January 24th
41
Roman emperor, Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula (meaning Little Boot—he used to wear military boots as a child), was murdered.
1848
Gold was first discovered in California, in Sutter's mill. When President Polk announced the news in December, the gold rush began.
1908
Robert Baden-Powell organized the first Boy Scout troop in England.
1962
Jackie Robinson became the first black player to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was also the first black player in major league history.
1965
Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.
1971
Bill W. (William Griffith Wilson ), American co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous died at 75.
1972
Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered in Guam, having spent 28 years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on.
1986
Voyager Two space probe passes within 51,000 miles of Uranus.
1986
L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology died at 74.
1989
Confessed serial killer Ted Bundy was put to death in Florida's electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.
1993
The first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall, died.
1995
The prosecution gave its opening statement at the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
Birthdays
92 Ernest Borgnine Actor
91 Oral Roberts Evangelist
90 Jerry Maren Actor ("Wizard of Oz")
70 Ray Stevens Country singer
68 Aaron Neville Singer
68 Neil Diamond Singer-songwriter
58 Yakov Smirnoff Comedian
41 Mary Lou Retton Olympic gold-medal gymnast
35 Ed Helms Actor ("The Office," "The Daily Show")
30 Tatyana Ali Actress, singer
23 Mischa Barton Actress ("The O.C.")
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rwhit37 Cigar Asylum Inmate
77 Mark Goodson 1/24/1915 - 12/18/1992 American radio/TV producer
26 Sharon Tate 1/24/1943 - 8/9/1969 American actress murdered by the Manson Cult
56 Warren Zevon 1/24/1947 - 9/7/2003 American rock singer-songwriter and musician
33 John Belushi 1/24/1949 - 3/5/1982 American comedian, actor and musician
42 Mike Awesome (Michael Lee Alfonso ) 1/24/1965 - 2/17/2007 American professional wrestler