Today is Thursday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2026 with 336 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include philosopher Thomas Paine in 1736; William McKinley, 25th president of the United States, in 1843; writer Anton Chekhov in 1860; businessman John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1874; actor W.C. Fields in 1880; actor Victor Mature in 1913; actor John Forsythe in 1918; writer Germaine Greer in 1939 (age 87); actor Katharine Ross in 1940 (age 86); actor Tom Selleck in 1945 (age 81); musician Tommy Ramone in 1949; actor Ann Jillian in 1950 (age 76); musician Charlie Wilson (Gap Band) in 1953 (age 73); musician Louie Perez (Los Lobos) in 1953 (age 73); TV personality/actor Oprah Winfrey in 1954 (age 72); actor Terry Kinney in 1954 (age 72); Olympic gold medal-winning diver Greg Louganis in 1960 (age 66); musician David Baynton-Power (James) in 1961 (age 65); musician Eddie Jackson (Queensrÿche) in 1961 (age 65); actor Nick Turturro in 1962 (age 64); actor Ed Burns in 1968 (age 58); actor Sam Trammell in 1969 (age 57); former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in 1970 (age 56); actor Heather Graham in 1970 (age 56); actor Sara Gilbert in 1975 (age 51); actor Justin Hartley in 1977 (age 49); actor Sam Jaeger in 1977 (age 49); actor Andrew Keegan in 1979 (age 47); actor Tenoch Huerta in 1981 (age 45); musician Riff Raff in 1982 (age 44); musician Adam Lambert (Queen) in 1982 (age 44); musician Rag'n'Bone Man in 1985 (age 41); actor Lewis Pullman in 1993 (age 33); actor Madison Bailey in 1999 (age 27).

On this date in history:

In 1820, 10 years after mental illness forced him to retire from public life, Britain's King George III, who lost the American colonies, died at the age of 82.

In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven was published.

In 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the United States. It joined as a free or non-slavery state at a time when southern states were seceding from the Union.

In 1886, German Karl Benz was awarded a patent for the gasoline-driven automobile.

In 1900, eight baseball teams were organized as the professional American League. They were in Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Cleveland; Detroit; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

In 1963, the first inductees named for the Pro Football Hall of Fame included Sammy Baugh, Harold "Red" Grange, George Halas, Don Hutson, Earl "Curly" Lambeau, Bronko Nagurski and Jim Thorpe.

In 1979, Deng Xiaoping, deputy premier of China, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed accords reversing decades of U.S. opposition to the People's Republic of China.

In 2000, delegates from more than 130 nations meeting in Montreal adopted the first global treaty regulating trade in genetically modified food products.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush warned in his State of the Union address that the war on terrorism was just beginning, with thousands of potential terrorists "spread throughout the world like ticking time bombs." It was in this speech he referred to Iran, Iraq and North Korea as part of an "Axis of Evil."

In 2006, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was sworn in as the 5th emir of Kuwait. He replaced the 4th emir, Sheikh Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, who ruled for nine days following the death of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, 3rd emir of Kuwait.

In 2010, Scott Roeder was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2009 Wichita, Kan., church slaying of Dr. George Tiller, noted for performing late-term abortions. Roeder, 52, was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2013, Ray LaHood, U.S. transportation secretary, announced his resignation.

In 2022, world No. 1 Ash Barty beat American Danielle Collins in the Australian Open women's singles final, becoming the first Australian to win the tennis tournament since Christine O'Neil in 1978.

In 2023, Novak Djokovic overwhelmed Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the 2023 Australian Open men's singles final. It gave the Serbian his 22nd Grand Slam title, tying him with Rafal Nadal for the most major titles in men's tennis history. Djokovic surpassed Nadal with a 23rd title at the French Open later in the year.

A thought for the day: "Love implies anger. The man who is angered by nothing cares about nothing." -- American author/environmentalist Edward Abbey