Author Archives: Linda

January 13

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January 13 is:

Make Your Dream Come True Day“Ancient people often believed that dreams were messages from a higher power. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians believed this so much that they actually induced dreams to receive more messages. They would lie on special ‘dream beds’ in the hopes that a dream would give them advice, comfort, or even healing. Ancient people even practiced dream interpretation, if records are any indication. Ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and various other cultures all kept records of religious texts featuring interpretations of various dreams.”

Tyvendedagen, the official end of Yuletide in Norway.

1559 – Queen Elizabeth I crowned January 13, 1559Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey. She was the last Tudor monarch, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Sometimes called “The Virgin Queen”. Succeeded to the throne on the death of her sister, Queen Mary. She reigned until her death in 1603. The colony of Virginia was named for her.

Anniversary of the death of George Fox in 1691, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers).

James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrived at Charleston, SC. on the ship “Ann” on January 13, 1733, and settled near the present site of Savannah, Georgia. Oglethorpe was granted a royal charter for the Province of Georgia.

Flag January 13, 1794On this day in 1794, President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union. This flag was the only U.S. Flag to have more than 13 stripes

On this date in 1815 British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the War of 1812 to take place in that state.

Stephen Foster died January 13, 1864Stephen Foster Memorial Day commemorates the anniversary of his death in 1864. Foster wrote more than 200 songs, including “Oh! Susanna”, “Hard Times Come Again No More”, “Camptown Races”, “Old Folks at Home”, “My Old Kentucky Home”, “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, “Old Black Joe”, and “Beautiful Dreamer”.

1888 National Geographic Society founded in Washington, D.C. in 1888. From its website:
“It is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, and the promotion of environmental and historical conservation.”

1906 – First radio set advertised (Telimco for $7.50 in Scientific American). It claimed to receive signals up to one mile.

1920 New York Times editorial (falsely) reports rockets can never fly.

Mickey Mouse” comic strip first appears. Mickey was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928. Beginning in 1930, Mickey has also been featured extensively as a comic strip character. His self-titled newspaper strip, drawn primarily by Floyd Gottfredson, ran for 45 years.

Marshal Josip Broz Tito was chosen as President of Yugoslavia in 1953, a position he held until his death in 1980.

1968 – Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California.

I hear the train a comin’
It’s rollin’ ’round the bend,
And I ain’t seen the sunshine,
Since, I don’t know when,
I’m stuck in Folsom Prison,
And time keeps draggin’ on,
But that train keeps a-rollin’,
On down to San Antone.

January 12

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January 12 is:

National Pharmacist Day There were approximately 316,500 pharmacists in the United States as of 2016.

Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day; Henry David Thoreau wrote the famous phrase, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.”

Birthday of John Winthrop (January 12, 1588), American colonial leader, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony.

January 12
Birthday of John Hancock (1737), American Revolutionary patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He became very popular in Massachusetts, especially after British officials seized his sloop Liberty in 1768 and charged him with smuggling.

Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded in what is now Santa Clara, California in 1777.

Birthday of John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856), considered the “leading portrait painter of his generation”. See examples of his work at Wikiart

Birthday of Jack London (January 12, 1876), the American author best known for his novel“The Call of the Wild”, Available at Wikisource

1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park was formed by an act of U.S. Congress.

The United States House of Representatives rejected a 1915 proposal to give women the right to vote.

1926 – Original “Sam ‘n’ Henry” aired on Chicago, Illinois radio. The ten-minute program is often considered the first situation comedy. It was renamed “Amos ‘n’ Andy” in 1928.

All In The FamilyAll in the Family, the famous situation comedy premiered on CBS in 1971. Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker; Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker, his wife; Sally Struthers as Gloria Stivic, their daughter; and Rob Reiner as Michael “Meathead” Stivic, Gloria’s husband. The show ran for nine seasons, ending April 8, 1979. The show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for a U.S. network television comedy, such as racism, antisemitism, infidelity, homosexuality, women’s liberation, rape, religion, miscarriages, abortion, breast cancer, the Vietnam War, menopause, and impotence.

Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorized the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait in 1991.

