January 3, 2011

• 515 years since Leonardo Da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine (1496)
• 490 years since Martin Luther was ex communicated by Pope Leo X in the Decet Romanum Pontificem
• 119 years since the birth of J.R.R. Tolkein author of the Lord of The Rings trilogy
• 100 years since the birth of film director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape)
• 86 years since Benito Mussolini announced taking power over Italy
• 55 years since the top of Eiffel Tower is damaged by Fire
• 50 years since the US ends diplomatic relationship with Cuba
• 49 years since Pope John XXIII excommunicated Fidel Castro
• Eli Manning, Quarterback of the New York Giants, turns 30 (b. 1981)
• January 3 is the Christian feast of St. Genevieve, patron saint of Paris

December 19, 2010

• 69 years ago Adolf Hitler became Commander-in-Chief of the German Army (1941)
  
• 27 years ago the original FIFA World Cup Trophy (the Jules Rimet Trophy) is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio De Jeneiro. The trophy has never been recovered (1983)
  
• 111 years since the birth of Martin Luther King, Sr. (born 1899, he died 1984)
  
• Jake Gyllenhaal turns 30 (born 1980)
  
• Anniversary of the death of Emily Bronte (died 1848)