| 1072 |
|
Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger take Palermo in Sicily. |
| 1645 |
|
The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, is beheaded on Tower Hill, accused of acting as an enemy of the British Parliament. |
| 1724 |
|
King Philip V shocks all of Europe when he abdicates his throne in favor of his eldest son, Louis. |
| 1811 |
|
An uprising of over 400 slaves is put down in New Orleans. Sixty-six blacks are killed and their heads are strung up along the roads of the city. |
| 1847 |
|
General Stephen Kearny and Commodore Robert Stockton retake Los Angeles in the last California battle of the Mexican War. |
| 1861 |
|
Florida secedes from the Union. |
| 1863 |
|
London's Underground begins operations. |
| 1870 |
|
John D. Rockefeller and his brother William establish the Standard Oil Company of Ohio. |
| 1899 |
|
Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo renounces the Treaty of Paris, which annexed the Philippines to the United States. |
| 1901 |
|
The Automobile Club of America installs signs on major highways. |
| 1903 |
|
Argentina bans the importation of American beef because of sanitation problems. |
| 1911 |
|
Two German cruisers, the Emden and the Nurnberg, suppress a native revolt on island of Ponape in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific when they fire on the island and land troops. |
| 1912 |
|
The world's first flying-boat airplane, designed by Glenn Curtiss, makes its maiden flight at Hammondsport. |
| 1917 |
|
Germany is rebuked as the Entente officially rejects a proposal for peace talks and demands the return of occupied territories from Germany. |
| 1918 |
|
In Washington, the House of Representatives passes legislation for women's suffrage. |
| 1920 |
|
The Treaty of Versailles goes into effect. |
| 1923 |
|
The United States withdraws its last troops from Germany. |
| 1940 |
|
German planes attack 12 ships off the British coast; sinking 3 ships and killing 35 people. |
| 1941 |
|
The Soviets and Germany agree on the East European borders and the exchange of industrial equipment. |
| 1946 |
|
Chiang Kai-shek and the Yenan Communist forces halt fighting in China. |
| 1964 |
|
Panama breaks ties with the U.S. and demands a revision of the canal treaty. |
| 1984 |
|
The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations for the first time in 117 years. |
| 1985 |
|
Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes President of Nicaragua, vowing to continue the country's transformation to a socialist state with close ties to the USSR and Cuba. |
| 2007 |
|
A general strike begins in Guinea; eventually, it will lead to the resignation of the country's president, Lansana Conte. |
| Born on January 10 |
| 1834 |
|
Lord Acton [John E.E. Dalberg], English historian, editor of The Rambler. |
| 1864 |
|
George Washington Carver, chemist, agronomist, helped change the agricultural economy of the South. |
| 1945 |
|
Rod Stewart, singer, songwriter ("Maggie May," "Tonight's the Night"). |
| 1949 |
|
George Foreman, world heavyweight champion boxer. |
| 1949 |
|
Linda Lovelace (Linda Boreman), pornographic actress made famous by the movie Deep Throat, she later became an anti-pornography activist. |
| 1953 |
|
Pat Benatar, singer; the four-time Grammy winner's hits include "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Invincible". |