Historical data January 2025
Published: Sunday, Dec 1st 2024, 10:21
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1
- 10 years ago (2015) ... a desperate mother killed her five- and two-year-old children in Flaach ZH. The child and adult protection authorities (Kesb) came under fire.
- 20 years ago (2005) ... the 0.5 per mille limit and zero tolerance for drug consumption came into force in Switzerland.
... the retirement age for women was raised from 63 to 64.
... the Hartz IV labor market reform came into force in Germany. Long-term unemployed people had their payments cut
- 25 years ago (2000) ... the revised Federal Constitution came into force.
... the year 2000 problem, also known as the millennium bug or Y2K bug, triggered by the transition from two-digit years to 2000, had no significant consequences. The feared computer chaos did not occur.
- 30 years ago (1995) ... VAT was introduced in Switzerland. It replaced the goods turnover tax (WUSt). The standard rate was 6.2 percent.
... the EU accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden came into force.
... The World Trade Organization (WTO), with 85 founding members, began its work in Geneva as the successor organization to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the German writer and philosopher Rüdiger Safranski ("Friedrich Schiller oder die Erfindung des Deutschen Idealismus", "Friedrich Nietzsche. Biography of his Thought") was born.
- 130 years ago (1895) ... the Swiss News Agency SDA (after 2018 Keystone-SDA) began operations. Initially, the agency, which employed 10 editors, broadcast foreign news. In the same year, SDA also set up a domestic service with 50 correspondents in Switzerland.
... the American founder and director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover was born. (†2.5.1972)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2
- One year ago (2024) ... a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 collided with a small aircraft on approach to Tokyo Airport and caught fire. All 379 passengers were evacuated via emergency slides, 17 were injured. Five occupants of the small Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft died.
- 5 years ago (2020) ... Austria elected a turquoise-green government consisting of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Greens.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the French chansonnier Michel Delpech ("Pour un flirt avec toi", *26.1.1946) died
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the German actor Emil Jannings, who was born in Rorschach, died. He received the first Oscar ever and is also the only German to date to have been awarded Best Actor in a Leading Role. ("The Blue Angel", *23.7.1884)
FRIDAY, 3. JANUARY
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the US actress Victoria Principal ("Dallas") was born in Fukuoka/Japan (according to other sources in 1946).
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the American rock musician Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young was born.
- 230 years ago (1795) ... the Frenchman Nicolas-Jacques Conté invented the pencil as we know it today.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Italian singer Pino Daniele died after suffering a heart attack. He was 59 years old. (*19.3.1955)
- 50 years ago (1975) ... the Italian writer Carlo Levi died.
- 75 years ago (1950) ... Israel declared Jerusalem its capital, contrary to a UN resolution.
- 125 years ago (1900) ... the US ornithologist James Bond was born (†14.2.1989). Ian Fleming borrowed his name for 007.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 5
- 25 years ago (2000) ... the Swiss actor, film director and photographer Bernhard Wicki ("Die Brücke", *28.10.1919) died in Munich. He was awarded a Golden Globe, among other honors.
- 40 years ago (1985) ... "Operation Moses" was ended after the resettlement of around 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel became known.
- 150 years ago (1875) ... the neo-baroque Opéra Garnier, built by Charles Garnier, was opened in Paris. The Paris Opera, which was chosen by Gaston Leroux as the setting for his novel "Le fantôme de l'opéra", was the largest theater building in the world at the time.
MONDAY, 6. JANUARY
- 25 years ago (2000) ... the US comic artist Don Martin ("Mad", *18.5.1931) died
- 30 years ago (1995) ... Sony introduced the DVD.
... an apartment fire in Manila led to the discovery of the planned terrorist operation Bojinka. Al-Qaeda supporters wanted to use this title to carry out an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Philippines as well as aircraft attacks.
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the British actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean") was born.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the Swiss journalist and media scientist Roger Blum was born in Basel.
- 180 years ago (1845) ... the literary scholar and collector of legends Ferdinand Philipp Grimm died. (*18.12.1788)
- 280 years ago (1745) ... the inventor Jacques Étienne Montgolfier was born (†2.8.1799)
TUESDAY, 7. JANUARY
- One year ago (2024) ... the former German football player, coach and official Franz "Kaiser" Beckenbauer died at the age of 78. As a player, he won the 1974 World Cup with the German national team. He did the same as coach of the German team in 1990.
