What Happened in January 1999

Historical Events

  • Jan 1 65th Sugar Bowl: #3 Ohio State beats #8 Texas A&M, 24-14
  • Jan 1 85th Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin beats #6 UCLA, 38-31
  • Jan 1 International Year of Elderly
  • Jan 1 The Euro currency is introduced.
  • Jan 2 65th Orange Bowl: #7 Florida beats #18 Syracuse, 31-10
  • Jan 2 A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C); 68 deaths are reported.
  • Jan 3 Israel detains, and later expels, 14 members of Concerned Christians.
  • Jan 3 NASA's Mars Polar Lander launched, mission later fails after communication lost trying to land on Mars (Dec 3 1999)
  • Jan 4 College Football, 1st BCS National Championship, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ: #1 Tennessee beats #2 Florida State, 23-16, at 28th Fiesta Bowl
  • Jan 4 Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as Governor of Minnesota
  • Jan 4 Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque, killing 16 people and injuring 25.
  • Jan 6 An agreement is reached by the NBA and the players union to end a 204-day lockout which shortened the season by 50 games
  • Jan 7 NBA Board of Governors unanimously ratifies a new 6-year collective bargaining agreement between the league and the National Basketball Players Association

Clinton Impeachment Trial

Jan 7 President Bill Clinton's Impeachment trial begins in the US Senate after the House voted to impeach him for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky

Karura Tree Planting Protest

Jan 8 Tree planting protest against the privatisation of Karura Forest, including Wangari Maathai, attacked in Kenya prompting outrage

  • Jan 9 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Mark Philippoussis clinches Australia's unassailable 2-0 lead, (ends 2-1), with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Sweden's Jonas Björkman; Australia's first title

The Sopranos

Jan 10 "The Sopranos", starring James Gandolfini as mobster Tony Soprano, debuts on HBO

Praise You

Jan 10 Fatboy Slim's music single "Praise You" hits #1 in the UK

Jon Stewart Starts at "The Daily Show"

Jan 11 American comedian Jon Stewart succeeds Craig Kilborn as host of late-night talk and satirical news program "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central in US

Ecevit's 4th Term

Jan 11 Bülent Ecevit becomes Prime Minister of Turkey for the 4th time

Schottenheimer Resigns

Jan 11 Marty Schottenheimer resigns as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs

Jordan's Second Retirement

Jan 13 Basketball superstar Michael Jordan announces his second retirement just prior to start of lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season; returns in 2001 with Washington

  • Jan 14 Mel Lastman, Mayor of Toronto, calls in the Army to help with snow removal and emergency medical evacuations after major snowstorm hits the city
  • Jan 15 The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak are killed by Yugoslav security forces

"The Miss" as Broncos Beat Jets

Jan 17 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat New York Jets, 23-10; features infamous "The Miss", Vikings' PK Gary Anderson misses field goal late 4th quarter

  • Jan 17 NFC Championship, Metrodome, Minneapolis: Atlanta Falcons beat Minnesota Vikings, 30-27 (OT)
  • Jan 20 The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafés.
  • Jan 21 In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the US Coast Guard intercepts a ship carrying 4,300 kg of cocaine
  • Jan 22 Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India

49th NHL All-Star Game

Jan 24 49th NHL All-Star Game, Ice Palace, Tampa, FL: North America beats World, 8-6; MVP: Wayne Gretzky, NY Rangers, C

Duval's Sub-60 Round

Jan 24 David Duval eagles the 18th hole for a final round 59 to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at PGA West; becomes only the 3rd player to fire a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour

  • Jan 25 After an inquiry into a corruption scandal, 6 International Olympic Committee members are expelled
  • Jan 25 Earthquake hits Colombia, South America, killing around 300 and injuring 1000
  • Jan 25 Supernatural horror film "The Blair Witch Project" premieres at the Sundance Film festival

Hingis's 3rd Title

Jan 30 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Hingis of Switzerland wins her 3rd consecutive Australian title; beats unseeded Amélie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-3

  • Jan 31 15th Sundance Film Festival: "Three Seasons" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
  • Jan 31 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Yevgeny Kafelnikov becomes first Russian, male or female, to win an Australian title; beats Thomas Enqvist of Sweden 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-6
  • Jan 31 Super Bowl XXXIII, Pro Player Stadium, Miami, FL: Denver Broncos beat Atlanta Falcons, 34-19; MVP: John Elway, Denver, QB
1999 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jan 4 Gage Munroe, Canadian actor (I Declare War), born in Toronto, Ontario
  • Jan 10 Mason Mount, English footballer (England, Chelsea FC), born in Portsmouth, England
  • Jan 13 Nasa Hataoka, Japanese golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 2018 runner-up), born in Ibaraki, Japan
  • Jan 14 Declan Rice, English footballer (Arsenal, England), born in Kingston upon Thames, England
  • Jan 18 Karan Brar, American actor (Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Bunk'd), born in Redmond, Washington
  • Jan 19 Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, American blues guitarist and singer (662), born in Clarksdale, Mississippi
  • Jan 29 Madison Bailey, American actress (Outer Banks), born in Kernersville, North Carolina
Born in 1999

Famous Weddings

  • Jan 16 "General Hospital" actor Steve Burton (29) weds model Sheree Gustin (22) at a cliffside church in Dana Point, California
  • Jan 23 Princess of Monaco Caroline (42) weds dynastic head of the House of Hanover and Britain's King George I descendant Prince Ernst August (45) in Monaco

