On This Day in History.........

0308 St Marcellus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1219 Floods in Northern Netherlands after storm, 1,000s killed
1325 Laure de Noves, beloved of Petrarch, marries Hugues de Sade
1493 Columbus returns to Spain on his 1st trip
1531 English Reformation parliament's 2nd sitting
1547 Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself 1st tsar of Russia
1556 Emperor Karel appoints his son Philip II, king of Spain
1581 English parliament passes laws against Catholicism
1756 England & Prussia sign Treaty of Westminster
1759 British Museum opens in London
1765 Charles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major)
1776 Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks
1777 Vermont declares independence from NY
1780 Battle at Cape St Vincent admiral Rodney beats Spanish fleet
1795 French army under Pichegru occupies Utrecht Netherlands
1819 Godert baron van der de Capellen becomes Governor of Dutch-Indies
1832 Charles Darwin lands at San Tiago, Cape Verde
1863 Cruise of CSS Florida
1864 Heavy fighting takes place near Dandridge TN
1865 General William Sherman issues Field Order #15 (land for blacks)
1865 San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle started
1865 Confederate Brigadier General John Pegram marries Hetty Cary
1865 Drunken sailor attacks munitions at Fort Fisher NC, 40 die
1868 Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit
1870 Virginia becomes 8th state re-admitted to US after Civil War
1871 Jefferson Long of Georgia sworn in as 2nd black congressman
1877 Color organ (for light shows) patented, by Bainbridge Bishop
1879 January record 13" of snow falls in New York City NY (broken Jan 7, 1996)
1883 Pendleton Act creates basis of US Civil Service system
1883 Québec Rugby Football Union forms
1887 Cliff House damaged when schooner "Parallel"'s powder cargo explodes
1889 128ºF (53ºC), Cloncurry, Queensland (Australian record)
1897 John Dewey's essay "My Pedagogic Creed" appears in School Journal
1905 Baseball outfielder Frank Huelsman traded for 6th time in 8 months
1905 Stanley Cup Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Dawson City (Yukon) in 2 games Ottawa Silver 7 beats Dawson City (Yukon) 23-2 for Stanley Cup, this is most lopsided playoff game, Frank McGee scores 14 goals
1906 Conference of Algeciras (about Morocco)
1908 Pinnacles National Monument, California established
1909 David, Mawson & Mackay reach south magnetic pole
1909 British explorer Ernest Shackleton finds magnetic south pole
1911 Pandora becomes 1st 2-man sailboat to round Cape Horn west to east
1913 British House of Commons accepts Home-Rule for Ireland
1914 Writer Maksim Gorki returns to Russia
1915 Congress authorizes $1 & $50 Panamá-Pacific International Expo gold coin
1919 Prohibition ratified by 3/4 of the states; Nebraska is 36th
1920 18th Amendment, prohibition, becomes the law of the land - one year after ratification; it is repealed in 1933
1920 1st assembly of League of Nations (Paris)
1920 Georgia declares independence
1925 General M Froense replaces Trotsky as People's Commissioner of Defense
1925 Leon Trotsky dismissed as CEO of Russian Revolution Military Council
1931 Bradman scores 223 Australia vs West Indies, 297 minutes, 26 fours
1933 Bert Oldfield flattened by Larwood delivery in Adelaide Test
1936 1st photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah FL
1936 Screen Actors Guild incorporates with King Vidor as president
1936 Spanish socialists/communists/anarchists form Unidad Popular
1938 Benny Goodman refuses to play Carnegie Hall when black members of his band were barred from performing
1939 Comic strip "Superman" debuts
1941 War Department forms 1st Army Air Corps squadron for black cadets
1941 US vice admiral Bellinger warns of an assault on Pearl Harbor
1942 William Knudsen becomes 1st civilian appointed a General in US army
1943 -60ºF (-51ºC), Island Park Dam ID (state record)
1943 1st US air raid on Ambon
1943 German 2nd SS-Pantzer division evacuates Charkow
1943 Red Army recaptures Pitomnik airport at Stalingrad
1944 General Eisenhower took command of Allied Invasion Force in London
1945 Scottish 52nd land division/1st Commando brigade-assault at Heinsberg
1945 US 1st & 3rd army meet at Houffalise
1947 Vincent Aurial elected President of France
1948 35 Haganah members are ambushed & killed in Gush Etzyon
1949 "Rape of Lucretia" closes at Ziegfeld Theater New York City NY after 23 performances
1949 KNBH (now KNBC) TV channel 4 in Los Angeles CA (NBC) 1st broadcast
1949 WTOP (now WUSA) TV channel 9 in Washington DC (CBS) 1st broadcast
1950 Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands recognize Israel
1951 World's largest gas pipeline opens (Brownsville TX, to 134th St, New York City NY)
1951 Viet Minh offensive against Hanoi
1952 New Dutch bible translation finished
1952 US Standard Board clears Stan Musial to get an $85,000 salary
1953 27th Australian Womens Tennis Maureen Connolly beat J Sampson (63 62)
1953 41st Australian Mens Tennis Ken Rosewall beats Mervyn Rose (60 63 64)
