What Happened in January 1909

Historical Events

Nimrod Reaches Farthest South

Jan 9 Ernest Shackleton as part of the British Nimrod Expedition reaches a record farthest southern latitude (88°23' south)

Polar Explorer and Sailor Ernest Shackleton

Jan 16 Anrtarctic explorers Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David and Alistair Mackay reach south magnetic pole as part of the Nimrod Expedition
Jan 19 Eugene Walter's "Easiest Way" premieres in NYC
Jan 22 Vassily Kandinsky forms Kunstlerverein in Munich
Jan 23 1st radio rescue at sea during CQD distress code by the British Royal Mail steamship Republic off Nantucket Island

Elektra

Jan 25 Richard Strauss' one-act opera "Elektra" premieres in Dresden

Jan 27 The Young Left is founded in Norway
Jan 28 US military forces leave Cuba for 2nd time

Events in 1909

Famous Birthdays

Jan 1 Barry Goldwater, American politician (Senator-R-Arizona, 1953-65, 69-87) and 1964 presidential candidate (R), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 1998)
Jan 1 Dana Andrews, American actor (Battle of the Bulge, Laura), born in Covington County, Mississippi (d. 1992)
Jan 1 Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricket wicketkeeper (4 Tests, 3 dismissals; Bombay), born in Bombay, India (d. 1949)

Stepan Bandera (1909-1959)

Jan 1 Ukrainian nationalist, leader of the terrorist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B), anti-communist fighter who both courted and was persecuted by Nazi Germany, born in Staryi Uhryniv, Galicia, Austria-Hungary

Jan 2 René Étiemble, French scholar, novelist and translator (work on Rimbaud), born in Mayenne, France (d. 2002)

Victor Borge (1909-2000)

Jan 3 Danish-American comedian and pianist, born in Copenhagen, Denmark

Jan 4 Cilly Aussem, German tennis player (French C'ships, Wimbledon 1931), born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1963)
Jan 5 Simon Harcourt Nowell-Smith, British bibliophile (d. 1996)
Jan 5 Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (Regular Expressions), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1994)
Jan 6 Joop Moesman, Dutch surrealist painter (Rumor), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1988)
Jan 7 Thalassa Cruso, English-American gardening expert (The Mike Douglas Show; The Tonight Show), born in London (d. 1997)
Jan 8 Bruce Mitchell, South African cricket opening batsman (42 Tests), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 1995)
Jan 8 Evelyn Wood, American educator (d. 1995)
Jan 8 Willy Millowitsch, German actor (National Lampoon's European Vacation), born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1999)
Jan 9 Herva Nelli, Italian-born American soprano, born in Florence, Italy (d. 1994)
Jan 10 Rudolf Kubin, Czech cellist, born in Ostrava, Czech Republic (d. 1973)
Jan 11 Gunnar Johnsen Berg, Swiss-Danish composer (Cosmogonie), born in Switzerland (d. 1989)
Jan 11 Marguerite Kelsey, English model for artists (Haunting), born in London, England (d. 1995)
Jan 12 Mauritz Hugo, Swedish actor (Atomic Blonde, Death Valley Gunfighter), born in Ostergotland, Sweden (d. 1974)
Jan 13 Danny Barker, American jazz musician (wrote Bourbon Street Black), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1994)

Marinus van der Lubbe (1909-1934)

Jan 13 Dutch communist (executed by the Nazis after setting fire to the German Reichstag), born in Leiden, Netherlands

Jan 14 Joseph Losey, American theatre and film director (The Damned: The Servant; Accident; The Go-Between), born in La Crosse, Wisconsin (d. 1984)
Jan 15 Elie Siegmeister, American composer (The Plough and the Stars), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1991)
Jan 15 Gene Krupa, American jazz and big band drummer (Benny Goodman - "Sing, Sing, Sing"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1973)
Jan 15 Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer, born in Cologne, Germany (d. 1939)
Jan 17 Karen Jønsson (née Pedersen), Danish jazz singer, pianist, songwriter, composer, and actress, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1942)
Jan 19 Hans Hotter, German operatic bass-baritone, born in Offenbach, Germany (d. 2003)
Jan 21 Todor Skalovski, Macedonian choral director and composer (Baltepe), born in Tetovo, Ottoman Empire (d. 2004)
Jan 22 Ann Sothern [Harriette Arlene Lake], American actress (Lady in a Cage), born in Valley City, North Dakota (d. 2001)
Jan 22 Irving "Mouse" Randolph, American swing jazz trumpeter (Cab Calloway Orchestra), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1997)
Jan 22 Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican diplomat and international playboy (d. 1965)

U Thant (1909-1974)

Jan 22 Burmese politician and 3rd Secretary-General of the United Nations (1961-72), born in Pantanaw, Burma, British India

Jan 23 Tatiana Proskouriakoff, Russian-American Mayan archaeologist who helped decipher Maya hieroglyphs, born in Tomsk, Russia (d. 1985)
Jan 24 Ann Todd, English stage and screen actress (The Seventh Veil; The Paradine Case; The Passionate Friends), born in Hartford, England (d. 1993)
Jan 24 Jean R. Yawkey, American baseball executive (owner Boston Red Sox 1976-92), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)
Jan 24 Tiny Winters [Frederick Gittens], English jazz bassist and singer, born in London, England (d. 1996)
Jan 28 Lionel Crabb "Buster", British Royal Navy diver (WW II-George Medal), born in London, England (d. 1956)
Jan 29 Alan Marshal, Australian actor (White Cliffs of Dover, Lydia), born in Sydney, New South Wales (d. 1961)
Jan 29 George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, British politician (Speaker of the House of Commons), born in Port Talbot, Wales (d. 1997)
Jan 30 Saul David Alinsky, American radical writer (John L Lewis), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1972)
Jan 31 Miron Grindea, Romanian-born literary editor (ADAM International Review), born in Târgu Ocna, Moldavia (d. 1995)

Born in 1909

Famous Deaths

Jan 12 Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician (work on relativity - Minkowski spacetime), dies of appendicitis at 44
Jan 14 Zinovy Rozhestvensky, Russian Imperial Navy Vice-Admiral (Battle of Tsushima - loss to Japan devastates fleet, ends Russo-Japanese War), dies of a heart attack at 60
Jan 15 Arnold Janssen missionary (b. 1837)
Jan 15 Ernest Reyer, composer, dies at 85
Jan 15 Ernst von Wildenbruch, German playwright (Das Edle Blut), dies at 63
Jan 17 Sir Francis Smith, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1819
Jan 22 Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist (Erlenmeyer flask), dies at 83
Jan 27 Benoît-Constant Coquelin, French actor, dies at 68
Jan 30 Martha Finley, American children's book author (Elsie Dinsmore series), dies at 80