On this day in history........

0871 Battle at Basing Danish invasion army beats Ethelred of Wessex
1371 King Robert II Stuart of Scotland crowned
1510 Jews are expelled from Colmar Germany
1517 Turks conquer Cairo
1528 England & France declare war on Emperor Charles V
1575 English queen Elizabeth I grants Thomas Tallis & William Byrd music press monopoly
1584 Parts of Switzerland adopt Gregorian calendar (& parts in 1812)
1588 Pope Sixtus V decrees "Immense aeterni" (Reformed curia)
1673 Postal service between New York & Boston inaugurated
1689 Lord Halifax becomes Speaker of English House of Lords
1689 Prince Willem III calls English parliament together
1690 Iroquois tribes renew allegiance to British against French
1758 Russian troops occupy Königsberg, East Prussia
1760 Battle at Wandewash India British troops beat French
1771 Spain cedes the Falkland Islands to Britain
1775 Marshal Oscar von Lubomirski expels Jews from Warsaw Poland
1798 Coup of Midderigh
1813 Americans capture Frenchtown, Canada
1814 1st Knights Templar grand encampment in US held, New York City NY
1816 Lord Byron completes "Parisina" & "The Siege of Corinth"
1817 English freighter Diana sinks off Malaysia
1831 Charles Darwin takes his Bachelor of Arts exam
1837 Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands
1850 Alta California becomes a daily paper, 1st such in California
1857 National Association of Baseball Players founded, NY
1859 Brahms' 1st piano concerto (in D minor) premieres, Hanover
1862 Confederate government raises premium for volunteers from $10 to $20
1863 Union General Burnside's "Mud March"
1873 Britains SS Northfleet sinks at Dungeness England, 300 die
1879 James Shields (D) elected US senator from Missouri after previously serving as US senator from Illinois & Minnesota
1879 Zulus attack British Army camp in Isandhlwana South Africa
1881 Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" erected in Central Park
1883 England complete 1st innings victory in Tests vs Australia MCG
1890 José Marti forms La Liga (Union of Cuban exiles) in New York City NY
1895 National Association of Manufacturers organized in Cincinnati OH
1901 After 63 years England stops sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series & begins King Edward VII series
1905 "Bloody Sunday"; Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops
1909 Vassily Kandinsky forms Künstlerverein in Munich
1910 The opera "Germania" is 1st performed in New York City NY
1914 Paul Claudel's "L'échange" premieres in Paris
1918 Ukraine proclaimed a free republic (German puppet)
1924 KGO-AM in San Francisco CA begins radio transmissions
1924 Baldwin government resigns in England
1924 Dutch Blast Furnace & Steel Factory opens
1925 Albania Republic proclaimed under President Achmed Zogu
1926 Belgian chief of staff General Maglinse quits
1930 -35ºF (-37ºC), Mount Carroll IL (state record)
1931 French government of Steeg falls
1931 VARA begins experimental TV broadcast in Diamantbeurs Amsterdam
1932 British Anglicans & Old-Catholic church merge
1934 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady MacBeth" premieres in Leningrad
1936 French Laval government falls
1938 "Our Town", Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winner of small-town life in Grover's Corners NH, performed publicly for 1st time (New Jersey)
1939 Aquatic Park, near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco CA, is dedicated
1939 Uranium atom 1st split, Columbia University
1940 1st radio broadcast of "Road to Happiness" on CBS
1941 1st mass killing of Jews in Romania
1941 British/Australian troops capture Tobruk from Italians
1942 Japanese air raid on Rabaul, New Britain
1942 Sietze de Groot wins 8th Dutch 11 city skate (8 44 06)
1943 66.3 cm precipitation at Hoegees Camp CA (state record)
1943 Joint Chiefs of Staff determine invasion in Sicily for July 10th
1943 Temperature rises 49ºF (9ºC) in 2 minutes in Spearfish SD
1944 Battle of Anzio (Italy); Allies stopped on the beach
1945 Burma highway reopens
1945 Heavy US air raid on Okinawa
1946 US President sets up CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
1947 KTLA TV channel 5 in Los Angeles CA (IND) begins broadcasting (1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi)
1948 Jim Laker takes 7-103 in his 1st Test Cricket innings vs West Indies Barbados
1949 Chinatown telephone exchange closed
1949 "All for Love" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater New York City NY for 121 performances
1950 Polly Riley wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1951 Fidel Castro ejected from a Winter League game after beaning batter
1951 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Johncrowe Ransom
1953 Arthur Miller's "Crucible" premieres in New York City NY
1955 Norwegian government of Einar Gerhardsen forms