1953 Egyptian Premier General Naguib disbands all political parties
1953 KXLY TV channel 4 in Spokane WA (ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting
1954 "South Pacific" closes at Majestic Theater New York City NY after 1928 performances
1955 Jackie Pung wins LPGA Sea Island Golf Open
1955 NFL Pro Bowl West beats East 26-19
1956 Egyptian President Nassar pledges to reconquer Palestine
1957 3 B-52s leave California for 1st non-stop round the world flights
1957 Cavern Club (home of Beatles' 1st appearance) opens on Mathew Street in England
1958 William Gibson's "Two for the Seesaw" premieres in New York City NY
1961 "Conquering Hero" opens at ANTA Theater New York City NY for 8 performances
1961 Russian espionage ring detected in Great Britain
1962 Suit accuses New York City NY Board of Education uses "racial quotas"
1962 Shooting begins on "Dr No"
1963 Khrushchev claims to have a 100-megaton nuclear bomb
1963 Tennessee Williams' "Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" premieres
1964 "Hello, Dolly!" starring Carol Channing, opens at St James Theater New York City NY for 2,844 performances
1964 AL owners vote 9-1 against Charlie Finley moving Kansas City A's to Louisville
1965 "Oh What a Lovely War" closes at Broadhurst New York City NY after 125 performances
1965 "Outer Limits" last airs on ABC-TV
1965 AFL Pro Bowl West beats East 38-14
1965 Searchers' "Love Potion #9" peaks at #3
1965 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakstan/Semipalatinsk USSR
1966 Harold R Perry becomes 2nd black Roman Catholic bishop in US
1966 Metropolitan Opera House opens in Lincoln Center
1967 1st black government installed in Bahamas
1967 Lucius Amerson, becomes 1st southern (Alabama) black sheriff in 20th century
1968 21st NHL All-Star Game Toronto beat All-Stars 4-3 at Toronto
1968 Jay Allen's "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" premieres in New York City NY
1969 Jan Palach immolates himself to protest Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
1969 Soviet Soyuz 4 & Soyuz 5 perform 1st transfer of crew in space
1970 AAU player Steve Myers makes a basketball field goal of 92'3½" from out of bounds, Tacoma-it shouldn't have counted, but was allowed
1970 NFL realigns into 3 divisions (down from 4)
1970 Colonel Kadhaffi becomes premier of Libya
1970 Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause
1971 Ard Schenk skates world record 1500m (1 58.7)
1972 Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes European all-round lady skating champ
1972 Super Bowl VI Dallas Cowboys-24, Miami-3 in New Orleans; Super Bowl MVP Roger Staubach, Dallas, Quarterback
1973 USSR's Lunakhod 2 begins radio-controlled exploration of the Moon
1973 NBC presents 440th & final showing of "Bonanza"
1974 L A Landslide kills 9, Canyonville OR
1974 "Jaws" by Peter Benchley is published
1974 New York Yankees Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford elected to Hall of Fame
1976 "Donny & Marie" [Osmond] musical variety show premieres on ABC TV
1976 Peter Frampton released platinum live album "Frampton Comes Alive"
1977 Washington Capital's H Monahan scored on 2nd penalty shot against Islanders
1978 Soyuz 27 returns to Earth
1978 5th American Music Award Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac & Conway Twitty
1979 Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran flees Iran for Egypt
1980 Paul McCartney jailed in Tokyo for 10 days on marijuana possession
1981 Ivan Lendl intentionally loses a match in the Volvo Masters in order to avoid having to play Björn Borg
1981 John Lennon's "Woman" is released in UK
1981 Protestant gunmen shoot & wound Bernadette Devlin McAliskey & husband
1981 Boxer Leon Spinks is mugged, his assailants even take his gold teeth
1984 Paul & Linda McCartney arrested in Barbados-possession of cannabis
1984 11th American Music Award Michael Jackson
1985 "Playboy" announces end of stapling centerfolds
1986 Police arrested 3 IRA-terrorists in Amsterdam
1988 Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks
1988 NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix
1988 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Live wins
1989 USSR announces plan for 2-year manned mission to Mars
1989 Police arrest writer Vaclav Havel in Prague
1990 2 Bank of Credit & Commerce members plea guilty to money laundering
1991 Operation Desert Storm begins - US & 27 allies attack Iraq for occupying Kuwait (air war begins January 17 at 2:38AM (local time) or January 16 at 6:38PM EST due to an 8 hour time difference, with an Apache helicopter attack)
1991 7th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Live wins
1992 "2 Shakespearean Actors" opens at Cort Theater New York City NY for 29 performances
1994 Scott skates world record 1000m (1 12.54)
1995 UPN (Universal-Parmount Network) begins telecasting (WWOR in New York City NY)
1997 Anthony Stuart takes ODI hat-trick, Australia vs Pakistan
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Missing in Action....

