January 29th
1802
John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress. He was paid $2 a day.
1845
Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven was published.
1850
Henry Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850 to the Senate.
1861
Kansas became the 34th state in the United States.
1886
Karl Benz received a patent for the first successful gasoline-driven car.
1900
The American League, consisting of eight baseball teams, was organized in Philadelphia.
1936
Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson were the first players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
1939
Irish poet-dramatist William Butler Yeats died at age 73.
1963
Poet Robert Frost died in Boston.
1977
American actor and stand-up comedian Freddie Prinze died at 22 years old.
2002
In his State of the Union address, President Bush labels Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "axis of evil."
2008
Margaret Truman, the only child of President Harry S. Truman, died at age 83.
Birthdays
64 Tom Selleck Actor ("Magnum P.I.")
57 Tommy Ramone Rock musician (The Ramones)
55 Oprah Winfrey Talk show host
51 Judy Norton Taylor Actress ("The Waltons")
49 Greg Louganis Olympic gold-medal diver
48 Eddie Jackson Rock musician (Queensryche)
47 Nicholas Turturro Actor ("NYPD Blue")
44 Dominik Hasek Hockey player
39 Heather Graham Actress
34 Sara Gilbert Actress ("Roseanne," "The Big Bang Theory")
30 Andrew Keegan Actor
62 Henry Lee 1/29/1756 - 3/25/1818 American Revolutionary War officer
72 1/29/1773 - 6/8/1809 Thomas Paine, English-born American patriot
58 William McKinley 1/29/1843 - 9/14/1901 America's 25th President
86 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 1/29/1874 - 5/11/1960 American philanthropist
66 W.C. Fields 1/29/1880 - 12/25/1946 American comedian