What Happened in January 1995

Historical Events

"The Far Side" Ends

Jan 1 Last "The Far Side" by cartoonist Gary Larson (started 1980)

Jan 1 Raman Lamba (312) & Ravi Sehgal (216) put on an Indian 1st-class record opening partnership 464 in Delhi's innings & 310 run win over Himachal Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy cricket match in Delhi
Jan 1 The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
Jan 2 24th Fiesta Bowl: #4 Colorado beats Notre Dame, 41-24
Jan 2 61st Sugar Bowl: #7 Florida State beats #5 Florida, 23-17
Jan 2 81st Rose Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #12 Oregon, 38-20
Jan 2 Bus crashes in Luzon Philippines, 29 killed
Jan 2 Carquest Bowl 5: South Carolina beats West Virginia, 24-21
Jan 2 Most distant galaxy yet discovered found by scientists using Keck telescope in Hawaii (est 15 billion light years away)

Gingrich House Speaker

Jan 4 Newt Gingrich (R) becomes speaker of the US House of Representatives

Jan 5 Bill Fitch becomes the 5th coach in NBA history to register 850 career victories with the LA Clippers' 95-93 home win over Philadelphia 76'ers at the LA Memorial Sports Arena
Jan 5 Lockheed C-140 Jetstar crashes at Isfahan, Iran, killing 18
Jan 6 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

Wilkens Sets New Win Record

Jan 6 Atlanta Hawks' coach Lenny Wilkens passes the legendary Red Auerbach to become the NBA's all-time winningest coach, with 939 career victories; Hawks beat Washington, 112-90 at the Omni

Germany Wins Second Title

Jan 7 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Boris Becker beats Andrei Medvedev of the Ukraine 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 for a 2-0 win, and Germany's second title

Jan 7 Larry Brown posts his 500th career NBA coaching victory, following the Indiana Pacers' 88-83 road win at the Houston Rockets

"A Christmas Carol"

Jan 7 Limited run of Patrick Stewart's one-man show "A Christmas Carol", based on Charles Dickens' novel, closes at Richard Rodgers Theater, NYC, after 18 performances

Musical Finale

Jan 7 Stephen Sondheims's musical "Passion" closes at the Plymouth Theater, NYC, after 280 performances, and 6 Drama Desk and 4 Tony Award wins

Jan 8 15th United Negro College Fund raises $12,200,000

Mike Schmidt Elected

Jan 8 Philadelphia Phillies 12-time All Star third baseman Mike Schmidt is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

"Guys & Dolls"

Jan 8 Revival of Frank Loesser's musical "Guys & Dolls", starring Nathan Lane, closes at Martin Beck Theater, NYC, after 1143 performances, winning 4 Tony and 7 Drama Desk Awards

Jan 9 Ecuador & Peru involved in boundary fight
Jan 9 Worker accidentally cuts electrical wires at Newark Airport

Television Premiere

Jan 10 "The Late Late Show" with Tom Snyder premieres on CBS at 12:30 AM; hosts the program until 1999

Television and Radio Interviewer Tom Snyder

Jan 11 5th TV network (WB) Warner Brothers begins (WPIX-TV in NYC)
Jan 11 Birmingham Barracudas (based in Alabama) granted CFL franchise, experiment only lasts one season
Jan 11 DC-9 crashes near Maria La Baya, Colombia: 51 die, 9 yr old girl lives
Jan 11 NHLPA & owners agree to end NHL strike

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Jan 12 10th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Allman Brothers Band; Al Green; Janis Joplin; Led Zeppelin; Martha and the Vandellas; Neil Young; Frank Zappa; The Orioles; Paul Ackerman

Jan 12 Major earthquake kills 5,092 in Kobe, Japan

OJ Simpson Trial

Jan 12 Murder trial against O.J. Simpson, begins in LA

NFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal O.J. Simpson

Jan 12 Pope John Paul II arrives on his second visit to the Philippines on trip to South East Asia
Jan 13 26 HNL teams unanimously ratify agreement to end NHL strike
Jan 13 America3 becomes 1st all-female crew to win an America's Cup race
Jan 14 10,000 South Africans attend state funeral of Joe Slovo
Jan 14 16th ACE Cable Awards: John Malone wins the Golden CableACE for outstanding achievements in advancing the development of cable programming

US Aid for Mexico

Jan 14 Mexico pledges profits from state-owned Pemex's $7-billion-per-year oil revenues in an effort to secure US congressional approval of loan guarantees; President Clinton approves a $20-billion U.S. aid package for Mexico

Pazienza vs. Durán

Jan 14 Vinny Pazienza beats Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Durán in a 12-round unanimous decision in a super middleweight bout in Atlantic City; 2nd time in 6 months Pazienza wears down 43-year-old Duran in a high profile pay-pay-view bout

Jan 15 AFC Championship, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh: San Diego Chargers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-13
Jan 15 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys, 38-28
Jan 15 Southern Alabama begins using new area code 334
Jan 15 Western Washington begins using new area code 360
Jan 16 UPN (Universal-Parmount Network) begins telecasting (WWOR in NYC)
Jan 17 "Carousel" closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 322 performances
Jan 17 7.2 earthquake destroys Kobe, Japan and kills 5,372
Jan 17 Australia beat Australia A 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup

Bush Governor of Texas

Jan 17 George W. Bush sworn in as Governor of Texas

Jan 17 LA Rams announce that they are moving to St Louis
Jan 18 Kumble takes 16-99 in match for Karnataka v Kerala

Pope Visits Australia

Jan 18 Pope John Paul II begins visit to Australia

Jan 19 Jean-Claude Juncker (28) sworn in as premier of Luxembourg
Jan 20 "Love! Valor! Compassion!" opens at Walter Kerr, NYC; runs for 276 performances
Jan 20 1994-95 NHL Season begin after a lengthy strike
Jan 20 Russian ruble drops to 3,947 per dollar (record)

52nd Golden Globes

Jan 21 52nd Golden Globes: "Forrest Gump", Tom Hanks, & Jessica Lange win

Jan 22 Palestinian bomb attack in Beit Lid Israel, 21-22 killed
Jan 25 Chicago Blackhawks beat Edmonton Oilers, 5-1 in the first NHL game in their new home, the United Center; defenseman Chris Chelios leads scoring with a goal and 2 assists
Jan 25 Jacques Santer succeeds Jacques Delors as chairman of Euro Committee

Howard Stern Rest Stop

Jan 26 NJ Governor Christine Whitman, dedicates a rest stop to Howard Stern

Jan 26 With a record 6,254,427 ballots cast by fans in NBA All-Star Voting, Detroit's Grant Hill becomes the first rookie to lead all NBA players in All-Star votes received, earning #1 on 1,289,585 ballots
Jan 27 Eric Cantona of Manchester United fined and banned from playing football after attacking a fan

Pierce Beats Sánchez Vicario

Jan 28 Australian Open Women's tennis: Mary Pierce of France beats Spain's Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-3, 6-2 for her 1st career Grand Slam title and her only Australian singles title

Jan 28 Memphis Mad Dogs granted CFL's 13th franchise
Jan 29 11th Sundance Film Festival: "The Brothers McMullen" and "The Young Poisoner's Handbook" (tie) win Grand Jury Prize Dramatic

Agassi Defeats Sampras

Jan 29 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi wins his 1st of 4 Australian titles; beats fellow American Pete Sampras 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4

Jan 29 Greg Blewett scores century on Test debut vs England, Adelaide

Super Bowl XXIX

Jan 29 Super Bowl XXIX, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, FL: San Francisco 49ers beat San Diego Chargers, 49-26; MVP: Steve Young, SF, QB

