January 10
49 BC –
Julius Caesar crosses the
Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
1776 –
Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet
Common Sense.
1861 – American Civil War:
Florida secedes from the Union.
1870 –
John D. Rockefeller incorporates
Standard Oil.
1927 –
Fritz Lang's futuristic film
Metropolis is released in Germany.
1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts
Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the
C-5 rocket launch vehicle, which became known as the
Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every
Apollo Moon mission.
1985 – Sandinista
Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the
Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
1990 –
Time Warner is formed by the merger of
Time Inc. and
Warner Communications.
2015 – A
mass poisoning at a funeral in Mozambique involves beer that was deliberately contaminated with crocodile bile leaving at least 56 dead and nearly 200 hospitalized.
2016 - English singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/record producer/painter/actor
David Bowie died from liver cancer at his New York home two days after releasing the album
Blackstar on his 69th birthday.
Births
1836 – Charles Ingalls (father of
Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her
Little House series of books); 1843 – Frank James (elder brother of Jesse James, member of the James Gang, the gang, not the musical group); 1904 – Ray Bolger ('Scarecrow' in
The Wizard Of Oz); 1908 – Paul Henreid; 1917 – Jerry Wexler♪ ♫; 1924 – Max Roach

; 1927 – Johnnie Ray♪ ♫; 1930 – Roy E. Disney; 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins♪ ♫(his backing band became The Band); 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose; 1939 – Scott McKenzie♪ ♫("San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair))"; 1939 – Sal Mineo; 1943 – Jim Croce

; 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr.♪ ♫; 1945 – Rod Stewart♪ ♫; 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar

; 1947 – Neal Smith

; 1948 – Donald Fagen♪ ♫(Steely Dan); 1949 – George Foreman

; 1949 – Linda Lovelace

; 1952 – Scott Thurston♪ ♫(Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers); 1953 – Pat Benatar♪ ♫; 1953 – Bobby Rahal

; 1955 – Michael Schenker

(UFO, Scorpions); 1956 – Shawn Colvin♪ ♫; 1958 – Eddie Cheever

; 1964 – Brad Roberts♪ ♫(Crash Test Dummies); 1973 – Félix Trinidad
Deaths
1778 – Carl Linnaeus; 1862 – Samuel Colt (founded Colt's Manufacturing Company); 1917 – Buffalo Bill Cody; 1951 – Sinclair Lewis; 1961 – Dashiell Hammett; 1971 – Coco Chanel;
1976 – Howlin' Wolf
; 1982 – Paul Lynde; 1997 – Sheldon Leonard; 2000 – Sam Jaffe; 2004 – Spalding Gray; 2007 – Carlo Ponti; 2015 – Taylor Negron; 2016 – David Bowie♪ ♫