^You're a day or two early. The Challenger was launched on the 29th.
January 29:
A.D. 1595: Probably the first performance of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette.
A.D. 1845: Edgar Allen Poe publishes his famous poem, "Raven".
A.D. 1978: Sweden bans aeorosol sprays due to their negative effect on the ozone layer.
Except that....they hardly have any effect on the ozone layer, so it was a waste of time.
January 30:
A.D. 1835: Assassination attempt on U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
A.D. 1933: Adolf Hitler becomes German Chancellor.
A.D. 1939: Hitler calls for the extermination of European Jews.
January 31:
A.D. 1849: The Corn Laws are abolished in Britain.
A.D. 1865: General Robert E. Lee is named Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate Armies.
A.D. 1876: All Native Americans are ordered onto reserves by the U.S. government.