1966 HOLLINGSWORTH HAL T. GRACE ID
1966 NETH FRED A. FORT SCOTT KS
1966 SCHOONOVER CHARLES D. INDIANAPOLIS IN
1966 WOOD DON C. PROVO UT POSS CAPTURED IN ID'D IN PL FILM
1967 KERR MICHAEL S. SAN DIEGO CA 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE 99
1967 MASTIN RONALD L. BELOIT KS 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1967 STOREY THOMAS G. KANSAS CITY MO "03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV (DECATUR, IL)" ALIVE IN 98
1967 WELCH ROBERT J. DETROIT MI POSSIBLY WENT IN WITH PLANE
1968 BIGGS EARL R. MATHENY WV "ARVN ADVISOR, UNIT AMBUSHED-SFG CO D 5TH SFG" " REMAINS RETURNED, ID 1/17/90"
1968 COOLEY ORVILLE D. RANGE WY A/C OVERBD 7 RESCUED
1968 GEE PAUL STUART MANITOWISH WATERS WI
1968 MORELAND WILLIAM D. MONTEBELLO CA
1968 MOE THOMAS N. ARLINGTON VA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1968 PARRISH FRANK C. CLEBURNE TX 01/72 REMAINS RECOVERED
1968 REEDY WILLIAM HENRY JR. MERCED CA A/C OVRBD 7 RESCUED
1968 THOMPSON WILLIAM JOSEPH KANSAS CITY KS

Births which occurred on January 16:

