07 January, 1610 – Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four moons

During this month in 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo made the earthshaking discoveries that four moons revolve around Jupiter and that the telescope reveals many more stars than are visible to the naked eye.

08 January, 1997 – Anniversary of Grimaldi rule in Monaco

On this day in 1997, the principality of Monaco began a yearlong celebration in honour of the 700th anniversary of the rule of the Grimaldi family, who seized power in 1297 and gained firm possession of Monaco in 1419.

09 January, 2005 – Election of Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas, who was a founder of Fatah in the 1950s and served briefly as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2003 under Yâsir ?Arafât, was elected president of the PA on this day in 2005.

10 January, 1776 – Common Sense published

On this day in 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, a 50-page pamphlet that sold more than 500,000 copies within a few months and called for a war of independence that would become the American Revolution.

11 January, 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.

12 January, 2010 – Haiti severely damaged by earthquake

On this day in 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, especially Port-au-Prince, killing more than 200,000 people and leaving more than 1,000,000 homeless and touching off a massive international relief effort.

13 January, 1898- Émile Zola's “J'accuse” published

On this day in 1898, French author Émile Zola published an open letter in the newspaper L'Aurore denouncing the French general staff for its role in the 1894 treason conviction of Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus.