January 8
1642 - Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.
1815 - The Battle of New Orleans, the final battle of the War of 1812, was fought with U.S. forces led by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeating the British.
1867 - The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in overriding President Andrew Johnson’s veto of the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, giving Black men in the nation’s capital the right to vote.
1912 - The African National Congress was founded in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson outlined his Fourteen Points for peace program dealing with the aftermath of World War I.
1918 - Mississippi became the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which established Prohibition.
1935 - Rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1958 - Bobby Fischer won the United States Chess Championship for the first time, at age 14.
1959 - Charles de Gaulle became the first president of France's Fifth Republic.
1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his War on Poverty.
1982 - The AT&T Bell System telephone monopoly agreed to divest itself of 22 Bell System companies and split itself into seven "Baby Bells."
1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,000 for the first time, ending the day at 2,002.25.
1998 - The mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef, was sentenced to life in prison.
2007 - A Moroccan man convicted of aiding three of the four pilots who committed the 9/11 attacks was sentenced by a German court to the maximum 15 years in prison.
2011 - Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is among 17 shot by a gunman at a meeting outside a grocery store. Six people are fatally wounded, including United States District Court Judge John Roll, and a young girl. Police identify the gunman as Jared Lee Loughner.
2016 - Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most-wanted drug lord, was captured for a third time in a daring raid by Mexican marines, six months after walking through a tunnel to freedom from a maximum security prison.
2020 - Iran struck back at the United States for killing Iran’s top military commander, firing missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops; more than 100 U.S. service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after the attack. As Iran braced for a counterattack, the country’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner after apparently mistaking it for a missile; all 176 people on board were killed, including 82 Iranians and more than 50 Canadians.
2021 - President Donald Trump said he would skip President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration; Biden responded that he was just fine with that, calling it “one of the few things we have ever agreed on.” Twitter said it was banning Trump from its platform, citing “risk of further incitement of violence.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the first Republican senator to call for Trump’s resignation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she had spoken to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about preventing Trump from initiating military actions or a nuclear strike; she said the situation of “this unhinged President could not be more dangerous.”
Birthdays
26 - Isabel Bedoya (model)
27 - Ryan Destiny (singer)
35 - Freddie Stroma (actor)
35 - Cynthia Erivo (actress)
40 - Gaby Hoffman (actress)
41 - Genevieve Padalecki (actress)
42 - Rachel Nichols (actress)
43 - Sarah Polley (actress)
43 - Erin McCarley (singer)
44 - Scott Whyte (actor)
45 - Amber Benson (actress)
46 - Jenny Lewis (actress/singer)
49 - Donnell Turner (actor)
49 - Sean Paul (singer)
53 - Ami Dolenz (actress)
56 - Maria Pitillo (actress)
57 - Michelle Forbes (actress)
65 - Ron Cephas Jones (actor)
67 - Harriet Sansom Harris (actress)
77 - Kathleen Noone (actress)
80 - Yvette Mimieux (actress)
84 - Bob Eubanks (game show host)
85 - Shirley Bassey (singer)
89 - Charles Osgood (news anchor)
99 - Larry Storch (actor/comedian)
========================================
Today in Sports History - January 8
1955 - After 130 home basketball wins, Georgia Tech defeated Kentucky 59-58. It was the first Kentucky loss at home since January 2, 1943.
1955 - Furman sets an NCAA single game men's basketball scoring record with 154 points.
1957 - Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from major league baseball in an article that appeared in "LOOK" magazine.
1960 - The NCAA met in New York and voted against reviving the unlimited substitution rule for college football.
1962 - Jack Nicklaus makes his professional golf debut.
1972 - The NCAA rules that freshman are eligible to participate no varsity teams beginning that fall.
1980 - The NCAA announces it will begin sanctioning championships in five women's sports.
1984 - ABC purchased the remaining 85% of ESPN.
1986 - Willie McCovey is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1991 - Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins and Rod Carew are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1993 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls became the 18th player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points and the second fastest to reach the mark (620 games). Only Wilt Chamberlain reached 20,000 points faster (499 games).
1994 - Dino Ciccarelli (Detroit Red Wings) became the 19th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals.
1995 - Mike Schmidt is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2007 - #2 Florida defeats #1 Ohio State 41-14 to win the BCS National Championship Game.
2009 - #2 Florida defeats #1 Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS National Championship Game.
2013 - Steve Nash records his 10,000th career NBA assist.
2018 - #4 Alabama defeats #3 Georgia 26-23 in overtime to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
1642 - Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.
