Fact: The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley
On this day: 30/01/1018
Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
On this day: 30/01/1287
King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
On this day: 30/01/1607
An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths.
On this day: 30/01/1648
Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.
On this day: 30/01/1649
Charles I of England is executed in Whitehall, London.
On this day: 30/01/1661
Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.
On this day: 30/01/1703
The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka.
On this day: 30/01/1789
Tây Sơn forces emerge victorious against Qing armies and liberate the capital Thăng Long.
On this day: 30/01/1806
The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.
On this day: 30/01/1820
Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica.
Fact: Native Indians have been known to paint their doors blue, which they believe keeps the bad spirits out
Fact: Before air conditioning was invented, white cotton slipcovers were put on furniture to keep the air cool.
Fact: The cross bow was invented by the Chinese and records of its usage goes back to as far as the Three Kingdom Period (220 a.d.-280 a.d.).
Fact: Japan has approximately 200 volcanoes and is home to 10% of the active volcanoes in the world
On this day: 29/01/904
Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
On this day: 29/01/946
Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.
On this day: 29/01/1258
First Mongol invasion of Đại Việt: Đại Việt defeats the Mongols at the battle of Đông Bộ Đầu, forcing the Mongols to withdraw from the country.
On this day: 29/01/1814
War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
On this day: 29/01/1819
Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.
On this day: 29/01/1845
"The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
On this day: 29/01/1850
Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
On this day: 29/01/1856
Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
On this day: 29/01/1861
Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
On this day: 29/01/1863
The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
Fact: Throughout the South, peanuts were known as "Monkey Nuts," and "Goober peas," before the civil war
Fact: In the U.S., over one million gallons of cosmetics, drinks, and lotions are sold that contain aloe in them per year
Fact: Japan has approximately 200 volcanoes and is home to 10% of the active volcanoes in the world
Fact: Baskin Robbins plain vanilla ice cream is the number one selling flavour and accounts for a quarter of their sales
Fact: Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command "go hang yourself."
On this day: 28/01/98
On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
On this day: 28/01/814
The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
On this day: 28/01/1069
Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
On this day: 28/01/1077
Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
On this day: 28/01/1521
The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
On this day: 28/01/1547
Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father's death.
On this day: 28/01/1568
The Edict of Torda prohibits the persecution of individuals on religious grounds in John Sigismund Zápolya's Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
On this day: 28/01/1573
Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
On this day: 28/01/1591
Execution of Agnes Sampson, accused of witchcraft in Edinburgh.
On this day: 28/01/1624
Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
Fact: The reason why hair turns gray as we age is because the pigment cells in the hair follicle start to die, which is responsible for producing "melanin" which gives the hair colour