January 15

1777 – During the Revolutionary War, New Connecticut (present-day Vermont) declares its independence from Great Britain

1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris recommends to Congress the establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.

1815 – During the War of 1812, the frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates while attempting to break out of their blockade of New York Harbor

1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.

1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of the game of Basketball.

1910 – Construction of the Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshone river near Cody, Wyoming is completed which  at the time, was the highest dam in the world at 325 ft.

1919 – A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 people and injuring 150.

1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.

1973 – Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.

1976 – Sara Jane Moore is sentenced to life in prison, which by federal law means 30 years and then a mandatory parole, for the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford

1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires

2009 – US Airways Flight 1549,  an Airbus A320, on a flight from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take off, with all 155 passengers and crew aboard surviving.