1815 - The Battle of New Orleans, the final battle of the War of 1812, was fought with U.S. forces led by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeating the British.
1867 - The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in overriding President Andrew Johnson’s veto of the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, giving Black men in the nation’s capital the right to vote.
1912 - The African National Congress was founded in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson outlined his Fourteen Points for peace program dealing with the aftermath of World War I.
1918 - Mississippi became the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which established Prohibition.
1935 - Rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1958 - Bobby Fischer won the United States Chess Championship for the first time, at age 14.
1959 - Charles de Gaulle became the first president of France's Fifth Republic.
1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his War on Poverty.
1982 - The AT&T Bell System telephone monopoly agreed to divest itself of 22 Bell System companies and split itself into seven "Baby Bells."
1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,000 for the first time, ending the day at 2,002.25.
1998 - The mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef, was sentenced to life in prison.
2007 - A Moroccan man convicted of aiding three of the four pilots who committed the 9/11 attacks was sentenced by a German court to the maximum 15 years in prison.
2011 - Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is among 17 shot by a gunman at a meeting outside a grocery store. Six people are fatally wounded, including United States District Court Judge John Roll, and a young girl. Police identify the gunman as Jared Lee Loughner.
2016 - Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most-wanted drug lord, was captured for a third time in a daring raid by Mexican marines, six months after walking through a tunnel to freedom from a maximum security prison.
2020 - Iran struck back at the United States for killing Iran’s top military commander, firing missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops; more than 100 U.S. service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after the attack. As Iran braced for a counterattack, the country’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner after apparently mistaking it for a missile; all 176 people on board were killed, including 82 Iranians and more than 50 Canadians.
2021 - President Donald Trump said he would skip President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration; Biden responded that he was just fine with that, calling it “one of the few things we have ever agreed on.” Twitter said it was banning Trump from its platform, citing “risk of further incitement of violence.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the first Republican senator to call for Trump’s resignation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she had spoken to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about preventing Trump from initiating military actions or a nuclear strike; she said the situation of “this unhinged President could not be more dangerous.”
Birthdays
26 - Isabel Bedoya (model)
27 - Ryan Destiny (singer)
35 - Freddie Stroma (actor)
35 - Cynthia Erivo (actress)
40 - Gaby Hoffman (actress)
41 - Genevieve Padalecki (actress)
42 - Rachel Nichols (actress)
43 - Sarah Polley (actress)
43 - Erin McCarley (singer)
44 - Scott Whyte (actor)
45 - Amber Benson (actress)
46 - Jenny Lewis (actress/singer)
49 - Donnell Turner (actor)
49 - Sean Paul (singer)
53 - Ami Dolenz (actress)
56 - Maria Pitillo (actress)
57 - Michelle Forbes (actress)
65 - Ron Cephas Jones (actor)
67 - Harriet Sansom Harris (actress)
77 - Kathleen Noone (actress)
80 - Yvette Mimieux (actress)
84 - Bob Eubanks (game show host)
85 - Shirley Bassey (singer)
89 - Charles Osgood (news anchor)
99 - Larry Storch (actor/comedian)
========================================
Today in Sports History - January 8
1955 - After 130 home basketball wins, Georgia Tech defeated Kentucky 59-58. It was the first Kentucky loss at home since January 2, 1943.
1955 - Furman sets an NCAA single game men's basketball scoring record with 154 points.
1957 - Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from major league baseball in an article that appeared in "LOOK" magazine.
1960 - The NCAA met in New York and voted against reviving the unlimited substitution rule for college football.
1962 - Jack Nicklaus makes his professional golf debut.
1972 - The NCAA rules that freshman are eligible to participate no varsity teams beginning that fall.
1980 - The NCAA announces it will begin sanctioning championships in five women's sports.
1984 - ABC purchased the remaining 85% of ESPN.
1986 - Willie McCovey is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1991 - Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins and Rod Carew are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1993 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls became the 18th player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points and the second fastest to reach the mark (620 games). Only Wilt Chamberlain reached 20,000 points faster (499 games).
1994 - Dino Ciccarelli (Detroit Red Wings) became the 19th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals.
1995 - Mike Schmidt is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2007 - #2 Florida defeats #1 Ohio State 41-14 to win the BCS National Championship Game.
2009 - #2 Florida defeats #1 Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS National Championship Game.
2013 - Steve Nash records his 10,000th career NBA assist.
2018 - #4 Alabama defeats #3 Georgia 26-23 in overtime to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