January 11

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January 11 is:

Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day

January 11Birthday of Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755), a founding father of the United States, chief staff aide to General George Washington, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the U.S. Constitution, the founder of the nation’s financial system, and the founder of the first political party, first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, co-author of “The Federalist Papers”.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #37: Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government written by James Madison in 1788. Here Madison relates some of the difficulties the Convention had in forming a new government. He speaks of the dichotomy of Energy vs. Stability, both necessary for the public good. Energy requires frequent elections; stability requires duration in power. The Convention also had to define the balance of power in the three branches of government and how they were determined. And finally, Madison describes how the states vary in population, wealth, and location. The writing of this Constitution was indeed a balancing act.

1805 – The Michigan Territory was created when President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation separating what would become part of the state of Michigan from Indiana Territory.

Birthday of Sir John D. Macdonald (January 11, 1815), first prime minister of Canada.

“Popular Mechanics” magazine was published for the first time in 1902.

north-america-grand-canyon-2-625x450 Grand Canyon National Monument was created in 1908.

In 1922, the first time insulin was used to treat diabetes in a human patient.

1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.

Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California in 1935. She disappeared in 1937.

In 1964, the United States surgeon general reported that cigarettes cause lung cancer.

1973 – Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.

January 10

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January 10 is the 10th day of the year.

Houseplant Appreciation Day

National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

Peculiar People Day According to Holiday Insights.com” “Peculiar People Day is in honor of uniquely different people. Un-ordinary, extraordinary, unusual, strange, odd, uncommon, intriguing, different, abnormal, and quirky…. These are all things that we think of to describe the word “peculiar”. Most of these characteristics can be viewed as good, or not so good. Today is a day to look for the good in your peculiar acquaintances.”

Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon on this day in 49 BC. According to: Eye Witness To History.com

The crossing of a small stream in northern Italy became one of ancient history’s most pivotal events. From it sprang the Roman Empire and the genesis of modern European culture. Born with unbridled political ambition and unsurpassed oratory skills, Julius Caesar manipulated his way to the position of consul of Rome in 59 BC. After his year of service he was named governor of Gaul where he amassed a personal fortune and exhibited his outstanding military skill in subduing the native Celtic and Germanic tribes. Caesar’s popularity with the people soared, presenting a threat to the power of the Senate and to Pompey, who held power in Rome. Accordingly, the Senate called upon Caesar to resign his command and disband his army or risk being declared an “Enemy of the State”. Pompey was entrusted with enforcing this edict – the foundation for civil war was laid.

It was January 49 BC, Caesar was staying in the northern Italian city of Ravenna and he had a decision to make. Either he acquiesced to the Senate’s command or he moved southward to confront Pompey and plunge the Roman Republic into a bloody civil war. An ancient Roman law forbade any general from crossing the Rubicon River and entering Italy proper with a standing army. To do so was treason. This tiny stream would reveal Caesar’s intentions and mark the point of no return.

1776 – Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense. It challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #29: Concerning the Militia written by Alexander Hamilton on January 10, 1788. Hamilton recommends that each state have a small but well-trained militia. The federal government would establish a standing army to provide uniform training to all members, with approval and funding every two years from the representatives of the people.

Hamilton foresees the Second Amendment: “…if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow citizens.”

Anniversary of the Underground Railway.  One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the “Railroad”.  More than 30,000 went to Canada.

In 1870 John D Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher was discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.  No oil field in the world had ever been so productive

League of Nations Day 1920. The League of Nations ratified the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending World War I with Germany and held its first meeting in Geneva.

Anniversary of the first session of the General Assembly of the U.N. January 10, 1946

In 1949, RCA introduced the 45 RPM record.  It was a great boon to the music market as pre-teens and teens could afford a single record and did not have to buy a more expensive album which may or may not include other songs they wanted.

January 9

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January 9 is the 9th day of the year.

Play God Day What would you do if you were god for a day?

National Apricot Day

1349 – The Basel massacre – The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, was rounded up and incinerated.

ConnecticutConnecticut Ratification Day; in 1788 Connecticut became the fifth state.

  • Capital: Hartford
  • Nickname: Constitution State
  • Aircraft – Corsair F4U
  • Animal – Sperm Whale
  • Bird: Robin
  • Composer – Charles Edward Ives
  • Flower: Mountain Laurel
  • Folk Dance – Square Dance
  • Fossil – Eubrontes Giganteus dinosaur tracks
  • Hero – Nathan Hale
  • Heroine – Prudence Crandall
  • Insect – Praying Mantis
  • Mineral – Garnet
  • Motto: He Who Transplanted Still Sustains
  • Poet Laureate – John Hollander
  • Shellfish – Eastern Oyster
  • Ship – USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
  • Song – “Yankee Doodle”
  • Tall Ship – Freedom Schooner Amistad
  • Tree: White Oak

See our page Connecticut for more interesting facts and trivia about Connecticut.

The Daguerrotype photo process was announced in 1839.

1902 – New York State introduced a bill to outlaw flirting in public.

January 9 Birthday
Birthday of Richard Nixon (January 9, 1913), born in Yorba Linda, California, thirty-seventh President of the United States.

In 1942 Joe Louis achieved the heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Buddy Baer in the first round.

“Dear Abby” advice column by Abigail Van Buren first appeared in newspapers in 1956.

Birthday of Catherine “Kate” Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, (January 9, 1982) wife of Britain’s Prince William.

On January 9, 2007, Steven P. Jobs introduced Apple’s long-awaited entry into the cellphone world, the iPhone.

January 8

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January 8 is:

Bubble Bath Day

National English Toffee Day

Feast of St. Erhard of Regensburg, patron saint for livestock; Images of him were used as Schluckbildchen (Schluckbildchen; from German, means literally “swallowable pictures”, small notes of paper that have a sacred image on them with the purpose of being swallowed.) They were used as a religious practice in the folk medicine and given to sick animals during the eighteenth, nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.

1642 Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #36: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. Hamilton details the government’s need for a body of tax collectors knowledgeable of every district, so as to establish a value to be taxed. He claims that this will be accomplished by using the same tax collectors as the state governments do. Hamilton argues against a poll tax. The argument arises that the Federal Government would lack information about the needs and circumstances of each state. Hamilton again uses the argument that each state has representatives who would be familiar and knowledgeable about the needs of their state. (Why did the 17th Amendment pass?)

Anniversary of the first State of the Union message by President George Washington in 1790. Text may be found at The American Presidency Project

Battle of New Orleans Day or Old Hickory’s Day, or Jackson Day. Commemorates the historic battle with the British won by Andrew Jackson in 1815. The battle took place 18 days after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the War of 1812, on December 24, 1814, though it would not be ratified by the United States (and therefore did not take effect) until February 16, 1815, as news of the agreement had not yet reached the United States from Europe.

1835 – The United States national debt is zero for the only time.

January 8, 18561856 – Dr. John A. Veatch discovers borax at Tuscan Springs, California. Wagons pulled by teams of twenty mules each give rise to the brand “Twenty Mule Team Borax.”

January 8, 18891889 – Herman Hollerith was issued US patent #395,791 for the ‘Art of Applying Statistics’ — his punched card calculator. Remember punch cards? An extra hole or two from a hand-held clandestine punch could gum things up… “Keypunch operator” was one of the careers for which one could train and was my first job in 1960.

1918 – President Woodrow Wilson announces his “Fourteen Points” for the aftermath of World War I.

Birthday of Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935), American singer, musician, and actor. Cultural icon of the 20th Century.

1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” in the United States. According to the Heritage Foundation:

In the 50 years since that time, U.S. taxpayers have spent over $22 trillion on anti-poverty programs. Adjusted for inflation, this spending (which does not include Social Security or Medicare) is three times the cost of all U.S. military wars since the American Revolution. Yet progress against poverty, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau, has been minimal, and in terms of President Johnson’s main goal of reducing the “causes” rather than the mere “consequences” of poverty, the War on Poverty has failed completely. In fact, a significant portion of the population is now less capable of self-sufficiency than it was when the War on Poverty began.

January 7

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January 7 is:

According to National Today.com, January 7th is National Tempura Day “It is always a yummy time to celebrate tempura, a fantastic Japanese dish made from deep-frying vegetables, seafood, or other foods dipped in a light batter of flour, eggs, and water. Tempura has been with us for about three centuries. Although the Portuguese living in Nagasaki in the 16th century introduced it, tempura has become entrenched in Japanese culture, and you can find tempura everywhere in Japan today. On this day, you can enjoy tempura in different ways, including with a dipping sauce or something more experimental like tempura ice cream.”

Old Rock Day The unofficial holiday encourages people to acknowledge, celebrate, and learn more about old rocks and fossils.

Anniversary of First U.S. Presidential Election – The first presidential election was held on the first Wednesday of January in 1789. No one contested the election of George Washington.

Christmas observed by the Russian Orthodox Church in accordance with the Julian calendar.

Fillmore January 7Birthday of Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800), thirteenth president of the United States. President Zachary Taylor died July 9, 1850 and Vice-President Fillmore was sworn in the next day. Fillmore accepted the resignations of all the department heads and appointed an entirely new cabinet. Fillmore was the first President who was a health nut. He did not smoke or drink, and was fastidious about measures he believed could affect his physical well-being. For example, one hot summer night in Washington, he left the White House to sleep in the cooler and breezier part of Washington known as Georgetown because of the malaria risk.

First Lady Abigail Fillmore was appalled to find no books in the White House, supposedly not even a Bible. Of this omission was to come her greatest gift: the White House Library.

On January 7, 1904 the distress signal “CQD” was established only to be replaced two years later by “SOS”. Land telegraphs had adopted the convention of using “CQ” (“sécu”, from the French word sécurité) to identify alert, or precautionary messages of interest to all stations along a telegraph line. CQ had then been adopted in maritime radiotelegraphy as a “general call” to any ship or land station.

From wikipedia:

In landline use there was no general emergency signal, so the Marconi company added a “D” (“distress”) to CQ in order to create a distress call. Sending “D” was already used internationally to indicate an urgent message. Thus, “CQD” was understood by wireless operators to mean All stations: Distress.

At the first International Radiotelegraphic Convention, held in Berlin in 1906, Germany’s Notzeichen distress signal of three-dots three-dashes three-dots ( ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ) was adopted as the international Morse code distress signal. This distress signal soon became known as “SOS” because it has the same dash-dot sequence as the letters S O S with the gaps between the letters removed, and in fact it is properly written SOS, with an overbar, to distinguish it from the three individual letters. In contrast, CQD is transmitted as three distinct letters with a short gap between each, like regular text. The SOS distress code is also easier to hear as it is nine symbols long, while no other character or sign is longer than six symbols.

From 1899 to 1908, nine documented rescues were made by the use of wireless. The earliest of these was a distress call from the East Goodwin lightship. However, for the earliest of these, there was no standardized distress signal. The first US ship to send a wireless distress call in 1905 simply sent HELP (in both International Morse and American Morse). 

On 7 December 1903, Ludwig Arnson was a wireless operator aboard the liner SS Kroonland when she lost a propeller off the Irish coast. His call of CQD brought aid from a British cruiser. In 1944 Mr. Arnson received the Marconi Memorial Medal of Achievement in recognition of his sending the first wireless distress signal.[9] By February 1904, the Marconi Wireless Company required all its operators to use CQD for a ship in distress or for requiring URGENT assistance.[1] In the early morning of 23 January 1909, whilst sailing into New York from Liverpool, RMS Republic collided with the Italian liner SS Florida in fog off the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States. Radio Operator Jack Binns sent the CQD distress signal by wireless transmission.

On 15 April 1912, RMS Titanic radio operator Jack Phillips initially sent “CQD”, which was still commonly used by British ships. Harold Bride, the junior radio operator, suggested using SOS, saying half-jokingly that it might be his last chance to use the new code. Phillips thereafter began to alternate between the two.[4]: 1911  Although Bride survived, Phillips perished in the sinking.

President Harry S. Truman announced in his State of the Union address of 1953 that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.

The United States recognized Fidel Castro‘s new government in Cuba in 1959.

In 1968 First Class Postage increased from 5¢ to 6¢.

January 7, 1969 US Congress doubled presidential salary from $100,000 to $200,000 per year.

Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government in 1979. The Khmer Rouge leadership boasted over the state-controlled radio that only one or two million people were needed to build the new agrarian communist utopia. As for the others, as their proverb put it, “To keep you is no benefit, to destroy you is no loss.” Head of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot presided over a government that killed 1-3 million people, about 20% of the Cambodian population.

January 6

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January 6 is the sixth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Bean Day Wondering why National Bean Day is held on January 6? That’s the same day as the famous geneticist, Gregor Mendel, died in 1884. Mendel used bean plants and pea plants to develop theories on genetics in plants. So the formation of National Bean Day has more to do with scientific development than how good bean recipes taste. But don’t let that deter you from enjoying eating beans on this holiday!

Cuddle Up Day Link includes suggestions for cuddling.
National Shortbread Day Link includes history of shortbread.

Feast of the Epiphany. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles.

Birthday of Joan of Arc (January 6, 1412), the Maid of Orleans, national heroine of France.

