On this day in history.

[J. A.]

January 22, 2008: great Australian actor Heath Ledger dies.

 

[scifan57]

January 22, 1901; Queen Victoria dies. Her reign of 63 years is the longest in British history.

 

[scifan57]

January 22, 1840; the first British colonists to New Zealand, under the leadership of Edward G. Wakefield, land at Port Nicholson, on Auckland Island.

 

[J. A.]

January 22, 1911: Austrian politician Bruno Kreisky (of jewish origin) is born.

 

[scifan57]

January 23, 1957; the first Frisbee comes off the production line.

 

[J. A.]

January 23, 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist, dies.

 

[AdmiralAdama]

Today in 1968 - the U.S. Naval Intelligence gathering ship USS Pueblo was boarded by members of the North Korean Navy in the Sea of Japan. Accused of spying, the crew was held captive for almost a year.

I had the privilege of interviewing the Pueblo's Commanding Officer, retired Commander, Lloyd Bucher, USN, in the early 1980s.

The interview was part of a program that coincided with the end of the hostage taking in Iran. The subject material included first hand accounts of former captives, and the long term
impact of that experience on the hostages.

AA

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[J. A.]

January 24, 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.

 

[J. A.]

January 25, 2004: The Opportunity rover fell to Mars. The robot is still actively exploring the Red Planet.

 

[AdmiralAdama]

Today in - 1970 - Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H," premieres in cinemas.

AA

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[scifan57]

January 25, 1905; at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, a 3,106 carat diamond was found. It was named the Cullinan diamond and remains the largest diamond ever found.
The Star of Africa, the largest cut piece, at 530 carats, is located in the British Sovereign's Royal Sceptre.

 

[J. A.]

January 27, 1967: the crew of Apollo I (Grissom, White, Chaffee) perform a test on the ground inside their capsule. They die because of a fire caused by the electric wires and 100 % oxygen in combination.

 

[AdmiralAdama]

January 27, 1967: the crew of Apollo I (Grissom, White, Chaffee) perform a test on the ground inside their capsule. They die because of a fire caused by the electric wires and 100 % oxygen in combination.

I was watching television with my father when the bulletin flashed and the local station cut-away to network programming.

AA

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[J. A.]

I was too young to recognize then. But I can imagine from the documentaries I've seen already that this must have been a dramatic and sad day for those people interested in and working on the challenge to go to the moon before the end of the decade. Not to mention the friends and families of the astronauts.

 

[scifan57]

January 27, 1788; Australia Day. On this day, Captain Arthur Philip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to New South Wales. This effectively founded what is now the country of Australia.