1946 Radar signals bouncing off the Moon were detected for the first time.

1935 Amelia Earhart's Hawaii-to-California flight
On this day in 1935, Amelia Earhart, one of the world's most celebrated aviators, made the first successful solo flight from Hawaii to California, a distance longer than that from the United States to Europe.

1966 The live-action TV series Batman premiered on ABC; a huge hit, it starred Adam West as the Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as Robin.

1993: Allies bomb Iraq
American, British and French fighter jets carry out a series of bombing raids over southern Iraq.

2005 The Huygens entry probe landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan; it marked the first time a spacecraft landed on a planetary surface in the outer solar system.

2009 US Airways flight 1549, piloted by Captain Chesley (“Sully”) Sullenberger III, landed in the Hudson River after the plane flew into a flock of Canada geese shortly after take off, resulting in severe damage to the plane's engines; there were no fatalities.

1973 The last episode of Bonanza aired on NBC as the popular western series ended after 14 seasons.

2008 American-born chess player Bobby Fischer, who became the youngest grandmaster in history when he received the title in 1958, died in Reykjavík, Iceland.

1911 The first aircraft landing on a ship's flight deck was performed by American pilot Eugene Ely on the battleship Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay.

1973: Super tug to defend fishing fleet
A super tug is sent to protect British trawlers from Icelandic patrol boats as the dispute over cod fishing rights intensifies.

1961 U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

1950: Acclaimed author George Orwell dies
The British writer George Orwell dies after a three-year battle against tuberculosis.

2001: MMR triple vaccine declared safe
The government launches a £3m campaign to convince parents the controversial MMR triple vaccine is safe.

1997 The Age of Aquarius dawned, some astrologers believe, because for the first time since 1475 a number of planets, the Sun, and the Moon were aligned in a perfect six-pointed star in the first degrees of Aquarius.

2004 Opportunity's Mars landing
Launched in mid-2003, the six-wheeled robotic rover Opportunity landed on Mars this day in 2004 and—like its twin rover, Spirit, which had landed on January 3—analysed rocks and soils and relayed pictures back to Earth.