Celebrating my 40th birthday this week, I decided to check out what was going on in the world in January 1969.

January 5th and 10th - USSR launches Venera 5 and Venera 6 to Venus.

January 12th - NY Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Also on the 12th, Led Zeppelin I is unleashed by the gods upon the world.

January 14th - onboard the USS Enterprise 27 were killed and 314 were injured in a tragic incident:

In the morning of 14 January 1969, a MK-32 Zuni rocket warhead attached to an F-4 Phantom was overheated by exhaust from an aircraft starting unit and detonated, setting off fires and additional explosions across the carrier. More at Wikipedia.

January 15th - the Russians continue their busy month in space by sending up Soyuz 5. (The Americans would trump all this in July, of course.)

January 20th - Nixon takes office. Ooof.

January 30th - The last public performance of The Beatles, on top of the Apple Records building.

See Wikipedia: January 1969.

(See also my “1969 Dodgers” retrospective at Trolley Dodger.)

UPDATE: From the January 13 Wikipedia mailing list email:

1842:

When he reached the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, became the sole European survivor of a party of over 4,500 military personnel and over 10,000 civilian camp followers retreating from Kabul, excluding a few prisoners released later. read more

1898:

The Paris newspaper L’Aurore published “J’accuse…!”, an open letter by French writer Émile Zola to French President Félix Faure exposing the Dreyfus affair. read more

1968:

American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Prison live at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California. read more

1986:

A month-long violent struggle began in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of President Ali Nasir Muhammad and his predecessor Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties. read more

1991:

The January Events: Soviet troops attacked Lithuanian independence supporters at the TV Tower in Vilnius, killing 14 people. read more