41 Swayed by the arguments advanced by the Praetorian Guard, the Roman Senate confirms Claudius as Emperor (r. 51-54)

750 Battle of the Zab: The Abbasids defeat and overthrow the Umayyads, and take control of the Caliphate

1126 Battle of Marj-es-Safar: The Kingdom of Jerusalem defeats the Damascans

1139 Godfried II "the Young" becomes Count of Leuven & Landgrave of Brabant (1139-1142)

1153 King Baldwin III of Jerusalem attacks Ascalon

1327 Edward II of England (1307-1327) is deposed in favor of his son, Edward III (1327-1377)

1401 Tamerlane captures Damascus by treachery.

1494 Accession of Alfonso II as King of Naples (Jan 25, 1494-Jan 1495), abdicates

1497 Giovanni Borgia abandons the siege of the Orisini stronghold at Bracciano

1504 England's parliament limits the size of nobles' entourages, to curb private warfare.

1554 Sir Thomas Wyatt raises Kent against "Bloody" Mary

1787 Capt Dan Shays' Rebels fail to capture the arsenal at Springfield, Mass

1802 Napoleone Buonaparte's election as president of the Cisalpine Republic

1856 Battle of Seattle: US Sailors, marines, & settlers beat off an Indian attack

1865 CSS 'Shenandoah' arrives in Melbourne, Australia

1887 Battle of Saati: Italians defeat the Tigrinos

1890 Nellie Bly, ace "girl" reporter for the 'New York World," returns to NY after having gone around the world in 72 days

1916 Montenegro surrenders to Austria-Hungary

1940 Nazis decree the establishment of a Jewish ghetto in Lodz Poland

1942 Bataan: Fil-American troops complete withdrawal to secondary positions

1942 U.S. carriers 'Yorktown' (CV-5) & 'Enterprise' (CV-6) depart Samoa to raid the Gilberts & Marshalls on Feb 1st

1943 Guadalcanal: Japanese in full retreat, closely pursued by U.S. forces.

1943 Italian blockade runner 'Orseolo' departs Kobe for Bordeaux

1943 Papua: 41st Div relieves the 32nd & 7th Australian Divs.

1944 Allied air raid on Japanese at Rabaul, destruction of 83 enemy aircraft.

1944 Burma: the bulk of Chinese New 22nd Div begins supporting the New 38th Div.

1945 Audie Murphy earns the Medal of Honor

1945 B-29s begin mining off Singapore, Saigon, Camranh Bay, and Penang.

1945 Burma: British 82nd West African Division occupies Myohaung

1951 UN begins counteroffensive in Korea

1961 Military coup in El Salvador

1969 US-North Vietnamese peace talks begin in Paris

1971 Coup ousts Milton Obote as President of Uganda & installs Idi Amin (1971-1979).

1980 Highest speed attained by a warship, 167 kph, USN hovercraft

1981 Jiang Qing, Mao's widow, is tried for treason and sentenced to death, which is commuted to life

1983 Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia; convicted in France, he dies in prison in 1991

2014 Maniac opens fire at a Mall in Columbia, Maryland, killing two and wounding five before killing himself