THURSDAY JANUARY 12 1959 Henry Cooper became British heavyweight boxing champion. 2002 Final performance of Starlight Express took place after an 18-year run. Birthdays: Des O'Connor, entertainer, 74; Michael Aspel, presenter of The Antiques Roadshow, 73;

THURSDAY JANUARY 12 1959 Henry Cooper became British heavyweight boxing champion. 2002 Final performance of Starlight Express took place after an 18-year run. Birthdays: Des O'Connor, entertainer, 74; Michael Aspel, presenter of The Antiques Roadshow, 73; Joe Frazier, ex-world heavyweight boxing champion, 62; Brendan Foster, athletics commentator, 58; Heather Mills McCartney, wife of Paul McCartney, 38. FRIDAY JANUARY 13 1893 Keir Hardie set up the British Independent Labour Party. 1895 First performance of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, in London. 1957 Elvis Presley recorded All Shook Up. Birthdays: Michael Bond, creator of Paddington Bear, 80; Stephen Hendry, ex-world snooker champion, 37; Orlando Bloom, actor, 29. SATURDAY JANUARY 14 1954 Baseball hero Joe di Maggio married Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe. 2003 Rebekah Wade became editor of The Sun. Birthdays: Warren Mitchell, actor, 80; Richard Briers, actor, 72; Trevor Nunn, ex-director of the Royal National Theatre, 66; Faye Dunaway, actress, 65. SUNDAY JANUARY 15 1967 First Superbowl between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. 1974 President Richard Nixon called a halt to US involvement in Vietnam. Birthdays: Frank Thornton, from Are You Being Served, 75; Pete Waterman, record producer and Pop Idol judge, 59; Mary Pierce, French tennis player, 31. MONDAY JANUARY 16 1939 First appearance of the Superman comic strip. 1950 First broadcast of Listen With Mother. 1957 The Cavern Club opened in Liverpool. 1991 The US launched Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf. Birthdays: Sade, singer-songwriter, 46; Kate Moss, supermodel, 32. TUESDAY JANUARY 17 1912 Explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole a month behind Norwegian Roald Amundsen. 1983 Breakfast television launched in Britain. Birthdays: Vidal Sassoon, hairdresser, 78; Muhammad Ali, boxing legend, 64: Paul Young, singer-songwriter, 50; Paul Merton, from Have I Got News for You, 49; Jim Carrey, actor, 44. WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18 1944 The German siege of Leningrad ended. 1978 Geoffrey Boycott became England Test cricket captain. Birthdays: David Bellamy, botanist and television presenter, 73; Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman, 72; Richard Dunwoody, Grand National winner, 41.