1956 30 die in a train crash in Los Angeles
1956 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1956 Canadian Football Council forms
1957 Israeli forces withdraw from the Sinai Penisula
1957 Mad Bomber (George P Metesky) accused of 30 explosions, arrested
1958 KRSD (now KEVN) TV channel 7 in Rapid City SD (ABC) 1st broadcast
1959 USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects
1960 10th NBA All-Star Game East beats West 125-115 at Philadelphia
1960 Coal mine of Johnburg caves-in, 417 die
1960 French President De Gaulle escapes attempt by General Massu
1960 Paul Pender beats Sugar Ray Robinson for middleweight boxing title
1963 Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Naples Professional Golf Tournament
1964 World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured, Wisconsin
1964 Kenneth Kaunda becomes premier of North-Rhodesia (Zambia)
1965 US launches TIROS 9 weather satellite
1967 NFL Pro Bowl East beats West 20-10
1968 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC
1968 Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made
1968 NBA announces it will expand to Milwaukee & Phoenix
1969 Billy Preston becomes the 5th Beatle
1969 Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit
1969 "Celebration" opens at Ambassador Theater New York City NY for 110 performances
1969 Roy Campanella & Stan Musial elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1970 1st commercial Boeing 747 flight (Pan Am), New York to London in 6½ hours
1970 Test debut of Barry Richards, South Africa vs Australia, Cape Town
1971 John & Yoko record "Power to the People"
1972 "Emergency" with Robert Fuller premieres on NBC TV
1972 22nd NBA All-Star Game West beats East 112-110 at Los Angeles
1973 George Foreman TKOs Joe Frazier in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
1973 Roe vs Wade US Supreme Court legalizes some abortions
1973 US, North & South Vietnam & Vietcong sign boundary accord
1975 Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched
1976 Bank robbery in Beirut nets $20-50 million (record)
1980 PGA begins a senior golf tour
1980 Dissidents Andrei Sacharov & Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki
1980 West Indies beat England 2-0 to win 1st World Series Cup
1981 40th Islander shut-out opponent-3-0 vs Red Wings-Billy Smith 15th
1981 O A "Bum" Phillips becomes head coach of the New Orleans Saints
1982 75% of North America is covered by snow
1983 2nd flight readiness firing of Challenger's main engines; 22 seconds
1983 Houston is 1st NBA team to be held scoreless in an overtime Portland Trail Blazers out score them 17-0 & win 113-96
1984 Annette Kennedy of SUNY sets women's basketball record with 70 points
1984 Hilbert van de Thumb becomes European all-round skates
1984 Super Bowl XVIII Los Angeles Raiders beat Washington Redskins, 38-9 in Tampa; Super Bowl MVP Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders, Running Back
1985 -30ºF (-34ºC), Mountain Lake Bio Station, Virginia (state record)
1985 Cold wave damages 90% of Florida's citrus crop
1985 Zak Starkey (Ringo's son) marries Sarah Menikides
1985 Kelly Hu, 16, of Hawaii, crowned 3rd Miss Teen USA
1986 Ghorbanifar 1st suggests diversion of cash to contras, says North
1987 Blizzard in New Jersey, as 334 attend the Devils-Flame NHL game, New Jersey wins 7-5
1988 1st-class cricket debut of Brian Lara, Trinidad & Tobago vs Leeward Island
1988 1st-class cricket debut of Hansie Cronje, OFS vs Transvaal
1988 Mike Tyson TKOs Larry Holmes in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1989 Super Bowl XXIII San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16 in Miami; Super Bowl MVP Jerry Rice, San Francisco, Wide Receiver
1989 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakstan/Semipalatinsk USSR
1990 Will Clark, NL's MVP signs a $15M 4-year contract with San Francisco Giants
1990 17th American Music Award Milli Vanilli
1990 Wasim Akram scores Test century (123) at Adelaide
1992 Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space
1992 Princess Sarah Ferguson wears paper bag over her head on airline ride
1993 Johan Koss skates world record 5 km in 6 38.77
1994 45th NHL All-Star Game East beat West 9-8 at New York Rangers
1994 5.5 earthquake strikes Sumatra
1994 51st Golden Globes Schlinder's List, Steven Spielberg
1995 Palestinian bomb attack in Beit Lid Israel, 21-22 killed
1995 Pat Bradley wins LPGA HealthSouth Inaugural Golf Tournament
1997 Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns to Earth, Successful
1998 NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild
1998 Rickey Henderson, rejoins Oakland A's for 4th time
1998 STS 89 (Endeavour 12) launches into orbit
1998 World League of American Football becomes NFL East
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Missing in action.........

