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Historical Event(s)
– New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Water Tiger in Chinese astrology.
– Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
– Lyman Lemnitzer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivers a proposal, called Operation Northwoods, regarding performing terrorist attacks upon Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The proposal is scrapped and President John F. Kennedy removes Lemnitzer from his position.
– A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappeared in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 missing.
– Douglas MacArthur delivers his Duty, Honor, Country valedictory speech at the United States Military Academy.
– Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
– An Air France Boeing 707 charter, Chateau de Sully crashes after an aborted takeoff from Paris-Orly Airport, killing 130.
– Spiegel scandal: Der Spiegel publishes the article “Bedingt abwehrbereit” (“Conditionally prepared for defense”) about a NATO manoeuver called “Fallex 62”, which uncovered the sorry state of the Bundeswehr (Germany’s army) facing the communist threat from the east at the time. The magazine is soon accused of treason.
– Uganda joins the United Nations.
– Apartheid: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa’s racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation.
Who Were Born On ?
– Ari Up, German musician (The Slits) (d. 2010)
– Hana Mandlíková, Czech tennis player
– Paul de Leeuw, Dutch television host
– Billy Beane American baseball player and executive
– Iris Häussler, German installation artist
– Pauline McLynn, Irish actress
– Jack Irons, American drummer
– Jon Secada, Cuban singer and songwriter
– Felicity Huffman, American actress
– Darren Wharton, British keyboardist (Thin Lizzy and Dare)