1587 Alexander Adriaenssen Flemish painter
1672 Francesco Mancini composer
1697 Richard Savage poet
1728 Niccolò Piccinni Italian composer (Buona Figliuola)
1749 Vittoria A Alfieri Italian count/poet (Maria Stuarda)
1757 Samuel McIntire woodcarver/architect (architect of Salem)
1804 Karl August Krebs composer
1807 Charles Henry Davis Rear Admiral (Union Navy), died in 1877
1815 Adolph Trube composer
1815 Henry Wagner "Old Brains" Halleck Major-General (Union Army)
1834 Albert Lindley Lee Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1907
1837 James Phillip Simms Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1887
1847 Kálmán Mikszáth Hungary, writer (Wonderparaplu)
1853 André Michelin France, industrialist/tire manufacturer (Michelin)
1853 Johnston Forbes-Robertson English actor/theater director (Kathleen)
1864 Frank Bacon actor/author (Lightnin)
1868 Cyril Metodej Hrazdira composer
1870 Wilhelm Normann German chemist (hardening of oils)
1872 Edward G Craig actor/director (On the art of theatre)
1872 Henri-Paul Busser composer
1873 Boyd Alexander English explorer
1874 Robert Service England, Canadian poet (Cremation of Sam McGee)
1878 Harry [Henry Dewitt] Carey Sr Bronx NY, US actor (Informer, Aces Wild, Border Cafe, Air Force)
1878 Robert Garbe German poet (Görniek)
1885 Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz president of Poland (1939-40)
1887 John Hamilton Penn, actor (Perry White-Superman)
1890 Karl Freund Czech/Austrian cameraman/director
1890 Lloyd Bacon San Jose CA, actor (Charlie Chaplin)
1893 Henry C Rümke Dutch psychiatrist (Periods in Man's Life)
1894 Guy Chamberlin early NFL end/coach (Canton, Frankford, Cards)
1901 Fulgencio Batista President/Dictator of Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59)
1902 Eric Liddell China, English 400m runner (Olympics-gold-1924)
1902 Evelyn Levine composer
1904 Max Vredenburg composer
1905 Ernesto Halffter composer
1906 Clement Greenberg art critic
1906 Diana Winyard London, actress (Cavalcade)
1907 Alexander Knox Canada, actor (Gorky Park, 2 of a Kind)
1907 Phillip Humphrey Vellacott classicist
1908 Ethel Merman stage & screen actress (Anything Goes, Call Me Madam)
1910 David McCampbell US pilot/captain (WWII-Pacific-downed 34 Japanese planes)
1911 Eduardo Frei (Christian Democrat), President of Chile (1964-70)
1911 Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean HOF baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)
1911 Gilbert Gadoffre French scholar
1912 Franz Tumler Austria, author/novelist (Cloak, Aufruf)
1914 Roger Aubert Belgium, church historian (Le Pontificat de Pie IX)
1916 Frederick Stewart British geologist
1917 Buddy Lester Chicago IL, actor (Nick-Phil Silvers Show)
1918 Stirling Silliphant screenwriter
1919 Bob Boucher Kent OH, orchestra leader (Music on Ice)
1920 Elliot Reid New York City NY, actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
1923 Martin Stokken Norway, nordic relay (Olympics-silver-1952)
1923 Roy Lanham rocker (Sons of the Pioneers)
1923 Willem Aantjes Dutch political leader (CDA)
1924 Katy Jurado México, actress (High Noon, Trapeze, Barabbas, AKA Pablo)
1926 John "Jack" Layden local politician
1928 Ezra Sims composer
1928 John William Fozard aircraft designer
1928 William Kennedy US writer
1929 Allard Lowenstein radical (Students for Democratic Action)
1929 Francesco Scavullo Staten Island NY, celebrity photographer
1929 Tage Nielsen composer
1930 Norman Podhoretz Brooklyn NY, author/editor (New York Post)
1931 Vladimir Skutina writer playwright/journalist
1932 Dian Fossey zoologist (Gorillas in the Mist)
1932 Jim Berry cartoonist (Berry's World)
1933 Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, 18A, 27, T-3)
1933 Susan Sonntag writer
1934 Richard Wernick Boston MA, composer
1934 Bill Alexander (Representative-D-AR, 1969- )
1934 Marilyn Horne Bradford PA, mezzo-soprano
1935 A J Foyt Houston TX, auto race driver (Indy 500 1961, 64, 67, 77)
1936 Michael White theater/film producer (From Russia With Love)
