On this day...

1547 9-year-old Edward VI succeeds Henry VIII as king of England
1561 By Edict of Orleans persecution of French Huguenots is suspended
1581 James VI signs the 2nd Confession of Faith in Scotland
1807 London's Pall Mall is first street lit by gaslight
1819 Sir Stamford Raffles first lands in Singapore
1821 Bellingshausen discovers Alexander Island off Antarctica
1824 William Kneass becomes 3rd US chief engraver (1824-40)
1846 Battle of Allwal, Brits beat Sikhs in Punjab (India)
1848 King of Naples grants his subjects a constitution
1851 Northwestern University (Chicago) chartered
1860 Britain formally returns Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua
1871 Paris surrenders to Prussians
1878 First telephone exchange (New Haven CT)
1878 George W. Coy hired as first full-time telephone operator
1878 Yale Daily News published, first college daily newspaper
1899 American Social Science Association incorporated by Congress
1915 First US ship lost in WW I, William P Frye (carrying wheat to UK)
1915 US Coast Guard created from Life Saving & Revenue Cutter services
1916 First Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, nominated
1922 American Pro Football Association renamed "National Football League"
1922 J.E. Clair turns Green Bay franchise back to NFL
1928 Christopher Hornsrud chosen PM of Norway at age 101
1932 First US state unemployment insurance act enacted-Wisconsin
1932 Japan occupies Shanghai
1945 General "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell & truck convoy reopen Burma Road to China
1947 "Bay Psalm" book auctioned for a record $151,000
1950 Preston Tucker, auto maker, found not guilty of mail fraud
1953 J. Fred Muggs (the chimp) joins NBC's "Today Show"
1958 Construction began on first private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor
1959 Soviet Union wins 62-37 for first international basketball loss by US
1960 NFL announces Dallas Cowboys (1960) & Minnesota Vikings (1961) franchises
1961 Republic of Rwanda proclaimed
1962 Johanne Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times in Rhodesia & survives
1973 "Barnaby Jones" premiers on CBS TV
1978 "Fantasy Island" starring Ricardo Montalban premiers on ABC TV
1981 William J. Casey becomes director of the CIA
1981 Olympic Glory tanker at Galveston Bay, Texas, spills 1 million gallons of oil in a ship collision
1984 Los Angeles Kings stop Wayne Gretsky 51 game scoring streak
1984 Mr. Glynn Wolfe marries for non-bigamous record 26th time, Las Vegas
1984 Record 295,000 dominoes toppled, Fuerth, W Germany
1986 25th Space Shuttle (51L)-Challenger 10 explodes 73 seconds after liftoff
1990 Defending champion Ivan Lendl beats Stefan Edberg for Australian Open
1990 East German agreement to form all-party government

Birthdays which occurred on January 28th:

1457 Henry VII, King of England (1485-1509)
1582 John Barclay, Scottish satirist, Latin poet (Argenis)
1611 Johannes Hevelius, Danzig, astronomer (star cataloger)
1693 Anna "Ivanovna," tsarina of Russia (1730-40) (2/7 NS)
1706 John Baskerville, English printer (typeface inventor)
1768 Frederick VI, Danish king (1808-39); lost Norway to Sweden (1814)
1841 Henry Stanley, journalist/explorer (found Livingston in Africa)
1853 Jose Marti, Cuba, poet/essayist/politician
1855 William Seward Burroughs, inventor (recording adding machine)
1865 Kaarlo Juho Stahlberg, first president of Finland (1919-25)
1869 Ozaki Koyo, Japan, novelist/essayist/haiku poet (The Heart)
1873 "Sidonie Gabrielle" Colette, Burgundy France, novelist (Cheri, Gigi)
1906 Allan Walker, actor/writer (Red Buttons Show)
1910 Arnold Moss, New York NY, actor (Loves of Carmen, Kim, Quebec, Viva Zapata)
1910 John Banner, Vienna Austria, actor (Hans Schultz-Hogan's Heroes)
1912 Jackson Pollack, abstract artist (Lavender Mist)
1918 Vito Scotti, San Francisco CA, actor (Flying Nun, Barefoot in the Park)
1918 Wilson Ferreira Aldunate, Uruguayan politician/human rights worker
1922 Robert W. Holley, US, biochemist, worked with RNA (Nobel '68)
1936 Alan Alda, New York NY, actor (Hawkeye Pierce-M*A*S*H)
1943 John Beck, Chicago, actor (Mark-Dallas, Flamingo Road, Santa Barbara)
1943 Susan Howard, Marshall TX, actress (Donna-Dallas, Petrocelli)
1944 Brian Keenan, rock drummer (Chamber Bros-Time Has Come Today)
1960 John Caliri, Providence RI, actor (Vinnie-Square Pegs, Double Trouble)
1963 Danny Spitz, heavy metal guitarist (Anthrax)

Deaths which occurred on January 28th:

814 Charlemagne, German emperor, dies at 71
1256 William of Holland, Holy Roman emperor
1547 Henry VIII, King of England (1509-47), dies at 55
1595 Sir Francis Drake, English navigator
1810 Andrew Hofer, Tyrolian rebel against French & Bavarians, is shot
1829 William Burke, murderer, body snatcher, executed in Edinburgh
1918 John McCrae, Canadian poet & physician
1939 William Butler Yeats, Irish poet, dies in France at 73
1957 Fred Stein, TV panelist (Live Begins at 80), dies at 88
1959 Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker of Israel Knesset (1949-59), dies at 73
1963 Jean Felix Picard, Swiss explorer, dies on his 79th birthday
1973 John Banner, actor (Schultz-Hogan's Heroes), dies on 62nd birthday
1977 Burt Mustin, actor (All in the Family, Andy Griffith Show), dies at 92
1984 John Macvane, newscaster (United or Not), dies at 71
1986 Christa McAuliffe, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Dr. Judith Arlene Resnik, Akron OH, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Ellison S. Onizuka, Hawaii, Major USAF/ast, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Francis R. Scobee, Washington, USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Michael J. Smith, Beaufort NC, Commander USN, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Ronald E. McNair, Lake City SC, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1991 Dale Long, hit HRs in 8 consecutive games, dies at 66