Jonathan Winters & Randy Quaid premieres on ABC-TV
1991 Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins & Rod Carew elected to Hall of Fame
1991 Rod Carew is 22nd player elected to Hall of Fame on 1st try
1991 Tamás Darnyi swims world record 400m medley (4 12.36)
1992 US President George Bush gets ill & vomits on Japanese prime minister's lap during Japanese tour
1993 Chicago Bull Michael Jordan scores his 20,000th career point
1993 Elvis Presley Commemorative Postage Stamp goes on sale
1993 NBC offers "Tonight Show" to David Letterman
1994 Rintje Ritsma skates world record 1500m (1 51.60)
1994 Russian manned space craft TM-18, launches into orbit
1994 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Davis
1995 "Guys & Dolls" closes at Martin Beck Theater New York City NY after 1143 performances
1995 15th United Negro College Fund raises $12,200,000
1995 Mike Schmidt is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
1996 Blizzard buries eastern US causing at least 50 deaths
1996 For 1st time in 25 years no one is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1998 New York Giant GM George Young resigns to accept NFL position
1998 Roseanne files for divorce from 3rd husband Ben Thomas
1998 Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski asks to act as his own lawyer
1998 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Ahmed Yousef sentenced to life
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Missing in Action

1968 BIFOLCHI CHARLES L. QUINCY MA
1968 CANNON FRANCES E. PHOENIX AZ 09/68 ON PRG DIC LIST REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85
1968 FISCHER RICHARD W. MADISON WI
1968 HARKER DAVID N. LUNCHBURG VA 03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1968 SMITH HALLIE W. PORTLAND OR
1968 STRICKLAND JAMES H. DUNN NC 11/05/69 RELEASED
1968 WILLIAMS RICHARD F. (TOP) SAN LEANDRO CA 09/27/68 ON PRG DIC LIST REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85
1971 CURRY KEITH R. SALEM WV
1973 BUSH ELBERT W. JACKSON MS REMAINS RETURNED 1996 ID'D 10/04/99
1973 DEANE WILLIAM L. ORLANDO FL REMAINS RETURNED 1996 ID'D 10/04/99
1973 KNUTSON RICHARD A. HALLOCK MN REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 11/95
1973 LAUTERIO MANUEL A. LOS ANGELES CA REMAINS RETURNED 1996 ID 10/04/99
1973 STINSON WILLIAM S. GEORGIANA AL REMAINS ID'D 11/03/99
1973 WILSON MICKEY A. MOUNTAIN VIEW CA REMAINS RETURNED 1996 ID 10/04/99