1966 FORMAN WILLIAM S. PIPESTONE MN
1966 FRENYEA EDMUND M. UKIAH CA LOST AT SEA
1966 GRISSETT EDWIN R. SAN JUAN TX REMAINS RETURNED 06/89
1966 SENNETT ROBERT R. MAR VISTA CA
1966 TEMPLIN ERWIN B. JR. HOUSTON TX
1969 ROSS DOUGLAS A. TEMPLE CITY CA REMAINS RETURNED IDENTIFIED 03/06/98
1974 JONES DIANE 02/03/74 RELEASED FROM QUANG NGAI
1974 MARKHAM JAMES M. 12/74 RETURNED FROM VISIT
1974 QUINN JUDGE SOPHIE RELEASED FROM QUANG NGAI 02/03/74 DETAINED TWICE 74 AND 4/75
1974 BENOIT CHARLES 12/74 RETURNED FROM VISIT

Births which occurred on January 22:

1440 Ivan III the Great, Russian czar (1462-1505)/conquered Lithuania
1561 Francis Bacon England, statesman/essayist (Novum Organum)
1571 Robert Bruce Cotton English antiquary, politician
1592 Pierre Gassendi Champtercier Provence, scientist/philosopher
1649 Pascal Collasse composer
1655 Geleyn Evertsen Lieutenant-Admiral (Zealand)
1707 Carl Hockh composer
1709 Joseph Reipel composer
1727 Claude-Benigne Balbastre composer
1729 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Germany, critic/dramatist
1729 Giuseppe Luigi Tibaldi composer
1748 Lewis Edson composer
1753 Peter Fuchs composer
1756 Vincenzo Righini composer
1766 Antoine-Vincent Arnault French writer (Les Vénitiens)
1779 Stefano Pavesi composer
1781 François-Antoine Habeneck composer
1788 Lord [George Gordon Noel] Byron England, romantic poet (Don Juan)
1802 Richard Upjohn US, gothic architect (Trinity Chapel, New York)
1815 Ferdinand Christian Wilhelm Praeger composer
1820 Hermann von Lingg German playwright/poet
1820 Johan Hendrik Koelman portrait painter (Jahresringe)
1824 Josef Leopold Zvonar composer
1826 [Merriwether] Jeff Thompson Partisan (Confederate Army), died in 1876
1842 Charles Henri Marechal composer
1845 Jacob Verdam Dutch philologist
1845 Paul Vidal de la Blanche France, geographer
1848 Samuel Muller Dutch historian/archivist (Middle Ages)
1849 August Strindberg Sweden, dramatist/novelist (Apologia)
1855 Ernst Kullak composer
1858 Betrice Potter Webb England, economist
1858 Frederick Lugard British captain/baron (Congo)
1861 Karel Stecker composer
1865 Friedrich Paschen German physicist
1870 Charles Arnold Tournemire composer
1871 Leon Jessel composer
1874 Wincenty Witoz Galicia, PM of Poland (1920-21, 1923, 1926)
1875 Bonifacius C de Jonge Governor (Dutch East Indies)
1875 D[avid] W Griffith movie producer/director (Birth of a Nation)
1875 Thomas W Ross actor (Without Limit, Kings Row, 17, Mortal Storm)
1877 Hjalmar Schacht president of German Reichsbank/minister of Economics
1878 Constance Collier Windsor England, actress/writer (Kitty, Whirlpool)
1878 Francis Picabia French painter/illustrator
1886 John Joseph Becker composer
1890 Fred M Vinson Kentucky, 13th Chief Justice of US Supreme Court (1946-53)
1891 Franz Alexander Hungarian/US psycho analytical
1891 Moise Kisling Polish/French painter (La Souris Boiteuse)
1892 Marcel Dassault [Bloch], French airplane builder
1893 Conrad Veidt Potsdam Germany, actor (Cabinet of Dr Caligari)
1894 Charles Morgan England, writer (Fountain)
1894 Matt McHugh PA, actor (Taxi, Freaks, Barbary Coast, Innocent Affair)
1897 Josef Stanislav composer
1897 Rosa Ponselle opera diva (Casta Diva, La Forza del Destino)
1898 Ross R Barnett lawyer/(Gov-D-MS)
1898 Alexander Abramsky composer
1898 Ben van Eysselsteijn Dutch writer (Arid Earth)
1898 Gustaf Paulson composer
1898 Hans van Werveke Flemish historian (Diocese Terwaan)
