Table of Contents January Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
About January |
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Traditional January Information |
The name “January” is derived from the Roman god Janus, who was the god of beginnings, endings, and portals. Janus was depicted as having two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward, symbolizing his role as the guardian of transitions. January was named after him as the first month of the year and a time of new beginnings. Other names for January include: Ianuarius (Latin), Januarie (Middle English), รftera Gฤolmลnaรพ (Old English), jolmรกnuรฐur (Nordic), jรคnuzari (Old High German), Yanvar (Russian), Enero (Spanish), Geniรจr (Provenรงal), Tammikuu (Finnish), Styczeล (Polish) and Janeiro (Portuguese). |
January is…Adopt a Rescued Bird Month |
| Aquarius is the eleventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, represented by the Water Bearer. It is associated with the element of air, and is considered a fixed sign. Those born under this sign are considered independent, unconventional, and humanitarian. The planet Uranus rules Aquarius, and its corresponding astrological period is typically considered from January 20 to February 18. Aquarius is known for being independent, unconventional, and humanitarian. They are also known for their progressive ideas and their desire for social change. They can be unpredictable and have a hard time conforming to societal norms. They are also known for their strong sense of independence and individuality. |
January Quotes |
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. – Robert Burns (Auld Lang Syne) There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogs. January is here, Dickensian poverty tends to occur after Christmas in January. For it is then, with pockets empty, diary decimated and larder bare, that the general populace sinks into a collective pauper’s hibernation until Valentine’s Day.โ Janus am I; oldest of potentates; January, Slow as molasses in January. January is the calendar’s ingrown hair. In January it’s so nice New Year’s Day is everyman’s birthday. |
January History |
January 1st is the furthest away and the closest day to December 31st. 4713 BC – Julian Calendar day #1, according to Joseph Justus Scaliger’s cycle of 7980 years. 46 BC – The Julian calendar began and was used widely until 1582. 1622 – January 1st became the start of the “New Year” (it was March 25 for a long time prior) 1788 – The Times of London newspaper began publication. 1801 – Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland unite, founding the “United Kingdom.” 1818 – Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, was published (anonymously) in London. (500 copies were made) 1862 – U.S. income tax began, with 3% of incomes over $600, and 5% of incomes over $10,000. 1863 – The ‘Emancipation Proclamation’ issued by Abraham Lincoln 1886 – 1st Tournament of Roses took place in Pasadena, California 1896 – German scientist Wilhelm Rรถntgen announced his discovery of X-rays. 1908 – 1st New Year’s ball drop at Times Square, NYC 1910 – The Hydrox “biscuit bonbon,” a chocolate sandwich cookie with creme filling, was introduced. Oreos came out in 1912. 1915 – Aspirin was made available for the first time in tablet form. The pills were manufactured by Bayer pharmaceuticals and had been available in powder form before that. 1928 – The 21-story Milam Building was the first air-conditioned, high-rise office building in the United States (San Antonio, TX) 1925 – 1st Sugar Bowl and 1st Orange Bowl 1936 – The Herald-Tribune of New York began microfilming the latest issues, becoming the first US newspaper to make a current record of its publication. 1946 – ENIAC, the first U.S. computer, was completed. It was built at the Moore School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1948 – The first motion picture, ‘newsreel’ in color, was taken at the Tournament of Roses and the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California. 1954 – NBC broadcasted Pasadena’s Rose Bowl parade for the first time in color. 1960 – US population: 179,245,000 1962 – The Rose Bowl game on NBC was the first coast-to-coast color television broadcast of a college football game in the US. 1964 – Tops of the Pops first aired on BBC 1966 – “Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health” warning started appearing on cigarettes. 1971 – Cigarette television ads cease. 1985 – VH1 debuted on US cable 1985 – The AT&T monopoly was broken up into seven companies: Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell, and US West. 1995- The History Channel was launched 1995 – The last syndicated “Far Side” by cartoonist Gary Larson appeared. (started in 1985) 1997 – U.S. television networks adopted a rating system for programming similar to the one used for motion pictures. 1997 – The Emergency Alert System replaced the Emergency Broadcast System 1999- The Biography channel and DIY channels were introduced 2008 – CourtTV was rebranded as TruTV 2011 – Discovery Health Channel became The Oprah Winfrey Network. 2014 -The manufacture and importing of the common 40-watt and 60-watt general service incandescent lamps was ended under the deadline set by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. January 2 in Pop Culture History 1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers was founded. 1839 – First known picture of the moon was taken by Louis Daguerre. 1834 – Pennsylvania opened its state liquor stores. 1870 – Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge to cross the East River in New York City. 1938 – Book publisher Simon and Schuster was founded. 1947 – Mahatma Gandhi’s march for peace in East Bengali. 1959 – U.S.S.R. launches Mechta, Luna 1, for first lunar fly-by and first solar orbit. 1960 – John Reynolds set the age of the solar system at 4,950,000,000 years (so in 2016, it became 4,950,000,056 years old) 1970 – Official US population is 203,302,031 people. 1974 – 55 MPH speed limit was imposed by the Richard Nixon administration. 2008 – Oil reached $100 per barrel for the first time. January 3 in Pop Culture History 1777 – Washington defeated the British at the Battle of Princeton, NJ 1847 – Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco 1871 – Oleomargarine was patented (#110626) by Henry Bradley in Binghamton, NY 1919 – Professor Ernest Rutherford succeeded in splitting the atom. He split nitrogen atoms into oxygen atoms. 1920 – New York Yankees purchased Babe Ruth from Red Sox for $125,000 1924 – British Egyptologist Howard Carter finds the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen (King Tut) 1938 – March of Dimes was established 1951 – Dragnet premiered on NBC 1959 – Alaska was admitted as the 49th U.S. state 1970 – Jon Pertwee made his first appearance as the Third Doctor in the Doctor Who episode Spearhead from Space. It also marks the first time that the series was broadcast in color. (colour in the UK) 1973 – George Steinbrenner III bought the Yankees from CBS for $12 million 1977 – Apple Computers incorporated 1977 – Holly Hallstrom joined Janice Pennington, and Dian Parkinson as a showcase model on The Price is Right 1979 – The USA cable network was founded 1983 – Plinko was added as a Pricing Game for the series The Price Is Right 1987 – Unsolved Mysteries premiered (as a special) on NBC 1987 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the 1st female artist, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin 1991 – First television sets to feature closed-caption displays were introduced in the U.S. 1993 – ABC and CBS simultaneously broadcast their own movies based on the Amy Fisher story, with ABC’s starring Drew Barrymore and CBS’s starring Alyssa Milano. NBC had already beaten the other networks airing their own version about six days prior. 1997 – Bryant Gumbel anchored his last episode of the Today Show. January 4 in Pop Culture History 1865 – The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City. 1896 – Utah became the 45th State 1902 – The Carnegie Institute of Washington was founded. 1903 – Thomas Edison filmed the electrocution of a murdering elephant, Topsy, to show the dangers of Alternating Current electricity. 1936 – Billboard magazine published its 1st music hit parade 1940 – Edwin H. Armstrong demonstrated the first “network” relay of an FM radio broadcast through several stations from Yonkers, NY, to Alpine, NJ, to Meriden, CT, and Paxton, MA to Mount Washington. 1958 – Sea Hunt premiered in syndication 1958 – Russian Sputnik I, the first man-made object to orbit the earth, fell back into the atmosphere and disintegrated after 92 days in space. 1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his “Great Society” during his State of the Union address. 1971 – Congressional Black Caucus was founded 1975 – Elizabeth Ann Seton became the first US-born saint. 1980 – The United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics 1986 – Phil Lynott, frontman for Brit rockers Thin Lizzy, died from heart failure from pneumonia complications. 1988 – Nick Jr. programming started on Nickelodeon 1995 – Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the US House of Representatives. 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota. 2007 – Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives. January 5 in Pop Culture History 1905 – The National Association of Audubon Societies was incorporated. 1914 – The Ford Motor Company announced an eight-hour workday and that it would pay a “living wage” of at least $5 for a day’s labor. 1933 – San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge construction began 1945 – Pepe LePew debuted in Warner Brother’s “Odor-able Kitty.” 1949 – President Harry S Truman labeled his administration the “Fair Deal.” 1957 – Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson retired rather than be traded to New York Giants 1971 – Former boxing heavyweight champion “Sonny” Liston’s (36) corpse was found (he probably died Dec 30, 1970) 1998 – Vandals decapitated Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid 1970 – All My Children premiered on ABC 1991 – Blossom debuted on NBC 1995 – Daytime soap opera All My Children celebrated its 25th anniversary January 6 in Pop Culture History 1838 – Samuel Morse made the 1st public telegraph demonstration in New Jersey. 1839 – The Night of the Big Wind swept Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin. 1854 – Sherlock Holmes’ Birthday 1912 – New Mexico became the 47th state. 1951 – FDR gave his “4 Freedoms” speech (speech, worship, from want and fear) 1957 – Elvis Presley made his 7th (and final) appearance on Ed Sullivan Show 1973 – ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock debuted with Multiplication Rock 1974 – In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time began nearly four months early in the United States. 1994 – Olympic Ice skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked when Tonya Harding’s husband and bodyguard hired Shane Stant to break her legs. Kerrigan finished in second place, Harding in 8th for the event. 1996 – Blizzard of 1996 January 7 in Pop Culture History 1714 – The world’s first patent (#395) for a “Machine for Transcribing Letters” was granted in England by Queen Anne to Henry Mill. This first planned typewriter was never actually produced. 1830 – The 1st U.S. Railroad Station opened in Baltimore, MD 1927 – Commercial telephone service via radio began between New York and London. 1929 – Drawn by Hal Foster, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan comic strip 1st appeared 1929 – Buck Rogers, illustrated by Dick Calkins, appeared in newspaper comics. 1927 – The Harlem Globetrotters played their first game in Hinkley, Ill. 1934 – Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip debuted in newspapers across the United States. 1948 – Thomas Mantell reported seeing a UFO over Kentucky 1962 – The Avengers premiered on ITV in the UK 1966 – Gene Kiniski defeated long-time wrestling champ Lou Thesz to become the NWA champion. 1980 – President Jimmy Carter authorized legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation. 1990 – The Leaning Tower of Piza was closed, citing safety concerns, and after some repairs, reopened on June 16, 2001 2004 – The Apprentice premiered on NBC January 8 in Pop Culture History 1790 – George Washington gave the first ‘State of the Union’ message, urging the opening of the US Patent Office. 1815 – Andrew Jackson won the “Battle of New Orleans.” 1835 – The United States’ official debt was $0.00. 1889 – Dr. Herman Hollerith received the 1st U.S. patent for a tabulating machine, technically, this was the first computer patent! 1918 – Mississippi was the 1st state to ratify the 18th amendment (prohibition) 1963 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was exhibited in the United States for the first time at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. 1964 – US President Lyndon Johnson declared ‘War on Poverty.’ 1987 – Dow Jones closed above 2,000 for 1st time (2,002.25) 1996 – Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso was accidentally rammed by a barge and sank in Singapore Harbour. It was raised and is now a museum in France. 2002 – President George W. Bush signed the bi-partisan No Child Left Behind Act into law. January 9 in Pop Culture History 1788 – Connecticut became the 5th state 1793 – Jean Pierre Blanchard made the first successful balloon flight in the United States, from Philadelphia, PA to Woodbury, NJ. 1857 (Earthquake) Fort Tejon, California 1947 – Elizabeth “Betty” Short, AKA the Black Dahlia, was last seen alive. 1951 – Life After Tomorrow, 1st film to receive an “X” rating, premiered in London… ‘X’ ratings at that time were not the same as today – through 1951-1970 – it meant the film was for viewers over 16. 1956 – Abigail Van Buren’s “Dear Abby” column 1st appeared in newspaper syndication. 1960 – Severus Snape’s Birthday 1984 – Wendy’s “Where’s The Beef” commercials with Clara Peller began 1996- 3rd Rock From The Sun debuted on NBC 1997 – Antiques Roadshow debuted on PBS 2000 – Malcolm in the Middle premiered on FX 2007 – Apple’s iPhone was unveiled. 