The new year is by far the most important festival of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is celebrated on the second new Moon after the winter solstice. The holiday is a time of renewal, with debts cleared, new clothes bought, shops and homes decorated, and families gathered for a reunion dinner. Chinese New Year is marked by fireworks, traditional lion dances, gift giving, and special foods. Learn more about Chinese New Year traditions.
Born
Thomas Paine(patriot)–
William McKinley(25th U.S. president)–
Anton Chekhov(author)–
Whitney Warren(architect)–
Vincente Blasco Ibanez(novelist)–
W.C. Fields(actor)–
Barnett Newman(painter)–
Victor Mature(actor)–
Katharine Ross(actress
)–
Tom Selleck(actor)–
Ann Jillian(actress)–
Oprah Winfrey(television host)–
Judy Norton-Taylor(actress)–
Heather Graham(actress)–
Sara Gilbert(actress)–
Justin Hartley(actor)–
Adam Lambert(singer)–
Gretchen Walsh(Olympic swimmer)–
Died
Robert Frost(poet)–
Jimmy Durante(actor)–
Dick "Night Train" Lane(football player
)–
Harold Russell(received two Oscars for portrayal of wounded veteran in The Best Years of Our Lives, after losing both his hands in WW II)–
Joshua Miner(Outward Bound USA founder)–
Mary-Ellis Bunim(producer who helped bring television into the age of reality with The Real World and Road Rules)–
Larry L. McGraw(founder of Home Orchard Society)–
Rod McKuen(poet)–
Events
Geologist William Edmond Logan became first Canadian-born knight –
Kansas was admitted to the Union as the 34th state –
Charles Steinmetz patented a system of distribution by alternating current. –
U.S. physician Emil H. Grube became the first to use X-ray treatment for breast cancer –
American Baseball League formed in Chicago –
Carl Taylor’s ice cream cone-rolling machine patented –
The Baseball Hall of Fame elected its first members –
Actor Paul Newman married actress Joanne Woodward –
Emily H. Warner became the first female pilot of a U.S. commercial airline –
21-pound 8-ounce bowfin caught in Forest Lake, South Carolina –
Julio Cesar Chavez suffered the first defeat of his pro boxing career, losing his WBC super lightweight crown on a split decision to 32 year-old Frankie Randall in Las Vegas –
Weather
The “Great Olympic Blowdown” windstorm struck the Washington coast, with winds up to 113 mph. Eight billion board feet of timber was destroyed in North Head, Washington. –
62 degrees in Nampa, Idaho –
Fields full of snow rollers were sighted in Weld County, Colorado. –
January 26 to 29: An atmospheric river caused a major West Coast storm
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