1377 – Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon
1893 – Franco-Russian Alliance is signed
1912 – Captain Robert Scott’s expedition arrives at the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen
1915 – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s Hospital in Amsterdam opens
1915 – Jerome Kern and Harry B. Smith’s musical “Love o’ Mike” opens at the Shubert Theatre (later transferring to the Maxine Elliott and Casino theatres), NYC; runs for 233 performances
1945 – Auschwitz concentration camp begins evacuation
1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis, arrested by Soviet secret police in Hungary
1961 – 11th NBA All-Star Game, Onondaga County Coliseum, Syracuse, NY: West beats East, 153-131; MVP: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, PG; at 22, youngest player to receive All-Star MVP honours, 23 points and 14 assists
1989 – Murden and Metz are 1st women to reach South Pole overland (on skis)
2007 – Doomsday Clock set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea’s 1st nuclear test