On Jan. 19, 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
On Jan. 19, 1807, Robert E. Lee, Confederate general during the American Civil War , was born. Following his death on Oct. 12, 1870, his obituary appeared in The Times.
| 1736 |
James Watt, inventor of the steam engine, was born in Scotland. |
| 1807 |
Robert E. Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate armies, was born in Stratford, Va. |
| 1809 |
Author Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston. |
| 1861 |
Georgia seceded from the Union. |
| 1943 |
Rock singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas. |
| 1944 |
The federal government relinquished control of the nation’s railroads after settling a wage dispute. |
| 1955 |
A presidential news conference was filmed for TV for the first time, with the permission of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. |
| 1979 |
Former Attorney General John Mitchell was released on parole after serving 19 months in federal prison for Watergate-related crimes. |
| 1981 |
The United States and Iran signed an agreement paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months. |
| 2001 |
In a deal sparing himself possible indictment, President Bill Clinton acknowledged for the first time making false statements under oath about Monica Lewinsky; he also surrendered his law license for five years. |
| 2006 |
An unmanned NASA spacecraft blasted off on a 3 billion-mile journey to Pluto. |
| 2010 |
In a major upset, Republican Scott Brown captured the U.S. Senate seat held by liberal champion Edward Kennedy for nearly half a century as he defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in a special election. |
| 1923 |
Jean Stapleton, Actress (“All in the Family”), turns 89 |
| 1926 |
Fritz Weaver, Actor, turns 86 |
| 1930 |
Tippi Hedren, Actress (“The Birds”), turns 82 |
| 1931 |
Robert MacNeil, Journalist, turns 81 |
| 1939 |
Phil Everly, Singer (The Everly Brothers), turns 73 |
| 1942 |
Michael Crawford, Actor, singer, turns 70 |
| 1944 |
Dan Reeves, Football coach, turns 68 |
| 1947 |
Ann Compton, Broadcast journalist, turns 65 |
| 1947 |
Paula Deen, TV chef, turns 65 |
| 1953 |
Desi Arnaz Jr., Actor, turns 59 |
| 1955 |
Paul Rodriguez, Comedian, turns 57 |
| 1966 |
Stefan Edberg, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 46 |
| 1969 |
Trey Lorenz, R&B singer, turns 43 |
| 1972 |
Drea de Matteo, Actress (“The Sopranos”), turns 40 |
| 1974 |
Frank Caliendo, Comedian, impressionist, turns 38 |
| 1982 |
Jodie Sweetin, Actress (“Full House”), turns 30 |
| 1992 |
Shawn Johnson, Gymnast, turns 20 |
| 53 |
Tai Chen 1/19/1724 – 7/1/1777
Chinese philosopher |
| 83 |
James Watt 1/19/1736 – 8/25/1819
Scottish steam engine inventor |
| 82 |
Isaiah Thomas 1/19/1749 – 4/4/1831
American anti-British journalist |
| 67 |
Auguste Comte 1/19/1790 – 9/5/1857
French philosopher |
| 40 |
Edgar Allan Poe 1/19/1809 – 10/7/1849
American writer/poet |
| 95 |
William Keen 1/19/1837 – 6/7/1932
American-1st Am. Brain surgeon |
| 67 |
Paul Cezanne 1/19/1839 – 10/22/1906
French Post-Impressionist painter |
| 79 |
George Trumbull Ladd 1/19/1842 – 8/8/1921
American philosopher/psychologist |
| 56 |
Alexander Woollcott 1/19/1887 – 1/23/1943
American author/critic |
| 72 |
Olafur Thors 1/19/1892 – 12/31/1964
Icelandic Prime Minister |
| 90 |
Oveta Culp Hobby 1/19/1905 – 8/16/1995
American publisher and first secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953-55) |
Robert E. Lee 1/19/1807 – 10/12/1870 American Civil War general.