Jan 30 22nd American Music Awards: Boyz II Men & Ace of Base win
Jan 30 Belgium's TV channel 2 in Flanders goes on the air
Jan 30 Car bomb explodes in Algiers, killing 42 and wounding 296
Jan 30 Jazz guitarist Kevin Eubanks officially becomes bandleader of "The Tonight Show"
Jan 30 Norway's Statoil announces a newly formed consortium that will supply Norwegian natural gas to the European continent
Jan 30 Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.
Jan 31 US President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy

Events in 1995

Famous Birthdays

Poppy [Moriah Rose Pereira] (29 years old)

Jan 1 American pop singer-songwriter ("Lowlife"; "I Disagree"; "Bloodmoney"), born in Boston, Massachusetts

Jan 3 Jisoo [Kim Ji-soo] South Korean singer and dancer (Blackpink), born in Gunpo, South Korea
Jan 4 María Isabel, Spanish pop singer ("Antes muerta que sencilla" - "I'd rather be dead than understated"), born in Ayamonte, Huelva, Spain
Jan 7 Craig Thompson, Irish-English YouTuber (MiniLadd), born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Nicola Peltz (29 years old)

Jan 9 American actress (Katara-The Last Airbender; Tessa Yeager-Transformers: Age of Extinction), born in Westchester County, New York

Jan 12 Motjeka Madisha, South African soccer defender (13 caps; Mamelodi Sundowns), born in Tembisa, South Africa (d. 2020)
Jan 13 Laurel McGoff, American reality TV personality (Kid Nation), born in Medford, Massachusetts

Natalia Dyer (29 years old)

Jan 13 American actress (Nancy Wheeler in Stranger Things; Yes, God, Yes), born in Nashville, Tennessee

Jan 18 Leonard Fournette, American NFL player (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana

Born in 1995

Famous Weddings

Martin Lawrence

Jan 7 Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence (29) weds former Miss Virginia USA Patricia Southall (24) at Norfolk Waterside Marriott in Virginia

Famous Deaths

Deaths 1 - 100 of 110

Jan 1 Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician (1963 Nobel Prize for Physics), worked on the Manhattan Project, dies at 92
Jan 1 Frederick "Fred" West, British contractor and serial killer (12 charges of murder), commits suicide in his prison cell at 53
Jan 1 Jess Stacy, American jazz pianist (Benny Goodman, 1935-39; the Great Gatsby), dies at 90
Jan 1 Ted Hawkins, American singer and guitarist (The Next Hundred Years), dies of a stroke at 58
Jan 2 Graham Sharp, British figure skater (World C'ship, European C'ship 1939), dies at 77
Jan 2 Manuel Rivera, Spanish painter and co-founder (El Paso), dies at 67
Jan 2 Nancy Kelly, American child actress and model (The Bad Seed, Double Exposure, Jesse James), dies at 73
Jan 2 Siad Barre, Somalia politician (President, 1969-91), dies at 84
Jan 3 Al Duncan, American blues drummer, dies at 68
Jan 3 Byron MacGregor, Canadian newscaster, dies of pneumonia at 46
Jan 3 Gerard W. Taylor, South African-British surgeon, dies at 74
Jan 3 Robert Nesbitt, English theatre impresario (Royal Variety Show), dies at 88
Jan 4 Brooks Stevens, American automotive designer (1949 Hydra-Glide Harley; 1963 Jeep Wagoneer), dies at 84
Jan 4 Dorothy Granger, American actress (Hog Wild, Dentist), dies at about 80
Jan 4 Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor (Improvisaciones), dies in air crash at 52
Jan 4 Leonard Hirsch, British violinist and conductor (BBC Empire Orchestra), dies at 92

Jan 4 Robert Clifford Latham, English Pepys scholar, dies at 82
Jan 4 Sol Tax, American anthropologist (founded the journal Current Anthropology), dies at 87
Jan 5 Francis Lopez, Basque-French chanson and operetta composer (La Belle de Cadiz; Andalousie; The Three Musketeers), dies at 78
Jan 5 Mansour Sattari, Iranian Brigadier General and commandant (Iran Air Force), dies at 46
Jan 5 Somerset de Chair, British writer, politician and poet, dies at 83
Jan 6 Edward Sutcliffe, British judge (British Central Criminal Court), dies at 77
Jan 6 James Clay, American jazz tenor saxophonist, dies at 59
Jan 6 Joe Slovo, Latvian/South African attorney/sect-gen (SACR), dies at 68
Jan 6 Karl Guttmann, Austrian-Dutch playwright and director (Pinter), dies at 81
Jan 7 Arthur Leavins, British violinist, dies at 77
Jan 7 Harry Golombek, British chess grandmaster, author (3-time British champion), dies at 83
Jan 7 Larry Grayson, British comedian (Generation Game), dies at 71
Jan 7 Murray Rothbard, American economist (b. 1926)
Jan 7 Viktor Vorobyov, Russian general-major, dies in battle during war in Chechnya
Jan 8 Carlos Monzón, Argentine boxer (Undisputed world middleweight champion 1970-74, 76-77), dies in a car accident at 52

Jan 8 Joyce McCartan, Irish peace campaigner, dies at 68
Jan 9 Gisela Mauermeyer, German discus thrower (Olympic gold 1936), dies at 81
Jan 9 Peter Cook, British comic and actor (Bedazzled: Yellowbeard; The Princess Bride), dies of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at 57
Jan 9 Souphanouvong, President of Laos (1975-87), dies at 85
Jan 10 Elaine Greene, American-British literary agent (Arthur Miller, Dr Seuss), dies at 74
Jan 10 Fred Böhler, Swiss jazz bandleader, pianist, and early proponent of the Hammond organ, dies at 82
Jan 10 Halton Kathleen Tynan, writer, dies at 57
Jan 11 John Gere, English art historian (Keeper of Prints and Drawings British Museum), dies at 73
Jan 11 Josef Gingold, Russian-American violinist (Primrose Quartet; Cleveland Orchestra, 1947-60) and pedagogue (Indiana University, 1960-95), dies following a heart attack at 85
Jan 11 Onat Kutlar, Turkish screenplay/producer (Hazal), murdered at 59
Jan 12 George Price, American cartoonist (New Yorker), dies at 93
Jan 12 Marion Herbst, German-Dutch jewelry designer, dies at 50
Jan 13 Arnold Smith, painter (Vigelius Prize 1935), dies at 89
Jan 13 Arthur Mervyn Stockwood, Anglican bishop (Southwark England), dies at 81
Jan 13 Maxwell Henley Harris, Australian poet and publisher (Critics), dies at 73

Jan 14 Alexander Gibson, British conductor and founder of the Scottish Opera, dies at 68
Jan 14 Mark Finch, English LGBT film festival organizer, commits suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge at 33
Jan 14 Ruby Starr [Constance Henrietta Mierzwiak], American rock singer (Black Oak Arkansas), dies of a brain tumor at 44
Jan 14 Stafford William Somerfield, British newspaper editor, dies at 84
Jan 15 Sollie McElroy, American R&B singer (The Flamingos. 1953-54 - "Golden Teardrops"), dies at 61
Jan 16 William Dillard, American jazz trumpeter and Broadway singer dies from complications of Lupus, at 83 [1]
Jan 17 Isador Caplan, British lawyer and Aldeburgh Festival pioneer, dies at 82
Jan 17 Urias Nooteboom, Dutch journalist/critic (The Time), dies at 54
Jan 18 Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1939 for work on sex hormones), dies at 91
Jan 18 Charles Baskerville, American pop vocalist (Shep and the Limelites - "Daddy's Home"), dies at 54
Jan 18 Joseph Kagan, Lithuanian-British businessman, and inventor (Gannex raincoats), dies at 79
Jan 18 Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire in the American League (1969-79), dies at 57
Jan 19 Eugene Fuller, polymath/linguist, dies at 80
Jan 19 Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter ("Snowbird"; "Put Your Hand in the Hand"), takes his own life at 56
Jan 20 Mehdi Bazargan, director Iranian oil corp/premier (1979), dies at 86
Jan 21 Flavio "Negao" Pires da Conceicao, drug Trafficker, dies at 25
Jan 21 John Halas, Hungarian-American cartoonist and animator (Animal Farm), dies at 82
Jan 21 Philippe Casado, Moroccan-French bicyclist, dies at 30
Jan 22 Christopher Francis Palmer, British composer, orchestrator, and musicologist, dies of AIDS complications 48