1899 Guido Kisch Czech/German/US historian (Jews in medieval Germany)
1899 Martti Haavio [P Mastapää], Finnish linguist/poet
19-- Dawn Smith Jackson TN, actress (Jolene-Joe Forrester)
19-- Steve Riley rock drummer (LA Guns-It's Over Now)
1900 Franz Salmhofer composer
1901 Hans-Erich Apostel Austrian composer (Sonata Ritmica)
1903 Robin Humphrey Milford composer
1904 George Balanchine composer/choreographer
1906 Robert E[rvin] Howard US, sci-fi author (Conan the Conqueror)
1906 Willa B Brown (Coffey) US black air pioneer (NAAA)
1907 Marie Dressler actress (Anna Christie, Dinner at 8)
1909 Ann Sothern [Harriette Lake], North Dakota, actress (Lady in a Cage, My Mother the Car)
1909 Lev D Landau Russian physicist (Nobel 1962)
1909 [Sithu] U Thant Burma, 3rd UN Secretary-General (1962-72)
1911 Bruno Kreisky Austria, bandleader/chancellor (1970-83)
1911 Roberto Garcia Morillo composer
1913 Verdina Shlonsky composer
1914 Dimitri Dragatakis composer
1914 Suzanne Danco Belgian singer
1915 Tom Burtt cricketer (slow left-armer took 33 wickets for New Zealand)
1916 Henri Dutilleux Angers France, composer
1917 Albert "Pud" Brown clarinetist/saxophonist
1917 Herwig Hensen [Flor Mielants], Flemish poet/playwright
1918 Richard Eastham Opelousas LA, actor (Wonder Woman, Falcon Crest)
1920 William Warfield singer (Show Boat)
1920 George Breakston Paris France, actor/director (Jungle Stampede)
1920 Piet Van Lishout Flemish writer (Eva & I)
1921 Andre Hodeir composer
1921 Andy Ganteaume cricketer (West Indies batsman, 112 in only Test innings 1948)
1922 Howard Moss poet/editor (New Yorker)
1923 Diana Douglas Devonshire Bermuda, actress (The Cowboys)
1923 Friedrich Zehm composer
1923 Leslie Bassett composer
1924 J J Johnson composer/jazz trombonist
1924 Margaret Whiting big band singer
1925 Leslie Silver English paint manufacturer/multi-millionaire
1926 Lord Erskine of Rerrick peer
1926 Tom Blackburn writer
1927 Joe Perry NFL Hall-of-Famer
1927 Lou Creekmur Baseball Hall-of-Famer
1928 Birch Bayh (Senator-D-IN)
1929 Rita Gillespie TV director
1930 Roy Cooper London England, actor (Amistad, Julian Po, Trevor-Beacon Hill)
1931 Rauno Makinen Finland, Greco-Roman featherweight (Olympics-gold-1956)
1931 Sam Cooke Clarksdale MS, gospel & blues singer (You Send Me, Another Saturday Night, Twisting The Night Away)
1931 Galina Zybina USSR, discus thrower (15 world records between 1952-58)
1932 Piper Laurie [Rosetta Jacobs], Detroit MI, actress (Twin Peaks)
1934 Bill Bixby San Francisco CA, actor (Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian)
1934 Graham Kerr chef (Galloping Gourmet)
1935 Pierre S Du Pont IV (Governor-DE)
1935 Seymour Cassel Detroit MI, actor (Faces, Plain Clothes, Valentino)
1937 Eden Pastora Gomez Nicaraguan contra leader
1937 Joseph Wambaugh East Pittsburgh PA, police writer (Onion Fields)
1940 Addie "Micki" Harris Passaic NJ, singer (Shirelles-Soldier Boy)
1940 John Hurt England, actor (Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express)
1940 Tilo Medek German composer
1943 H James "Jim" Saxton (Representative-R-NJ, 1984- )
1945 Michael Cristofer actor/writer (Little Drummer Girl)
1945 Oliver rocker
1946 Andrew Rubin New Bedford MA, actor (Hometown, Joe Bash)
1949 James P Pennington rocker (Exile)
1949 Rein P Hummel Dutch MP (PvdA)
1949 Steve Perry Hanford CA, vocalist (Journey-Open Arms, Oh Sherry)
1952 Karen Moe [Thornton] US swimmer (Olympics-gold-1972)
