On this day...

1781 British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond VA
1804 Ohio legislature passes first laws restricting free blacks movement
1809 Treaty of Dardanelles concluded between Britain & France
1822 Central America proclaims annexation to Mexican Empire
1834 Kiowa Indians record this as the night the stars fell
1841 James Clark Ross (UK) is first to enter pack ice near Ross Ice Shelf
1850 California Exchange opens
1854 Steamship San Francisco wrecked-300 die
1859 First steamboat sails, Red River
1861 Alabama troops seize Forts Morgan & Gaines at Mobile Bay
1875 President Grant sends federal troops to Vicksburg, MS
1887 First US school of librarianship opens at Columbia University
1892 First successful auroral photograph made
1896 German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen's discovers x-rays
1903 San Francisco-Hawaii telegraph cable opens for public use
1904 -34 degrees F (-37degrees C), River Vale, New Jersey (state record)
1904 -42 degrees F (-41 degrees C), Smethport PA (state record)
1905 Charles Perrine announces discovery of Jupiter's 7th satellite, Elara
1905 National Association of Audubon Society incorporates
1911 San Francisco has it's first air meet
1919 National Socialist Party (Nazi) forms in Germany
1925 Nellie Taylor Ross became governor of Wyoming, first woman governor in USA
1925 Under Polish control, Danzig establishes Port Gdansk post office
1930 Mao Tse-tung writes "A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire"
1933 Work on Golden Gate Bridge begins, on Marin County side
1934 Fenway Park catches fire
1937 Only unicameral state legislature in US opens first session (Nebraska)
1949 President Harry S. Truman labels his administration the "Fair Deal"
1957 Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from baseball
1959 "Bozo the Clown," live children's show, premiers on TV
1959 Buddy Holly releases his last record "It Doesn't Matter"
1964 Pope Paul VI visits Jordan & Israel
1968 Dr. Benjamin Spock indicted for conspiring to violate draft law
1969 USSR Venera 5 launched for first successful planet landing (Venus)
1970 Soap Opera "All My Children," premiers on ABC
1971 Globetrotters lose 100-99 to NJ Reds, ending 2,495-game win streak
1972 NASA announces development of space shuttle
1975 Salyut 4 with crew of 2 is launched for 30 days
1981 Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, arrested in England
1984 Adrian Dantley, Utah, ties NBA record, making 28 free throws
1987 Surrogate Baby M case begins in Hackensack, NJ
1988 Austrian President Ealdheim's war record investigated

Birthdays which occurred on January 5th:

1548 Francisco Suarez, Granada Spain, philosopher/theologian
1592 Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor of India (1628-58), built Taj Mahal
1620 Miklos Zrinyi, Hungarian poet/writer (The Peril of Sziget)
1779 Stephen Decatur, US, naval hero (War of 1812)
1779 Zebulon Montgomery Pike, explorer (Pike's Peak)
1846 Rudolf Christoph Eucken, Germany, Idealist philosopher (Nobel 1908)
1848 Khristo Botev, hero of Bulgarian revolt against Turkey, poet
1855 King Camp Gillette, inventor (safety razor)
1859 DeWitt B. Brace, inventor (spectrophotometer)
1863 Konstantin Stanislavsky, Russian actor/director/methodist
1871 Frederick Shepherd Converse, Newton MA, composer
1876 Konrad Adenauer, Cologne Germany, chancellor of Germany (1949)
1895 Jeannette Piccard, balloonist/Episcopal priest
1910 Erica Morini, violinist
1911 Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor (Cat & Mouse, Happy Hooker)
1912 Frank Pace, Jr. US Sec. of Army (1950-53)
1918 Jean Dixon, psychic
1920 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Brescia Italy, pianist
1921 Friedrich Durrenmatt, Switzerland, playwright, novelist (The Visit)
1923 Sam Phillips, musician/record company founder (Sun)
1926 Claude (Buddy) Young, NFL running back (Yankees, Texans, Colts)
1926 Robert Earle, Baldwin NY, TV host (GE College Bowl)
1928 Walter Mondale (Senator-D-MN) 42nd VP (1977-81)
1930 Edward G. Givens, Jr. Quanah Texas, Major USAF/astronaut
1930 Richard Hayes, Passaic NJ, singer/emcee (Name That Tune)
1931 Alfred Brendel, Wiesenberg, Moravia, Austrian pianist
1931 Alvin Ailey, choreographer (American Dance Theater)
1931 Robert Duvall, San Diego CA, actor
1931 Walter Davis, US, running high jumper (Olympic-gold-1952)
1932 Chuck Noll, Cleveland OH, NFL coach (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1938 Juan Carlos I, King of Spain
1942 Charlie Rose, Henderson NC, newscaster (CBS Night Watch)
1942 Cliff Potts, Glendale CA, actor (Ted-Lou Grant)
1942 Maurizio Pollini, Milan Italy, pianist
1944 Tommie Smith, US, 200m dash (Olympic-gold-1968)
1945 Sam Wyche, former NFL coach (Cincinatti Bengels)
1946 Diane Keaton, Louisiana, actress (Annie Hall, Little Drummer Girl)
1947 Ted Lange, Oakland CA, actor (Isaac-Love Boat, Mr. T)
1949 George Brown, rock drummer (Kool & the Gang)
1953 Pamela Sue Martin, Westport CT, actress (Nancy Drew, Fallon-Dynasty)
1954 Bryan Hitt, rocker (REO Speedwagon)
1957 Vincent Calloway, trumpet player (Midnight Star-No Parking)
1964 Ted Harris Poley, Englewood NJ, rocker (Danger Danger-Screw It)
1967 Ricky Paull Goldin, San Francisco CA, actor (Doug-Hail to the Chief, Another World)
1968 Carl Evans, Actor (Guilding Light)

Deaths which occurred on January 5th:

1066 King Edward, the Confessor of England, dies
1589 Catherine de Medici, Queen mother of France, dies at 69
1860 St. John Nepomucene Neumann first male US saint, dies
1922 Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer, dies aboard his ship
1933 Calvin Coolidge, 30th President, died in Northampton MA, at 60
1942 Yves Paringaux, French chief of staff, murdered
1943 George Washington Carver, famous black American, dies at 81
1970 Joseph A. Yablonski, candidate for United Mine Workers president, murdered
1974 Roy Bargy, orchestra leader (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 79
1975 Don Wilson, Astros pitcher, dies at 29 of carbon monoxide poisoning
1977 Onslow Stevens, actor (Mr. Fisher-This is the Life), dies at 74
1982 Hans Conried, actor (Bullwinkle Show, Make Room for Daddy), dies at 64
1982 Harvey Lembeck, actor (Phil Silvers, Hathaways), dies at 56