January 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 74 seconds into its flight. All seven astronauts were killed.

January 26, 1700 - 9.0 Magnitude earthquake strikes Cascadia. Approximate time of earthquake was 9:00 P.M. Local time. USGS details here.

January 21, 2007 - Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico declared his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States of America. Gov. Richardson is the first individual of Hispanic origins to declare his candidacy.

Also, in 1981, - Iran releases 52 American hostages that it held for 444 days. The hostages were held by Islamic radicals to force America into surrendering the Shah that had traveled to America for surgery. Later, he died in Egypt after his flight there, but the hostages were not released until President Jimmy Carter had officially completed his term as President of the United States.

Also, in 1950 - George Orwell, born Eric Author Blair in 1903, author of 1984 and Animal Farm, among others, passed away. Famous for words that made it into our lexicon: Big Brother, Orwellian.

January 20, 2007 - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, wife to ex-President William (Bill) Clinton, declared her candidacy for the Presidency. This marks the first time a woman has declared her intent to run for President of the United States of America.

Also, in 2009 - President Barrack Obama's Inaugural Address here.

January 9, 1960 - With the first blast of dynamite, construction work began on the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in southern Egypt. One third of the project's billion dollar cost was underwritten by the Soviet Union. The dam created Lake Nasser, one of the world's largest reservoir at nearly 2,000 square miles and irrigated over 100,000 acres of surrounding desert. The dam was opened in January of 1971 by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and President Nikolai Podgorny of the Soviet Union.