1952 Teddy Gentry Fort Payne AL, country music star (Alabama-Mountain Music, Take Me Down)
1953 Myung-Whun Chung Seoul South Korea, pianist/conductor
1954 Chris Lemmon Los Angeles CA, actor (Brothers & Sisters, Duet)
1955 Thomas David Jones Baltimore MD, PhD/Astronaut (STS 59, 68, 80, sk 98)
1956 Becky Pearson LPGA golfer
1956 John Wesley Shipp actor (The Flash, Dawson's Creek, Kelly-Guiding Light)
1957 Mike Bossy NHL forward (New York Islanders)
1959 Linda Blair St Louis MO, actress (Exorcist, Chained Heat, Savage St)
1960 Michael Hutchence Australia, rock vocalist/actor (INXS-Need You Tonight, Dogs in Space)
1961 Barb Thomas Whitehead Sibley IA, LPGA golfer (1995 Hawaiian Open)
1962 Robert Mailhouse New Haven CT, actor (Brian-Days of our Life)
1963 Diane Lane New York City NY, actress (Cotton Club, 6 Pack, Big Town)
1963 Jeff Treadway US baseball infielder (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1964 Ann Rowe Auburn Maine, Miss Maine-America (1990)
1964 Maria Ellingsen Reykjavik Iceland, actress (Katrina-Santa Barbara)
1964 Stojko Vrankovic NBA center (Los Angeles Clippers)
1964 Wayne Kirby Williamsburg VA, outfielder (Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers)
1965 Jazzy Jeff Townes rapper (Parents Just Don't Understand)
1965 Ray Mayhew rocker (Sigue Sigue Sputnik-Love Missile F-111)
1965 Steven Adler Cleveland OH, drummer (Guns & Roses-Sweet Child)
1965 Tim Prukop WLAF linebacker-secondary coach (Amsterdam Admirals)
1966 Carlton Haselrig NFL guard (New York Jets)
1966 Nishantha Ranatunga cricket (brother of Arjuna Sri Lankan ODI allrounder)
1967 Manabu Nakanishi wrestler (NJPW)
1967 Nicholas Gillingham British swimmer (world record 200m freestyle)
1967 Olivia d'Abo London England, actress (Wonder Years, Single Guy)
1968 Andrey Sokolov hockey defenseman (Team Kazakhstan Olympics-1998)
1968 Brian Jones NFL linebacker (New Orleans Saints)
1969 Christina Marie Leardini St Petersburg FL, playmate (April 1991)
1969 Keith Gordon US baseball outfielder (Cincinnati Reds)
1969 Ousmane Bary WLAF cornerback (Barcelona Dragons)
1969 Shelley Sandie Australian basketball guard (Olympics-88, 96)
1969 Vinnie Clark NFL cornerback (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1970 Brian Gaskill actor (David Michaels-Models Inc, Bob-All My Children)
1970 Keith Wagner NFL/WLAF tackle (New York Giants, Redskins, Scot Claymores)
1971 Bucky Brooks wide receiver (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1971 Jennifer Christine Joseph Wendover NV, Miss Nevada-America (1995)
1972 Steve Scifres guard/tackle (Dallas Cowboys)
1972 Toddrick McIntosh NFL defensive end (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1973 Deon Minor Paris Texas, 400m runner
1973 George Noga CFL linebacker (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1973 Reggie Barlow wide receiver (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1973 Said Larossi soccer player (Emmen/Vitesse)
1973 Vincent Bradford linebacker (San Francisco 49ers)
1974 Pavel Mikhalevitch soccer player (NEC)
1974 Stephanie Rottier St Niklaas Belgium, tennis star (1995 semi Prague)
1975 Lee Maxwell Francis Vertongen Palmerston North New Zealand, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1976 Balthazar Getty actor (Young Guns 2, Lord of the Flies)
1979 Melanie Winiger Miss Switzerland-Universe (1997)
1982 Kevin Sheridan actor (Soul Man)
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Deaths which occurred on January 22:

1336 Louis III last Earl of Loon, dies
1531 Andrea del Sarto Italian artist, dies at 43
1552 Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, beheaded for treason
1581 Joost de Damhoudere Flemish lawyer, dies
1581 Seerp Galama Dutch nobleman/military/politician, dies at 52
1599 Cristofano Malvezzi composer, dies at 51
1640 Erasmus Quellinus I Flemish wood carver, dies at about 55
1700 Jacob Balthasar Schutz composer, dies at 39
1781 Johann Siebenkas composer, dies at 66
1796 Bernhard Hupfeld composer, dies at 78
1798 Lewis Morris US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 71
1798 Matija A Reljkovic Croatian writer (Satire of Wild Man), dies at 66
1799 Horace B de Saussure Swiss physicist/geologist/alpinist, dies at 58
1847 Georges-Julien Sieber composer, dies at 71
1850 Vincenzo Pallotti Italian saint, dies at 54
1852 George Rodwell composer, dies at 51
1868 Moritz Ganz composer, dies at 61
1879 Anthony Durnford British Colonel, dies in battle
1879 George Shepstone British political affiliate, dies in battle
1893 Vincenz Lachner composer, dies at 81
1895 Edward Solomon composer, dies at 39
1901 Victoria [Alexandrine], Britain's Queen (1837-1901), dies at 81
1909 Richard A C E Erlenmeyer German chemist, dies at 83
1913 Ferdinand van der Haeghen Flemish librarian/bibliographer, dies at 82
1914 Frederik Rung composer, dies at 60
1916 Iwan Knorr composer, dies at 63
1922 Benedictus XV [Giacomo Markies D Chiesa], pope (1914-22), dies at 67
1923 Max Nordau [Südfeld], German physician/zionists leader, dies at 73
1924 Maurice du Plessys French poet (Le Feu Sacré), dies at 59
1936 Louis Glass composer, dies at 71
1942 Reimond Tollenaere leader Flemish National Front, dies at 81
1942 Walter Richard Sickert British painter (Free House!), dies at 81
1945 A Wolfenstein writer, dies at 61
1945 Carlo Felice Boghen composer, dies a day before 76th birthday
1945 Else Lasker-Schüler writer, dies at 48
1945 Johan Eykman theologist (World Church), dies at 52
1950 Alan Hale Sr actor (The Seahawk, Yellowstone), dies at 57
1951 Eastwood Lane composer, dies at 71
1952 Roger Vitrac French poet/dramatist (Mysteries of Love), dies at 52
1956 P A M Speet Dutch broadcast CEO (KRO), dies
1959 A J Else Mauhs German/Dutch actress (Hamlet, Nora), dies at 73
1964 Marc Blitzstein US composer (Cradle Will Rock), dies at 58
1966 Herbert Marshall actor (Dark Angel, Duel in the Sun), dies at 75
1967 Jobyna Ralston actress (Wings, Girl Shy, Freshman), dies at 66
1968 Duke Kahanamoku Hawaii, 100m swimmer (Olympics-gold-1912, 20, 24), dies at 77
1969 Judy Garland singer/actress (Wizard of Oz), dies at 48 of an overdose
1973 Lyndon B Johnson President (1963-69), dies at his Texas ranch at 64
1974 Leon Lontoc actor (Henry-Burke's Law), dies at 64
1975 Klaas Voskuil Dutch journalist, dies at 79
1978 Herbert Sutcliffe cricketer (54 Tests for England 4555 runs), dies
1979 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes
1980 Iris Meredith actress (Lawless Land, Gambling Terror), dies at 64
1981 Fannie Thomas US, dies at 113
1982 Eduardo Frei Montalva President of Chile (1964-70), dies at 71
1983 Fred Bakewell cricketer (dashing England bat of 30s, 6 Tests), dies
1987 R Budd Dwyer Pennsylvania State Treasurer, facing prison for conspiracy & perjury, shot himself to death at a televised news conference
1988 Georgi M Malenkov Russian premier (1953-55), dies at 86
1988 Parker Fennelly actor (Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm), dies at 96
1992 A J Antoon director (That Championship Season), dies at 47
1992 Ali Amini PM of Iran (1961-62), dies
1993 Alexander Bodon Hung-Dutch architect (RAI, Dollywood), dies at 86
1993 Charlie Gehringer baseball player, dies at 89
1993 Kobo Abe Japanese writer (Wife in the Sand), dies at 68
1993 Maria Vlamynck Flemish author, dies at 75
1994 Frances Gifford dies of emphysema, at 71
1994 Irving B Kahn inventor (teleprompter), dies at 76
1994 Jean-Louis Barrault French actor (La Ronde), dies at 83
1994 Telly Savalas actor (Kojak), dies of prostate cancer at 70
1995 Christopher Francis Palmer orchestrater/author, dies at 48
1995 Mahmoud Sayed Selim Egyptian Muslim leader, shot to death at 29
1995 Margaret Barbara Lambert British historian (Saar), dies at 88
1995 Nico Adriaans founder of Rotterdam Junkiebond, dies of AIDS at 37
1995 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy mother of President John F Kennedy, dies at 104
1996 Edward Thomas historian/intelligence expert, dies at 77
1996 Efua Theodore Sutherland writer, dies at 71
1996 Mabel Leigh potter, dies at 80
1996 Yisrael Eldad extremist politician, dies at 85
1997 Ian Arthur Hoyle Munro medical journalist, dies at 73
1997 Irwin Levine composer (Tie a Yellow Ribbon), dies at 58
1997 Mollie Panter-Downes writer , dies at 90
1997 Wally Whyton musician/broadcaster, dies at 66

