1526 – Charles V and Francis I sign the Treaty of Madrid, forcing Francis to give up claims to Burgundy, Italy and Flanders
1641 – United East Indian Company conquers city of Malacca, 7,000 killed
1724 – Spanish King Philip V abdicates throne
1761 – Third Battle of Panipat: In one of the largest battles of the century, the mostly Muslim Afghani Durrani Empire defeats the mostly Hindu Maratha Empire in Northern India. An estimated 60,000–70,000 were killed in the fighting and about 40,000 Maratha prisoners massacred afterwards.
1784 – US Revolutionary War ends with the US Congress of the Confederation ratifying the Treaty of Paris
1900 – The opera Tosca—a psychological drama of deceit and doubt composed by Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest exponents of operatic realism—made its world premiere in Rome’s Costanzi Theatre.
1972 – Margrethe II of Denmark becomes the first Queen of Denmark since 1412
1979 – US President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King’s birthday be a holiday
1997 – Greek archaeologists announced that they had discovered an ancient site in Athens that may have been Aristotle’s Lyceum.
2005 – The Huygens entry probe landed on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan; it marked the first time a spacecraft landed on a planetary surface in the outer solar system.
2007 – Legendary Russian test pilot Marina Popovich is awarded the honorary title “The Hero of the Nation” by the Russian Federation
2010 – Yemen declares war on al-Qaeda
2011 – Tunisian president Ben Ali, flees to Saudi Arabia after popular protests known as the Jasmine Revolution
2014 – American journalist David Satter is expelled from Russia
2015 – 63 people are killed and 70,000 are left homeless after floods devastate Mozambique and Malawi
2019 – US President Donald Trump denies he is a Russian agent after NY Times article states the FBI started an investigation and the Washington Post raised issues over a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin
2019 – China posts shock drop in trade figures with a 4.4% fall in exports for December and a 7.6% fall in imports
2019 – Americans chance of dying from an accidental opioid overdose higher than a car accident for the first time, according to US National Safety Council
Film & TV:
1952 – “Today Show” premieres with Dave Garroway & Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV
Music:
1970 – Diana Ross and the Supremes staged their final concert, as Ross subsequently embarked on a solo career.
1973 – “Aloha from Hawaii”, an Elvis Presley concert, becomes the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer
Sport:
1898 – Australian cricketer Joe Darling hits the 1st six in Tests (out of the ground)
Via Britannica / On This Day