1521 – Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms in Worms, Germany which lasts until May 25th. Produced the “Edict of Worms” which dennouced Martin Luther
1807 – London’s Pall Mall is 1st street lit by gaslight
1813 – Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom
1819 – Sir Stamford Raffles lands in Singapore
1933 – The name “Pakistan” is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali and gradually accepted by Muslims in the Indian sub-continent who use it to push for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia
1942 – German troops occupy Benghazi Libya
1948 – President Manuel Roxas granted full amnesty to all so-called Philippine collaborators
1958 – Construction began on 1st private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor
1960 – 1st photograph bounced off Moon, Washington, D.C.
1961 – Republic of Rwanda proclaimed
1972 – The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association place “special emphasis on the necessity for a peaceful incident-free day” at the next march on 30 January in an effort to avoid violence
1978 – Ted Nugent autographs a fan’s arm with his knife
1979 – Pope John Paul II addresses the Third General Conference of Latin American Episcopate in Puebla, Mexico
1982 – Italian police rescue, James Dozier, a US Brigadier General, held hostage by the Red Brigade for 6 weeks
2010 – Five murderers of Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hanged: Lieutenant Colonel Syed Faruq Rahman, Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Major AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major Bazlul Huda and Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed
2011 – Hundreds of thousands of protesters fill the Egyptian’s streets against the Hosni Mubarak’s regime in demonstrations referred to as the “Friday of Anger”
2012 – Death toll from coordinated bombing attacks in Kano, Nigeria, reaches 185
2014 – DNA analysis confirms that the 6th century Plague of Justinian was caused by a variant of Yersinia pestis (the same bacteria for the Black Death)
2018 – Seven survivors from missing Kiribati ferry carrying 100 people rescued after week at sea
2020 – US President Donald Trump releases his Middle East peace plan alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House
Film & TV:
1951 – “La Vie Commence Demain” the 1st X-rated movie, depicting artificial insemination, opens in London
Music:
1985 – Charity single “We Are the World” is recorded by supergroup USA for Africa (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and other pop stars)
Sport:
2017 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian title and record 23rd Grand Slam event singles victory
Via Britannica / On This Day
