January 29th

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The Illinois Senate voted to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office.

George W. Bush coins the term “axis of evil” as part of his State of the Union Address. The term used to describe “regimes that sponsor terror” became exemplary for the terminology used by the Bush administration to promote its “war on terror”.

A bomb exploded at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., killing an off-duty policeman and severely wounding a nurse. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was captured in May 2003 and is serving a life sentence.).

France stops nuclear testing. President Jaques Chirac announced the “definite end” to France's nuclear testing program just 1 day after the country exploded a nuclear device in the South Pacific.

The San Francisco 49ers became the first team to win five Super Bowl titles when they beat the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX.

President Jimmy Carter welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House following the establishment of diplomatic relations.

The Mantra-Rock Dance takes place in San Francisco. The event is considered to have been the major spiritual event of the San Francisco hippy era.

Poet Robert Frost died at age 88.

Actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married.

Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson were the first players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

The American League, consisting of eight baseball teams, was organized in Philadelphia.

Emile Grubbe is the first doctor to use radiation treatment for breast cancer.

The Coca-Cola Company, is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.

German engineer Carl Benz patents the first modern automobile. His “Benz Patent-Motorwagen Nummer 1” was the first gasoline-driven car.

Kansas became the 34th state in the United States.

Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov was born in the port city of Taganrog.

Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.

Edgar Allan Poe's “The Raven” is published. The narrative poem first appeared in the New York Evening Mirror.

William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was born in Niles, Ohio.

Britain's King George III died insane at Windsor Castle.

John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress. He was paid $2 a day.

William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is thought to have been first performed. The play was officially published in early 1597.