Births which occurred on January 08:
1081 Henry V Roman German king/emperor (1098/1111-25)
1583 Simon Episcopius Dutch bishop/theologist
1587 Johannes Fabricius Denmark, astronomer (discovered sunspots)
1589 Ivan [Dzivo F] Gundulic Dalmatisch writer (Dubravka)
1628 François de Montmorency-Bouteville duc de Luxembourg, French soldier
1632 Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf German jurist
1658 Nicolas Coustou French sculptor (Descente de Croix)
1668 Jean Gilles composer
1767 Abraham de Veer Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28)
1777 Filippo Traetta Italy, composer/musicologist
1779 John White composer
1786 Nicholas Biddle made 2nd bank of US 1st effective central bank
1787 Johann Ludwig Bohner composer
1788 Erik Drake composer
1791 Jacob Collamer (Senator-VT)
1792 Lowell Mason Medfield MA, organist/composer (Zebulo)
1810 Robert Schumann Zwickau Germ, composer (Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik)
1812 Sigismond Fortune François Thalberg composer
1812 William Henry Holmes composer
1814 Johannes Kneppelhout [Klikspaan], Dutch humorist
1814 Thomas Green Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1815 George Webb Morell Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1883
1815 Lawrence Pike Graham Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
1817 John Selden Roane Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1867
1821 James Longstreet Confederate General (1st Corps, ANV)
1822 Alfredo Carlo Piatti composer
1823 Alfred Russel Wallace British zoologist/co-discoverer (evolution)
1824 Per August Olander composer
1824 William Wilkie Collins English novelist (The Woman in White, The Moonstone)
1830 Governer Kemble Warren Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1882
1830 Hans von Bülow Dresden, pianist/virtuoso conductor/musical writer
1836 Fannie M Jackson pioneer & educator, 1st US Black woman college grad
1836 Lawrence Alma Tadema Dutch/British painter/husband of Laura Epps
1846 Albert Cahen composer
1846 William Wallace Gilchrist composer
1851 Gérard Leman Belgian count/General
1860 Nancy Jones US black missionary in Africa
1862 Frank Nelson Doubleday publisher/founder (Doubleday & Co)
1863 Paul Scheerbart [Bruno Küfer], German writer (The Seasnake)
1867 Emily Green Balch US, sociologist/feminist/pacifist (Nobel 1946)
1868 Sir Frank Dyson proved Einstein right about light bent by gravity
1870 Miguel Primo de Rivera Orbaneja dictator of Spain (1923-30)
1873 Lucien Capet composer
1883 Josue Teofilo Wilkes composer
1885 John Curtin Victoria, Australian PM (Labor, 1941-45)
1886 Noble Drew Ali [Timothy Drew], North Carolina, prophet (Moorish Science Temple)
1888 Matt Moore County Meath Ireland, actor (Coquette, Deluge)
1888 Richard Courant German/US mathematician (What is mathematics?)
1889 Paul Hartmann Furth Germany, actor (Haunted Castle)
1890 Sandor Rado Hungarian/US psycho analyst
1891 Bronislava Nijinska ballet choreographer
1891 Walther Bothe Germany, subatomic particle physicist (Nobel 1954)
1891 Storm Jameson English novelist (The Green Man, Cousin Honoré)
1892 Werner Wehrli composer
1896 Jaromir Weinberger Prague Czechoslovakia, composer (Bird's Opera)
1896 Manuel Rojas Sepulveda Chile, writer (Men of the South)
1899 Solomon WRD Bandaranaike premier of Ceylon (1956-59)
19-- Ann Schedeen Portland OR, actress (Alf, Paper Dolls, Marcus Welby)
1900 Queen Marie of Yugoslavia
1901 Edmond Vandercammen French/Belgian writer (L'amour responsable)
1902 Alexander Gray Wrightsville PA, actor (This is Music)
1902 Georgy M Malenkov Stalin's successor as head of CPSU, PM (1953-55)
1902 Carl R[ansom] Rogers US, psychologist (Client-Centered Therapy)
1902 Gret Palucca German dancer/choreography (Silent Song)
1903 Gene Roth [Eugene Stutenroth], South Dakota, actor (She Demons, Spider)
