Osun Defender History Corner: January 29 In Focus

Today, on the history corner, we take a trip in the realm of flashback and recall some events that marked this day.

January 29, 1845

Edgar Allan Poe’s narrative poem “The Raven” is first published in the New York Evening Mirror.

January 29, 1861

Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

January 29, 1936

The Baseball Hall of Fame elects its first members in Cooperstown, New York.

January 29, 1944

The Battle of Cisterna takes place during World War II between the Allies and Axis forces in Italy.

January 29, 1963

The first in-flight film, “By Love Possessed,” is shown on a scheduled airline flight from New York to San Francisco.

January 29, 1979

Brenda Spencer opens fire at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, killing two adults and injuring eight children.

January 29, 1986

The Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its first encounter with Uranus, passing within 81,500 kilometers (50,600 miles) of the planet’s cloud tops.

January 29, 1996

French President Jacques Chirac announces the “definitive end” to nuclear testing.

January 29, 2002

In his State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush labels North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an “axis of evil.”

January 29, 2005

The European Space Agency’s Huygens probe lands on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

January 29, 2009

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines officially merge to create the world’s largest airline.

January 29, 2010

The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is officially opened.

January 29, 2015

A collision between a commuter train and an SUV in Valhalla, New York, kills six people.

January 29, 2018

A total lunar eclipse, a “Super Blue Blood Moon,” occurs, visible in western North America, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific region.

January 29, 2019

Brazil’s Vale mining dam collapses, leading to a deadly mudslide in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, killing at least 270 people.

January 29, 2020

The United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union, completing the Brexit process.

January 29, 2021

GameStop stock experiences a massive surge in a Reddit-fueled short squeeze, causing significant financial market turbulence.

January 29, 2022

The Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, officially begin.

January 29, 2023

The Artemis program, aiming to return humans to the Moon, achieves its first crewed mission.

Please note that these are just a few historical events that happened on January 29. History is full of numerous other significant events on this day, ranging from politics and warfare to cultural and scientific milestones.