On This Day In History
January 6th
1649 The English Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial for treason and other “high crimes”
1912 Geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener presents his controversial theory of continental drift in a lecture at the Geological Association (Geologischen Vereinigung) at the Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt
1941 US President Franklin Roosevelt makes his “Four Freedoms” speech (freedom of speech and worship; freedom from want and fear) during his US State of Union address [1] [2]
1987 Astronomers at University of California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy
2021 Supporters of US President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington during congressional certification of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris‘s win, resulting in five deaths and prompting evacuation of lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence
Did You Know?
Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world (“Pacific Clipper”).
Today in History in 1942
Would You Believe?
Virginia orders half of its tobacco crop destroyed to support plunging prices and to avoid an economic catastrophe, the 1st colony to order the destruction of crops
Today in History in 1639
January 7th
1610 Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa & Ganymede
1714 Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later)
1941 Chinese Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-shek open fire on the surrounded Communist New Fourth Army at Maolin, Anhui Province, killing or capturing 7,000 troops
1953 US President Harry Truman announces American development of the hydrogen bomb
1954 Georgetown-IBM experiment, 1st public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM’s head office in New York
1999 President Bill Clinton‘s impeachment trial begins in the US Senate after the House voted to impeach him for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky
Did You Know?
Marguerite Perey discovers francium (Fr), the last naturally occurring element to be found
Today in History in 1930
Would You Believe?
It snows in the Sahara desert – 15 inches reported in Aïn Séfra, Northwest Algeria
Today in History in 2018
January 8th
1656 Oldest surviving commercial newspaper begins (Haarlem, Netherlands)
1790 1st US President George Washington delivers 1st state of the union address
1835 US national debt is $0 for the first and only time in history
1912 Chiefs, representatives of people’s and church organisations, and other prominent individuals form the African National Congress and declare its aim to bring all Africans together as one people to defend their rights and freedoms
1926 Abdulaziz Ibn Saud becomes King of Nejd and Hejaz; forerunner of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2016 Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announces the recapture of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, six months after he escaped prison
Did You Know?
Simon Marius. a German astronomer, independently discovers the first three moons of Jupiter one day after Galileo
Today in History in 1610
Would You Believe?
Spanish armada headed by the San Jose and loaded with gold sunk after British squadron attacks off coast of Colombia (rediscovered 2015)
Today in History in 1708
January 9th
1431 Judges’ investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France, the seat of the English occupation government
1760 Afghans defeat Marathas in battle of Barari Ghat
1839 Daguerreotype photo process announced at French Academy of Science
1909 Ernest Shackleton as part of the British Nimrod Expedition reaches a record farthest South latitude (88°23′ south)
1941 6,000 Jews murdered in a pogrom in Bucharest, Romania
2007 Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs announces the iPhone
Did You Know?
First trial flight of Concorde supersonic jetliner, Bristol, England
Today in History in 1969
Would You Believe?
Philip Astley stages the world’s first modern circus in London
Today in History in 1768
January 10th
49 BC Julius Caesar defies the Roman Senate and crosses the Rubicon, uttering “alea iacta est” (the die is cast), signaling the start of civil war which would lead to his appointment as Roman dictator for life
1430 Catholic Order of the Golden Fleece founded in Bruges in celebration of the prosperous and wealthy domains of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
1475 Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui
1776 “Common Sense” Pamphlet by Thomas Paine published, advocating American independence
1839 First tea from leaves of indigenous plants of Assam, India arrives in the United Kingdom [date approximate] [1]
1946 UN General Assembly meets for 1st time in London
Did You Know?
Suffragettes the “Silent Sentinels” first protest outside The White House, in Washington led by Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party
Today in History in 1917
Would You Believe?
Edward W. Brooke (Sen-R-Mass), takes his seat as the 1st popularly elected African American to the US Senate
Today in History in 1967
January 11th
1599 Jacob van Neck’s fleet leaves Bantam, Java in modern day Indonesia with 1 million pounds of pepper and cloves and a further half a ship full of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon
1838 First public demonstration of telegraph messages sent using dots and dashes at Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail
1879 Anglo-Zulu War begins as British Lt-General Chelmsford invades Zululand in South Africa
1922 Insulin first used on humans to treat diabetes, when Frederick Banting injects fellow Canadian Leonard Thompson, aged 14
1964 First government report by US Surgeon General Luther Terry warning that smoking may be hazardous
Did You Know?
First recorded lottery in England is drawn in St Paul’s Cathedral in London. First prize was £5,000, other prizes included silver plate, tapestries and high quality linen cloth.
Today in History in 1569
Would You Believe?
Snowfall 1st recorded in Los Angeles
Today in History in 1949
January 12th
1528 Gustav I of Sweden crowned King of Sweden, rules for 37 years and becomes known as the “father of the nation”
1554 Bayinnaung crowned King of Burma, goes on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia
1872 Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, 1st imperial coronation in Axum in over 200 years
1948 Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast
2010 Earthquake Devastates Haiti, killing approximately 160,000 and destroying the majority of the capital Port-au-Prince