January 31

Guy Fawkes is executed (1606); 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, passes in Congress (1865); Jackie Robinson born (1919); HBD actress Kerry Washington (1977); HBD Justin Timberlake (1981).

January 30

RIP American flag designer Betsy Ross (1836); Franklin D. Roosevelt born (1882); Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany (1933); Mahatma Gandhi assassinated (1948); 14 killed on Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland (1972).

Terence David John “Terry” Pratchett

(April 28,1948 – March 12, 2015) is an English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for the Discworld series of about 40 volumes.

January 29

Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” performed for first time (1595); “Common Sense” author Thomas Paine born (1737); Baseball Hall of Fame announces first inductees (1936); HBD Oprah Winfrey (1954); RIP poet Robert Frost (1963).

January 28

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published (1813); Painter Jackson Pollock born (1912); US Coast Guard is founded (1915); HBD Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim (1940); Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986).

January 27

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born (1756); Auschwitz concentration camp is liberated (1945); Paris Peace Accords brings end to Vietnam War (1973); RIP Andre the Giant (1993); RIP American author JD Salinger (2010).

January 24

Actress Sharon Tate born (1943); RIP Winston Churchill (1965); Ted Bundy executed (1989); RIP Thurgood Marshall (1993); Department of Homeland Security opens (2003).