Historical Events
Events 1 - 100 of 109
- Jan 1 20th Fiesta Bowl: #18 Louisville beats #25 Alabama, 34-7
- Jan 1 5% sales tax on consumer goods & services goes into effect in USSR
- Jan 1 57th Orange Bowl: #1 Colorado beats #5 Notre Dame, 10-9
- Jan 1 57th Sugar Bowl: #6 Tennessee beats Virginia, 23-22
- Jan 1 77th Rose Bowl: #8 Washington beats #17 Iowa, 46-34
Iraq Rejects Peace
Jan 1 Iraq rejects peace proposal from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over occupation of Kuwait
Gretsky Youngest to 700
Jan 3 Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest and youngest player in NHL history to score 700 goals (886 games at age 29 years, 342 days) in LA Kings’ 6-3 win over the NY Islanders at the Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum
- Jan 4 12-year-old Chinese diver Fu Mingxia wins 10m platform gold medal at World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia; youngest world champion in the history of any aquatic event
- Jan 4 AT&T workers in Newark accidentally snap a cable
- Jan 4 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Goran Prpić beats American David Wheaton 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 for an unassailable 2-0 lead, (ends 2-1) and Yugoslavia's first title
- Jan 4 Iraq agrees to send Aziz to Geneva to meet Baker on Jan 9th
- Jan 4 Jan Krzystof Bielecki becomes premier of Poland
- Jan 5 Edwin Jongejans of Netherlands wins 1-metre springboard diving title
- Jan 5 Kevin Bradshaw of US Intl scores NCAA Div 1 record 72 pts
"Oh, Kay!"
Jan 5 Revival of George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and P. G. Wodehouse's musical "Oh, Kay!" closes at Richard Rodgers Theater, NYC, after 77 performances
- Jan 6 "Real Life With Jane Pauley" premieres on NBC-TV
- Jan 6 Jorge Serrano Elias elected President of Guatemala
- Jan 6 Portland Trail Blazers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 114-111 before a sellout crowd at the Portland Memorial Coliseum; marks the Blazers' 600th consecutive sellout at home
- Jan 6 Qian Hong swims female world record 50m butterfly (27.30 sec)
Gypsy
Jan 6 Revival of Jules Styne and Stephen Sondheim's musical "Gypsy" starring Tyne Daly, closes at St James Theater, NYC. after 476 performances; transfers to Marquis Theatre after 5 month break
- Jan 7 "Nia Peeples Party Machine" premieres on TV
Hussein Prepares Troops
Jan 7 Saddam Hussein prepares his troops for what he says will be a long violent war against the US
"Davis Rules"
Jan 8 "Davis Rules" with Jonathan Winters & Randy Quaid premieres on ABC-TV
Perry, Jenkins and Carew Elected
Jan 8 Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins & Rod Carew elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 8 Tamas Darnyi swims world record 400m medley (4:12.36)
- Jan 9 Baker & Aziz meet in Geneva; talks fail to defuse gulf crisis
Jordan Reaches 15,000 Points
Jan 9 Chicago's Michael Jordan scores a game-high 40 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-99 win over Philadelphia at the Spectrum; reaches the 15,000 point mark of his career
- Jan 9 Dean Smith of NC is 6th to win 700 career coaching basketball games
- Jan 10 Japan ends routine fingerprinting of all adult ethnic Koreans
- Jan 10 US Congress begins debate on Persian Gulf crisis
- Jan 11 Ben Johnson's 1st race after being stripped of his 1988 Olympic Gold medal for steroid use, he finishes 2nd
- Jan 11 Congress empowers Bush to order attack on Iraq
- Jan 11 Soviets storm buildings in Vilnius to block Lithuania independence
- Jan 12 Largest crowd to watch Atlantic Coast Women's Basketball game (11,520)
- Jan 12 Melvin Stewart swims world record 200 m butterfly (1:55.69)
US Congress Authorizes War
Jan 12 US Congress gives George H. W. Bush authority to wage war against Iraq
- Jan 13 12th ACE Cable Awards: Weather Channel wins the Golden CableACE for the coverage of the hurricane "Hugo"
- Jan 13 Football fans of the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates clash in Orkney, South Africa leading to a riot and 42 deaths in the Oppenheimer Stadium disaster
Soares Re-elected
Jan 13 President Mário Soares of Portugal re-elected
- Jan 13 Soviet troops continue attack on Vilnius, capital of Lithuania; 13 people killed and 140 injured as
- Jan 13 UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar meets with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
- Jan 14 "Barbara DeAngelis Show" premieres on CBS-TV
- Jan 14 Jorge Serrano Elias sworn in as President of Guatemala
- Jan 14 Tyne Daly arrested for drunk driving in Van Nuys, California
- Jan 14 Valentin Pavlov become new premier of USSR
- Jan 15 Dean Jones (76) and Mark Taylor (71) lead Australia to 7 wicket win over New Zealand in cricket's World Series Cup 2nd Final in Melbourne; win series, 2-0
Australia Own Victoria Cross
Jan 15 Elizabeth II signs letters patent that allows Australia to institute its own Victoria Cross, the first Commonwealth realm to do so
- Jan 15 UN's deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait (they don't)
6th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Jan 16 6th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: LaVern Baker; The Byrds; John Lee Hooker; The Impressions; Wilson Pickett; Jimmy Reed; Ike and Tina Turner; Howlin' Wolf; Dave Bartholomew; and Ralph Bass
- Jan 16 7th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
- Jan 17 Andy Van Hellemond sets NHL record for most games worked by a referee when he appears in his 1,173rd regular season encounter as the St. Louis Blues host the Montreal Canadiens
- Jan 17 Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V
- Jan 17 Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles on Israel
- Jan 17 Mountie Jacques Rougeau beats Hart for WWF intercontinental title
- Jan 17 Operation Desert Storm begins, with US-led coalition forces bombing Iraq, during the Gulf War
- Jan 18 Eastern Air Lines goes out of business after 62 years, citing financial problems.
- Jan 18 Iraq launches SCUD missiles against Israel
The Longest Match
Jan 18 Longest tennis match at the Australian Open, Boris Becker beats Italy's Omar Camporese in 5 hours & 11 mins
Noriega Paid $320,000
Jan 18 US acknowledges CIA and US Army paid Manuel Noriega $320,000 over his career
- Jan 18 WLAF's NY Knights become NY-NJ Knights
- Jan 19 42nd NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Campbell beats Wales, 11-5; Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs, C
48th Golden Globes
Jan 19 48th Golden Globes: Dances with Wolves, Jeremy Irons, & Kathy Bates win
- Jan 19 Eastern Airlines shuts down operations
- Jan 19 Iraq files SCUD missiles at Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel during the Gulf War
- Jan 19 Sgt Slaughter defeats Ultimate Warrior for WWF championship belt
- Jan 20 "Black & Blue" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 829 performances
- Jan 20 13th UCP Telethon
- Jan 20 AFC Championship, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY: Buffalo Bills beat Los Angeles Raiders, 51-3
- Jan 20 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: New York Giants beat San Francisco 49ers, 15-13
- Jan 20 Paul Chihara and John Driver's musical "Shogun - The Musical", based on James Clavell's novel, closes at Marquis Theater, NYC, after 72 performances
- Jan 20 Revival of Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green's musical "Peter Pan", starring Cathy Rigby, closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 45 performances
- Jan 20 Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
- Jan 20 US Patriot missiles begins shooting down Iraqi missiles
- Jan 21 CBS News correspondant Bob Simon and four TV crew captured and held for 40 days by Iraqis in the Persian Gulf
- Jan 21 Sacramento's Dick Motta coaches in his 1,648th regular season game, a 97-94 Kings' victory over Houston; at the time an NBA record for the most regular-season coaching appearances
- Jan 22 Cholera epidemic begins in Peru with first known sufferer, 300,000 people infected over the next 12 months
Kuwaiti Oil Fires
Jan 22 Kuwaiti oil facilities are destroyed by Iraqi forces
- Jan 23 Bagogwe Massacre of Tutsi in and around Ruhengeri, Northern Rwanda
- Jan 23 World's largest oil spill, caused by embattled Iraqi forces in Kuwait
- Jan 25 Manuel Noriega is given access to assets frozen by US government