1904 Peter Arno New York City NY, cartoonist (New Yorker)
1905 Carl Gustav Hempel German Logical Positivist philosopher
1905 Giacinto Scelsi composer
1906 Jacob C van Marken Dutch peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft)
1906 Jan A H J S Bruins Slot Dutch founder illegal Trouw/MP (ARP)
1906 Serge Poliakoff Russian/French painter/guitarist
1908 (Fearless) Mary Nadia Wadia actress
1908 William Hartnell London England, actor (Agitator, Jackpot)
1909 Bruce Mitchell cricketer (South African bat, their top run-scorer (3471))
1910 Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh], Los Angeles CA, actor (Jezebel)
1911 Andrej Ocenas composer
1912 José Ferrer Santurce PR, actor/director (Cyrano de Bergerac, Blood Tide, Dune, Big Bus)
1912 Rudolf G Escher Dutch composer (True Face of Peace)
1913 Horace Smith cricketer (New Zealand, only Test wicket off his 1st ball (Paynter))
1914 Charles Borromeo Mills composer
1917 Stanley Prager New York City NY, comedian (College Bowl)
1917 Peter Taylor US writer
1920 Hendrikus J Wittebold civil servant/resistance fighter
1922 Abbey Simon New York City NY, pianist
1923 Giorgio Tozzi Chicago IL, basso
1923 Joseph Wiezenbaum artificial intelligence pioneer
1923 Larry Storch New York City NY, comedian (F Troop, Larry Storch Show)
1923 Iva Michiels [Rik Ceuppens], Flemish writer (Ksiega Alfa)
1923 Johnny Wardle cricketer (Yorkshire & England left-arm bowler of 50's)
1924 Benjamin Lees (Lysniansky) Harbin Manchuria, composer
1924 Robert Starer Vienna Austria, composer
1924 Ron Moody London England, actor (12 Chairs, Wrong is Right)
1924 Antai Ribari composer
1925 James Saunders English chemist/playwright (Ark)
1926 Soupy Sales [Milton Hines], North Carolina, comedian (Soupy Sales Show)
1926 Evelyn Lear [Shulman], Brooklyn NY, soprano
1926 Jani Christou composer
1928 Sander Vanocur Cleveland OH, news anchor (NBC Weekend News)
1930 Doreen Wilber US, archer (Olympics-gold-1972)
1930 May Wynn [Donna Lee Hickey], New York City NY, actress (Caine Mutiny, Noah's Ark)
1931 Bill Graham Germany, rock promoter (Fillmore)
1933 Charles Osgood New York City NY, news anchor (CBS Weekend News)
1933 Jean-Marie Straub France, director (Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach)
1934 Jacques Anquetil France, Tour de France bicycle racer (5-time winner)
1934 Michael Grierson Jarrett archaeologist
1934 Piet Dankert Dutch politician (PvdA)
1934 Roy Kinnear Lancashire England, actor (TW3, Help!, The 3 Musketeers)
1935 Nolan Miller Burkburnett TX, fashion designer (Dynasty, Love Boat)
1935 Elvis Aaron Presley Tupelo MS, rocker (Blue Suede Shoes, Hounddog)
1935 Jesse Garon Presley stillborn twin brother of Elvis
1936 Ferdinand Hartzenberg South African minister of Education (1979-82)
1937 Bob Eubanks Flint MI, TV host (Newlywed Game)
1937 Robert Moran composer
1937 Shirley Bassey Cardiff Wales, singer (Goldfinger, Moonraker)
1938 Bob Eubanks Flint MI, TV host (Newlywed Game)
1939 Yvette Mimieux Hollywood CA, actress (Time Machine, Where the Boys Are)
1940 Anthony Gaurdine (Little Anthony & Imperials-Goin' Out of My Head)
1940 Cristy Lane US, country/gospel singer
1940 Little Anthony [Gourdine] rocker (& Imperials)
1941 Graham Chapman England, comedian (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
1941 Robby Krieger rocker (Doors)
1942 John Peterson rocker
1942 Stephen Hawking English physicist (Black Holes & Baby Universes)
1942 Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 23)
1943 Lee Jackson rocker (Nice)
1943 Marcus Hutson rock vocalist (Whispers)
1944 Terry Brooks US, sci-fi author (Sword of Shannara)
1945 John Peters rock drummer (Harpers Bizarre)
1946 Tod Brannan Vice President (Logos Network Corp)
1946 Elaine Cheris Dotham AL, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
1946 Kathleen Noone actress (All My Children, Party of 5, Knots Landing)
1946 Robbie Kreiger Los Angeles CA, guitarist (Doors-Come on Baby Light My Fire)
1947 Igor Ivanov Leningrad, Canadian chess champion (1981-84, 1985- )
1947 Terry Sylvester rocker (Hollies-The Air that I Breathe)
1947 David Bowie [Jones], London, singer/actor (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust)
1948 Gillies Mackinnon director (Playboys)
1948 Mel Pritchard rocker
1948 Paul King rocker (Blue Oyster Cult)
1949 Lawrence Rowe cricketer (prolific West Indies batsman, 302 vs England 1974)
1951 Gérard Leman Belgian General
1951 John McTiernan Albany NY, actor (Predator, Die Hard, Medicine Man)
1951 Paul Dresher composer
1952 Laurie Walters San Francisco CA, actress (Joannie-Eight is Enough)
1952 Norm Jarvis Prince Albert Sask, golfer (1984 Chilliwack)
1953 Bruce Sutter pitcher (Cubs, Cards, Braves)
1955 Mike Reno Vancouver BC Canada, rock vocalist (Loverboy-Get Lucky, Heaven in Your Eyes)
1959 Michael Harwood Sydney New South Wales, Australasia golfer
1960 Jolanda Egger Luzean Switzerland, playmate (June, 1983)
1961 Shoaib Mohammad cricketer (son of Hanif Patient & prolific batsman)
1963 Hiromi Kobayashi Fukushima Japan, LPGA golfer (1993 JAL Big Apple)
1964 Virgil Hill Missouri, middleweight boxer (Olympics-silver-1984)
1965 Champaka Ramanayake cricketer (Sri Lankan opening bowler)
1965 Eric Wohlberg Sudbury Ontario, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1965 Maria Pitillo Elmira NY, actress (Dear God, Nancy Don Lewis-Ryan's Hope)
1965 Michelle Forbes actress (Julianna Cox-Homicide)
1966 Darryl Hall CFL linebacker (Calgary Stampeders)
1966 Loretta Lee [Lee Lai Chan], China, actress (Happy Ghost)
1967 Hollis Conway Chicago IL, high jumper (Olympics-silver/bronze-88, 92)
1967 Kent Jones Portales NM, golfer (NM State Amateur-1990-91)
1967 Roger Rowland Jacksonville FL, Nike golfer (1990 Macon Open-2nd)
1967 Willie Anderson US, NBA guard (New York Knicks, Olympics-bronze-1988)
1968 Alexander Alexeev NHL defenseman (Belarus, Olympics-98)
1968 Ami Dolenz Los Angeles CA, actress (General Hospital, Can't Buy Me Love)
1968 Brian Johnson Oakland CA, catcher (San Diego Padres)
1968 Mark Duane Croghan Akron Ohio, 3k steeplechase (Olympics-5th-96)
1968 Paul Carey US baseball infielder (Baltimore Orioles)
1969 Brian Boehringer St Louis MO, pitcher (New York Yankees)
1969 R Kelly singer (I Wish I Could Fly)
1970 Jon Klemm Calgary, NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche)
1971 Brenda Lee Armstrong Albert Lea MN, Miss Minnesota-America (1990)
1971 Billy Joe Hobert NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders)
1971 Branislav Janos hockey forward (Team Slovakia 1998)
1971 Brook Mahealani Lee Miss Universe/Miss USA-1997 (Hawaii)
1971 Darren Langdon Deere Lake, NHL left wing (New York Rangers)
1971 Jason Giambi West Covina CA, infielder (Oakland A's)
1971 Roosevelt Potts NFL running back (Indianapolis Colts)
1971 Stephane Barin hockey forward (Team France 1998)
1972 Brandie Burton San Bernardino CA, LPGA golfer (1993 du Maurier Ltd)
1972 Devlin Murphy Honolulu Hawaii, canoe (alt-Olympics-96)
1974 Arjan Blaauw Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen)
1974 Brian Roberson wide receiver (New York Giants)
1975 Jenny Lewis Las Vegas NV, actress (Becky-Life With Lucy)
1975 Star Behl Miss Delaware-USA (1996)
1975 Vitali Yachmenev Chelyabinsk Russia, NHL right wing (Los Angeles Kings)
1976 Brad Snyder Ontario, shot putter (Olympics-96)
1977 Pearl Amoah Miss Ghana-Universe (1996)
1977 Ryan Frances actor (Trevor-Sisters)
1978 Petra Minarova Miss Czech Republic-Universe (1997)
1979 Sequoyah chimpanzee (son of Washoe)
1979 Sarah Polley actress (Sweet Hereafter)
1982 Gaby Hoffman actress (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck, Now & Then)
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Deaths which occurred on January 08:

0482 Severinus German monastery founder/saint, dies
0624 Abu Sufjan ibn Harb Kurashite chief, dies in battle
1198 Coelestinus III [Giacinto Bobo], pope (1191-98), dies
1324 Marco Polo Venetian explorer/Governor of Nanking, dies
1336 Giotto di Bondone Italian Renaissance painter, dies at about 71
1455 Laurentius Justitianus [Lorenzo Giustiniani], saint, dies at 73
1567 Jacob Vaet Flemish composer/royal chaplain master, dies at about 37
1598 Johan Georg elector of Brandenburg (1571-91), dies at 72
1642 Galileo Galilei Italian physicist/astronomer, dies at 78 in Arceti Italy
1651 Giovanni Battista Gagliano composer, dies at 56
1696 Michael de Ronghe composer, dies at 75
1711 Philips van Almonde Zealand Lieutenant-Admiral, dies at 66
1713 Arcangelo Corelli composer/violinist (Concerti Grossi), dies at 59
1775 John Baskerville English printer/type designer, dies at 68
1790 John Stinstra Dutch baptist vicar, dies at 81
1796 Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois French National Convention chairman, dies at 46
1808 Messenger horse that sired many great trotters, dies
1811 Friedrich Nicolai writer, dies
1811 Samuel Story Dutch rear admiral (Battle of Kamperduin), dies at 58
1815 Edward Pakenham English General (Battle of New Orleans), dies in battle
1819 Christian Gottlob Saupe composer, dies at 55
1831 Franz Vinzenz Krommer composer, dies at 71
1842 Pierre Earl the Cambronne, French General (Waterloo, Elba), dies at 71
1858 Friedrich Karl Kuhmstedt composer, dies at 48
1859 Antoine GB Schayes Belgian historian/archaeologist, dies at 50
1864 Victor-Charles-Paul Dourlen composer, dies at 83
1880 [Joshua] Norton I Emperor of US/Protector of México, dies at 60
1891 Fredrik Pacius composer, dies at 81
1892 John Heykamp old-catholic archbishop of Utrecht, dies at 67
1894 Pierre-Joseph van Beneden paleontologist (life of tapeworms), dies at 84
1896 Paul M Verlaine French poet (Elégies, Bonne Chanson), dies at 51
1900 Billy Bates cricketer (656 runs & 50 wickets in 15 Tests for England), dies
1906 Jacob C van Marken peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft), dies at 60
1907 Theodoor Verstraete Flemish painter/etcher, dies at 57
1918 Michael Hertz composer, dies at 73
1919 Peter Altenberg writer, dies at 59
1919 Richard Engländer [Peter Altenberg], Austrian author, dies at 59
1921 Luis Villalba Munoz composer, dies at 48
1922 Colonel Charles R Young dies at 58, in Lagos Nigeria
1926 Emile Paladilhe composer, dies at 81
1928 Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu composer, dies at 61
1934 Alexandre Stavisky French swindler, dies
1937 John Felix August Korling composer, dies at 72
1941 Lord Robert Baden-Powell founder of the Boy Scout movement, dies at 83
1942 Arvo Hannikainen composer, dies at 44
1945 Jac[obus] P Thijsse Dutch biologist (Omgang met planten), dies at 79
1948 Kurt Schwitters writer, dies at 60
1948 Richard Tauber Austria/British tenor/composer (Léhar), dies at 55
1950 Joseph Issac Shneerson Jewish Lubavitch Chabal leader, dies
1950 George Rowe cricketer (15 wickets in 4 Tests for South Africa 1895-1902), dies
1950 Joseph A Schumpeter Austrian/US economist/Minister of Finance, dies at 66
1952 Antonia Maury discoverer (supergiant, giant & dwarf stars), dies
1952 Joseph Arendt Belgian worker's union leader, dies at 66
1953 Heinrich Kaspar Schmid composer, dies at 78
1963 Stark Young US writer (So Red the Rose), dies at 81
1964 Arnoldus JC Krafft theologist (Atlas of Netherlands Antilles), dies at 71
1964 Julius Raab Austrian chancellor (1953-61), dies at 72
1965 Aloys-Henri-Gerard Fornerod composer, dies at 74
1967 Zbigniew Cybulski Polish actor (See You Tommorrow), dies at 39
1970 Jani Christou composer, dies on 44th birthday
1971 Adriano Lualdi composer, dies at 85
1972 Kenneth Patchen US writer (See You in the Morning), dies at 60
1975 Anthony Warde actor (Big Punch, Buck Rogers), dies at 66
1975 Gertrude Olmsted actress (Cobra, Torrent), dies at 70
1975 John Dierkes actor (Red Badge of Courage), dies at 69
1975 John Gregson actor (Rooney, Assassin), dies at 55
1975 Louis J H C A de Bourbon Dutch writer/poet (Gypsy Blood), dies at 66
1975 Richard Tucker [Reuben Ticker], US tenor (La Gioconda), dies at 61
1976 Chou En-lai China's PM (1949-76), dies of cancer in Beijing at 78
1978 Walter Keirnan TV panelist (I've Got a Secret), dies at 75
1980 Oscar Ewing US government official (Everybody's Business), dies at 90
1981 Woody Chamblis actor (Mr Lathrop-Gunsmoke), dies at 66
1981 Matthew Beard entertainer, dies
1982 Gregoire Aslan character actor (Concrete Jungle), dies of a heart attack at 73
1982 Reta Shaw actress (Ghost & Mrs Muir), dies of emphysema at 69
1983 Lois Wilson actress (Alice-Aldrich Family), dies at 88
1983 Gale Page actress (4 Daughters, Knute Rockney), dies of cancer at 72
1986 Yaroslav Seifert Czechoslovakian poet (Nobel 1984), dies at 84
1987 P G Joshi cricketer (12 Tests for India 1951-60, ct 18 stp 9), dies
1987 Peter Adams actor (Alternative, Blowing Hot & Cold), dies at 69
1988 Frank Pace Jr US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at 76
1989 Johnny Jordaan [Jan van Musscher], Dutch folk singer, dies at 64
1989 Kenneth McMillan actor (Our Family Honor, Malone, Concrete Beat), dies of heart attack at 67
1990 Terry Thomas English comic (Heroes), dies of Parkinson's disease at 78
1991 Steve Clark guitarist (Def Leppard-Hysteria), dies at 30
1992 Abderrahim Bouabid Morroco prime secretary (1972), dies
1992 Johnny [Jan] Meijer Dutch king of accordions (Body & Soul), dies
1992 Menachim Begin Israeli PM, dies at 78 of a heart attack
1993 Asif Nawaz Pakistani General , dies
1993 Hakija Turajlic Bosnian vice-premier, murdered
1993 Theo Bruins Dutch pianist/composer (Syncope), dies at 63
1994 Edward Duke actor (Decadence, Silver Bears), dies of cancer at 40
1994 Harvey Haddix pitcher (12 perfect inning game), dies at 68
1994 Jay Blackton US conductor/arranger (Oklahoma!), dies at 84
1994 Lady Caithness wife of British undersecretary, commits suicide
1994 Pat Buttram actor (Haney-Green Acres), dies of kidney failure at 78
1994 Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswathi guru of Kanchi, dies at 99
1994 Vittorio Mezzogiorno Italian actor (Octopus), dies at 52
1995 Carlos Monzon [El Macho], Argentine middleweight boxing champ (1970-77), dies at 52
1995 Joyce McCartan peace campaigner, dies at 68
1995 Louis "Loulou" Gasté guitarist/composer (Doggy in the Window), dies at 88
1996 Francois Mitterrand President of France (1981-95), dies of cancer at 79
1996 Kurt Schmucker member (Union of Christian Democrats), dies
1996 William Mac Lance "Tiny" McCloud musician/songwriter, dies at 52
1997 Carole Carr singer/actress (Down Among the Z Men), dies at 68
1997 Joseph George Handy Hendleman musician, dies at 76
1997 Melvin Calvin scientist, dies at 85
1997 Phyllis Hartnoll writer/editor, dies at 90
1997 Ronald William Eastman cinematographer, dies at 60
1998 Michael Tippett composer, dies at 93
1998 Walter Diemer inventor (bubble gum 1928), dies of heart failure at 93

