January 27th

Rashidun Caliphate, then the largest empire in history, ends with death of Ali. Succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate.

J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of "The Catcher in the Rye," died in Cornish, N.H. at age 91.

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing on NBC's "Today" show, said that allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy.".

The first shaft of the world's longest tunnel is completed. The Seikan Tunnel, 53.85 km (33.46 mi) in length, connects the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido.

US & North Vietnam's William Rogers & Nguyen Duy Trinh sign cease-fire, ending longest US war and miltary draft.

Astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo 1 spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Fla.

The U.S. Air Force started atomic testing in the Nevada desert.

The Russians liberated Auschwitz concentration camp, where the Nazis had killed over 1.5 million people, including over 1 million Jews.

The Soviet Union announced the end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

Lenin placed in Mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow.

Broadway composer Jerome Kern was born in New York City.

Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" under the pen name Lewis Carroll, was born in Cheshire, England.

U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the 'Trail of Tears.'.

Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.