41Claudius succeeds his nephew Caligula as Roman Emperor after his assassination by Praetorian Guards.

1076Synod of Worms: German King Henry IV fires Pope Gregory VII

1679King Charles II disbands English parliament

1722Tsar Peter the Great begins civil system

1839Charles Darwin elected Fellow of the Royal Society

1913Franz Kafka stops working on "Amerika"; it will never be finished

1924Benito Mussolini disallows non-fascists work union

1927Director Alfred Hitchcock releases his first film, The Pleasure Garden, in England.

1943Hitler orders German troops at Stalingrad to fight to the death

1948Australia all out 674 v India (Bradman 201, Hassett 198*)

1950Jackie Robinson signs highest contract ($35,000) in Dodger history

1952Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

1954Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Women's Golf Open

1961Edward Albee's "American Dream," premieres in NYC

1962Jackie Robinson is 1st Black elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

1962Mickey Wright/Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Naples Pro-Am Golf Tournament

1969Spanish General Franco announces state of emergency

1976George Foreman KOs Ron Lyle in 5th round of a real slugfest

1982Super Bowl XVI: SF 49ers beat Cin Bengals, 26-21 in Pontiac Michigan, MVP: Joe Montana, San Francisco, QB

1983Hulk Hogan pins Iron Sheik for World Wrestling Federation title

198643th Golden Globes: Whoopi Goldberg, Color Purple win

1986NY Islander Mike Bossy scores his 1,000th point

2006After losing the federal election to Stephen Harper, Paul Martin resigns as leader of the Liberal party

2009Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated without papal consent in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.