January 31 ...

In 1606 Guy Fawkes was executed after being convicted for his role in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I. In 1797 Franz Shubert was born just outside of Vienna, Austria, in a town called Himmelpfortgrund. In 1865 Congress approved the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. The amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. In 1876 the United States ordered all Native Americans to move into reservations. In 1902 actress Tallulah Bankhead was born in Huntsville, AL. In 1919 Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the Major Leagues, was born in Cairo, GA. In 1923 author and pompous ass extraordinaire Norman Mailer was born in Long Branch, NJ. In 1929 the USSR exiled Leon Trotsky. He found asylum in Mexico, where he was later murdered. In 1931 Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks was born in Dallas, TX; it should be a national holiday. In 1940 the very first monthly Social Security retirement check was issued to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, VT. In 1947 Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan was born in Refugio, TX. In 1958 Explorer I was put into orbit around the earth. It was the first US earth satellite. In 1971 astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon. In 2003 the Mars rover Opportunity rolled off its landing pad onto the surface of Mars. In 2006 Samuel A. Alito Jr. was sworn in as the 110th US Supreme Court Justice.

215 years ago on this date in 1798, the first brawl in the US House occurred when Rep. Matthew Lyon (DR-VT) and Rep. Roger Griswold (F-CT) fought each other on the House floor after Lyon spat in Griswold's face. Lyon later served in the House from both Kentucky and Arkansas, and is the only person in history to represent three different states in the US House of Representatives.

Also on this date, 80 years ago in 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed German Chancellor by President von Hindenburg; on the same day, Hitler told the Reichstag that Germany was withdrawing its signature from the Versailles Treaty. Also on this day, the first episode of the Lone Ranger radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and ended in 1955.

65 years ago on this date in 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.

45 years ago on this date in 1968, the Tet Offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.

January 30 ...

In 1649 England's King Charles I was beheaded. In 1798 the first brawl in the US House occurred when Rep. Matthew Lyon (DR-VT) and Rep. Roger Griswold (F-CT) fought each other on the House floor after Lyon spat in Griswold's face. Lyon later served in the House from both Kentucky and Arkansas, and is the only person in history to represent three different states in the US House of Representatives. In 1815 President James Madison approved an act of Congress appropriating $23,950 to purchase Thomas Jefferson's library of 6,487 volumes in order to replace the Library of Congress, which was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. In 1835 the first assassination attempt against a US president in history occurred when a mentally ill man named Richard Lawrence attempted to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in the United States Capitol. Both of Lawrence's pistols misfired, and a crowd including Rep. Davy Crockett subdued Lawrence. It is reported that Jackson assisted in subduing his attempted assassin, striking him several times with his cane. The prosecuting attorney at Lawrence's trial was Francis Scott Key. In 1862 the US Navy's first ironclad warship, the USS Monitor, was launched. In 1882 32nd president of the US Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, NY. In 1901 female Prohibitionists smashed 12 saloons in Kansas. In 1909 radical writer Saul Alinsky was born in Chicago, IL. In 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed German Chancellor by President von Hindenburg; on the same day, Hitler told the Reichstag that Germany was withdrawing its signature from the Versailles Treaty. Also on this day, the first episode of the Lone Ranger radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and ended in 1955. In 1941 Vice President Dick Cheney was born in Lincoln, NE. In 1948 Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist. In 1964 the United States launched Ranger 6. The unmanned spacecraft carried television cameras and was intentionally crash-landed on the moon. The cameras did not return any pictures to Earth. In 1965 Winston Churchill's state funeral was held in London. In 1968 the Tet Offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals. In 1969 the Beatles played publicly for the last time at a free concert in London on the roof of their Apple corporate headquarters. In 1979 the civilian government of Iran announced it had decided to allow Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who'd been living in exile in France, to return. In 1981 an estimated two million New Yorkers turned out for a ticker-tape parade honoring the freed American hostages from Iran. In 2004 Iraqis voted in their country's first free election in a half-century.

January 29 ...

In 1737 Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England. In 1820 King George III of England died at Windsor Castle at age 81, ending a reign that began in 1760, one including both the American and French revolutions. In 1839 Charles Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. In 1843 25th president of the US William McKinley was born in Niles, OH. In 1845 the New York Evening Mirror published Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven. In 1850 Senator Henry Clay introduced in the US Senate what would come to be known the Compromise of 1850, which included the admission of California into the Union as a free state. In 1860 short story writer and playwright Anton Chekhov was born in Taganrog, Russia. In 1861 Kansas became the 34th state in the Union. In 1863 General Ulysses S Grant was named the Union's Commander of the Army of the West. In 1880 W.C. Fields was born in Darby, PA. In 1936 the first members of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame were inducted, including Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner. In 1956 H. L. Mencken died in Baltimore, MD. In 1963 poet Robert Frost died in Boston at age 88. In 2002 President Bush made his first State of the Union address, declaring that the "war against terror is only beginning." Bush also singled out Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as an "axis of evil."

135 years ago on this date in 1878, the first telephone switchboard was installed in New Haven, CT; the phone company that owned the switchboard had 21 subscribers.

Also on this date, 95 years ago in 1918, Leon Trotsky became leader of the Russian Communists.

January 28 ...

In 1521 the Diet of Worms began, at which Protestant reformer Luther was declared an outlaw by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1547 England's King Henry VIII died at age 55. He was succeeded by his 9 year-old son, Edward VI. In 1561 the Edict of Orleans suspended the persecution of French Huguenots. In 1807 London's Pall Mall became the first street lit by gaslight. In 1851 Northwestern University was chartered. In 1855 the inventor of the first practical adding and listing machine, William Seward Burroughs, was born in Auburn, NY. In 1871 France surrendered in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1878 the first telephone switchboard was installed in New Haven, CT; the phone company that owned the switchboard had 21 subscribers. In 1887 Artur Rubinstein was born in Lodz, Poland. In 1912 abstract painter Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, WY. In 1916 Louis D. Brandeis was appointed to the US Supreme Court by President Wilson; he was the Court's first Jewish member. In 1918 Leon Trotsky became leader of the Russian Communists. In 1932 the Japanese Navy bombed Shanghai, China, in response to protests over Japanese military action in Manchuria; the Japanese later occupied Manchuria. In 1935 Iceland became the first country to legalize abortion on medical-social grounds. In 1939 poet William Butler Yeats died in Menton, France. In 1958 Brooklyn Dodger's catcher Roy Campanella suffered a broken neck in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. In 1980 comedian Jimmy Durante died in New York City. In 1986 the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members: Flight Commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee; Pilot Michael J. Smith; Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka; Judith A. Resnik; Gregory B. Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. In 2004 NFL Hall of Famer Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch died of natural causes at age 80.

January 27 ...

In 1756 composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria. In 1823 President James Monroe appointed the US's first ambassadors to South America. In 1832 mathematician and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was born in Daresbury, England. In 1880 Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp. In 1888 the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC. In 1900 Admiral Hyman G. Rickover was born in Makow, Russia. His family moved to the US when he was six. In 1901 opera composer Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan, Italy, at age 87. In 1921 actress Donna Reed was born in Denison, IA, proving again that there is a God. In 1924 the body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was placed in a mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow. In 1927 United Independent Broadcasters Inc. started a radio network of 16 stations. The company later became Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). In 1943 some 50 bombers struck Wilhelmshaven in the first all-American air raid against Germany during World War II. In 1944 Leningrad was liberated from Germany after 880 days and 600,000 killed. In 1945 the Soviet Army liberated the concentration camp at Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland. In 1959 NASA selected 110 candidates for the first US space flight. In 1967 America's first manned Apollo spacecraft (Apollo 1) ended in tragedy when astronauts Roger Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Edward White were killed when a flash fire during a test swept through the Command Module; White was the first US astronaut to walk in space. In 1968 Otis Redding released his hit Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay. In 1973 the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris. In 1978 the Illinois State Supreme Court ruled that Nazis could display the Swastika in a march in Skokie, IL; this fueled the desire of those who wished to throw bottles and rocks at the marchers' empty heads. In 1981 President Reagan greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran. In 2004 John Kerry won the New Hampshire Democratic primary with 39% of the vote. Howard Dean had 26%, Wesley Clark had 12%, John Edwards had 12%, and Joe Lieberman had 9%. In 2009 writer John Updike died at age 76 in Danvers, MA.

January 26 ...

In 1788 the first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, landed in what became known as Sydney. The group had first settled at Botany Bay eight days before. This day is celebrated as Australia Day. In 1802 Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the US Capitol. In 1837 Michigan became the 26th state. In 1841 Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British. In 1861 Louisiana became the 6th state to secede from the Union. In 1870 the state of Virginia rejoined the Union. In 1880 Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, AR. In 1932 William K. Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, died; he also made gum. In 1942 the first American forces to arrive in Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland. In 1945 Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. In 1964 The Beatles' hit, I Want To Hold Your Hand, went to No. 1 on the US charts. In 1978 Einstein's theory of relativity was officially reinstated in China. In 1986 the Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in the NFL Championship Game; it was the team's ninth world championship. In 1993 Vaclav Havel became the first president of the new Czech Republic. In 2005 Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as US Secretary of State, becoming the first African American woman to hold the post.

January 25 ...

In 1533 England's King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife Ann Boleyn at Whitehall. In 1579 The Treaty of Utrecht was signed marking the beginning of the Dutch Republic. In 1759 Robert Burns was born in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1787 in what became known as Shay's Rebellion, small farmers in Springfield, Massachusetts led by Captain Daniel Shays unsuccessfully revolted against tax laws. In 1874 writer Somerset Maugham was born in the British Embassy in Paris, France. In 1890 the New York World's Nellie Bly completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes; also on this day, the United Mine Workers of America was founded. In 1915 Alexander Graham Bell spoke from New York to his assistant in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental telephone service. In 1918 famed announcer Ernie Harwell was born in Washington, Georgia. In 1924 the first-ever Winter Olympics opened in Chamonix, France. In 1928 former leader of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze was born in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhuti region, in the Republic of Georgia. In 1947 mobster Al Capone died. In 1959 American Airlines scheduled the first transcontinental jet flight, a Boeing 707 from LA to NY. In 1961 President Kennedy held the first presidential news conference carried live on radio and television. In 1971 Maj. Gen. Idi Amin led a coup that deposed Milton Obote and became president of Uganda. In 1999 a Louisville, KY, man received the first hand transplant in the US. In 2004 NASA's second Mars Exploration Rover, called Opportunity, successfully sent signals back to Earth.

165 years ago on this date in 1848, gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter's sawmill near Coloma, CA, on the South Fork of the American River, sparking the Gold Rush of 1849.

Also on this date, 70 years ago in 1943, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco; also on the same day, Adolf Hitler ordered his Nazi troops at Stalingrad to fight to death.

January 24 ...