1937 Bob Bogle Portland, rock bassist/guitarist (Ventures-Batman Theme)
1937 Conny Vandenbos Dutch singer (My rose, my little rose)
1938 Michael Pataki Youngstown OH, actor (Get Christie Love)
1939 Cliff Thorburn English snooker player
1941 Christine Janes tennis player
1941 Richard Bohringer Paris France, actor (Diva, I Married a Shadow)
1941 Tÿmen G J "Tim" Beekman actor (Nosferatu)
1942 Barbara Lynn rocker
1942 Bill Francis Mobile AL rocker (Dr Hook)
1942 Tony P Hall (Representative-D-OH, 1979- )
1943 Brian Ferneyhough composer
1943 Gavin Bryars composer
1944 Jim Stafford Eloise FL, singer (Spiders & Snakes, My Girl Bill)
1944 Chris de Marigny painter/designer
1944 Ronnie Milsap Robbinsville NC, country singer (Any Day Now, Legend in My Time)
1945 Kabir Bedi actor (Thief of Baghdad, Terminal Entry)
1946 Michael L Coats Sacramento CA, Captain USN/astronaut (STS 41-D, 29, 39)
1947 Dr. Laura Schlessinger Brooklyn, NY, TV/radio host/author (Go take on the day)
1947 Georgette Mosbacher CEO (La Prairie cosmetics)
1947 Juliet Berto Grenoble France, actress (Le Sex Shop)
1948 Cliff Thorburn Victoria BC, champion snooker player
1948 Anatoli Yakovlevich Solovyov Riga, cosmonaut (TM-5,9,15,26, STS 71)
1948 Christopher Moran English financier/multi-millionaire
1948 John Carpenter Carthage NY, director (Halloween, The Thing)
1950 Caroline Munro Windsor England, actress (Spy Who Loves Me)
1950 Debbie Allen Houston TX, dancer/actress (3 Girls 3, Lydia-Fame)
1950 Jesse Dizon Oceanside CA
1951 Richard Thompson rocker (BT Express-Here Comes the Express)
1952 Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr Savannah GA, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 39, 64)
1952 Roberta Baskin NY, correspondent (48 Hours)
1955 Jerry M Linenger Mt Clemens MI, PhD/Commander USN/astronaut (STS 81/84)
1956 Wayne Daniel cricketer (West Indies fast bowler 1976-84)
1958 Anatoli Boukreev mountaineer
1959 Sadé [Helen Folsade Ady] Ibadan Nigeria, rocker (Smooth Operator, Sweetest Taboo; Grammy 1986-Best new singer)
1962 Jan Koster Dutch drummer (Sleeze Beez-Powertool)
1962 Kevin Ross NFL safety (Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs)
1962 Paul Webb rocker (TalkTalk)
1964 Gail Graham Vanderhoof BC, LPGA golfer (1995 Fieldcrest Cannon)
1964 Mark Collins NFL cornerback/safety (New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers)
1964 Trevor Barsby cricketer (Queensland opening batsman since 1984-85)
1966 Anthony Washington Glasgow Montana, discus thrower (Olympics-4th-96)
1966 Jack McDowell Van Nuys CA, pitcher (New York Yankees, White Sox, Indians)
1967 Jeff Branson Waynesboro MI, infielder (Cincinnati Reds)
1967 Maxine Waters Jones rocker (En Vogue)
1968 David Chokachi actor (Baywatch)
1969 Chelan Kozak Revelstoke BC, equestrian (Olympics-96)
1969 Roy Jones Pensacola FL, Light-middleweight boxer (Olympics-silver-1988)
1970 Don MacLean NBA forward (New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets)
1970 Ron Villone Englewood NJ, pitcher (San Diego Padres)
1971 Josh Evans actor (Ricochet, The Doors)
1971 Jukka-Pekka Nummi WLAF cornerback (Scottish Claymores)
1971 Junior Bryant NFL defensive end (San Francisco 49ers)
1971 Michel Kreek Dutch soccer player (Ajax)
1971 Scott Williams Orange CA, field hockey defender (Olympics-96)
1971 Sergei Bruguera Spain, tennis star
1971 Ulrich van Gobbel Suriname/Dutch soccer player (Feyenoord)
1972 Desiree Leipham Spokane WA, WPVA volleyballer (Nationals-17th-1995)
1972 Joe Horn wide receiver (Kansas City Chiefs)
1972 Lee McIntyre Peak Hill Australia, golfer (T3 1995 New South Wales Trainee Champ)
1973 Josie Davis Los Angeles CA, actress (Sarah-Charles in Charge)
1973 Mario Bates NFL-running back (New Orleans Saints)
1973 Willie Whitehead CFL defensive end (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1974 Kate Moss Addiscomb Surrey England, model (Calvin Klein)
1976 Trisha Stillwell Miss Oklahoma-USA (1997, top 10)
1986 Mason Gamble actor (Dennis the Menace)
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Deaths which occurred on January 16:

0308 Marcellus I Catholic Pope (-308), dies
0429 Honoratius of Arles bishop/saint, dies
1343 Robert of Anjou king (Naples), dies
1595 Murad III sultan of Turkey (1574-95), dies
1697 Richard Savage poet, dies
1703 Matteo Coferati composer, dies at 64
1794 Edward Gibbon historian (Decline & Fall), dies in London at 56
1817 Antonin Josef Alois Volanek composer, dies at 55
1838 Aleksandr I Polezjajev Russian poet (Sasjka), dies at 33
1842 Thomas Freanby Norwegian landscape painter, dies
1849 Wilhelm M L de Wette German theologist, dies at 69
1864 Anton Schindler German violinist/biographer (Beethoven), dies at 68
1886 Amilcare Ponchielli Italian composer (La Gioconda), dies at 51
1891 Clement-Philibert-Leo Delibes composer, dies at 54
1891 Leo Delibes French ballet composer (Lakmé), dies at 54
1892 Imakita Kosen Zen teacher/abbot of Engagkuji monastery, dies
1893 Johan Philip Koelman painter/sculptor/architect, dies at 74
1901 Hiram Revels dies at 73
1901 Arnold Böcklin Swiss painter, dies at 73
1907 Alfred Shaw cricketer (seven Tests for England 1877-82), dies
1912 Georg Heym writer, dies at 24
1916 Arnold Aletrino Dutch physician-criminologist (From Death), dies at 57
1919 Jaroslav Jeremias composer, dies at 19
1920 Reginald De Koven composer, dies at 60
1934 Annie Patterson composer, dies at 65
1935 Richard Wetz composer, dies at 59
1938 William Pickering pioneer US stellar spectroscopist, dies
1939 Albert Fish mass murderer, executed
1942 Barbara Lynn [Ozen], US singer (You'll Lose a Good Thing), dies
1942 Carole Lombard actress, (Bolero), killed in plane crash (along with her mother & 20 others) at 32
1943 Franz Courtens Flemish painter (Sunny Lane), dies at 88
1945 Dennis Donnini British rifleman (Victoria Cross), dies in battle at 19
1946 Johanna HC Albregt actress/wife of Henri Dons (Paradise), dies at 71
1954 Michail M Prishvin Russian writer, dies
1955 Jonkheer Reneke de Marees van Swinderen Dutch minister (1908-13), dies at 94
1957 Arturo Toscanini Italy, American conductor, dies in New York City NY at 89
1957 Alexander Cambridge Governor-General (South Africa 1923-31/Canada 1940-5), dies at 82
1961 Janos Viski composer, dies at 54
1962 Emanuel Stickelberger Swiss writer (Holbein in England), dies at 77
1963 Gilardo Gilardi composer, dies at 73
1966 Margarete Susman writer, dies at 91
1967 Dirk Vansina Flemish playwright (Sage of Kai-Roi), dies at 72
1967 Robert J Van De Graaff US nuclear physicist, dies at 65
1968 Robert R "Bob" Jones founder (Bob Jones University), dies at 84
1969 Jan Palach protesting Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, self immolates at 20
1969 Vernon Duke composer, dies at 65
1970 Armijn Pane Indonesian writer (Djinak-djinak merpati), dies at 61
1971 Kermit Maynard cowboy actor (Saturday Roundup), dies at 68
1972 David Seville [Ross Bagdasarian] (Alvin & Chipmunks), dies at 52
1973 Ray Barrett sportscaster (Gillette Summer Sports Reel), dies at 65
1979 Ted Cassidy Pittsburgh PA, actor (Lurch-Addams Family), dies at 46
1979 Fred Elizalde composer, dies at 71
1980 Anna van Wageningen-Salomons Dutch author (Unspoilt Dream), dies at 94
1981 Bernard Lee actor (M in James Bond Movies), dies at 73
1987 Earl Wilson Broadway columnist (Midnight Earl), dies in Yonkers at 79
1987 Joyce Jameson comedienne (Spike Jones Show), dies at 54
1987 Ilse Langen writer, dies at 87
1989 Pierre Boileau screenwriter (Vertigo), dies at 82
1989 Romo Vincent actor (Naked Jungle), dies
1989 Trey Wilson actor (Bull Durham, Twins, Raising Arizona), dies
1992 Roselle Novelle silent film actress, dies at 95
1993 Florence Desmond [Dawson], actress (Sally in Our Alley), dies at 87
1993 Glenn Corbett US actor (Shenandoah, Chisum, Midway), dies at 63
1993 Sathasivam Krishnakumar Sri Lanka commander, commits suicide
1994 Martin Kosleck German/US actor (Hitler Gang), dies at 86
1994 Noël Foré Belgian cyclist (Paris-Roubaix 1959), dies at 61
1994 Stephen Kritsick veterinarian (Good Morning America), dies at 42
1995 William Dillard trumpeter/singer, dies at 83
1996 Harry Potts footballer/manager, dies at 75
1996 Kaye Webb publisher, dies at 81
1997 Charlie Alfred Galbraith jazz trombonist, dies at 76
1997 Innis Cosby son of Bill Cosby, murdered on Los Angeles highway at 29
1997 Jim Kensil NFL president (New York Jets), dies of heart failure at 66
1997 Stephen Fitz-Simon entrepreneur, dies at 59
1998 David "Junior" Kimbrough blues musician, dies at 67
1998 Peter Diamand artistic administrator, dies at 84

