February 21 » An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
March 1 » Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay.
March 2 » The Battle of Adwa: The Italian Army defeated by the Ethiopian Army in Adwa, Tigray, Ethiopia.
April 6 » In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
April 15 » Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
June 2 » Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
Day of death January 31, 1980
The temperature on January 31, 1980 was between 2.9 °C and 10.7 °C and averaged 7.0 °C. There was 23.9 mm of rain during 8.5 hours. There was 2.7 hours of sunshine (30%). The heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, December 19, 1977 to Friday, September 11, 1981 the cabinet Van Agt I, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA/KVP) as prime minister.
January 26 » Egypt–Israel relations are formally established.
April 24 » Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
May 9 » In Florida, Liberian freighter MVSummit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 1,400-ft. section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 150ft. into the water and die.
July 5 » Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
July 24 » The Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia wins the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level.
September 5 » The Gotthard Road Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32km) stretching from Göschenen to Airolo.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I12519.php : accessed February 6, 2026), "Petrus Jacobus DuPreez Lourens (1896-1980)".
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