January 8th, 2009

Today in History

1994:
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He will stay on the space station till March 22, 1995 for a record 437 days in space.

871:
Ethelred of Wessex defeats Danish invasion army.

1962:
Harmelen train disaster.

1926:
Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud becomes the King of Hejaz and renames it Saudi Arabia.

1734:
Premiere of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.