1809 - Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston, where his itinerant actor-parents are performing. He will be orphaned three years later. He was raised in Richmond, Virginia, by John Allan. Allan gave Poe a good education, sending him to the University of Virginia. He published his first collection of poetry in 1827: Tamerlane and Other Poems. His most famous poem, The Raven, was published in 1845. He's considered to be the inventor of the modern detective story.

1839 - Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne is born in Aix-en-Provence, France. Cézanne's wealthy family wanted the young man to become a banker, but he persuaded his parents to let him study painting in Paris. He persevered through many discouragements, and became a member of a group of anti-academic painters known as the Refuses, or Refuseniks. Manet, Pissarro, Monet, Renoir and Degas were all part of this radical new movement; they eventually became known as the Impressionists. Cézanne developed a unique, easily identifiable style. He had great hopes for his work and for his place among the Impressionists, but his paintings were severely criticized by contemporary art writers, and he had difficulty finding buyers for his work. Public enthusiasm for his paintings began to grow at the turn of the century, just a few years before he died, in October, 1906.

1883 - Thomas Edison's first village electric lighting system using overhead wires begins operation in Roselle, NJ.

1907 - The first film reviews appear in Variety magazine.

1915 - A patent is issued for the glowing neon tube, to George Claude of Paris.

1935 - Actress Tippi Hedren, best known for her work in Hitchcock's The Birds and Marnie is born.

1943 - Janis Joplin is born at 9:45 AM at St. Mary's Hospital in Port Arthur, Texas.

1943 - The Lovin’ Spoonful’s drummer Joe Butler is born.

1944 - The Lovin' Spoonful's Zalman Yanovsky is born in Toronto.

1945 - Original Deep Purple vocalist Rod Evans is born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1959 - The ARB TV ratings for December 1958 (last month) list Dick Clark's American Bandstand as the country's most popular daytime show.

1967 - Jan.19th - Jan 29th marks the Doors' second trip to New York, and their second lengthy engagement at Ondine.

1970 - The Doors host a press party at the Hilton Hotel Penthouse Suite the day following the Felt Forum shows.

1971 - The court hears the Beatles' recording of Helter Skelter at the trial of Charles Manson. Manson claimed to have heard secret messages in the music that led him to order the murders of actress Sharon Tate and others. At the scene of one of his gruesome murders, the words "helter skelter" were written on a mirror.

1983 - Bassist Lamar Williams of the Allman Brothers Band dies in Los Angeles of cancer. Williams had served in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange.

1988 - Legendary rockabilly pioneer, Carl Perkins, dies in Nashville from complications following a recent series of strokes. Perkins songwriting and guitar work influenced Elvis Presley and The Beatles, to name two. He wrote and recorded Blue Suede Shoes in 1956 and his version sold 2 million copies before Elvis' version became a hit. In 1987, Perkins was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Perkins was 65.

1994 - John Lennon is inducted, posthumously, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Putting their differences aside, Paul McCartney presents Yoko Ono with the award during the induction dinner. Other inductees this year are The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, Bob Marley and Rod Stewart.

1999 - Legendary zydeco band Buckwheat Zydeco leader Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural undergoes surgery in Nashville to remove vocal-cord lesions.

Doors History Spotlight: Ondine

The Doors are bolstered by the success of their last Ondine appearance, as well as the recent release of their album and single. Their first New York review is also published in the local music publication Crawdaddy during this stint at Ondine.

Opening night, Jim Morrison appears in faded jeans with a furious energy, which keeps the whole first set moving at a breakneck tempo. At the end of the first set, he leaps into the air, smashing his head on the low rafters. Though obviously dazed by his injury, he appears completely recovered by the beginning of the next set. The Doors are a huge success in New York.

For more day-by-day history go to HistoryUnlimited.net