1901: Queen Victoria dies
Queen Victoria dies on 22 January 1901, ending an era in which most of her British subjects knew no other monarch. Spanning more than a half-century, her reign, the longest in British history, saw the growth of an empire on which the sun never set.
As an 18-year-old woman ascending to the throne, her future husband described her as one whose extreme obstinacy was constantly at war with her good nature. She proposed to Albert, her first cousin and a German prince, in 1939, and when he died in 1861 she entered a 40-year period of mourning for a love that had bequeathed her no fewer than 37 surviving great-grandchildren.
When she died in 1901, so many of her descendants had married with other monarchies that she was called the grandmother of Europe.
2006
Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia. He is the first indigenous president of Bolivia.
2001
In Britain, the government launches a three million pound campaign to convince parents to immunise their children with the MMR jab - measles, mumps and rubella – amid fears that the job could trigger autism in some children.
1990
Soviet troops are sent into Azerbaijan to quell civil unrest.
1987
R. Budd Dwyer, an American politician in Pennsylvania, shoots and kills himself at a press conference live on television. Dwyer, who had been convicted of accepting bribes, strongly professed his innocence before putting a gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.
1980
Soviet nuclear physicist Dr Andrei Sakharov, is sent into exile from the Soviet Union. Sakharov was an outspoken critic of the communist regime.
1979
In Britain, thousands of public sector workers stage a one day strike to protest against poor pay.
1973
George Foreman knocks out Joe Frazier in the second round in Kingston, Jamaica, to win the world heavyweight title.
1973
The US Supreme Court rules in Roe v. Wade that women, as part of their constitutional right to privacy, can terminate a pregnancy during its first two trimesters.
1963
French President, Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer sign the Elysee treat, which sets out the basis of Franco-German co-operation.
1962
In England, the trial of the 'A6 murderer', James Hanratty begins. In February 1962, Hanratty was found guilty and hanged.
1924
Ramsay MacDonald becomes Britain's first Labour Prime Minister.
1905
'Bloody Sunday' in St Petersbyrg, Russia. See also the entry for 9th January, which is the date of the incident if using the Julian calendar.
1879
The Anglo-Zulu War: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift begins. 139 British soldiers successfully defend their station against attack from thousands of Zulu warriors.
1840
The first British colonists reach New Zealand.
1840
The first British colonists reach New Zealand.