Today in History: January 15, US Airways jet makes emergency landing in Hudson River
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 15, the 15th day of 2025. There are 350 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 15, 2009, US Airways Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320 safely in the Hudson River after striking a flock of birds that disabled both engines shortly after takeoff; all 155 people aboard survived.
Also on this date:
In 1559, Elizabeth I was crowned queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey.
In 1919, in Boston, a tank containing an estimated 2.3 million gallons (8.7 million liters) of molasses burst, flooding the city’s North End and killing 21 people.
In 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.
In 1943, work was completed on the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of War (now Defense).
In 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, known retroactively as Super Bowl I.
In 1991, Sean Lennon’s remake of his father’s “Give Peace A Chance” was released to coincide with the United Nations’ midnight deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. The lyrics were updated to reflect concerns of the 1990s.
In 2001, Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia maintained by volunteer editors, made its debut.
Today’s birthdays:
- Actor Andrea Martin is 78.
- Football Hall of Famer Randy White is 72.
- Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 68.
- Boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins is 60.
- Actor-director Regina King is 54.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is 48.
- Former NFL quarterback Drew Brees is 46.
- Rapper-reggaeton artist Pitbull is 44.
- Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro is 41.
- DJ-music producer Skrillex is 37.
- Actor-singer Dove Cameron is 29.
- Singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal is 21.