1821 Confederate General James Longstreet born

Confederate General James Longstreet is born near Edgefield, South Carolina. Longstreet became one of the most successful generals in the Confederate Army, but after the war was a target of some of his comrades, who were searching for a scapegoat.

Longstreet grew up in Georgia and attended West Point, graduating 54th in a class of 62 in 1842. He was a close friend of Ulysses S. Grant, and served as best man in Grant's 1848 wedding to Julia Dent, Longstreet's fourth cousin. Longstreet fought in the Mexican War and was wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec. He served in the army until he resigned at the beginning of the Civil War, when he was named brigadier general in the Confederate Army.

Longstreet fought at the First Battle of Bull Run and within a year was commander of corps in the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee. Upon the death of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Longstreet was considered the most effective corps commander in Lee's army. He served with Lee for the rest of the war--except for the fall of 1863, when he took his force to aid the Confederate effort in Tennessee.

Longstreet was severely wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, and he did not return to service for six months. He resumed service and fought with Lee until the surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. After the war, Longstreet engaged in a number of businesses and held several governmental posts, most notably U.S. Minister to Turkey. Although successful, he made two moves that greatly tarnished his reputation among his fellow southerners. He joined the despised Republican Party and publicly questioned Lee's strategy at the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg. His fellow officers considered these sins to be unforgivable, and former comrades such as Generals Jubal Early and John Gordon attacked Longstreet as a traitor. They asserted that, in fact, Longstreet was responsible for the errors that lost Gettysburg.

Longstreet outlived most of his comrades and detractors but died on January 2, 1904. His second wife, Helen Dortch, lived until 1962.
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1917 Wilson outlines the Fourteen Points

In an address before a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson discusses the aims of the United States in World War I and outlines his famous "Fourteen Points" for achieving a lasting peace in Europe.

The peace proposal, based on Wilson’s concept of “peace without victory,” called for the victorious Allies to set unselfish peace terms, including freedom of the seas, the restoration of territories conquered during the war and the right to national self-determination in such contentious regions as the Balkans. Most famously, Wilson called for the establishment of “a general association of nations”—what would become the League of Nations—to guarantee political independence to and protect the territorial lines of “great and small States alike.”

Wilson’s principal purpose in delivering the speech was to present a practical alternative both to the traditional notion of an international balance of power preserved by alliances among nations—belief in the viability of which had been shattered by the Great War—and to the Bolshevik-inspired dreams of world revolution that at the time were gaining ground both within and outside of Russia. Wilson hoped also to keep a conflict-ridden Russia in the war on the Allied side. This effort met with failure, as the Bolsheviks sought peace with the Central Powers at the end of 1917, shortly after taking power. In other ways, however, Wilson’s Fourteen Points played an essential role in world politics over the next several years. The speech was translated and distributed to the soldiers and citizens of Germany and Austria-Hungary and contributed significantly to their decision to agree to an armistice in November 1918.

