On January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, American religious and historical leader in the fight for civil rights and against racial segregation in the United States, was born in Atlanta (Georgia, USA). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Other anniversaries

1759.- The British Museum opens its doors in London.

1796.- The supposed mortal remains of Christopher Columbus disembark in Havana, from Santo Domingo.

1859.- A revolution breaks out in Haiti that dethrones Emperor Faustine I.

1875.- Military coup d’état in Uruguay. José Ellauri cedes executive power to Pedro Varela.

1881.- Battle of Miraflores, during the Pacific War, between the Chilean and Peruvian armies, which gives victory to the former, opening the doors of Lima to them.

1892.- James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.

1919.- Murder in Berlin of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, founders of the German Communist Party and main leaders of the Spartacist insurrection in the German capital.

– Molasses disaster: in Boston (USA), the explosion of a large molasses tank causes a flood that leaves 21 dead and 150 injured.

1934.- An earthquake of magnitude 8 shakes Nepal and the Indian state of Bihar, causing about 12,000 deaths.

1941.- Alfonso XIII abdicates in Rome his rights to the Spanish throne in favor of his son Prince Don Juan, Count of Barcelona.

1943.- Inauguration of the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defense, near Washington.

1944.- The Argentine city of San Juan is destroyed by an earthquake.

1962.- The Derveni papyrus, the oldest preserved manuscript in Europe, was found in Greece.

1967.- The first Super Bowl is played, the most important event in American football. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.

1971.- Inauguration of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.

1985.- Tancredo Neves is appointed president of Brazil by the Electoral College, although he dies before taking office.

1992.- The European Community recognizes the independence of Croatia and Slovenia, which means the dismemberment of Yugoslavia as a unitary State for European purposes.

1996.- Mario Vargas Llosa takes possession of the ‘L’ chair of the Royal Spanish Academy.

– The Prime Minister of Greece, the socialist Andreas Papandreou, resigns as a result of a serious respiratory illness.

2000.- Serbian paramilitary leader Zeljko Raznatovic, ‘Arkan’, accused of war crimes, is murdered in Belgrade.

2001.- Wikipedia is born, a free encyclopedia published on the Internet created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.

2004.- NASA’s ‘Spirit’ robot begins exploring Mars.

2005.- First sentence for the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison: a court in Texas (USA) sentences Charles Graner to ten years in prison and expulsion from the Army.

2006.- Michelle Bachelet wins the elections in Chile and becomes the first woman to become President.

2007.- Two collaborators of Saddam Hussein executed in Baghdad: his half-brother, Barzan al Tikriti, and judge Awad al Bandar.

2009.- The Israeli Army kills Hamas Interior Minister Said Siam in the Gaza Strip.

– Landing of an Airbus 320 plane in the Hudson River, in New York, piloted by Chesley Sullenberger. The 155 travelers are saved.

2013.- More than 80 dead in an attack against the Syrian university in Aleppo.

2019.- The British Parliament rejects the agreement with the EU on ‘Brexit’ and the Labor Party presents a motion of no confidence against the Government.

2020.- The United States and China sign the first phase of a trade agreement.

– The Russian Government resigns en bloc after Vladimir Putin announced changes to the Constitution.

2022.- A ship from the Spanish company Repsol causes a spill of almost 12,000 barrels of oil into the sea off the central coast of Peru.

Births

1809.- Pierre Joseph Proudhon, French socialist philosopher.

1826.- Marie Pasteur, French scientist, collaborator of her husband, Louis Pasteur.

1850.- Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician.

1888.- María Isabel Carvajal (Carmen Lyra), Costa Rican writer.

1896.- Víctor de la Serna, Spanish writer born in Chile.

1906.- Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipowner and billionaire.

1908.- Edward Teller, American physicist of Hungarian origin.

1918.- Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt (1956-1970).

– Sheila Tinney, Irish mathematician.

1922.- Paul Casimir Marcinkus, North American archbishop.

1926.- María Schell, Austrian actress of Swiss origin.

1927.- Armando Morales, Nicaraguan painter.

1929.- Luis Caruncho, Spanish painter, sculptor and engraver.

1955.- Thierry Breton, French businessman and politician.

1975.- Mary Pierce, French tennis player.

1977.- Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy.

1978.- ‘Niña Pastori’ (María Rosa García), Spanish flamenco singer.

1980.- David Muñoz (‘Dabiz Muñoz’), Spanish chef.

1981.- Manuel Carrasco, Spanish singer.

– ‘Pitbull’ (Armando Christian Pérez), Cuban-American rapper singer.

Deaths

1597.- Juan de Herrera, Spanish architect, author of the El Escorial monastery.

1988.- Sean Mc Bride, Irish politician, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1974.

1998.- Junior Wells, American blues musician.

2004.- Olivia Goldsmith, American writer.

2005.- Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano.

2006.- Sheikh Jaber al Ahmad al Sabah, emir of Kuwait.

2007.- Bo Yibo, historic leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

2009.- Tommy Muñiz, Puerto Rican actor and television producer.

2017.- Isidro Baldenegro, Mexican indigenous leader.

2018.- Dolores O’Riordan, Irish singer, leader of ‘The Cranberries’.

– Edwin Hawkins, American gospel singer, famous for his song ‘Oh, Happy Day’.

2019.- Carol Channing, American actress and singer.

2021.- Vicente Cantatore, Argentine footballer and coach nationalized as Chilean.

2022.- Ninno Cerruti, Italian fashion designer.

2023.- Guadalupe Rivera, Mexican academic and politician, daughter of the painter Diego Rivera.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Agencia EFE is a Spanish international news agency that distributes information to more than two thousand media outlets around the world in the written press, radio, television and internet. It has a network with more than three thousand journalists of 60 nationalities. It operates 24 hours a day from at least 180 cities in 110 countries.



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