January 5th

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio was elected speaker as Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives on the first day of the new Congress.

The solar system's largest known dwarf planet is discovered. The discovery of “Eris” ultimately lead to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgrading Pluto, which has roughly the same size, to a dwarf planet.

After 14 years of denials, Pete Rose publicly admitted that he'd bet on baseball while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

INS Commissioner Doris Meissner ruled that 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez must be returned to Cuba.

Former House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill died in Boston at age 81.

The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands. The oil tanker spilled twice as much crude oil as the Exxon Valdez in 1989.

Police in England arrested Peter Sutcliffe, a truck driver later convicted of the "Yorkshire Ripper" murders of 13 women.

Bruce Springsteen's debut album, "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.," was released.

President Richard Nixon ordered development of the space shuttle.

The soap opera "All My Children" premiered on ABC-TV.

The Prague Spring begins. The period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia began with the election of Alexander Dubček as the country's leader.

In his State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman labeled his domestic program the 'Fair Deal.'.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, died in Northampton, Mass., at age 60.

Mao Zedong writes "A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire".

Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman governor of a state (Wyoming).

National Socialist Party (Nazi) forms as German Farmers' Party.

Henry Ford introduced the $5-a-day minimum wage.

The Austrian newspaper Wiener Presse reported the discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen of a type of radiation that came to be known as an X-ray.

Alfred Dreyfus is sentenced to life imprisonment. The French artillery officer was accused of treason. He was later exonerated.

British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond, Virginia.

Battle of Nancy, Burgundy vs Switzerland, 7,000 + killed including their leader Charles Duke of Burgundy.