Like the man himself, Wilson’s Fourteen Points were liberal, democratic and idealistic—he spoke in grand and inspiring terms but was less certain of the specifics of how his aims would be achieved. At Versailles, Wilson had to contend with the leaders of the other victorious nations, who disagreed with many of the Fourteen Points and demanded stiff penalties for Germany. The terms of the final peace treaty—including an ineffectual League of Nations convention that Wilson could not even convince his own Congress to ratify—fell far short of his lofty visions and are believed by many to have ultimately contributed to the outbreak of a second world war two decades later.
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1940 Mussolini questions Hitler's plans

On this day, a message from Benito Mussolini is forwarded to Adolf Hitler. In the missive, the Duce cautions the Fuhrer against waging war against Britain. Mussolini asked if it was truly necessary "to risk all-including the regime-and to sacrifice the flower of German generations."

Mussolini's message was more than a little disingenuous. At the time, Mussolini had his own reasons for not wanting Germany to spread the war across the European continent: Italy was not prepared to join the effort, and Germany would get all the glory and likely eclipse the dictator of Italy. Germany had already taken the Sudetenland and Poland; if Hitler took France and then cowed Britain into neutrality--or worse, defeated it in battle--Germany would rule Europe. Mussolini had assumed the reigns of power in Italy long before Hitler took over Germany, and in so doing Mussolini boasted of refashioning a new Roman Empire out of an Italy that was still economically backward and militarily weak. He did not want to be outshined by the upstart Hitler.

And so the Duce hoped to stall Germany's war engine until he could figure out his next move. The Italian ambassador in Berlin delivered Mussolini's message to Hitler in person. Mussolini believed that the "big democracies...must of necessity fall and be harvested by us, who represent the new forces of Europe." They carried "within themselves the seeds of their decadence." In short, they would destroy themselves, so back off.

Hitler ignored him and moved forward with plans to conquer Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Mussolini, rather than tie Italy's fortune to Germany's--which would necessarily mean sharing the spotlight and the spoils of any victory--began to turn an eye toward the east. Mussolini invaded Yugoslavia and, in a famously disastrous strategic move, Greece.
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1967 Operation Cedar Falls is launched

About 16,000 U.S. soldiers from the 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions, 173rd Airborne Brigade and 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment join 14,000 South Vietnamese troops to mount Operation Cedar Falls.

This offensive, the largest of the war to date, was designed to disrupt insurgent operations near Saigon, and had as its primary targets the Thanh Dien Forest Preserve and the Iron Triangle, a 60-square-mile area of jungle believed to contain communist base camps and supply dumps. During the course of the operations, U.S. infantrymen discovered and destroyed a massive tunnel complex in the Iron Triangle, apparently a headquarters for guerrilla raids and terrorist attacks on Saigon. The operation ended with 711 of the enemy reported killed and 488 captured. Allied losses were 83 killed and 345 wounded. The operation lasted for 18 days.
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1973 Peace talks resume in Paris

National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Hanoi's Le Duc Tho resume peace negotiations in Paris.

After the South Vietnamese had blunted the massive North Vietnamese invasion launched in the spring of 1972, Kissinger and the North Vietnamese had finally made some progress on reaching a negotiated end to the war. However, a recalcitrant South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu had inserted several demands into to the negotiations that caused the North Vietnamese negotiators to walk out of the talks on December 13.

President Richard Nixon issued an ultimatum to Hanoi to send its representatives back to the conference table within 72 hours "or else." The North Vietnamese rejected Nixon's demand and the president ordered Operation Linebacker II, a full-scale air campaign against the Hanoi area. On December 28, after 11 days of round-the-clock bombing (with the exception of a 36-hour break for Christmas), North Vietnamese officials agreed to return to the peace negotiations in Paris.

When the negotiators returned on January 8, the peace talks moved along quickly. On January 23, 1973, the United States, North Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam, and the Viet Cong signed a cease-fire agreement that took effect five days later.