THURSDAY JANUARY 4 1884 The socialist Fabian Society was set up. 1896 Utah became the 45 state of the US. 1929 Don Bradman scored a maiden century against England, in Melbourne. 1967 Donald Campbell was killed while attempting to break the world wa

THURSDAY JANUARY 4

1884 The socialist Fabian Society was set up.

1896 Utah became the 45 state of the US.

1929 Don Bradman scored a maiden century against England, in Melbourne.

1967 Donald Campbell was killed while attempting to break the world water speed record at Coniston Water.

Births: Jacob Grimm, children's writer, 1785; Isaac Pitman, inventor of shorthand, 1813.

Deaths: Albert Camus, French author, 1960; T S Eliot, poet and critic, 1965; Phil Lynott, musician with Thin Lizy, 1986; Christopher Isherwood, author of Goodbye to Berlin, 1986.

FRIDAY JANUARY 5

1971 First one-day international cricket international, between Australia and England in Melbourne.

1972 Nasa announced the development of a space shuttle.

Ernest Shackleton, polar explorer, 1922; Calvin Coolidge, US President, 1933; Amy Johnson, aviator, 1941; Brian Johnston, cricket commentator, 1994; Sonny Bono, once of Sonny and Cher, 1998; Roy Jenkins, ex-Labour MP who helped create the SDP, 2003.

SATURDAY JANUARY 6

1540 Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves.

1838 First public demonstration of the telegraph given by Samuel Morse.

1931 Sadler's Wells Theatre opened in London.

1985 Jacques Delors became President of the European Commission.

1999 Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones became engaged.

Births: St Joan of Arc, 1412.

Deaths: Theodore Roosevelt, US President, 1919; Ian Charleson, actor, 1990; Dizzy Gillespie, jazz legend, 1993; Rudolf Nureyev, ballet dancer, 1993.

SUNDAY JANUARY 7

1926 First demonstration of television by John Logie Baird.

1927 The Harlem Globetrotters basketball team set up.

1961 First showing of The Avengers.

1967 First showing of The Forsythe Saga.

Births: Arnold Ridley, actor in Dad's Army, 1896; Gerald Durrell, author of My Family and Other Animals, 1925.

Deaths: Catherine of Aragon, wife of Henry VIII, 1536; Trevor Howard, actor, 1988; Michinomiya Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1989.

MONDAY JANUARY 8

1815 The Americans defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans.

1959 Charles de Gaulle became President of France.

1997 Kevin Keagan quit as manager of Newcastle U.

Births: Wilkie Collins, author of The Moonstone and Woman in White, 1824; Roy Kinnear, actor and comedian, 1934; Elvis Presley, rock-n-roll legend, 1935; Graham Chapman, from the Monty Python team, 1941.

Deaths: Lord Robert Baden-Powell, creator of the Boy Scout movement, 1941; Terry-Thomas, actor, 1990; Francois Mitterand, French president, 1996.

TUESDAY JANUARY 9

1799 William Pitt the Younger introduced income tax.

1942 Joe Louis retained his world heavyweight boxing title for the 20th time.

1957 The Post Office introduced television detector vans in a crackdown on licence dodging.

1969 First trial flight of Concorde.

2001 Sven Goran Eriksson became England soccer boss.

Births: Gracie Fields, singer and actress, 1898; Simone de Beauvoir, novelist and critic, 1908; Richard Nixon, US President, 1913.

Deaths: Tommy Hanley, radio comedian, 1949; Peter Cook, comedian, 1995.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10

1840 Sir Rowland Hill started the penny post.

1920 First meeting of the League of Nations, in Geneva.

1924 Columbia Pictures created.

1946 First meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

1957 Harold Macmillan became Prime Minister.

1985 Sir Clive Sinclair launched the C5 electric car.

Births: Barbara Hepworth, sculptor, 1903; Bernard Lee, actor who played M in the early James Bond movies, 1908.

Deaths: William F Cody, otherwise Buffalo Bill, 1917; Coco Chanel, designer, 1971