2011 – Bob’s Burgers premiered on FOX January 10 in Pop Culture History 1863 – London’s Metropolitan, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened. 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil. It is now part of ExxonMobil. 1899 – The US patent (#617592) was issued for an “Electric Device,” invented by David Misell, which was manufactured as the first tubular “Flash Light” by Conrad Hubert at his American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company. 1901 – The first major discovery of oil in Texas was made at Spindletop, near Beaumont. 1920 – The League of Nations was established. 1927 – Fritz Lang’s Metropolis premiered in Germany. 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly met for the 1st time in London. 1949 – RCA introduced the 7-inch ’45’ PRM record. The blue-colored vinyl played a promo in English on one side and Spanish on the other. 1955 – Inherit the Wind opened on Broadway at the National Theater 1983 – Fraggle Rock premiered on HBO 1990 – the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications formed Time Warner. 1999 – The Sopranos debuted on HBO 2010 – FOX announced that Simon Cowell would depart from American Idol in May to launch a US version of X-Factor in Fall 2011, also on FOX January 11 in Pop Culture History Today is also Stomp in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day (weather permitting) 1693 (Earthquake) Sicily, Italy 1908 – The Grand Canyon National Monument was created. 1922 – Leonard Thompson (1908-35) was the first person to receive an insulin injection as a treatment for diabetes. 1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a banquet in Los Angeles, California. 1949 – It snowed in Los Angeles for the first time (that we know of) 1964 – US Surgeon General Dr. Luther Leonidas Terry, M.D., published the first governmental report saying smoking may be hazardous to health. 1973 – Major League Baseball owners voted to approve the American League adopting the designated hitter position. 1995 – The WB Television Network was launched. January 12 in Pop Culture History 1906 – Dow Jones closes over 100 for the 1st time. 1926 – Original Sam ‘n’ Henry premiered on WGN (Chicago) radio and was later renamed Amos ‘n’ Andy in 1928. 1959 – Motown Records was formed in Detroit. 1965 – ‘Hullabaloo’ premiered on NBC. 1966 – ABC’s ‘Batman’ television series premiered. 1967 – Dr. James Bedford was the first person to be cryonically preserved with the intent of future resuscitation. He is still frozen at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. 1971 – All In The Family aired for the first time on CBS 1988 – Dynasty debuted on ABC 1997 – King Of The Hill made its premiere 1998 – The game SuperBall! was played for the last time on The Price Is Right 2001 – National Geographic Channel debuted American cable 2001 – Lizzie McGuire premiered on The Disney Channel 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day of the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, killed at least 362 Muslim pilgrims. 2010 (Earthquake) Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 13 in Pop Culture History 1863 – Thomas Crapper invented the portable toilet. 1888 – National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, D.C. 1930 – Disney’s ‘Mickey Mouse’ newspaper strip first appeared. 1906 – The 1st radio set advertised (Telimco for $7.50 in Scientific American) 1959 – Motown Records is formed in Detroit. 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 73 points against Chicago 1966 – Tabitha was born on ABC’s Bewitched. The episode titled “And Then There Were Three.” 1967 – US patent (#3359678) was issued to the Wham-O Mfg. Company for their improvement of the Frisbee. 1969 – Dick York collapsed on the set of Bewitched and is rushed to the hospital. He resigned from the show due to his persistent back injury (started in 1959) and was replaced by Dick Sargent. 1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration began requiring all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors. 1986 – Johnny Cash performed his famous Folsom County Jail show. 2005 – US Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona, issued a national health advisory to warn the public about the risks of breathing indoor radon. January 14 in Pop Culture History 1794 – Elizabeth Hog Bennett became the first woman in the US to give birth to a child by Cesarean section successfully. Her husband, Dr. Jesse Bennett, operated. 1878 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that race separation on trains is unconstitutional 1914 – Henry Ford opened his assembly-line Model-T factory 1952 – NBC’s ‘Today Show’ debuted. 1954 – NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio married actress Marilyn Monroe. 1954 – The Hudson Motor Car Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, forming the American Motors Corporation. 1967 – The Summer of Love took place, starting at San Francisco’s ‘The Human Be-In.’ 1972 – NBC’s ‘Sanford and Son’ debuted with host Dave Garroway. 1973 – The Miami Dolphins complete the first undefeated season by winning Super Bowl VII. 1973 – Over 1 billion viewers saw Elvis Presley’s Aloha From Hawaii Special. Since it was on the same day as Super Bowl VII, it was shown later (April 3, 1973) in the US 1978 – Fantasy Island premiered on CBS 1981 – FCC ends limitation on TV commercials. 1990 – ‘The Simpsons’ premiered on Fox. January 15 in Pop Culture History There are 350 days left until next year. 1759 – The British Museum in Bloomsbury, London, the world’s oldest public national museum, opened to the public. 1861 – Elisha Otis patented the Steam elevator. 1863 – Woodpulp paper was first used in the US as a printed newspaper by the Boston Morning Herald of Boston. 1870 – The Donkey was 1st used as the symbol of the Democratic Party in Harper’s Weekly, drawn by Thomas Nast. 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, was incorporated in Atlanta. 1895 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Swan Lake” premiered in St. Petersburg. 1919 – The Boston Molasses Disaster – a huge vat of molasses broke open at the Purity Distilling Company and flooded a Boston neighborhood. 21 were killed. 1936 – The first building completely covered in glass, two stories built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, was completed in Toledo, Ohio. 1951 – The US Supreme Court ruled that “clear and present danger” of incitement to riot is not protected speech and can cause arrest. 1955 – The Benny Hill Show debuted on the BBC 1967 – The inaugural Super Bowl was simulcast on CBS and NBC. The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35-10. 1967 – The Rolling Stones appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and did not sing “Let’s Spend Some time Together” as planned. 1969 – The first docking of two manned spacecraft occurred between the Soviet Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5. 1974 – ‘Happy Days’ debuted on ABC. 1975 – Space Mountain opened at Disney World (Florida) 1977 – The Coneheads debuted on NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’. Also, Bill Murray joined the cast of SNL, replacing Chevy Chase 1978 – Super Bowl XII aired on CBS, the first night-time Super Bowl 1981 – ‘Hill Street Blues’ premiered on NBC. 1983 – Thom Syles kept a lifesaver intact in his mouth for over 7 hours. 1988 – Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder made a racist remark about black athletes – He said that the black athlete was “bred to be the better athlete because this goes all the way to the Civil War when … the slave owner would breed his big woman so that he would have a big black kid.” 2001 – Bob The Builder premiered on Nick Jr 2001- Wikipedia debuted online. 2009 – US Airways flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River, NY, thanks to Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. January 16 in Pop Culture History 1547 – Ivan the Terrible crowned himself 1st Tsar of Moscow. 1581 – The English Parliament outlawed Roman Catholicism. 1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid, Spain. 1776 – The U.S. Continental Congress approved the enlistment of free men for the rebellion. 1894 – Theodore Witte of Chilliwack, British Columbia, was issued a U.S. patent (#512930) for a “Puttying-Tool” (the first caulking gun) 1920 – The 18th Amendment, Prohibition began, and alcoholic beverages were made illegal in the United States. (Effective one year later) 1920 – The League of Nations held its first council meeting in Paris, France. 1936 – The first photo-finish camera was installed at a US racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. 1939 – The ‘Superman’ newspaper comic strip debuted. 1941 – War Department forms the 1st Army Air Corps squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen, for black cadets. 1964 – Hello, Dolly!, starring Carol Channing, opened on Broadway. 1976 – The ‘Donny and Marie’ musical variety show premiered on ABC. 1984 – Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Barbados for possession of marijuana. 1991 – All major television networks were pre-empted with Gulf War coverage right after evening news broadcasts. 1995 – Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which starred Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst, premiered. January 17 in Pop Culture History 1929 – Popeye made his 1st appearance in the comic strip Thimble Theater. 1929 – From the Mount Wilson Observatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Edwin Hubble showed that the universe was expanding. 1946 – The United Nations Security Council held its 1st meeting 1949 – The Goldbergs debuted on CBS 1950 – During the Great Brink’s Robbery, eleven thieves stole more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston. They were all caught later. 1954 – Jacques Cousteau’s 1st network telecast airs on CBS’s Omnibus. 1984 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws in a 5-4 decision. 1994 (Earthquake) A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit Northridge, California. 1998 – Matt Drudge broke the story of the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair on his website, The Drudge Report. 2011 – Piers Morgan Tonight, replacing Larry King Live, debuted on CNN 2012 – Food Network personality Paula Deen revealed that she has Diabetes type 2 January 18 in Pop Culture History 1644 – “In this year one James Everell, a sober, discreet man, and two others, saw a great light in the night at Muddy River. When it stood still, it flamed up, and was about three yards square; when it ran, it was contracted into the figure of a swine: it ran as swift as an arrow towards Charlton and so up and down about two or three hours. They were come down in their lighter about a mile, and, when it was over, they found themselves carried quite back against the tide to the place they came from. Divers[e] other credible persons saw the same light, after, about the same place.” 1778 – James Cook ‘discovered’ Hawaii, naming it ‘The Sandwich Islands.’ 1896 – The X-Ray Machine was shown to the public. Not really. The Cabaret du Neant charged people to see an ‘illusion’ of the effect. 1911 – The first landing of an aircraft on a ship occurred as pilot Lt. Eugene B. Ely landed on the USS Pennsylvania. 1944 – Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, and Jack Teagarden performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC. 1971 – Ivan Koloff beat Bruno Sammartino in New York to become the WWWF champion. 1975 – Leslie Knope’s Birthday 1980 – Gold reached $1,000 an ounce for the first time. 1990 – Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested in a drug enforcement sting. He claimed that the “bitch set me up” when he was caught with crack cocaine. 1993 – Martin Luther King Day is official in all 50 United States. 2004 – The L Word premiered on Showtime January 19 in Pop Culture History 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden, Yemen. There have not been many companies that could claim “capturing” an area. 1883 – Thomas Edison, using overhead wires, began serving electricity to Roselle, New Jersey residents. 1915 – A US patent (#1125476) was issued to George Claude of Paris titled a “System of Illuminating by Luminescent Tubes,” an early neon sign. 1920 – The United States Senate voted against joining the League of Nations. 1937 – Howard Hughes set a record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds. 1953 – Lucy had a baby, and over 70% of every TV in the country watched ‘I Love Lucy’ 1977 – President Ford pardoned WWII siren Tokyo Rose (Iva Toguri D’Aquino) 1977 – Snow fell in Miami and The Bahamas. Scientists believed it was the only time in recorded history that it happened, and it was a sure sign of a coming ice age (global cooling). 1978 – Volkswagen Beetles stopped being produced in Germany. 1981 – Buffy Summers’ Birthday 1988 – CBS’s ’48 Hours’ debuted. 1989 – President Ronald Reagan pardoned George Steinbrenner for illegal campaign contributions for Richard Nixon. 1993 – FOX expanded their prime-time line-up to seven days a week 2012 – The FBI shut down the Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload. January 20 in Pop Culture History 1265 – 1st English Parliament was called into session by the Earl of Leicester. 1835 (Volcano Eruption) Cosigรผina 1920 – American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded. 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors in Old Arizona was released. 1930 – The first radio broadcast of ‘The Lone Ranger’ took place in Detroit (WXYZ) 1965 – The Beatles appeared on ABC’s Shindig. 1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, Iran releases 52 American hostages. 1989 – Ronald Reagan became the 1st President elected in a ‘0’ year (1980) since 1840 to leave office as President while still alive. 1998- Dawson’s Creek premiered on The WB 2000 – SoapNet debuted 2006 – High School Musical was broadcast on The Disney channel January 21 in Pop Culture History 1790 – Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed the guillotine to the newly formed National Assembly of Paris as a “humane” method of execution. 1799 – Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccination was introduced. 1807 – The London Institution for the Advancement of Literature and The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (The London Institution) received a royal charter signed by King George III, to “promote the diffusion of Science, Literature, and the Arts, by means of Lectures and Experiments, and by easy access to an extensive collection of books, both ancient and modern, in all languages.” 1861 – Jefferson Davis resigned from the United States Senate. 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally took place, with 23 cars. 1915 – Kiwanis International was founded in Detroit. 1954 – The first atomic submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Connecticut. It was officially commissioned later that year. 1970 – The Boeing 747 made its 1st commercial flight between New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and Heathrow Airport in London, England. . 1972 – The first convention of Star Trek fans was held in New York City’s Statler-Hilton Hotel 1977 – President Jimmy Carter pardoned most Vietnam War draft evaders. 1979 – Neptune became the outermost planet as Pluto moved on its highly elliptical, tilted orbit closer to the sun than Neptune. This eventually led to Pluto being downgraded from planetary status. 1990 – MTV Unplugged premiered on MTV (The featured artist was Squeeze) 1998 – News of the Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton affair was published; President Clinton said he “did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” January 22 in Pop Culture History 1946 – Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, now the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). 1947 – KTLA begins operation in Hollywood. 1968 – Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In debuted on NBC 1973 – Roe vs Wade: U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortions. 1984 – Apple’s “1984” advertisement ran (for the only time) at Super Bowl XVII 1987 – Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer shot and killed himself at a televised press conference. 1997 – Lottie Williams was the first human to be struck by a remnant of a space vehicle (Delta II rocket?) after re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. 2003 – Chappelle’s Show debuted on Comedy Central January 23 in Pop Culture History 1571 – The Royal Exchange opened in London. 1793 – Humane Society of Philadelphia (America’s 1st aid organization) was founded. 1870 – US cavalrymen killed 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what is known as the Marias Massacre in Montana. 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, was ratified. 1977 – Roots premiered on ABC 1978 – Chicago Guitarist Terry Keith’s last words were “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded” while playing Russian Roulette. 1983 – The “A-Team” premiered on NBC 1984 – Hulk Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik for the WWF (now WWE) championship 1985 – Thundercats debuted in syndication 1986 – The 1st induction of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley. 2003 – Mythbusters premiered on The Discovery Channel January 24 in Pop Culture History 1848 – Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, Coloma, California by James W. Marshall. 1899 – The US patent (#618128) for a rubber ‘safety heel’ was issued to Humphrey O’Sullivan 1922 – The ‘Eskimo Pie’, an ice cream center covered in chocolate, was patented (#1404539) by Christian K. Nelson of Onawa, Iowa. 1935 – The 1st beer in a can – ‘Krueger Cream Ale’ is sold by the Kruger Brewing Company. 1950 – A microwave oven patent (#2495429) was issued to Percy LeBaron Spencer under the title ‘Method of Treating Foodstuffs’. 1963 – Buddy Rogers and Lou Thesz wrestle in Toronto; Rogers became the WWWF wrestling champ, and Thesz became the NWA champion. 1984 – Apple Computer unveiled the Macintosh personal computer. 1995- Live coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial began. Day-time network soap operas were pre-empted for almost nine months. 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially began operation. January 25 in Pop Culture History 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn was played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia. 1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell formed the Oriental Telephone Company. 1937 – The Guiding Light debuted on NBC radio from Chicago. 1939 – Joe Louis KO’d John Henry Lewis in one round for the World Heavyweight boxing title. 1945 – Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first US city to begin fluoridating drinking water. 1955 – Columbia University scientists developed an atomic clock accurately within one second in 300 years. 1961 – President Kennedy held the first live presidential press conference. 2004 – Opportunity rover (MER-B) landed on the surface of Mars. January 26 in Pop Culture History 1838 – Tennessee became the 1st state to prohibit alcohol. 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn was played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia. 1906 – The world’s steam car land speed record was set at 127.7 mph (205.5 km/h) by Fred Marriot, racing at Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.A. in his canoe-shaped Stanley Steamer Rocket. The record stood until 2009. 1912 – Jim Thorpe relinquished his 1912 Olympic medals for being a professional athlete. He was paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateur rules then. His Olympic medals were reinstated posthumously by an act of Congress in 1983. 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park was established. 1966 – The Beaumont Children (ages 9, 7, and 4) disappeared from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia. 1979 – The Dukes of Hazzard debuted on CBS 1980 – NHL – The New York Islanders and Hartford Whalers played an NHL penalty-free game. January 27 in Pop Culture History 1888 – The National Geographic Society was established. 1967 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 1970 – James M. Schlatter received a patent (#3492131) for ‘Peptide Sweetening Agents’ later marketed as NutraSweet. 1977 – ‘Roots’ mini-series began on ABC. 1984 – Michael Jackson’s hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial. 2010 – Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s latest product, a tablet PC called the iPad, at a press conference in San Francisco. January 28 in Pop Culture History 1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first published. 1915 – An act of the US Congress created the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces. 1934 – The first ski tow rope in the US, built by Robert Royce, was used for the first time in Woodstock, Vermont 1953 – J. Fred Muggs (a chimp) joined NBC’s ‘Today Show’ 1958 – The Lego Company patented the design of its Lego bricks. 1979 – CBS News Sunday Morning debuts with original host Charles Kuralt. 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger 10 exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing astronauts Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. January 29 in Pop Culture History 1861 – Kansas became the 34th state. 1886 – Karl Benz patented the first successful gasoline-driven automobile. 1924 – The first US patent (#1481813) for an ice cream cone rolling machine was issued to Carl R. Taylor of Cleveland, Ohio 1959 – Walt Disney’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was released. The Beauty Princess Aurora, only appeared on screen for about 18 minutes as an ‘adult,’ but she was a sixteen-year-old. 1967 – The Mantra-Rock Dance (the ‘Ultimate High’) took place in San Francisco and features Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Allen Ginsberg, and others. 2015 – Malaysia officially declared the disappearance of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (disappeared on March 8, 2014) an accident and its passengers and crew were presumed dead. January 30 in Pop Culture History 1790 – The first boat designed as a lifeboat was tested on the River Tyne. 1868 – Charles Darwin’s book, Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, was published. 1948 – Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. 1958 – The first two-way, moving sidewalk (1,425 feet long) was put in service at Love Field Air Terminal in Dallas, TX. 1960 – Lily Potter’s Birthday 1968 – The North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong began the Tet Offensive 1969 – The Beatles’ rooftop performance and recording for Let It Be took place at Apple Records. 1972 – British Paratroopers open fire on and kill fourteen unarmed civil rights/anti-internment marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland. The we commemorated it with 1983’s Sunday Bloody Sunday. 1973 – KISS played their 1st show at the Coventry Club in Queens, New York. 2007 – Microsoft released Windows Vista. January 31 in Pop Culture History 1906 (Earthquake) Coastal Ecuador 1922 (Earthquake) Eureka/San Fransisco, Oregon/California 1958 – The United States launched its first successful orbiting satellite, Explorer-I. 1961 – The United States launched a 4-year-old male chimpanzee Ham on a Mercury-Redstone 2 rocket into test suborbital flight. Ham landed safely about 17 minutes later. 1988 – The Wonder Years premiered on ABC 1992 – ABC Sportscaster Howard Cosell retired. 1993 – The Super Bowl broadcast on NBC featured Michael Jackson marking the first time there was ever a solo performer during the show. 1999 – Family Guy premiered on Fox |
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