1861 Crittenden Compromise is killed in Senate

The Crittenden Compromise, the last chance to keep North and South together, dies in the U.S. Senate.

Proposed by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, the compromise was a series of constitutional amendments. The amendments would continue the old Missouri Compromise provisions of 1820, which divided the west along the latitude of 36ý 30". North of this line, slavery was prohibited. The Missouri Compromise was negated by the Compromise of 1850, which allowed a vote by territorial residents (popular sovereignty) to decide the issue of slavery. Other amendments protected slavery in the District of Columbia, forbade federal interference with the interstate slave trade, and compensated owners whose slaves escaped to the free states.

Essentially, the Crittenden Compromise sought to alleviate all concerns of the southern states. Four states had already left the Union when it was proposed, but Crittenden hoped the compromise would lure them back. Crittenden thought he could muster support from both South and North and avert either a split of the nation or a civil war. The major problem with the plan was that it called for a complete compromise by the Republicans with virtually no concession on the part of the South. The Republican Party formed in 1854 solely for the purpose of opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories, particularly the areas north of the Missouri Compromise line. Just six years later, the party elected a president, Abraham Lincoln, over the complete opposition of the slave states. Crittenden was asking the Republicans to abandon their most key issues.

The vote was 25 against the compromise and 23 in favor of it. All 25 votes against it were cast by Republicans, and six senators from states that were in the process of seceding abstained. One Republican editorial insisted that the party "cannot be made to surrender the fruits of its recent victory." There would be no compromise; with the secession of states continuing, the country marched inexorably towards civil war.
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1916 Montenegro capitulates to Austro-Hungarian forces

After an eight-day offensive that marked the beginning of a new, aggressive strategy in the region, Austro-Hungarian troops under commander in chief Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf take control of the Balkan state of Montenegro.

By the end of 1915, after initial setbacks, the Central Powers had completed their conquest of Serbia, the upstart Balkan country that they claimed had provoked the war in June 1914, when a Serbian nationalist had assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Despite their success in the Balkans, Conrad was incensed that the victories had been achieved largely by German, not Austrian, forces. He opposed the establishment of a joint German-Austrian command in the region, fearing, with reason, that Austria would be subordinated to its stronger ally. Relations between Conrad and his German counterpart, Erich von Falkenhayn, who sought to turn German energies more fully toward France and the Western Front, had become so strained that they ceased direct communication almost entirely for a full month from December 1915 to January 1916. During that time, Conrad proceeded to develop Austria’s strategy for early 1916, which was to capture Montenegro in the winter and then turn toward Italy with an attack in the Trentino.

On January 8, 1916, with a 500-gun artillery barrage, 45,000 Austrian troops and 5,000 Bosnian Muslims attacked Serbia’s ally, the neighboring state of Montenegro. Events unfolded quickly: Within 48 hours, the Montenegrins had retreated to their capital, Cetinje, after being driven from their fortresses at Mount Lovcen on the Adriatic Sea. Cetinje fell on January 11 and the end was already in sight. Montenegro surrendered on January 16. “When her emergency came, there was no one to help her,” the American diplomat John Coolidge wrote of Montenegro, “so she had to go.”
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1945 Hitler descends into his bunker

On this day, Adolf Hitler takes to his underground bunker, where he remains for 105 days until he commits suicide.

Hitler retired to his bunker after deciding to remain in Berlin for the last great siege of the war. Fifty-five feet under the chancellery (Hitler's headquarters as chancellor), the shelter contained 18 small rooms and was fully self-sufficient, with its own water and electrical supply. He left only rarely (once to decorate a squadron of Hitler Youth) and spent most of his time micromanaging what was left of German defenses and entertaining Nazi colleagues like Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, and Joachim von Ribbentrop. Constantly at his side during this time were his companion, Eva Braun, and his Alsatian, Blondi.

On April 29, Hitler married Eva in their bunker hideaway. Eva Braun met Hitler while working as an assistant to Hitler's official photographer. Braun spent her time with Hitler out of public view, entertaining herself by skiing and swimming. She had no discernible influence on Hitler's political career but provided a certain domesticity to the life of the dictator. Loyal to the end, she refused to leave the bunker even as the Russians closed in.

Only hours after they were united in marriage, both Hitler and Eva committed suicide. Warned by officers that the Russians were only about a day from overtaking the chancellery and urged to escape to Berchtesgarden, a small town in the Bavarian Alps where Hitler owned a home, the dictator instead chose to take his life. Both he and his wife swallowed cyanide capsules (which had been tested for their efficacy on his "beloved" dog and her pups). For good measure, he shot himself with his pistol.
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1964 Johnson approves Oplan 34A

President Johnson approves Oplan 34A, operations to be conducted by South Vietnamese forces supported by the United States to gather intelligence and conduct sabotage to destabilize the North Vietnamese regime.

Actual operations began in February and involved raids by South Vietnamese commandos operating under U.S. orders against North Vietnamese coastal and island installations. Although American forces were not directly involved in the actual raids, U.S. Navy ships were on station to conduct electronic surveillance and monitor North Vietnamese defense responses under another program called Operation De Soto.

The Oplan 34A attacks played a major role in what became known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. On August 2, 1964, North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked the destroyer USS Maddox, which was conducting a De Soto mission in the area. Two days after the first attack, there was another incident that still remains unclear. The Maddox, joined by destroyer USS C. Turner Joy, engaged what were believed to be more attacking North Vietnamese patrol boats. Although it was questionable whether the second attack actually happened, the incident provided the rationale for retaliatory air attacks and the subsequent Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which became the basis for the initial escalation of the war in Vietnam and ultimately the insertion of U.S. combat troops into the area.
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1969 Agreement to open peace talks reached

An agreement is reached in Paris for the opening of expanded peace talks. It was agreed that representatives of the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front would sit at a circular table without nameplates, flags or markings.

The talks had been plagued from the beginning by procedural questions, and the participants literally jockeyed for desirable positions at the negotiating table. Prolonged discussions over the shape of the negotiating table were finally resolved by the placement of two square tables separated by a round table. Seemingly insignificant matters as the table placement and seating arrangement became fodder for many arguments between the delegations at the negotiations.