Jan 22 Jerry Blackwell, American professional wrestler, dies at 45
Jan 22 Mahmoud Sayed Selim, Egyptian moslim leader, shot to death at 29
Jan 22 Margaret Barbara Lambert, British historian (Saar), dies at 88
Jan 22 Nico Adriaans, Dutch AIDS activist, founder of Rotterdam Junkiebond, dies of AIDS at 37
Jan 22 Ronald Harris, British 1st Church Estates Commissioner, dies at 81

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (1890-1995)

Jan 22 American matriarch, mother of JFK, RFK & Ted, dies at 104

Jan 23 Bill Horton, American doo-wop singer (The Silhouettes - "Get A Job"), dies at 65
Jan 23 Harold Collett Dent, British journalist and educationist, dies at 100
Jan 23 Ken Hill, English playwright and director, dies at 57
Jan 23 Peter Luke, British playwright, dies at 75
Jan 24 David Cole, American songwriter ( C+C Music Factory - "Gonna Make You Sweat"), and record producer (Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, James Brown), dies at 32
Jan 24 Ian Prestt, English ornithologist, dies at 65
Jan 24 Victor Reinganum, English artist and illustrator, dies at 87
Jan 24 Wim Sinnige, Dutch politician (PvdA) (Amsterdam Alderman of Finance, 1973-80), and arts administrator, dies at 60
Jan 25 John Smith, American actor (Cimarron City, Laramie, 7 Angry Men), dies at 63
Jan 25 Peter Black, English TV critic, dies at 82
Jan 25 Tom Brugman, Dutch puppeteer (Brave Dodo), dies at 62
Jan 25 William Sylvester, American actor (2001: A Space Odyssey, Gemini Man), dies at 72
Jan 26 Bernardo Leighton, Chilian politician (1964-70), dies
Jan 26 Geoffrey Parsons, Australian piano accompanist, dies at 65
Jan 26 Louis Heren, English foreign correspondent and journalist, dies at 65
Jan 26 Vic Buckingham, English soccer player and trainer (Ajax), dies at 79
Jan 27 Geoffrey Parsons, Australian-British concert pianist, accompanist, and harpsichord player. dies of cancer at 65
Jan 27 Halsey S. Colchester, British SAS officer, MI6-spy and priest, dies at 76
Jan 27 Jean Tardieu, French dramatist, dies at 91
Jan 27 Raphael M. Robinson, American mathematician, dies at 83
Jan 27 Willem R "Wim" van der Zee, General Secretary of the Council of Churches of the Netherlands, dies at 64
Jan 28 Barrie Wilson, British religious scholar (How Jesus Became Christian), dies at 59
Jan 28 George Woodcock, Canadian writer of political biography and history (Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements), dies at 82
Jan 28 James P. Grant, American director of UNICEF (1980-95), dies at 72
Jan 28 Jim Gilbert, British artist and criminal, dies at 61
Jan 28 Philip Burton, Welsh theater director, acting teacher and mentor to Richard Burton, dies at 90
Jan 28 Walter Allen, English writer and literary critic, dies at 83
Jan 29 Chris de Marigny, British dance administrator, dies at 52
Jan 29 Dickie Burnell, British rower (Olympic gold double sculls 1948), dies at 77

On This Day