Birthday of Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878), American poet, historian, biographer of Abraham Lincoln.

New MexicoNew Mexico Admission Day On this day in 1912 New Mexico became the forty-seventh state.

  • Capital: Santa Fe
  • Nickname: Land of Enchantment
  • Aircraft – Hot air balloon
  • Amphibian – New Mexico Spadefoot Toad
  • Animal – Black Bear
  • Bird: Roadrunner
  • Butterfly – Sandia hairstreak butterfly
  • Colors – Red and Yellow
  • Cookie – Biscochito
  • Cowboy Song – Under The New Mexico Skies
  • Fish – NM cutthroat trout (Rio Grande cutthroat trout)
  • Flower Yucca flower
  • Fossil – Coelophysis (small late Triassic dinosaur)
  • Gem – Turquoise
  • Grass – Blue grama grass
  • Guitar: New Mexico Sunrise guitar
  • Insect – Tarantula hawk wasp
  • Motto: It Grows as it Goes
  • Necklace: Native American squash blossom necklace
  • Reptile – New Mexico whiptail lizard
  • Slogan – “Everybody is somebody in New Mexico”
  • Tie – Bola tie
  • Tree: Pinon
  • Vegetables – chile and frijole

See our page for New Mexico for more interesting facts and trivia about New Mexico.

1853 – President-elect of the United States Franklin Pierce and his family were involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts while on their way to his Inauguration. Their son, Benjamin Pierce (April 13, 1841 – January 6, 1853), died at the age of 11.

German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presented his theory of continental drift in 1912.

T. Roosevelt, died January 6On January 6, 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60. He became president following the assassination of William McKinley.
According to Wikipedia:

On the night of January 5, 1919, Roosevelt experienced breathing problems. He felt better after treatment from his physician, Dr. George W. Faller, and went to bed. Roosevelt’s last words were “Please put out that light, James” to his family servant James Amos. Between 4:00 AM and 4:15 AM the next morning, Roosevelt died in his sleep at Sagamore Hill as a result of a blood clot detaching itself from a vein and entering his lungs. Upon receiving word of his death, his son Archibald telegraphed his siblings simply, “The old lion is dead.” Woodrow Wilson’s vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, said that “Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.”

Four Freedoms Day commemorating FDR’s message to Congress in 1941 defining national goals as Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.

January 5

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January 5 is:

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . twelve drummers drumming.
Eleven pipers piping.
Ten lords a-leaping.
Nine ladies dancing.
Eight maids a-milking.
Seven swans a-swimming.
Six geese a-laying.
Five Golden Rings
Four calling birds
Three French hens
Two turtledoves.
And a partridge in a pear tree.

For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Goodhousekeeping.com The 12 Drummers Drumming are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed. The Creed most likely originatee in 5th-century Gaul, as a development of the Old Roman Symbol, the old Latin creed of the 4th century. It has been in liturgical use…since the 8th century, and by extension in the various modern branches of Western Christianity, including the modern liturgy and catechisms of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, the Moravian Church, Methodism, and Congregational churches.

  1. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
  2. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord
  3. Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
  4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried
  5. He descended into hell.The third day he arose again from the dead
  6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty
  7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead
  8. I believe in the Holy Spirit
  9. the holy catholic Church, the Communion of Saints
  10. the forgiveness of sins
  11. the resurrection of the body
  12. And in life everlasting.

National Bird Day, anniversary of the incorporation of the National Associations of Audubon Societies.

In 1757 – Louis XV of France survived an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.

Anniversary of the death of Elizabeth I of Russia on January 5, 1762. It was said that when she died 15,000 dresses were found in her closets. She changed her dress two or three times every evening.

Birthday of Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779), American general who commanded an early exploring expedition into the West. Pike’s Peak is named after him.

In 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, was burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #35: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. In this article Hamilton responds to the argument that the federal government should be given the authority to tax only certain objects rather than a broad spectrum. He argues that if only imports are taxed, the taxes would be increased to the point of injuring trade, decreasing consumption, and promoting smuggling. Further, who pays these duties? If the merchant pays, increases may put them out of business; if the customer pays, the importing states would carry a heavier burden than manufacturing states.
Secondly Hamilton answers the charge that the House of Representatives is not large enough for all citizens.

Since it was assumed that all members of Congress would be merchants, professionals, or land owners, all types of citizens would be represented.

In 1895 – Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island.  In November 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer, was convicted of treason.  Sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly having communicated French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris, Dreyfus was sent to the penal colony at Devil’s Island in French Guiana,, where he spent almost five years.  Eventually all the accusations against Alfred Dreyfus were demonstrated to be baseless. In 1906 Dreyfus was exonerated.

On Jan. 5, 1914, Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, introduced a minimum wage scale of $5 per day.

January 5, Coolidge diedIn 1933 Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, died in Northampton, Mass., at age 60 from coronary thrombosis. Coolidge became president upon the death of Warren Harding.

Introduced January 51945 – Pepe LePew debuts in Warner Brothers cartoon “Odor-able Kitty“.

1959 – “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” backed by “Raining in My Heart” was released by Coral Records. It was the last release of Buddy Holly before his death.

1998 – Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident. He was 62. He came to fame in partnership with his wife Cher, as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. He was also mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992, and congressman for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998.

Christmas Music:

Several years ago I worked on a project to celebrate the music in my life. Nothing says Christmas like the carols and songs heard only at this time of year. Here’s today’s sample which represents the end of this Christmas music season – until December 2021! Hope you’ve enjoyed it.

12 Days of Christmas
The 12 Days of Christmas

(by clicking the Windows Media Player icon button, a midi file will play [if it’s installed on your computer]. No music has been embedded.
Lyrics can be printed by using the File->Print Preview Commands. They will print in black ink with no images.)

January 4

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January 4, is:

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . eleven pipers piping.
For the significance of each day of Christmas, see: Good Housekeeping.com The 11 Pipers Piping are the eleven faithful apostles. – Peter, Andrew, James, John, Phillip, Nathanael (also called Bartholomew), Matthew (also called Levi), Thomas, James the Less, Simon, and Jude (also called Thaddeus).

World Braille Day in honor of Louis Braille (1809), French educator of the blind, developer of the Braille system of printing and writing.

National Spaghetti Day

Birthday of Sir Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643), physicist and mathematician; leader in the seventeenth century scientific revolution; discoverer of the law of gravity.

Birthday of Jacob Grimm (January 4, 1785), German writer who, with his brother, William, published the famous Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

author of Federalist PaperPublication of Federalist Paper #34: Concerning the General Power of Taxation written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788. Hamilton’s aim is to demonstrate that a government must have unlimited power of taxation for such circumstances as war and natural disaster. He argues that the state governments, which share taxation rights with the federal government, will serve as a balance and prevent abuse of such powers. He argues, further, that the federal government will always incur the greatest expenses, should have the greatest body to draw taxes from, and require a “greater power of taxation than the states.”

Samuel Colt sold his first revolver pistol to the United States government in 1847.

Header-UtahUtah Admission Day.  On this date in 1896 Utah became the forty-fifth state.

  • Capital: Salt Lake City
  • Nickname: Beehive State
  • Animal: Rocky Mountain Elk
  • Astronomical Symbol: Beehive Cluster
  • Bird: Seagull
  • Cooking Pot: Dutch Oven
  • Dance: Square dance
  • Firearm: Browning M1911
  • Fish: Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
  • Flower: Sego Lily
  • Fossil: Allosaurus
  • Fruit: Cherry
  • Gem: Topaz
  • Grass: Indian Ricegrass
  • Hymn: Utah, We Love Thee
  • Insect: Honey Bee
  • Language: English
  • Mineral: Copper
  • Motto: Industry
  • Rock: Coal
  • Snack: Jell-O
  • Tree: Quaking Aspen
  • Vegetable: Spanish sweet onion

See our page for Utah for more interesting facts and trivia about Utah.

1925 – French psychologist Emil Coué brought his self-esteem therapy to US “Every day in every way I am getting better and better”.

1954: A young truck driver named Elvis Presley entered the Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, TN, ostensibly to record a song for his mother’s birthday (which was, in reality, many months away). He recorded “Casual Love Affair” and “I’ll Never Stand in Your Way.” It was this recording that would lead MRS head Sam Phillips to call Presley back to record for his Sun Records label.

1958 – SputnikSputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in Oct. 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.

1965 – United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed his “Great Society” during a speech at Ohio University, then unveiled the program in greater detail at an appearance at University of Michigan. The main goals were the elimination of poverty and the elimination of racial injustice.

Nancy Pelosi Jan 4, 20072007 – The 110th United States Congress convened electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history. She served from 2007-2011 and from 2019-2023.