The Battle of Öland (1676) was fought between an allied Danish- Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, east of Öland, during the Scanian War (1675–79). Sweden needed reinforcements for its northern German possessions; Denmark sought to ferry an army to attack Scania in southern Sweden. Just as the battle began, the Swedish flagship Kronan sank, taking with it the commander of the Swedish navy, Lorentz Creutz. The next in command, Claes Uggla, drowned while escaping his burning ship, Svärdet. The allied force under Dutch admiral Cornelis Tromp pressed its advantage, and the rest of the Swedish fleet fled in disorder. The battle resulted in Danish naval supremacy, then and throughout the war. The Danish King Christian V was able to ship troops over to the Swedish side of the Sound, and Scania became the main battleground of the war, culminating with the bloody battles of Lund, Halmstad and Landskrona. Danish and Dutch naval forces were left free to raze Öland and the Swedish east coast all the way up to Stockholm. The Swedish failure at Öland prompted King Charles XI to order a commission to investigate the fiasco, but in the end no one was found guilty. ( Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

• ... that New Zealand's marine engineer, designer of the country's tallest lighthouse (pictured) on Dog Island, drowned enroute to the funeral of a colleague—​who had also drowned?
• ... that the scientist Lisa-Ann Gershwin, who has discovered 200 species of jellyfish, is related to George Gershwin?
• ... that the Broadway Limited was the only Pennsylvania Railroad train to be completely re-equipped with lightweight sleeping cars before World War II?
• ... that the Kaivalya Upanishad exalts the one who sees without eyes and hears without ears?
• ... that the rhythm parts for Steely Dan's " Aja" were so long and complex that each player needed three music stands to hold the charts?
• ... that despite allegations that the vote was corrupt, the 1701 Taunton by-election result stood?
• ... that properties in Jaywick have been on sale for as little as £20,000?

• Syriza wins a plurality of seats in the Greek legislative election and forms a coalition government with the Independent Greeks.
• Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front party is elected President of Zambia.
• Sumo wrestler Hakuhō Shō (pictured) wins a record-breaking 33rd makuuchi championship.
• Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah dies and is succeeded by his half brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
• Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, and the Yemeni cabinet resign after a coup d'état in Yemen by Shia insurgents.
• At least 15 people are killed in protests against President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ongoing: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – War in Ukraine
Recent deaths: Charles H. Townes – R. K. Laxman – Demis Roussos

January 30: Martyrs' Day in India

• 1649 – English Civil War: King Charles I, who was defeated in both the First and the Second Civil Wars, was beheaded for high treason in front of the Banqueting House in London.
• 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge (pictured), connecting the Isle of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales, one of the world's first modern suspension bridges, opened.
• 1889 – Archduke Rudolf, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, was found dead in a suicide pact with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling.
• 1945 – World War II: In one of the largest losses of life in a single sinking in maritime history, the Soviet submarine S-13 sank the Wilhelm Gustloff carrying German soldiers and refugees evacuating from East Prussia, killing at least 9,400 people.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: Forces of the Viet Cong and the Vietnam People's Army launched the Tet Offensive to strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam.

More anniversaries: January 29 – January 30 – January 31

The National Basketball Association's (NBA) Rookie of the Year Award is an annual NBA honor given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, named after the former Philadelphia Warriors head coach. The winner is selected by a panel of US and Canadian sportswriters, each casting first, second, and third-place votes. The most recent Rookie of the Year winner is Michael Carter-Williams. Fourteen winners have also won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in their careers; Wilt Chamberlain (pictured) and Wes Unseld earned both honors in a single season. Three seasons had joint winners, and four players— Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, and Damian Lillard—won the award unanimously by capturing all of the first-place votes. ( Full list...)

Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) was a French poet best known for his collection Les Fleurs du mal (1857), which expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the 19th century. The author also worked as an essayist, art critic, and translator; in the 1850s and 1860s, he published several translations of works by Edgar Allen Poe. Photograph: Étienne Carjat Recently featured: Albers projection – Bharata Natyam – Lindau harbor Archive – More featured pictures...