January 24th

Roman emperor, Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula (meaning Little Boot—he used to wear military boots as a child), was murdered.

Jared Lee Loughner pleaded not guilty in Phoenix to federal charges he'd tried to kill U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and two of her aides in a Tucson shooting rampage that had claimed six lives.

French bank Societe Generale announced it had uncovered a $7.14 billion fraud by a single futures trader.

NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars three weeks after its identical twin, Spirit.

The new federal Department of Homeland Security officially opened as Tom Ridge was sworn in as secretary.

The prosecution gave its opening statement in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

The first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall, died.

Japan launches its first lunar probe. Hiten was the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976 and the first deep space probe that executed an aerobraking maneuver.

Confessed serial killer Ted Bundy was executed in Florida's electric chair.

Gunmen in Lebanon kidnapped educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh. (All were later released.).

The Voyager 2 space probe swept past Uranus, coming within 50,679 miles of the seventh planet from the sun.

Apple Computer Inc unveils its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer.

Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered in Guam, having spent 28 years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.

The United Nations General Assembly passes its fist resolution. Resolution 1 was passed to found the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC).

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco.

The Russian city of St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad in honor of late revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin.

Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell publishes 'Scouting for Boys' as a manual for self-instruction in outdoor skills and self-improvement. The book becomes the inspiration for the Scout Movement.

Rubber heel for boots or shoes patented by Humphrey O'Sullivan.

The University of Calcutta is founded as the first full-fledged university in South Asia.

Gold was first discovered in California, in Sutter's mill. When President Polk announced the news in December, the gold rush began.

Slaves stage a rebellion in Brazil to end slavery. The Malê Revolt was instrumental in ending slavery in Brazil.