January 24: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

The Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight after new escalations in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Doomsday Clock represents how close the world is to a major catastrophe or all-out nuclear war. This adjustment brought the clock the closest it had ever been to midnight since its creation in 1947.

The X-Files returned for Season 10 after a thirteen-year hiatus.

Walt Disney announced it was going to buy Pixar.

The sale of the computer animation film studio Pixar cost Disney $7.4 billion. The deal was approved the following day.

Japan launched its first lunar probe, Hiten, from the Uchinoura Space Center.

Hiten was the first robotic lunar probe to launch in fifteen years, after the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. It was also the first probe launched toward the moon by a nation other than the US or the Soviet Union.

NASA’s Voyager 2 came into close contact with Uranus and captured many images that uncovered 11 new moons.

Apple’s Macintosh personal computer was first put on sale in the US, changing the world of computing.

The world’s first McDonald’s drive-through was opened in Arizona.

A Japanese soldier was found hiding in Guam.

Local farmers discovered a Japanese sergeant, Shoichi Yokoi, hiding in Guam. He had been hiding in the jungles of Guam for a total of 28 years and was completely unaware that WWII had ended.

A B-52 bomber carrying two nuclear bombs broke up mid-air over North Carolina.

The pilots lost control of the plane due to a fuel leak, forcing the crew to eject at 9,000 feet (2,700 m). Both bombs were dislodged from the plane and fell to the ground. One of them came incredibly close to detonation. Of the eight crew members aboard the bomber, five survived the landing.

Chillán earthquake killed approximately 28,000 people.

The 8.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 23:32 and brought half the city down to the ground. Just 5 seconds later, Concepción was also hit, and 95% of all buildings were destroyed.

The first canned beer received instant approval from customers.

Krueger's Cream Ale canned beer first went on sale on this day in the US, and customers gave it a 91% approval rating. Cheers to Krueger Brewing Company!

Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell published his manual “Scouting for Boys.”

The manual included details on self-instruction in outdoor skills and self-improvement. The book became the inspiration for the Scout Movement.

Charles Darwin was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society for his revolutionary role in developing science.

King Charles II shut down England’s first Parliament, the Cavalier Parliament.

King Henry I of England married his second wife, Adeliza of Louvain.

At the time, King Henry I was 53 years old, and Adeliza was 18.