In 76 AD the Roman emperor Hadrian was born in Seville, Spain. In 1712 Prussian King Frederick the Great was born in Berlin. In 1848 gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter's sawmill near Coloma, CA, on the South Fork of the American River, sparking the Gold Rush of 1849. In 1862 novelist Edith Wharton was born in New York City. In 1888 Jacob L. Wortman of Philadelphia, PA, patented the typewriter ribbon. In 1916 broadcaster Jack Brickhouse was born in Peoria, IL. In 1924 the Russian city of St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad. The name has since been changed back to St. Petersburg. In 1942 a special court of inquiry into the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor placed most of the blame for America's unpreparedness on Rear Adm. Husband E. Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, the Navy and Army commanders there. This judgment was later found to be grossly unfair. In 1943 President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco; also on this day, Adolf Hitler ordered his Nazi troops at Stalingrad to fight to death. In 1962 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American player to be elected to baseball's Hall of Fame. In 1965 Winston Churchill died in London from a cerebral thrombosis at age 90. In 1966 Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi was sworn in as Indian prime minister. In 1972 Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered on Guam, having spent 28 years hiding in the jungle thinking World War II was still going on. In 1976 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was dubbed "The Iron Lady" by the Soviet newspaper Red Star, after a speech about the Communist threat. In 1983 director George Cukor died in Los Angeles. In 1984 Apple Computer launched the Macintosh, containing virtually unknown features, including simple icons, and the now ubiquitous mouse. In 1986 the Voyager 2 space probe flew past Uranus. The probe came within 50,679 miles of the seventh planet of the solar system. In 1998 Drums Along the Mohawk author Walter D. Edmonds died at age 94. In 2000 former Soviet spy Stanislav Lunev testified at a congressional hearing that Soviet operatives had placed weapons and communications caches in California and other states during and after the Cold War in order to destabilize the US in the event of war. In 2002 Cuba ordered a ban on sales of any computer equipment unless otherwise authorized by government officials. In 2003 the US Department of Homeland Security officially became the government's 15th Cabinet department.

January 23 ...

In 1556 the Shaanxi earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, hit Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000. In 1783 the writer Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) was born in Grenoble, France. In 1832 painter Edouard Manet was born in Paris. In 1845 Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In 1907 Sen. Charles Curtis (R-KS) became the first American Indian to serve in the US Senate; he went on to become Senate Majority Leader and later became vice president under President Herbert Hoover. In 1920 the Dutch government refused demands from the victorious Allies to hand over the ex-kaiser of Germany. In 1930 American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh photographed the planet Pluto. In 1932 New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1941 Charles Lindbergh testified before Congress and recommended that the US negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler. In 1943 the British captured Tripoli from the Germans; also on this day, Duke Ellington played at New York's Carnegie Hall for the first time. In 1964 ratification of the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was completed; also on this day, the Milwaukee Braves' Warren Spahn signed a contract worth $85,000, making him the highest paid pitcher in baseball. In 1968 North Korea seized the US Navy ship Pueblo, charging it had intruded into the nation's territorial waters on a spying mission. The crew was released 11 months later. In 1969 NASA unveiled its moon-landing craft. In 1973 President Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War. In 1976 Paul Robeson died in Philadelphia. In 1977 the first segment of the mini-series Roots aired on ABC. In 1985 debate in Britain's House of Lords was carried on live television for the first time. In 1989 surrealist artist Salvador Dali died in his native Spain at age 84. In 2002 American born Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh was returned to the US to face criminal charges that he had conspired to kill fellow Americans; also on this date, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan. In 2005 former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson died in Malibu, CA, at age 79.

January 22 ...

In 1561 philosopher and essayist Sir Francis Bacon was born in London, England. In 1666 Shah Jahan, a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, died at the age of 74. He was the Mogul emperor of India that built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal. In 1788 poet Lord Byron was born in London, England. In 1901 Queen Victoria of England, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died at age 82 after ruling for almost 64 years. Edward VII, her son, succeeded her. In 1905 thousands of demonstrating Russian workers were fired on by Imperial army troops in St. Petersburg on what became known as "Red Sunday" or "Bloody Sunday." In 1917 President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory." (By April, America also was at war.) In 1922 Pope Benedict XV died; he was succeeded by Pius IX. In 1924 Ramsay MacDonald became Britain's first Labour Prime Minister. In 1938 Thornton Wilder's play Our Town was performed publicly for the first time, in Princeton, NJ. In 1941 the first mass killing of Jews took place in Romania; also that day, Australian and British forces captured Tobruk. In 1944 Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy. In 1947 KTLA, Channel 5, in Hollywood, CA, began operation as the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River. In 1968 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In premiered on NBC. In 1970 the first regularly scheduled commercial flight of the Boeing 747 began in New York City and ended in London about 6 1/2 hours later. In 1973 former president Lyndon B. Johnson died at his Texas ranch at age 64; also on this day, the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion using a trimester approach. In 1980 Soviet dissident physicist Dr. Andrei Sakharov was arrested and exiled to Gorky from Moscow. In 1995 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died at the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port, MA, at age 104. In 1998 Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, CA, to being the Unabomber in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole. In 2003 it was reported that scientists in China had found fossilized remains of a dinosaur with four feathered wings.

January 21 ...

In 1793 during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was guillotined. In 1861 future president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other Southerners resigned from the US Senate. In 1880 the US saw the first sewage disposal system separate from storm drains constructed in Memphis, TN. In 1924 Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died at age 54. In 1940 golfing legend Jack Nicklaus was born in Columbus, OH. In 1941 the US lifted the ban on the sale of arms to the Soviet Union. In 1950 George Orwell died in London at age 46; also on this day, Alger Hiss who was accused of being part of a Communist spy ring, was found guilty in New York of lying to a grand jury. (It has later been proven that Hiss was a Soviet spy.) In 1954 the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton, CT, (however, the Nautilus did not make its first nuclear-powered run until nearly a year later). In 1970 a Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight for Pan American Airlines. In 1976 Western newspapers went on sale in the Soviet Union for the first time; also on this day, Leonid Brezhnev and Henry Kissinger met to discuss the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty; and also on this day, the supersonic Concorde jet was put into service by Britain and France. In 1977 President Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders. In 2003 the US Census Bureau announced that estimates showed the Hispanic population was larger than the black population for the first time.

January 20 ...

In 1265 the first English parliament met in Westminster Hall. In 1649 King Charles I of England went on trial for treason and other "high crimes." He was later executed. In 1801 John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the US. In 1841 the island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain; the island returned to Chinese control in July 1997. In 1896 comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City. In 1887 the US Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base. In 1891 James Hogg took office as the first native-born governor of Texas. In 1924 country singer Slim Whitman was born in Tampa, FL. In 1930 the second man to walk on the moon, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, NJ. In 1936 Britain's King George V died; he was succeeded by Edward VIII. In 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated for his second term in office, becoming the first president to be sworn in on January 20 in accordance with the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. In 1941 President Roosevelt was sworn in for an unprecedented 3rd term. In 1942 Nazi officials held the Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their "final solution" that called for exterminating Europe's Jews. In 1945 President Roosevelt was inaugurated for an unprecedented fourth term. In 1949 President Harry S. Truman was inaugurated as the 33rd president of the US, the first inauguration to be televised. In 1953 President Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated as the 34th president of the US. In 1957 President Eisenhower was sworn in for his second term in office. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the US. In 1964 the Beatles released Meet the Beatles, their debut album in the US. In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th president of the US. As a result of President Kennedy's assassination, a bullet-proofed, closed limousine was used for the first time. In 1969 President Richard M. Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th president of the US. In 1973 President Nixon was sworn in for a second term. In 1977 Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th president of the US. In 1980 President Carter announced the US's boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. In 1981 President Ronald Wilson Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the US; it was the first inaugural held on the West Terrace of the Capitol. Also on this day, Iran released 52 Americans that had been held hostage for 444 days. In 1985 President Reagan was sworn in for his second term; it was held indoors due to the extremely cold weather. In 1986 Britain and France announced plans to build the Channel Tunnel. In 1987 while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages, Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. He was not freed until November 1991. In 1989 President George H. W. Bush was inaugurated as the 41st President of the US. In 1993 President William Jefferson Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd President of the US. In 1997 President Clinton was sworn in for his second term; also on this day, the oldest survivor of the Titanic, Edith Haisman, died at age 100. In 2001 President George W. Bush was inaugurated as the nation's 43rd president. In 2005 President George W. Bush was inaugurated for a second term; Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, ill with thyroid cancer, delivered the oath of office.