- Ten years ago (2015) ... two masked Islamist perpetrators broke into the editorial offices of the Paris satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" and shot eleven people. They killed a police officer as they fled.
... the Australian actor Rod Taylor (*11.1.1930) died. Highlights of his career were leading roles in "Time Machine" and "The Birds.
- 40 years ago (1985) ... the British Formula 1 driver Lewis Carl Davidson was born.
- 130 years ago (1895) ... the Romanian-Swiss pianist Clara Haskil was born (†7.12.1960). She is still considered a leading Mozart player today.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8
- 5 years ago (2020) ... Ukraine-International Airlines flight 752 was shot down a few minutes after take-off in Tehran. The plane was on its way to Kiev. All 176 people on board were killed.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... a heavily armed gunman shot four people dead in a Jewish supermarket in Paris. This was one day after the massacre at the editorial offices of the Paris satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo". The "Islamic State" claimed responsibility for the attacks.
- 25 years ago (2000) ... the US actress and singer Noah Cyrus, sister of Miley Cyrus, was born.
- 90 years ago (1935) ... the US singer Elvis Aaron Presley was born. He is considered one of the most important representatives of 20th century rock and pop culture and is known as the "King of Rock 'n' Roll".
- 125 years ago (1900) ... the Russian painter Serge Poliakoff, one of the leading representatives of the Nouvelle École de Paris, was born. (†12.10.1969)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9
- One year ago (2024) ... the 34-year-old Gabriel Attal became France's new prime minister. He was the youngest prime minister in the history of France.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Swiss sports journalist Sepp Renggli died. (*1.4.1924)
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the German rock musician Rio Reiser, known as the head of the group Ton, Steine, Scherben, was born (†20.8.1996)
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the Zug FDP politician Rolf Schweiger was born. The lawyer presided over the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland (FDP) in 2004, stepping down in the same year for health reasons. From 1999 to 2011, he represented the canton of Zug in the Council of States.
- 125 years ago (1900) ... the German composer Rudolf Hindemith was born (†7.10.1974). He was usually overshadowed by his brother Paul.
FREITAG, 10 JANUARY
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Italian film director Francesco Rosi ("Christus kam nur bis Eboli", *15.11.1922) died
- 20 years ago (2005) ... the smoking ban in Italy was extended to rooms in public buildings and restaurants.
- 30 years ago (1995) ... the British make-up artist Roy Ashton, who redesigned classic film monsters for Hammer Film Production from the 1950s to the 1980s, died. (*16.4.1909)
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the British singer Rod Stewart ("Sailing", "Baby Jane", "Hot Legs") was born.
... the German physician and exhibition organizer Gunther von Hagens ("Body Worlds"), pioneer of the plastination process, was born.
SAMSTAG, 11 JANUARY
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Swedish actress Anita Ekberg ("La dolce vita", *29.9.1931) died ill and penniless in a clinic in Rome at the age of 83. She was considered Federico Fellini's muse. She became famous with his film "La dolce vita". The scene in the Trevi Fountain with Marcello Mastroianni is one of the most legendary scenes in film history.
- 130 years ago (1895) ... the US engineer Laurens Hammond, the inventor of the Hammond organ, was born. (†3.7.1973)
SONNTAG, 12 JANUARY
- 25 years ago (2000) ... the animator Marc Davis, one of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, died. In addition to his work on films such as Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians, he also designed Disneyland attractions. (*30.3.1913)
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the US actor Murray Salem was born. He appeared in only 11 films, including "Jesus of Nazareth" in 1977 and "Holocaust - The Story of the Weiss Family" in 1978. He also wrote the screenplay for "Kindergarten Cop" with Arnold Schwarzenegger. (†6.1.1998 from AIDS).
MONTAG, 13 JANUARY
- One year ago (2024) ... Taiwan elected a president critical of China. William Lai, the previous vice president of Taiwan and candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won the election by a clear margin. In view of the increased tensions between China and Taiwan, Lai's election victory is considered to be of great significance.
- 25 years ago (2000) ... Bill Gates gave up the management of Microsoft, but remained Chairman of Microsoft Corp. with which he became the richest man in the world.
... both hands and forearms were transplanted from a donor for the first time. In a globally unique operation, doctors in Lyon stitched both hands and the front parts of the forearms of a donor to a 33-year-old Frenchman.
- 110 years ago (1915) ... an earthquake in Avezzano near L'Aquila (I) claimed 30,000 lives.
- 130 years ago (1895) ... the Swiss author Rudolf Jakob Humm ("Das Linsengericht", †27.1.1977) was born.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14
- 20 years ago (2005) ... the German fashion designer Rudolph Moshammer was murdered in his home in Munich (*27.9.1940). The perpetrator was an asylum seeker whom Moshammer had recruited at the main railway station for well-paid "sexual favors".
... the ESA probe Huygens landed on Saturn's moon Titan.
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the German pop singer, composer, lyricist and music producer Hanne Haller was born. She composed successful hits for practically the entire German pop scene. (†15.11.2005 from breast cancer)
- 80 years ago (1945) ... Arthur Wynne, British editor and inventor of the crossword puzzle, died. The first "Word-Cross Puzzle" appeared on December 21, 1913 in the Christmas edition of the "Fun" supplement of the "New York World".
- 100 years ago (1925) ... the former Vaud FDP Federal Councillor Camille Decoppet died. From 1912 to 1919, the former FDP president was head of the military department. He ensured that the army was better equipped. The pro-German attitude of the Federal Council and the General Staff created problems for him, the only Federal Councillor from French-speaking Switzerland.
- 150 years ago (1875) ... the Franco-German researcher, doctor, philosopher, Protestant theologian, organist, musicologist and pacifist Albert Schweitzer was born. He was considered one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. The "jungle doctor" also founded an infirmary in Lambarene in Gabon, Central Africa.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15
- One year ago (2024) ... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Switzerland. He met the national government as well as party and council presidents. The following day, he took part in the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abolished the minimum euro exchange rate of 1 franc 20 with immediate effect.
- 20 years ago (2005) ... the jury in a military trial at Fort Hood (Texas) sentenced US non-commissioned officer Charles Graner to ten years in prison for mistreating prisoners in the Baghdad prison Abu Ghoreib.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the Austrian pop singer Christian Anders ("Es fährt ein Zug nach Nirgendwo") was born.
THURSDAY, 16. JANUARY
- 5 years ago (2020) ... the British medievalist Christopher Tolkien, executor of his father J.R.R. Tolkien's estate and advisor on the writing of "Lord of the Rings", died.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... a woman became head of state in Taiwan for the first time. Tsai Ing-wen, the leading opposition candidate critical of China, won the presidential election by a clear margin.
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the US actress Debbie Allen, the dance teacher Lydia Grant from "Fame", was born.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the car manufacturer Renault was nationalized.
FREITAG, 17 JANUARY
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Iran sanctions ended
- 30 years ago (1995) ... a severe earthquake devastated the Japanese regions of Kobe and Osaka. Around 5000 people were killed.
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the German actress Susanne Uhlen ("Derrick") was born.
- 75 years ago (1950) ... Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognize the communist leadership in China under Mao Tse Tung.
SAMSTAG, 18 JANUARY
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the American film actor and director Kevin Costner ("Dances with Wolves") was born.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the Chilean author Isabel Allende ("The Ghost House") was born.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19
- 25 years ago (2000) ... Bettino Craxi died in exile in Hammamet, Tunisia, as a result of diabetes. He was Italian Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987, member of the Italian Socialist Party, supporter of Berlusconi, involved in the Mani Pulite scandal, which drove him into exile in Tunisia. He was sentenced in absentia to a total of 28 years imprisonment in several trials. (*24.2.1934)
... Austrian-American film actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr died. She developed precursors to Bluetooth and WLAN technology in the service of the US Navy and the Allies during the Second World War. (*9.11.1914)
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the British conductor Simon Rattle was born, the former chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker and since 2017 chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
... the first Goggomobil microcar rolled off the assembly line. The vehicle was produced in various versions until 1969.
MONTAG, 20 JANUARY
- Five years ago (2020) ... China informed the world that a virus that can be transmitted from person to person had broken out in Wuhan - more than three weeks after the first cases appeared in clinics. The pandemic resulted in up to 20 million deaths and was an example of the rapid spread of an infectious disease through globalization.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the German electronic music pioneer Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream died. (*6.6.1944)
- 30 years ago (1995) ... the Pont de Normandie cable-stayed bridge was inaugurated between Le Havre and Honfleur near the mouth of the Seine, the bridge with the largest span in Europe.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd US president, was the only president to be sworn in for the fourth time.
- 90 years ago (1935) ... the German-Austrian theater director, actor and director Achim Benning ("Das weite Land", 1976-86 director of the Vienna Burgtheater) was born.
- 100 years ago (1925) ... Eugen Gomringer, Swiss writer ("worte sind schatten"), co-initiator and representative of "concrete poetry", was born in Cachuela Esparanza/Bolivia.
... the Nicaraguan priest, politician, liberation theologian and writer Ernesto Cardenal ("Psalms", "Prayer for Marilyn Monroe") was born in Granada.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21
- 5 years ago (2020) ... the British comedian, film director, historian and writer Terry Jones, a member of Monty Python, died. In addition to writing and performing, he also directed the feature film "The Knights of the Coconut".
- 25 years ago (2000) ... a total lunar eclipse was observed in Europe.
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the American object artist Jeff Koons ("Balloon Dog", "Inflatable Flower and Bunny") was born in York/Pennsylvania.
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the British author George Orwell (actually Eric Arthur Blair; "Animal Farm", "Nineteen Eighty-Four/1984", *25.6.1903) died.
... the British pop singer Billy Ocean was born.
- 120 years ago (1905) ... the French fashion designer Christian Dior was born.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22
- One year ago (2024) ... three children died and three other people were injured in a house fire in Escholzmatt-Marbach. The fire broke out in the household waste and then spread to the entire building.
- 30 years ago (1995) ... 105-year-old Rose Kennedy, mother of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, died. (*22.7.1890)
- 125 years ago (1900) ... the German singer, actor and director Ernst Busch was born (†8.6.1980). In 1981, the renowned drama school in East Berlin was renamed the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in his honor.
THURSDAY, 23. JANUARY
- One year ago (2024) ... the German music producer Frank Farian died. He was one of the most commercially successful German music producers and founded groups such as Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. His productions sold over 800 million copies worldwide.
- 5 years ago (2020) ... the German children's and young adult author Gudrun Pausewang (*3.3.1928, "Die Wolke") died. During the first ten years of her writing career, Pausewang only wrote books for adults, later also for children and young people.
- 20 years ago (2005) ... US talk show host John William Carson died in Malibu at the age of 79. The TV entertainer achieved fame with "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962-1992).
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the American actor Richard Dean Anderson ("MacGyver", "Stargate") was born.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the Austrian manager and textile merchant Werner Baldessarini, CEO of the fashion group Hugo Boss 1998-2002 and founder of the luxury fashion brand named after him in 1993, was born.
FRIDAY, 24 JANUARY
- 60 years ago (1965) ... British Prime Minister Winston Churchill died. He was head of government from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. He also received the Nobel Prize for Literature (1953).
- 75 years ago (1950) ... the French actor Daniel Auteuil ("Mon meilleur ami", "Romuald et Juliette") was born in Algiers/Algeria.
- 130 years ago (1895) ... the Zurich author Albin Zollinger was born (†7.11.1941). Alongside his work as a teacher, he wrote novels, stories, poems, essays, articles and reviews, mostly in Zurich's Café Terrasse, where he used to take the streetcar after school in Oerlikon. Three weeks before his death at the age of 46, Zollinger met the young writer Max Frisch on the Pfannenstiel, who recorded this encounter in his diary 1946-1949.
SAMSTAG, 25 JANUARY
- One year ago (2024) ... a man sentenced to death was executed for the first time in the USA using a new nitrogen method. During the procedure, the 58-year-old man was injected with nitrogen via a face mask and died as a result of oxygen deprivation.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Greek singer Demis Roussos ("Goodbye My Love Goodbye", *15.6.1946) died
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the French film director Olivier Assayas ("Sils Maria") was born
SONNTAG, 26 JANUARY
- 5 years ago (2020) ... the US basketball star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area. His 13-year-old daughter and seven other passengers died with him.
- 70 years ago (1955) ... the US guitarist Eddie Van Halen, founder of the hard rock band Van Halen ("1984", "Jump", "Balance"), was born in Nijmegen/Netherlands
- 75 years ago (1950) ... Jörg Haider, Governor of Carinthia, was born. He died on 11.10.2008 in a self-inflicted car accident. He had been driving under the influence of alcohol and at excessive speed at night and in foggy conditions.
... the blind US blues musician Paul Pena was born (†1.10.2005). He was also known as "Earthquake" due to his extremely deep voice. He mastered the vocal art of Khöömej (overtone singing) and was a master of Kargyraa (undertone singing). As a multi-instrumentalist, he played with John Lee Hooker, BB King, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Bones and T-Bone Walker, among others.
- 100 years ago (1925) ... US actor Paul Newman was born. The director was also a multiple Oscar winner. He died on September 26, 2008.
- 125 years ago (1900) ... the German fashion and nude photographer Yva, actually Else Ernestine Neuländer-Simon, was born. She founded her first photo studio at the age of 25. Helmut Neustädter, who later became Helmut Newton, was one of her apprentices. Yva was murdered in the Sobibor extermination camp in 1942.
MONTAG, 27 JANUARY
- 25 years ago (2000) ... the Austrian pianist and composer Friedrich Gulda died. (*16.5.1930)
- 80 years ago (1945) ... Soviet troops liberated the German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in occupied Poland.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28
- 70 years ago (1955) ... Nicolas Sarkozy, French President from 2007 to 2012, was born.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the Swiss actress Marthe Keller ("Marathon Man", "Amnesia") was born in Basel.
- 90 years ago (1935) ... the British author David Lodge ("A Whole Man") was born.
- 125 years ago (1900) ... the Austrian-German author Hermann Kesten was born (†3.5.1996).
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Australian bestselling author Colleen McCullough died. ("Birds of Thorns", *1.6.1937)
... the US photographer and artist Will McBride, who lived in Germany, died. (*10.1.1931). He worked as a photojournalist for magazines such as Quick, Brigitte, Film und Frau, Eltern, Geo, Stern, Life, Look, Playboy and Paris Match.
- 20 years ago (2005) ... the Israeli writer and satirist Ephraim Kishon ("The Blue Milk Channel") died in his adopted Swiss home in Appenzell (*23.8.1924)
- 25 years ago (2000) ... Hannes Schmidhauser, Swiss footballer (FC Locarno, FC Lugano, GC), captain of the national team from 1952 to 1954, actor ("Uli der Knecht", "Uli der Pächter", "Der Mustergatte", "Hinter den sieben Gleisen", "Klassezämekunft", "Die Direktorin", "General Sutter", *9.9.1926) died.
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the American actor Tom Selleck ("Magnum") was born.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30
- One year ago (2024) ... 25 Leopard main battle tanks left eastern Switzerland for Germany. The tanks were to remain in Germany, with NATO or EU partners, but not be transferred to Ukraine.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... the Bulgarian-American-Austrian chemist and writer Carl Djerassi, one of the fathers of the contraceptive pill, died. (*29.10.1923)
- 80 years ago (1945) ... the greatest disaster in seafaring occurred: a Soviet submarine sank the German motor ship Wilhelm Gustloff off the coast of Pomerania. Up to 9000 people lost their lives.
- 100 years ago (1925) ... the American computer pioneer Douglas Carl Engelbart was born. He was the inventor of the computer mouse (1963).
- 130 years ago (1895) ... the Austrian operetta singer Marianne Golz was born. She belonged to a resistance group that helped Jews escape from Prague. The Nazis sentenced her to death by guillotine for this. (†8.10.1943)
FREITAG, 31 JANUARY
- 5 years ago (2020) ... Brexit happened.
... the US crime writer Mary Higgins Clark (*24.12.1927) died. She began writing as a young widow with five children, initially unsuccessfully. She later became a star of the genre. She wrote over 25 crime novels, which sold more than 100 million copies in the United States alone. At the same time as her early publications, the mother of five also completed a degree in philosophy.
- 10 years ago (2015) ... Marie-Thérèse Guggisberg died at the age of 72. She was the first woman to present the main edition of Swiss television's Tagesschau in 1980.
- 25 years ago (2000) ... a Kenya Airways Airbus A310 crashed after take-off in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire). 169 people died.
- 30 years ago (1995) ... the US director George Abbott died at the age of almost 108 ("All Quiet on the Western Front", *25.6.1887)
- 90 years ago (1935) ... the Japanese author Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize, was born.
- 100 years ago (1925) ... Ulrich Wille, General of the Swiss Army during the First World War, died. In 1918, he spread rumors of revolution and warned of a "Bolshevik uprising" in Switzerland. During the three-day national strike in November 1918, he marched 95,000 soldiers against the 250,000 strikers.
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