Today in History, 22/1

Highlights in history on this date:

1528 - England and France declare war on Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

1760 - French are defeated by British under Eyre Coote at Wandiwash near Pondicherry, ending French presence in India.

1771 - Spain agrees to cede Falkland Islands to Britain.

1899 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss a federation bill.

1901 - Death of Queen Victoria at age 81, after 63 years on the British throne.

1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes Britain's first Labour prime minister.

1931 - Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as Australia's first Australian-born governor-general.

1941 - Australian forces claim the Libyan port of Tobruk after the Italians surrender.

1964 - Kenneth Kaunda is sworn in as Northern Rhodesia's first prime minister.

1970 - The first regularly-scheduled commercial flight of the Boeing 747 takes off in New York, bound for London.

1972 - Jockey Geoffrey Prouse rides all seven winners at a seven-race meeting in Hobart, setting an Australian record.

1973 - In its Roe vs Wade decision, the US Supreme Court legalises abortions.

1984 - Passengers escape when the ferry Karrabee sinks at its moorings at Sydney's Circular Quay after coming third in the annual ferry race.

1988 - Two earthquakes, one registering 7.0 on the Richter scale, cause a 20km fault near the Northern Territory town of Tennant Creek.

1996 - The Galileo probe plunges into Jupiter's atmosphere and finds it windier and drier than expected.

1997 - The US Senate confirms Madeleine Albright as America's first female secretary of state.

1998 - Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty in Sacramento, California, to being the Unabomber.

2004 - Ann Miller, US dancer and actress in films including On the Town and Kiss Me Kate, dies aged 81.

2008 - Australian actor Heath Ledger is found dead in a New York apartment after taking a cocktail of prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and over-the-counter medication.

2009 - A Chinese court sentences two men to death and a dairy boss to life in prison for their roles in producing and selling infant formula tainted with melamine.

2014 - Syrian peace talks begin in Switzerland with a bitter clash over President Bashar al-Assad's future.

2015 - Tim Ellis, Tasmania's Director of Public Prosecutions, is sacked almost two years after causing a fatal head-on accident on the state's Midlands Highway.

2016 - Greek and Turkish authorities recover the bodies of 44 asylum seekers, including 20 children, who drowned en route to Greece.

2017 - World No.1 Andy Murray crashes out of the Australian Open, falling to German journeyman Mischa Zverev in a monumental fourth-round upset.

Today's Birthdays:

Francis Bacon, English statesman and essayist (1561-1626); Lord Byron, English poet (1788-1824); Sam Cooke, US soul singer (1931-1964); Piper Laurie, US actress (1932-); John Hurt, English actor (1940-2017); Jim Jarmusch, US film director (1953-); Linda Blair, American actress (1959-); Michael Hutchence, Australian singer (1960-1997); Diane Lane, US actress (1965-); Dr G Yunupingu, Australian musician (1971-2017); Matthew Newton, Australian actor (1977-); Orianthi Panagaris, Australian musician, (1985-).

Thought For Today:

Praise undeserved is satire in disguise. - Henry Broadhurst, English politician (1840-1911).

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