Topic: On this day in history...

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29th December:

1980 Folksinger/songwriter Tim Hardin died at age forty due to a heroin overdose.
1982 Jamaica issued a Bob Marley commemorative stamp.
1983 Princess Caroline married Stefano Casiraghiin Monte Carlo
1988 Ryder Cup golf captain Tony Jacklin married Astrid Waagen in Gibraltar
1989 Following Hong Kong's decision to forcibly repatriate some Vietnamese refugees, thousands of Vietnamese 'boat people' battled with riot police.

Famous Birthdays:
1908 Dr Magnus Pyke
1928 Bernard Cribbins
1937 Mary Tyler Moore
1938 Jon Voight
1938 Harvey Smith
1946 Marianne Faithful
1947 Ted Danson
1947 Cozy Powell
1961 Mark Day (Happy Mondays)
1961 Jim Reid (The jesus and Mary Chain)

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30th December:

1980 "The Wonderful World of Disney" was cancelled by NBC after more than 25 years on the TV. It was the longest-running series in U.S.prime-time television history.
1983 ‘News At 10' presenter Alastair Burnet was awarded a knighthood in the New Years honours list
1986 Holding onto the No. 1 position in the UK was Jackie Wilson with 'Reet Petite(The Sweetest Feeling)
1989 Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) and Shelli Dilley were married.

Famous Birthdays:
1945 Roger Glover (Rainbow)
1946 Patti Smith
1947 Jeff Lynne (E.L.O.)
1959 Tracey Ullman

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31st December:

1981 MTV hosted the first New Year's Eve Rock and Roll Ball.
1982 Steve Van Zandt, of the E Street Band, married Maureen Santora.
1983 MTV completed its first profitable quarter.
1984 Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in an auto accident in England.
1984 Rick Allen, drummer with Def Leppard, was badly injured in the car crash which left him having to have his left arm amputated
1984 The halfpenny coin ceased to be legal tender after 704 years of use. It was among one of the smallest coins issued in the UK since the Dark Ages
1985 Ricky Nelson and six others died in an airplane crash near DeKalb, Texas. A fire had broken out on the plane.
1986 A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killed 97 and injured 140 people. Three hotel workers later plead guilty to charges in connection with the fire.
1986 At a birthday party for Don Henley, Gary Hart and Donna Rice met each other.

Famous Birthdays:
1937 Sir Anthony Hopkins
1941 Sarah Miles
1941 Sir Alex Ferguson
1942 Andy Summers
1943 Sir Ben Kingsley
1948 Donna Summer
1959 Val Kilmer
1951 Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith) 1951
1963 Scott Ian (Anthrax) 1963
1972 Joe McIntyre (New Kids on the Block) 1972

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1st January:

1981 Greece joined the European Community.
1981 Prince and the Revolution released their first home video "Live." The recording is from the "Purple Rain" tour.
1982 The last ABBA concert was held in Stockholm.
1985 VH-1 premiered as an adult contemporary music video channel with Marvin Gaye's "Star Spangled Banner" video.
1986 Spain and Portugal joined the European Community (EC).
1987 A pro-democracy rally took place in Beijing's Tiananmen Square (China).
1988 Over 1000 birdwatchers gathered in a country lane in Dorset to catch a glimpse of the first little bustard to be observed in Britain for 12 years

Famous Birthdays:
1944 Dame Kiri De Kanawa
1953 Nigel Mansell
1958 Grandmaster Flash

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2nd January:

1980 Larry Williams was found dead in his home in Los Angeles, California. The gunshot wound to the head was never confirmed as the result of a murder or suicide.
1982 Olivia Newton-John began a 3rd month at the top of the US charts with 'Physical', eventually staying there for 10 weeks in total
1983 The musical "Annie" closed on Broadway at the Uris Theatre after 2,377 performances.
1988 John Lowe beat Bob Anderson 2-0 to win the final of the British Open darts championship in only 12 minutes
1989 Hammersmith and Fulham were expected to become the 8th London borough to introduce wheel clamping.

Famous Birthdays:
1938 David Bailey 

Died on this day
1981 David Lynch

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3rd January:

1980 Conservationist Joy Adamson, author of "Born Free," was killed in northern Kenya by a servant.
1983 Tony Dorsett (Dallas Cowboys) made the longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. Dorsett ran 99 yards in a game against the Minnesota Vikings.
1984 Former secretary to Cecil Parkinson, Sara Keays, gave birth to their child, a daughter weighing 8lb 3oz named Flora Elisabeth
1984 A woman died at Disneyland after falling from a ride. She had apparently unfastened her seatbelt while on the Matterhorn bobsled.
1987 Aretha Franklin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Bill Haley and 14 others. Franklin was the first woman to be inducted.
1988 Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.
1989 Yachtsman Chay Blyth was searching for 120 men and women to race around the world, in an event sponsored by British Steel.

Famous Birthdays:
1935 David Vine
1950 Victoria Principal
1956 Mel Gibson
1969 Michael Schumacher

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4th January:

1981 The Broadway show "Frankenstein" lost an estimated $2 million, when it opened and closed on the same night.
1981 The Boomtown Rats began a UK tour at the Gaumont in Southampton
1988 Indian moustache growing champion Karni Bheel, with a tache measuring 7ft 10 inches, had been found decapitated in west Rajasthan City, an area where competition to grow the most luxuriant moustache was fierce

Famous Birthdays:
1947 Rick Stein
1956 Bernard Sumner (New Order)
1958 Matt Frewer (Max Headroom)
1960 Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)
 
Died on this day
1986 Phil Lynott

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5th January:

1981 The hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper came to an end when long-distance lorry driver Peter Sutcliffe was charged with the murder of 13 women.
1983 Paul Weller played his first live show since leaving The Jam.
1984 The Police, announced a farewell concert for March 2 in Australia. The group had been together for 9 years.
1984 Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson was buried at sea. He had drowned while swimming in the Pacific the previous week.
1987 Aled Jones announced his retirement from show business to study for O Levels.
1987 U.S. President Ronald Reagan underwend prostate surgery.
1988 In a letter to the BBC, Mary Whitehouse, president of the National Viewers and Listeners Association, criticized 'Eastenders' for 'unscrupulously manipulating children to boost viewing figures' . The BBC commented: 'As always, we will study her letter with interest'

Famous Birthdays:
1942 Jan Leeming
1946 Diane Keaton
1949 George "Funky" Brown (Kool and the Gang)
1950 Chris Stein (Blondie)
1965 Vinnie Jones

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6th January:

1981 Mark Chapman pleaded insanity to the murder of John Lennon.
1983 In the UK, the Department of Employment announced a rise in the jobless total in December by 34,000 raising the unemployed figure to more than 3 million.
1985 An Ethiopian Benefit Concert by reggae artists took place in the Brixton Academy in South London, with appearances by Desmond Dekker, Smiley Culture and Dennis Brown.
1987 The first episode of 'Inspector Morse' was broadcast. The first episode was called 'The Dead of Jericho'.
1987 Elton John cancelled all live performances for a year after having throat surgery.
1987 After a 29-year lapse, the Ford Thunderbird was presented with the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award in the US. It was the first occurrence of a repeat winner of the award.

Famous Birthdays:
1943 Terry Venables
1946 Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd)
1953 Malcolm Young (AC/DC)
1955 Rowan Atkinson
1956 Angus Deayton
1959 Kathy Sledge 1959

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7th January:

1989 Crown Prince Akihito became the emperor of Japan following the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito.
1989 The Chart Show moved from Fridays to Saturdays.

(Is that it?)

Famous Birthdays:
1937 Ian La Frenais (TV writer)
1948 Kenny Loggins
1964 Nicholas Cage 
1967 Mark Lamarr

Died on this day
1988 Trevor Howard MC

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8th January:

1981 "Elvis Presley Day" was declared in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, North & South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
1982 American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.
1984 In Melbourne, the world's first test tube quadruplets were all breathing after the last one was taken off oxygen.
1985 In the UK, Elvis Presley stamps were issued by the Post Office to commemorate his 50th Birthday.
1987 The Dow Jones industrial average closed over the 2000 mark for the first time at 2,002.25.
1989 The first episode of 'Poirot', starring David Suchet, was broadcast on British television.
1988 The New York stock exchange suffered its third biggest plunge in history.

Famous Birthdays:
1924 Ron Moody
1935 Elvis Presley 
1937 Shirley Bassey 
1942 Stephen Hawking
1947 David Bowie
1947 Terry Sylvester (Hollies)

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9th January:

1980 KC & the Sunshine Bad were at the top of the US chart with 'Please Don't Go'.
1981 Jerry Dammers and Terry Hall of the Specials were fined in London for inciting violence at a concert the previous autumn.
1983 A gala ballet starring Rudolf Nureyev was abruptly stopped in Bordeaux after angry fans demanded money back, claiming the seating was so badly arranged, they could not see or hear the ballet.
1986 Kodak got out of the instant camera business after 10 years due to a loss in a court battle that claimed that Kodak copied Polaroid patents.
1989 Simply Red played a sell-out concert at Wembley.

Famous Birthdays:
1944 Jimmy Page
1951 Crystal Gayle

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10th January:

1981 The Gilbert and Sullivan musical "The Pirates of Penzance" opened at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.
1984 The United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century.
1984 Soft Cell played their final concert at the Hammersmith Palais.
1985 Sir Clive Sinclair demonstrated his C5 electric car for the first time.
1985 Ted Nugent appeared on TV's "Miami Vice."
1988 Pam Shriver and John Fitzgerald made history as the last players to win the respective singles titles in the NSW tennis championships-one of the oldest grass court tournaments, before it was converted to a hard surface.

Famous Birthdays:
1945 Rod Stewart
1948 Donald cigaretteen (Steely Dan)
1949 George Foreman
1953 Pat Benatar
1963 Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies)

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11th January:

1980 The Pretenders self-titled debut album was released and immediately went straight to No.1.
1980 Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton in Britain, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess.
1981 A British team led by Ranulph Fiennes completed longest & fastest crossing of Antarctica, reaching Scott base after 75 days (2,500 miles)
1985 The first production run of 2700 Sinclair C5 pedal cars were expected to be sold out after the company's mail order lines had been jammed by callers.
1986 Author James Clavell signed a 5$ million deal with Morrow/Avon Publishing for the book "Whirlwind". The book is a 2,000 page novel.
1987 Frankie Goes to Hollywood began what would be its final tour in Manchester, England.
1988 U.S. Vice President George Bush met with representatives of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh to answer questions about the Iran-Contra affair.
1989 140 nations agree to ban chemical weapons


Famous Birthdays:
1938 Arthur Scargill
1953 John Sessions
1957 - Bryan Robson, English footballer and manager
1958 Vicki Peterson (The Bangles)
1963 Jason Connery

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12th January:

1981 Dynasty, a prime time soap opera inspired by Dallas, premieres on ABC
1981 The Recording Industry Association of America donated Bob Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde," KISS' "Alive!" and "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" to the Library of Congress.
1983 31 year old Soviet official Vladimir Chernov was expelled from Britain for espionage.
1984 Motley Crue opened its first U.S. tour at Madison Square Garden, New York.
1985 After a record 24 weeks as the #1 album in the nation, Prince slipped to the #2 spot with "Purple Rain". Replacing Prince at the top spot: ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen’s "Born In the USA".
1986 Space shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
1987 Britain's Prince Edward resigns from his Royal Marines training
1988 A family driven from their home in Berkshire by the behaviour of the Windsor chapter of Hells Angels who moved in next door were awarded £23632 damages in the High court.
1989 6 claim to survive in rubble, 35 days after Armenian quake (hoax)
1989 Idi Amin expelled from Zaire

Famous Birthdays:
1932 Des O'Connor
1933 Michael Aspel
1944 Joe Frazier
1945 Maggie Bell
1948 Anthony Andrews
1960 Per Gessle (Roxette)
1960 Charlie Gillingham (Counting Crows)
1960 Oliver Platt
1966 Rob Zombie (White Zombie)
1965 Mark Moore (S'Express)
1970 Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan)