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His left eye didn't work properly. A school fight at fifteen left him with a par
Featured Event 1947 Birth

January 8

Bowie Born: Rock's Ultimate Shape-Shifter

His left eye didn't work properly. A school fight at fifteen left him with a paralyzed iris — that mismatched-pupils look he carried forever. David Bowie invented at least six musical personalities between 1969 and 1983: Space Oddity's astronaut, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, the Berlin electronic period, the Let's Dance pop star. He co-wrote Heroes in one afternoon in a West Berlin studio. Blackstar, his final album, came out two days before he died of liver cancer on January 10, 2016.

January 8, 1947

79 years ago

What Else Happened on January 8

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