Famous Deaths

  • Jan 2 Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author, dies at 91
  • Jan 2 Shepard Menken, American voice & character actor (The Wild Wild West), dies at 77
  • Jan 3 Jerry Quarry, American boxer (famous bouts v world champions Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton), dies of chronic traumatic encephalopathy at 53
  • Jan 4 Allen Sapp, American composer (Imaginary Creatures), and pedagogue, dies of heart failure at 76
  • Jan 4 Iron Eyes Cody [Espera Oscar de Corti], Italian-American actor (Keep America Beautiful, Black Gold, Ernest Goes to Camp), dies at 91
  • Jan 4 Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricket all-rounder who played 16 Tests, 2 x 50, 3 wickets; Karachi Blues, Rawalpindi; and broadcaster PTV, BBC, Radio Pakistan, dies at 73
  • Jan 6 Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (100 Hearts), dies from a pulmonary infection at 36

Jim Peters (1918-1999)

Jan 9 English long-distance runner who was 1st to complete a marathon in under 2 hours 20 minutes, dies at 80

  • Jan 10 (Elbert) "Sonny" Forriest, American guitarist (The Coasters; Ray Charles; Hank Crawford), dies at 64
  • Jan 10 Frank Parker, American singer (Arthur Godfrey Show, Masquerade Party), dies at 95
  • Jan 10 John Hervey, 7th marquess of Bristol, English flamboyant peer who lost his fortune to drug addiction, dies at 44
  • Jan 10 Primož Ramovš, Slovenian avant-garde composer (Za Harmoniko; Tryptychon), pedagogue, and library director (Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1945-87), dies at 77
  • Jan 10 Sir Edward Williams, Australian judge (b. 1921)
  • Jan 11 Brian Moore, Irish novelist (Catholics, Doctor's Wife), dies at 77
  • Jan 11 Fabrizio de André, Italian singer-songwriter (Storia di un impiegato), dies of lung cancer at 58
  • Jan 11 Naomi Mitchison, Scottish novelist and poet (The Corn King and the Spring Queen), dies at 101
  • Jan 12 Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (101 Dalmatians; Cinderella), dies of a stroke at 84
  • Jan 12 Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)
  • Jan 12 Leo Cherne, American economist and commentator (All Star News), dies at 86
  • Jan 14 Aldo van Eyck, Dutch architect (City Hall), dies at 80
  • Jan 14 Jerzy Grotowski, Polish theatre director (b. 1933)
  • Jan 14 Robin Bailey, British actor (See No Evil, I Didn't Know You Cared), dies of respiratory failure at 79
  • Jan 15 Betty Box, British film producer (b. 1915)
  • Jan 15 William Crosbie, Scottish artist, dies at 83
  • Jan 16 Jim McClelland, Australian solicitor, politician, Minister, Royal Commissioner, judge (b. 1915)
  • Jan 16 Oscar Cullmann, French-Swiss Lutheran theologist (Das Petrusproblem), dies at 96
  • Jan 17 Robert Eads, American transsexual (b. 1945)
  • Jan 19 Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)
  • Jan 20 Bill Albaugh, American pop-psychedelic rock drummer (The Lemon Pipers - "My Green Tambourine"), dies at 53
  • Jan 21 Charles Brown, American blues singer and pianist ("Merry Christmas Baby"), dies at 76
  • Jan 21 Jacques Chailley, French musicologist and composer, dies at 88
  • Jan 21 Leslie French, British actor and singer (Death in Venice, More than a Miracle), dies at 94
  • Jan 21 Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
  • Jan 22 Graham Staines, Australian missionary (b. 1941)
  • Jan 22 William M. Batten, American businessman and CEO (NY Stock Exchange 1976-84), dies at 89
  • Jan 23 Jay Pritzker, American entrepreneur (co-founder of Hyatt hotels), philanthropist, founder of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, dies at 76
  • Jan 23 Prince Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican musician (b. 1949)
  • Jan 23 Thomas C. Mann, American diplomat (U.S. Ambassador to Mexico), dies at 86
  • Jan 25 Robert Shaw, American chorale conductor (Robert Shaw Chorale), dies of a stroke at 82
  • Jan 25 Sarah Louise "Sadie" Delany, American author and teacher, dies at 109
  • Jan 25 Ted Mallie, American radio and television announcer (b. 1924)
  • Jan 27 Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, Spanish writer associated with the Generation of '36 movement, dies at 88
  • Jan 28 Markey Robinson, Irish painter (b. 1918)
  • Jan 28 Pollamani Krishnamurthy, Indian cricket wicket-keeper (5 Tests, 8 dismissals; Hyderabad), dies at 51
  • Jan 28 Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
  • Jan 29 Lili St. Cyr [Marie Van Schaack], American dancer and strip tease performer, dies at 80
  • Jan 30 (Henry) "Huntz" Hall, American radio, stage, and screen actor (Dead End Kids: The Bowery Boys; Gas Pump Girls), dies from congestive heart failure at 78
  • Jan 30 Ed Herlihy, American broadcaster (b. 1909)
  • Jan 31 Giant Baba [Shohei Baba], Japanese professional wrestler (All Japan Pro Wrestling), dies at 61
  • Jan 31 Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (b. 1929)