- Jan 25 Mark Waugh scores ton in 1st Test Cricket innings, v England Adelaide
- Jan 25 Soap opera "Generation's" last episode after a 2½ year run
Hull's 50 Points Record
Jan 25 St. Louis right wing Brett Hull scores twice in Blues' 9-4 win at Detroit, to give him 50 goals in 49 games; becomes 3rd player in NHL history with 50 goals in less than 50 games
- Jan 26 "A Few Good Men" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 497 performances
- Jan 26 Alfaro Vive guerrilla group of Ecuador gives arms to Catholic church
Seles Beats Novotná
Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Monica Seles becomes the only Yugoslav player – male or female – to win a Grand Slam singles title; beats Jana Novotná 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
- Jan 26 Jan Stenerud becomes 1st pure placekicker to make NFL Hall of Fame
- Jan 26 NY Lotto pays $90 million to nine winners (#s are 5-15-30-35-46-50)
- Jan 27 7th Sundance Film Festival: "Poison" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- Jan 27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Boris Becker of Germany wins his 1st Australian title; beats Ivan Lendl 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- Jan 27 Dutch Pacifist Socialistic Party disbands
- Jan 27 Nadine Strossen is 1st female president of the ACLU
- Jan 27 Super Bowl XXV, Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL: New York Giants beat Buffalo Bills, 20-19; MVP: Ottis Anderson, NY Giants, RB
- Jan 28 "A Closer Look" with Faith Daniels premieres on NBC-TV
18th American Music Awards
Jan 28 18th American Music Awards: M.C. Hammer & Janet Jackson win
1991 History
Famous Birthdays
Peter Burling (33 years old)
Jan 1 New Zealand sailor (Olympic gold 49er class 2016, silver 2012, 20; helmsman America's Cup 2017, 21; ISAF World Sailor of the Year 2015, 17), born in Tauranga, New Zealand
- Jan 2 Ben Hardy, English actor (X-Men: Apocalypse; Bohemian Rhapsody), born in Bournemouth, England
- Jan 2 Josh Taylor, Scottish boxer (undisputed world light-welterweight title 2021), born in Prestonpans, Scotland
- Jan 4 Charles Melton, American actor (Riverdale), born in Juneau, Alaska
- Jan 4 Olivia Tennet, New Zealand actress, born in Auckland, New Zealand
- Jan 6 Nikola Saric, Danish footballer, born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Jan 7 (Michaela) "Mj" Rodriguez, American actress and singer, born in Newark, New Jersey
- Jan 7 Caster Semenya, South African athlete (Olympic gold women's 800m 2012, 16; World C'ship gold 2009, 11, 17; testosterone controversy), born in Polokwane, South Africa
- Jan 7 Eden Hazard, Belgian football player (Chelsea, Belgian national team), born in La Louvière, Belgium
- Jan 7 Max Morrow, Canadian actor, born in Toronto, Ontario
- Jan 8 Asuka Hinoi, Japanese J-pop singer, and actress, born in Osaka, Japan
- Jan 15 Ayeza Khan, Pakistani actress (Meray Paas Tum Ho), born in Karachi, Pakistan
- Jan 19 Erin Sanders, American actress, born in Santa Monica, California
- Jan 19 Tommy Fleetwood, British golfer (US Open runner-up 2018; Ryder Cup 2018), born in Southport, England
- Jan 25 Ariana DeBose, American actress and singer (West Side Story), born in North Carolina
- Jan 29 Amberley Snyder, American barrel racer (subject of Netflix film "Walk, Ride. Rodeo), born in California
- Jan 29 Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Grosvenor, English nobleman, and one of UK richest people, born in Westminster, London
- Jan 30 Erik Valdemar Sköld, Swedish contemporary classical composer (Isolation), born in Malmö, Sweden
- Jan 30 Matthew Werkmeister, Australian actor, born in Melbourne, Australia
- Jan 30 Rebecca Lovell, American singer and guitarist (Larkin Poe), born in Atlanta, Georgia
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Charles B. Timmer, Dutch writer (Russia Black on White), dies at 83
- Jan 1 Yvonne Waegemans, Flemish author (Gnome Patjoepelke), dies at 81
- Jan 2 Irving Johnson, American sail training pioneer & adventurer, dies at 85
- Jan 2 Renato Rascel, Italian actor (7 Hills of Rome, Secrets of Santa Vittoria), dies of heart failure at 78
- Jan 3 Luke Appling, American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop, (7 x MLB All Star; AL batting champion 1936, 43; Chicago White Sox), dies of abdominal aortic aneurysm at 83
- Jan 4 Berry Kroeger, actor (Demon Seed), dies of kidney failure at 78
- Jan 4 Harry Krimer, French actor (Napoleon, Les vagabonds magnifiques, La course du flambeau), committed suicide at 94
- Jan 4 Leo Wright, American jazz saxophone and flute player (Dizzy Gillespie; "Blues Shout"; "I Left My Heart In San Francisco"), dies of a heart attack at 57
- Jan 4 Poon Lim, Chinese sailor who survived 133 days adrift at sea, dies at 72
- Jan 4 Richard Maibaum, American screenwriter (Goldfinger), dies at 81
- Jan 5 Johnny Eck [Eckhardt], American sideshow performer, actor (Freaks; Tarzan films), magician, and artist, dies of a heart attack at 79
- Jan 5 Marie Madeline Sullivan, American actress (Elvira, Mistress of Dark), dies at 80
- Jan 5 Vasko Popa, Yugoslavia-Serbian poet (Heaven is a Side Issue), dies at 68
- Jan 6 Ada Moore, entertainer, dies of cancer at 64
- Jan 6 Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Turkish composer, dies at 83
- Jan 7 Charlotte Wynters, American stage and screen actress, dies at 91
Carl David Anderson (1905-1991)
Jan 11 American physicist (1936 Nobel Prize for physics), dies at 85
- Jan 12 Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (Across the Pacific, Charlie Chan's No 1 Son), dies after a stroke at 86
- Jan 12 Vasco Pratolini, Italian writer (Le Ragazze di San Frediano), dies at 77
- Jan 14 Gordon Bryant, Australian politician (b. 1914)
- Jan 14 Sallah Kharaf [Abu Iyad], Palestine deputy head of the PLO under Arafat, assassinated at 57 or 58
- Jan 16 Cladys "Jabbo" Smith, American jazz trumpet pioneer, dies at 82
- Jan 17 Olav V, King of Norway (1957-91), dies at 87
- Jan 18 Hamilton Fish III, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York), dies at 102
- Jan 19 Don Beddoe, actor (Bullwhip, Loophole, Texas), dies at 87
- Jan 19 Glenn Langan, American actor (Amazing Colossal Man, Margie, Jungle Heat, Rapture), dies of lymphoma at 73
- Jan 19 John Russell, American actor (Apache Uprising, Yellow Sky), dies at 70
- Jan 19 Marcel Chaput, French Canadian politician, dies at 72
- Jan 20 Bill Riordon, American tennis promotor (Jimmy Connors), dies
- Jan 20 Louis Seigner, actor (Eclipse, Special Section), dies in a fire at 87
- Jan 21 Frank Mitchell, actor (Music is Magic, Prairie Gunsmoke), dies
- Jan 22 Robert Choquette, French Canadian novelist, poet and diplomat, dies at 85
- Jan 23 Northrop Frye, Canadian writer and critic (b. 1912)
- Jan 24 Harold "Shot" Jackson, American country dobro player, and pedal steel guitarist (Roy Acuff), and guitar designer and builder (Sho-Bud), dies after his second stroke at 70
- Jan 24 Jack Schaefer, American author (Shane), dies at 83
- Jan 24 John M. Kelly, Irish politician and academic (b. 1931)
- Jan 24 Lawrence Lott, American actor (Real Men, Philadelphia Experiment), dies of AIDS at 40
- Jan 25 Lillian Bond, English-American actress (Air Mail, Pick-up, Blond Cheat), dies at 83
- Jan 25 Stanley Brock, American actor (UHF, Hard to Kill, Ivan-He's the Mayor), dies of a heart attack at 59
- Jan 25 Walter "Hoot" Evers, American baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 1948, 50 Detroit Tigers), dies from heart disease at 69
- Jan 26 (Johan) "Johnny" van Doorn, Dutch writer, poet (as Johnny the Selfkicker), and performer (Oorlog & Pap - War & Porridge), dies at 46
- Jan 26 Karen Young, American disco singer ("Hot Shot"), dies at 39
- Jan 26 Orestes López, Cuban band leader and composer (co-inventor of 'mambo' with his brother, Cachao), dies at 82
- Jan 27 Dale Long, American baseball infielder (MLB record 8 HRs in consecutive games 1956; Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs), dies of cancer at 64
Red Grange (1903-1991)
Jan 28 American "Galloping Ghost" of football (University of Illinois, Chicago Bears), dies of Parkinson's disease at 87
John Bardeen (1908-1991)
Jan 30 American physicist, electrical engineer and co-inventor of the transistor (Nobel 1956, 1972), dies of heart disease at 82
- Jan 30 John McIntire, American actor (Naked City, Wagon Train, Virginian), dies of emphysema at 83