Historical Events
1045 – Giovanni di Sabina elected Pope Sylvester III
1866 – Prim’s Insurrection in Spain ends
1941 – Chinese Communist leaders re-organize the New Fourth Army in defiance of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek’s order for it to be disbanded
1989 – Wayne Holdsworth takes a wicket 1st ball in 1st-class cricket
2006 – TV movie “High School Musical” released starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hugdens, becomes Disney Channel’s most successful TV movie
2021 – Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America and Kamala Harris as the 49th Vice President, the first female, black or south Asian Vice President. Amanda Gorman recites “The Hill We Climb”.
Famous Birthdays
1831 – Piet Joubert, South African general and vice-president, born in Prince Albert, British Cape Colony (d. 1900)
1923 – (Ottis) “Slim” Whitman, American country singer (Rose Marie), born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2013)
1931 – Earl Grant, American musician and singer (Ebb Tide, Winter Wonderland), born in Idabel, Oklahoma (d. 1970)
1939 – Murle Breer, American golfer (US Women’s Open 1962), born in St. Petersburg, Florida
1959 – Joel Rifkin, American serial killer believed to have killed up to 17 victims between 1989 and 1993 in NYC and Long Island, born in New York
1966 – Tracii Guns [Tracy Ulrich], American rock guitarist and songwriter (L.A. Guns – “It’s Over Now”), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1691 – Christiaan de Placker, Flemish poet and composer, dies at 77
1819 – Carlos IV [English: Charles], King of Spain (1788-1808), dies at 70
1936 – George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India (1910-36), dies at 70 after being euthanized by his doctor
1965 – Alan Freed, American disc jockey who accepted payola and introduced term “rock-n-roll”, dies at 42
1996 – Ellis Hillman, British Labour party politician, lecturer, and writer (London Under London), dies during heart surgery at 68
2005 – Per Borten, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (1965-71), dies at 91