On This Day Week 4, 2013, January 20-26
(Anniversary) DD MM YYYY:Event
(109)  20  01  1903: The huge musical hit The Wizard of Oz opened on Broadway at the brand new Majestic Theatre. The classic film version was made in the 1930s
(173)  20  01  1839: The confederation of Peru and Bolivia invaded Chile but was defeated at the Battle of Yungay
(51)  20  01  1961: John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States
(25)  20  01  1987: U.S. soul singer Aretha Franklin became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(15)  20  01  1998: It was announced that two identical genetically engineered calves had human genes 
(219)  21  01  1793: Louis XVI, the last Bourbon king of France, overthrown in the French Revolution and tried for treason, was beheaded on the guillotine
(222)  21  01  1790: Joseph Guillotin demonstrated his new execution device in which a heavy blade dropped within a frame
(104)  21  01  1908: A New York City law made it illegal for women to smoke in public
(19)  21  01  1993: Peace activist Abie Nathan met PLO leader Yasser Arafat, becoming the first Israeli to meet legally with a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation
(3)  21  01  2009: Toyota overtook General Motors to become the world's largest automaker
(39)  22  01  1973: The U.S. Supreme Court legalised abortion with a ruling referred to as Roe vs. Wade. The ruling has aroused strong passions on both sides ever since
(237)  22  01  1775: The umbrella was imported into Europe from the Middle East
(74)  22  01  1939: The uranium atom was split for the first time using the cyclotron at Columbia University in New York
(9)  22  01  2003: Scientists in China announced the discovery of a small dinosaur with four wings and plumed tail
(5)  22  01  2007: An Indian spacecraft splashed down in the Bay of Bengal after a 12-day test flight in orbit around the earth
(34)  23  01  1978: Sweden became the first country to ban the use of aerosol spray cans due to fears that fluorocarbon gases they contained were depleting the ozone layer
(103)  23  01  1909: The new 7,000 mile-long telegraphic link between London and India was welcomed
(39)  23  01  1973: President Richard Nixon told the American public that the war in Vietnam had ended
(17)  23  01  1995: Jacques Delors formally stepped down as president of the European Commission
(8)  23  01  2004: World Health Organization alarm rose as Thailand reported its first case of bird flu virus in humans
(104)  24  01  1908: The world's first Boy Scout troop was founded in England by Robert Baden-Powell, inspired by boys below fighting age supporting the troops in the Boer War 
(164)  24  01  1848: James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's sawmill in California, sparking the start of the gold rush
(66)  24  01  1946: The United Nations established the Atomic Energy Commission
(63)  24  01  1950: The original microwave oven patent was issued to its inventor Percy LeBaron Spencer 
(1)  24  01  2011: Telecoms magnate Najib Mikati was appointed Prime Minister of Lebanon with the support of Hezbollah
(88)  25  01  1924: The first Winter Olympic Games began in Chamonix, France. 11 female athletes participated in the figure skating competition, the only sport open to women
(93)  25  01  1919: The League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations, was founded
(68)  25  01  1945: Grand Rapids became the first U.S. city to fluoridate drinking water to reduce tooth decay
(31)  25  01  1981: Mao Tse-Tung's widow Jiang Qing was convicted of treason and given a suspended death sentence
(1)  25  01  2011:  Ahmed Ghailani, the first Guantanamo detainee to have a civilian trial in the U.S., was sentenced to life imprisonment
(224)  26  01  1788: The first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip and including 700 convicts sentenced to transportation from England, landed in present-day Sydney
(137)  26  01  1875: American inventor George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan, patented the electric dental drill
(81)  26  01  1931: In India, Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison to hold talks with the government during his civil disobedience campaign
(73)  26  01  1939: Franco's forces captured Barcelona during Spain's Civil War
(2)  26  01  2010: Filmmaker James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time