1927 John McCausland dies

Confederate General John A. McCausland dies in Mason, West Virginia. He lived for over 50 years after the war and remained an unreconstructed rebel at the time of his death.

Nicknamed "Tiger John," McCausland was born to Irish immigrants in St. Louis and moved to Virginia as an adolescent. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and graduated in 1857. When the war began, he organized an artillery regiment and formed the 36th Virginia from the western part of the state. Now a colonel, McCausland spent most of the war in the mountainous region of western Virginia. On May 9, 1864, McCausland distinguished himself at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain. For the victory, he was promoted to brigadier general.

Two bold actions defined McCausland's career. First, in June 1864, he drove a larger Union force commanded by General David Hunter from Lynchburg, Virginia, earning him the undying gratitude of the city. He then joined General Jubal Early's invasion of Maryland in July. Early dispatched McCausland and his cavalry to Hagerstown to exact a $200,000 ransom from city officials. McCausland rode into Hagerstown and delivered his hand-written note to authorities. Unfortunately, he accidentally omitted a zero--only $20,000 was secured. McCausland then moved on to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and pulled his second notorious feat--he tried to extort more than $500,000 from Chambersburg, and he burned the city when he did not receive the money.

McCausland joined General Robert E. Lee for the Confederates' last desperate attempt to escape in early 1865. He broke through the Union lines near Appomattox and surrendered later at Charleston, West Virginia, after many Rebels had laid down their arms. After the war, McCausland, facing an indictment for the burning of Chambersburg, fled to Canada, Britain, and then Mexico. He returned to the U.S. in 1868 after he was told that he would not be prosecuted for his war crimes. He settled on a farm in West Virginia and lived as a recluse for the rest of his life. He stubbornly defended the Confederate cause until his death. He died 13 months before Felix Robertson, the last surviving Confederate general.
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1905 Bloody Sunday Massacre in Russia

Well on its way to losing a war against Japan in the Far East, czarist Russia is wracked with internal discontent that finally explodes into violence in St. Petersburg in what will become known as the Bloody Sunday Massacre.

Under the weak-willed Romanov Czar Nicholas II, who ascended to the throne in 1894, Russia had become more corrupt and oppressive than ever before. Plagued by the fear that his line would not continue—his only son, Alexis, suffered from hemophilia—Nicholas fell under the influence of such unsavory characters as Grigory Rasputin, the so-called “mad monk.” Russia’s imperialist interests in Manchuria at the turn of the century brought on the Russo-Japanese War, which began in February 1904. Meanwhile, revolutionary leaders, most notably the exiled Vladimir Lenin, were gathering forces of socialist rebellion aimed at toppling the czar.

