1. In 1055, Theodora was crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.

2. In 1158, Vladislav II of Bohemia became king.

3. In 1378, the earliest record in Durham, England of "Plough Monday", the first Monday after the feast of Epiphany (Jan 6) when agricultural work could restart.

4. In 1558, West Munster Church in Middelburg was destroyed by heavy storm.

5. In 1569, the first recorded lottery in England was drawn in St Paul's Cathedral in London. The first prize was £5,000, other prizes included silver plate, tapestries and high quality linen cloth.

6. In 1571, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II granted Austrian nobility freedom of religion.

7. In 1753, Ferdinand VI of Spain and Pope Benedictus XIV signed concord, Spain recovered the right to appoint bishops and tax the clergy.

8. In 1758, Russian troops occupied Königsberg, East Prussia (ns = Jan 22).

9. In 1759, the 1st American life insurance company was incorporated in Philadelphia.

10. In 1765, Frisia banned Voltaire's book "Traité sur la tolérance" (Treatise on Tolerance).

11. In 1774, French astronomer Charles Messier added M51 (spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici) to his catalog.

12. In 1838, the first public demonstration of telegraph messages sent using dots and dashes was at Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail.

13. In 1839, an earthquake at Martinique destroyed half of Port Royal and 700 people died.

14. In 1861, Alabama seceded from the Union (US Civil War).

15. In 1861, Mexico City was captured by Juarez (lib) in the War of Reform.

16. In 1863, a naval engagement near Galveston between CSS Alabama and USS Hatteras.

17. In 1912, the bread & roses strike began in Lawrence, Massachusetts following a pay cut.

18. In 1913, the 1st sedan - type car (Hudson) went on display at the 13th auto show (NYC).

19. In 1919, the 3 - year - old German Communist Party (Spartacus) was crushed.

20. In 1919, Romania annexed Transylvania.

21. In 1920, the French passenger ship Afrique sank near La Rochelle and 553 people died.

22. In 1922, insulin was first used on humans to treat diabetes, when Frederick Banting injected fellow Canadian Leonard Thompson, aged 14.

23. In 1923, the 1st Dutch dada - evening (Theo van Doesburg & Kurt Schwitters).

24. In 1924, a republic was proclaimed in Greece; King George II was deposed and Eleutherios Venizelos was named prime minister of the Greek national assembly.

25. In 1925, Frank Kellogg replaced Charles Hughes as US secretary of state.

26. In 1927, Louis B. Mayer head of film studio MGM announced creation of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

27. In 1935, Amelia Earhart flew from Honolulu to Oakland, California (non - stop, of course).

28. In 1938, Don Bradman scored a second innings 113 vs Qld after a ton in the 1st innings.

29. In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther L. Terry announced that cigarette smoking is linked to lung cancer.

30. In 2001, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of America Online and Time Warner, and AOL Time Warner (later shortened to Time Warner) stock began trading the next morning.