The organization now boasts more than 1.2 million members and continues to provide legal support where individual rights and liberties are threatened.

The Paris Peace Conference convened to establish the terms of the peace after the First World War.

On the 17th January 1991, the combat phase of the Gulf War began as Operation Desert Storm was launched to destroy Iraq’s military and civilian infrastructure through an enormous aerial bombing campaign.

Nationwide prohibition began on 17 January the following year, and existed until its repeal by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.

On the 15th January 1919, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were killed by members of the Freikorps.

Elvis Presley became the first solo entertainer to broadcast a live performance via satellite with Aloha From Hawaii.

The broadcast included performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci featuring acclaimed Italian tenor Enrico Caruso.

Dr James Hiram Bedford became the first human to be cryonically preserved.

The report drew three main conclusions focused on the effect of smoking on the functioning of the respiratory system.

The 47-page pamphlet is credited with having a dramatic impact on public opinion in the colonies, and helped to consolidate the idea of independent republicanism.

As Star of the West approached Fort Sumter on the morning of 9 January it was met with cannon shots from cadet George E. Haynsworth on nearby Morris Island.

American President George Washington delivered the very first State of the Union address to Congress.

On the 7th January 1979 Pol Pot, the Cambodian revolutionary and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, was overthrown when Vietnamese forces captured the capital city Phnom Penh.

Fans of the rock band Led Zeppelin rampaged through the Boston Garden arena, causing thousands of dollars of damage.