To drum up support for the unpopular war against Japan, the Russian government allowed a conference of the zemstvos, or the regional governments instituted by Nicholas’s grandfather Alexander II, in St. Petersburg in November 1904. The demands for reform made at this congress went unmet and more radical socialist and workers’ groups decided to take a different tack.

On January 22, 1905, a group of workers led by the radical priest Georgy Apollonovich Gapon marched to the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to make their demands. Imperial forces opened fire on the demonstrators, killing and wounding hundreds. Strikes and riots broke out throughout the country in outraged response to the massacre, to which Nicholas responded by promising the formation of a series of representative assemblies, or Dumas, to work toward reform.

Internal tension in Russia continued to build over the next decade, however, as the regime proved unwilling to truly change its repressive ways and radical socialist groups, including Lenin’s Bolsheviks, became stronger, drawing ever closer to their revolutionary goals. The situation would finally come to a head more than 10 years later as Russia’s resources were stretched to the breaking point by the demands of World War I.
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1941 Brits and Australians take Tobruk

On this day, British and Commonwealth forces enter the port at Tobruk, in Libya, and tens of thousands of Italian occupiers are taken prisoner.

Italy declared war on Great Britain in June 1940. At that time, Gen. Rodolfo Graziani had almost 10 times the number of men in Libya than the British forces in Egypt under Gen. Archibald Wavell, who was commissioned to protect the North African approaches to the Suez Canal. A vast western desert stretched between the antagonists, who sat for months without confrontation. During that time, Italian forces passed into Egypt-but by that point Britain had reinforced its own numbers and decided to make a first strike. On December 9, Maj. Gen. Richard Nugent O'Connor launched a westward offensive from Mersa Matruh, in Egypt. Thirty thousand Brits warred against 80,000 Italians-but the British had the advantage of 275 tanks to the Italians' 120. Within three days, 40,000 Italian prisoners were taken. The battle marked the beginning of the end of the Italian occupation of North Africa.

General O'Connor then began a sweep of Italian positions in Libya. Under his direction in early January 1941, the British 7th Royal Tank Regiment drove westward from Bardia, which it had just taken from the Italians, with the intention of isolating Tobruk until the 6th Australian Division could aid in an assault. The attack on the coastal fortress of Tobruk was finally launched on the 21st and it fell the next day, yielding 30,000 Italian prisoners, 236 guns, and 87 tanks. The 7th Royal Tank Regiment was a remarkable unit, winning a quick series of battles in Libya despite a paucity of resources.
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1964 U.S. Joint Chiefs foresee larger U.S. commitment

The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff inform Defense Secretary Robert McNamara that they "are wholly in favor of executing the covert actions against North Vietnam."

President Johnson had recently approved Oplan 34A, provocative 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 would begin in February and involve raids by South Vietnamese commandos operating under American 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.

Although the Joint Chiefs agreed with the president's decision on these operations, they further advocated even stronger measures, advising McNamara: "... We believe, however, that it would be idle to conclude that these efforts will have a decisive effect on the communist determination to support the insurgency, and it is our view that we must therefore be prepared fully to undertake a much higher level of activity." Among their recommendations were "aerial bombing of key North Vietnamese targets," and "commit[ment of] additional U.S. forces, as necessary, in support of the combat actions within South Vietnam."

President Johnson at first resisted this advice, but in less than a year, U.S. airplanes were bombing North Vietnam, and shortly thereafter the first U.S. combat troops began arriving in South Vietnam.
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1968 Operations Jeb Stuart and Pershing II kick off

Operating in the two northernmost military regions, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) launches two major operations. In the first operation, conducted by the 1st Cavalry Division in Quang Tri and Thua Thien provinces, south of the Demilitarized Zone, "First Team" units launched Operation Jeb Stuart. This operation was a large-scale reinforcement of the Marines in the area and focused on clearing enemy Base Areas 101 and 114. Jeb Stuart was terminated on March 31 with enemy casualties listed at 3,268; U.S. casualties were 291 killed in action and 1,735 wounded. On the same day that Jeb Stuart was launched, other 1st Cavalry units launched Operation Pershing II in the coastal lowlands in Binh Dinh Province. This operation, designed to clear enemy forces from the area, lasted until February 29.