January 22nd

Conan O'Brien ended his brief tenure as host of 'The Tonight Show' after accepting a $45 million buyout from NBC to leave the show after only seven months.

President Barack Obama ordered the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay closed within a year and banned harsh interrogation of terror suspects. (The prison remains open.).

Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive 'dirty bomb,' was sentenced by a U.S. federal judge in Miami to more than 17 years in prison on terrorism conspiracy charges.

Eco Morales becomes Bolivia's first indigenous president. The left-wing politician has focused mainly on combating poverty and curbing the influence of transnational corporations.

Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, Calif., to being the Unabomber in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

The Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mother of President John F. Kennedy, died in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 104.

Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, died at his ranch in Johnson City, Texas, at age 64.

The Boeing 747 went on its first regularly scheduled commercial flight, from New York to London.

The Élysée Treaty formalizes the reconciliation between Germany and France. The treaty effectively ended centuries of enmity between the two European countries.

The Arthur Miller drama "The Crucible" opened on Broadway.

US president Harry Truman sets up the Central Intelligence Agency.

Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy, during World War II.

World record for fastest temperature change. The fastest temperature change recorded in history occurred on this day in Spearfish, South Dakota. The temperature increased from −4°F (−20°C) to +45°F (+7°C) in the span of two minutes.

Thornton Wilder's play Our Town first performed publicly in Princeton, N.J.

Pope Benedict XV died.

In St Petersburg, Russia, a large demonstration of workers led by Father Gapon, march to the Winter Palace with a petition to the Tsar. troops fire on protesters in what becomes known as 'Bloody Sunday'

Queen Victoria of England died after reigning for 63 years (the 4th longest among longest-reigning monarchs and the longest for queens).

Battle of Rorke's Drift: British garrison of 150 holds off 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses and a number of other decorations were awarded to the defenders.

Prince William of Orange (future King William III of Britain), summons Convention Parliament to discuss ruling jointly with his wife Mary (daughter of exiled King James II).

The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican.