On this day...

1568 In the Netherlands, Duke of Alva declares William of Orange an outlaw
1634 Emperor Ferdinand II declares Wallenstein a traitor
1722 Edward Wigglesworth appointed first US divinity professor (Harvard)
1848 James Marshall finds gold in Sutter's Mill in Coloma CA
1861 Arsenal at Augusta, GA seized by Confederacy
1899 Rubber heel patented by Humphrey O'Sullivan
1900 Newcastle Badminton Club, world's oldest, formed in England
1901 First games played in baseball's American League
1922 Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K. Nelson of Iowa
1923 Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM established
1925 Moving picture of a solar eclipse taken from dirigible over Long Island
1935 Beer first sold in cans, Richmond, VA
1939 30,000 killed by earthquake in Concepcion Chile
1947 NFL adds 5th official (back judge) & allows sudden death in playoffs
1952 First NFL team in Texas, the Dallas Texans formerly NY Yanks
1964 CBS purchases 1964 & 1965 NFL TV rights for $28.2 million
1975 Fastest Earth-bound object, 7200 kph, in vacuum centrifuge, England
1982 49'ers win their first Super Bowl (XVI) beating Cincinnati Bengels, 26-21
1986 Voyager 2 makes first fly-by of Uranus (81,593 km), finds new moons
1989 First reported case of AIDS transmitted by heterosexual oral sex

Birthdays which occurred on January 24th:

1705 Farinelli "Carlo Broschi," Andria Italy, castrato
1712 Frederick II (the Great), King of Prussia (1740-86)
1732 Pierre de Baumarchais, France, playwright (Barber of Seville)
1746 Gustav III, King during Swedish Enlightenment (1771-92)
1798 Karl von Staudt, German math professor (projective geometrician)
1883 Estelle Winwood [Goodwin], England, actress (Miracle on 34th Street)
1888 Ernst Heinrich Heinkel, inventor (first rocket-powered aircraft)
1902 Walter Keirnan, New Haven CT, TV panelist (I've Got a Secret)
1913 Mark Goodson, TV game-show producer (Goodson-Toddman)
1915 Ernest Borgnine, Hamden CT, actor
1918 John McLiam, Alberta, actor (Parker-Men From Shiloh)
1918 Oral Roberts, Televangelist
1924 Marvin Kaplan, New York NY, actor (Top Cat, Henry-Alice)
1925 Maria Tallchief, Fairfax Ok, ballerina
1925 William Hudson, California, actor (I Led 3 Lives)
1939 Ray Stevens, Clarksdale GA, singer (The Streak)
1941 Michael Chapman, Leeds England, rocker (Looking for 11)
1941 Neil Diamond, Brooklyn NY, singer/actor (Jazz Singer)
1943 Sharon Tate, Dallas TX, actress (Valley of the Dolls)
1946 Michael Ontkean, Vancouver BC, actor (Rookies, Slap Shot)
1947 Giorgio Chinaglia, soccer star (Lazio of Italy, New York Cosmos)
1947 Warren Zevon, Chicago, rocker
1949 John Belushi, Chicago IL, comedian/actor (SNL, Blues Brothers)
1951 Yakov Smirnoff, Russia, comedian (What a Country)
1952 William F. Readdy, Quonset Point Rhode Island, astronaut (STS 42)
1953 Brian Matthews, Philadelphia PA, actor (The Burning)
1960 Nastassja Kinski, Berlin Germany, actress (Tess/Cat People)
1968 Mary Lou Retton, US, gymnast (Olympic-gold-1984)
1971 Tonya Crowe, Long Beach CA, actress (Olivia-Knots Landing)
1979 Tatyana Ali, New York NY, actress (Sesame St, Fresh Prince of Bel Air)

Deaths which occurred on January 24th:

1547 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, executed for treason
1639 George Jenatsch, Grisons leader, is assassinated
1885 Martin R. Delany, politician & black nationalist, dies at 72
1962 Tom Shirley, actor/TV announcer (They're Off), dies at 62
1964 Joseph Schildkraut, actor (Joseph Schildkraut Presents), dies at 68
1965 Winston Churchill, PM of Britain (C) (1940-45, 51-55), dies at 88
1972 Jerome Cowan, actor (Mr Dithers-Blondie), dies at 74
1973 J. Carrol Naish, actor (Charlie Chan-Adventures of Charlie Chan), dies at 66
1979 Jerry Damon, comedian (That Was The Week That Was), dies at 51
1983 George Cukor, director, dies of stroke & heart attack at 83
1986 Gordon MacRae, singer (Oklahoma, Carousel), dies at 64
1988 Charles Glenn King, biochemist (discovered vitamin C), dies at 91
1989 Ted Bundy, serial killer of up to 100 women, executed in Florida
1991 George Gobel, comedian, dies of a heart attack at 71