A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
1844 – The University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.
1870 – A donkey was used to symbolize the Democratic Party for the first time in a cartoon by Thomas Nast titled “A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion”. The cartoon appeared in “Harper’s Weekly”.
1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, was incorporated in Atlanta, GA.
1892 – The rules of basketball were published for the first time in “Triangle” magazine in Springfield, MA, where the game originated. The original rules involved attaching a peach basket to a suspended board.
1913 – The first telephone line between Berlin and New York was inaugurated.
1919 – A large molasses tank in Boston, MA, burst and sent a wave of molasses through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, that was built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company Laboratory, was completed in Toledo, OH.
1943 – The Pentagon was dedicated as the world’s largest office building. The structure covers 34 acres of land and has 17 miles of corridors.
1953 – Harry S. Truman became the first President to use radio and television to give his farewell as he left office.
1955 – The first solar-heated, radiation-cooled house was built by Raymond Bliss in Tucson, AZ.
1967 – In Los Angeles, CA, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the NFL’s first Super Bowl.
1967 – The Rolling Stones performed on TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show” and were forced to change their lyrics of “Let’s Spend the Night Together” to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together”.
1974 – The television show “Happy Days” premiered on ABC.
1975 – The “Space Mountain” rollercoaster opened at Disney World in Orlando, FL.
1976 – Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald Ford in San Francisco, CA.
1986 – President Ronald Reagan signed legislation making Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a National holiday to be celebrated on the third Monday of January.
1987 – Paramount Home Video announced that it would run a commercial at the front of one of its video releases for the first time. The 30 second Diet Pepsi spot was placed on the videocassette for the movie “Top Gun”.
1988 – Football analyst Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder made racist remarks about black athletes on network TV.
2001 – Wikipedia was launched.
2003 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Congress had permission to repeatedly extend copyright protection.
2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovered elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron and other surface elements on the moon.
2006 – NASA’s Stardust space probe mission was completed when it’s sample return capsule returned to Earth with comet dust from comet Wild 2.
2008 – The iTunes Music Store reached 4 billion songs sold.
2009 – The “Miracle on the Hudson” — US Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger safely landed a passenger jet with 155 passengers and crew on the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. The plane had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport. The plane struck a flock of geese and lost all power. All passengers and crew members survived.
2020 – The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in Japan.
BIRTHDAYS:
Ruth Slenczynska – 101 years old (1925) – Pianist and composer
Robert Silverberg – 91 years old (1935) – Author and editor
Margaret O'Brien – 89 years old (1937) – Actress and singer
Stuart E. Eizenstat – 83 years old (1943) – Lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
Andrea Martin – 79 years old (1947) – American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
Howard Twitty – 77 years old (1949) – Golfer
Ernie DiGregorio – 75 years old (1951) – Basketball player
Randy White – 73 years old (1953) – Football player
Marc Trestman – 70 years old (1956) – Football player and coach
David Ige – 69 years old (1957) – Politician
Marty Lyons – 69 years old (1957) – Football player and sportscaster
Mario Van Peebles – 69 years old (1957) – Mexican-American actor and director
Bernard Hopkins – 61 years old (1965) – Boxer and coach
Adam Jones – 61 years old (1965) – Musician and songwriter
Ted Tryba – 59 years old (1967) – Golfer
Chad Lowe – 58 years old (1968) – Actor, director, and producer
Delino DeShields – 57 years old (1969) – Baseball player and manager
Michele Granger – 56 years old (1970) – Softball player
Shane McMahon – 56 years old (1970) – Wrestler and businessman
Regina King – 55 years old (1971) – Actress
Shelia Burrell – 54 years old (1972) – Heptathlete
Mary Pierce – 51 years old (1975) – Canadian-American tennis player and coach
Doug Gottlieb – 50 years old (1976) – Basketball player and sportscaster
Dorian Missick – 50 years old (1976) – Actor
Eddie Cahill – 48 years old (1978) – Actor
Drew Brees – 47 years old (1979) – Football player
Matt Holliday – 46 years old (1980) – Baseball player
Pitbull – 45 years old (1981) – Rapper and producer
Ben Shapiro – 42 years old (1984) – Author and commentator
Victor Rasuk – 42 years old (1984) – Actor
Jessy Schram – 40 years old (1986) – Actress and model
Kelly Kelly – 39 years old (1987) – Wrestler and model
Skrillex – 38 years old (1988) – DJ and producer
Donald Sloan – 38 years old (1988) – Basketball player
Nicole Ross – 37 years old (1989) – Olympic foil fencer
Sidney Franklin – 36 years old (1990) – Actor and tap dancer
Chris Warren – 36 years old (1990) – Actor
Matt Duffy – 35 years old (1991) – Baseball player
Mitch Garver – 35 years old (1991) – Baseball player
Kadeem Allen – 33 years old (1993) – Basketball player
Dove Cameron – 30 years old (1996) – Actress and singer
Deebo Samuel – 30 years old (1996) – Football player
Triston Casas – 26 years old (2000) – Baseball player
Grace VanderWaal – 22 years old (2004) – Singer-songwriter
TODAY IS:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
