Category Archives: Presidential History

Tidbits of History, February 14

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February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Quote from Ayn Rand:

Love is the expression of one’s values, the greatest reward you can earn for the moral qualities you have achieved in your character and person, the emotional price paid by one man for the joy he receives from the virtues of another.

Read more at brainyquote.com

 

National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day
Feast Day of Saint Valentine, patron saint of lovers; invoked against epilepsy, plague, and fainting diseases

Language of Flowers

Many flowers express love in some way or other. They are popular for Valentine’s Day, but may be better for your budget than a dozen roses. Here is a partial list:

State flower of New York: RoseRoses: The red rose is the universal symbol of romantic love.

State Flower of Alaska: Alpine forget-me-notForget-Me-Not – These perennial flowers are a song of love or friendship. Pretty blue flowers are irresistible.

love in a mistLove-In-A-Mist – When you are in love, you’re on Cloud Nine.

cyclamensCyclamen – This popular Valentine’s Day gift has heart-shaped leaves. The most popular are varieties are those with red flowers.

February 14, 1779 – James Cook was killed by local people in the Hawaiian Islands.

1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk became the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.

Oregon Crater LakeOregon Statehood Day, on February 14, 1859 Oregon became the thirty-third state

  • Capital: Salem
  • Nickname: Beaver State
  • Bird: Western Meadowlark
  • Flower: Oregon Grape
  • Tree: Douglas Fir
  • Motto: The Union

See our page on Oregon for more interesting facts and trivia about Oregon

On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.

Arizona Grand CanyonAdmission Day in Arizona , the forty-eighth state; admitted in 1912

  • Capital: Phoenix
  • Nickname: Grand Canyon State
  • Bird: Cactus Wren
  • Flower: Saguaro cactus blossom
  • Tree: Paloverde
  • Motto: God Enriches

See our page on the state of Arizona for more interesting facts and trivia about Arizona.

In 1924 the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone’s gang, were murdered in Chicago, Illinois.

Tidbits of History, February 12

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February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Quote from Ayn Rand:

Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think.

Read more at brainyquote.com

 

National Plum Pudding Day
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

1554 – Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, was beheaded after being charged with treason.

Birthday of Cotton Mather (February 12, 1663 in Boston, Mass.), a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials.

1733 – Englishman James Oglethorpe founded Georgia , the 13th colony of the original thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #53: The House of Representatives written by James Madison in 1788. Continuing to define the House of Representatives, Madison asserts that a one-year term is not long enough for members to learn about foreign affairs and the workings of other states. Another factor at that time was the distance needed by members to travel to the site of the federal government. Madison also addressed the issue of possible fraud within the election – that a one-year term would hardly be long enough for fraud to be discovered, investigated, and resolved within one year.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #54: The Apportionment of Members Among the States written by James Madison in 1788. This paper addresses the number of representatives granted each State. The states strongly disagreed on the question of whether slaves were persons or property. If southern States counted all slaves, their representation in Congress would increase but so would their share of the government’s tax load. Northern States would argue if slaves are property, they should be counted in estimates of taxation which are founded on property but excluded from representation based on census. The Founders reached a compromise by establishing the 3/5 rule for slaves. The Compromise was accepted in order to get the southern states to ratify the Constitution.

Birthday of Charles Robert Darwin ((February 12, 1809), English naturalist and geologist best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. Author of “On the Origin of the Species“.

February 12, 1809Birthday of Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809), sixteenth President of the United States. On this date in 1892, President Lincoln’s birthday was declared to be a national holiday in the U.S. (Now celebrated on Presidents’ Day, Feb 17th, 2020) And on February 12, 1915, the cornerstone of the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, DC.

1999 – President Bill Clinton was acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.

Tidbits of History, February 6

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February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Quote from Ayn Rand:

Rights are not a matter of numbers – and there can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob.

Read more at brainyquote.com

 
National Chopsticks Day

Massachusetts Salem-MaritimeMassachusetts Ratification Day. In 1788 Massachusetts became the sixth state.

  • Capital: Boston
  • Nickname: Bay State/Old Colony
  • Motto: By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
  • Artist – Norman Rockwell
  • Beverage – cranberry juice
  • Bird: Chickadee
  • Building and Monument Stone – granite
  • Cookie – chocolate chip cookie
  • Dessert – Boston cream pie
  • Flower: Mayflower
  • Gem – rhodonite
  • Historical Rock – Plymouth rock
  • Inventor – Ben Franklin
  • Sport – basketball
  • Tree: American Elm

See our page on the state of Massachusetts for more interesting facts and trivia about the state of Massachusetts

Babe Ruth, born February 6Birthday of George Herman (Babe) Ruth (February 6, 1895), American baseball player.

Birth of Ronald Reagan, February 6, 1911Birthday of Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911), 40th president of the United States.

1918 Per The Fact Site In the United Kingdom, women over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote.

91st Birthday of my sister, a very good reason to celebrate this day!

February 6, 1952 – Queen Elizabeth II, February 6, 1952Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom became Queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, (Albert Frederick Arthur George) Per BBC.co.uk:

King George VIThe King had suffered a coronary thrombosis – a fatal blood clot to the heart – soon after falling asleep. He was also revealed to have been suffering from lung cancer.

He had always been a frail, nervous man, and had not expected to become King: but he was catapulted onto the throne by the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII.

Three years later, he was leading the country through the Second World War. His steadfastness won him the hearts of the people, most notably when he and his wife, Elizabeth, (who became the Queen Mother on his death), insisted on sharing the dangers of the Battle of Britain with the people of London.

However, the stressful nature of his accession to the throne, and the particularly traumatic times through which he led the country left him physically exhausted, and are thought to have contributed to his failing health and his early death.

Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007. She died Sept 8, 2022 and was succeeded by her son, Charles.

2012- The U.N. General Assembly announces February 6 as the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. Senator Rand Paul talked at length about the ills of genital mutilation, saying it “is recognized internationally as a violation of international human rights,” and drew a comparison between that and gender confirmation surgeries.

February 4

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February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

National Homemade Soup Day

National Stuffed Mushroom Day

Washington born February 22, 1732On February 4, 1789 George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.

In 1794 the French legislature abolished slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic. Slavery was reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802.

1846 – The first Mormon pioneers made their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Utah Territory. In late 1839, Mormons bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith, who led the Latter Day Saints, to escape religious persecution in Missouri.

After Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, continuing violence from surrounding non-Mormons forced most Latter-Day Saints to leave Nauvoo. Most of these refugees, led by Brigham Young, eventually emigrated to the Great Salt Lake Valley.

American Civil War (1861): In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states met and formed the Confederate States of America.

Birthday of Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902), American aviator who flew solo across the Atlantic in 1927.

February 4, 1945World War II: The Yalta Conference between the “Big Three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opened at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea on February 4, 1945. Roosevelt died two months later.

1992 – A coup d’état was led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Facebook, a mainstream online social networking site, was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004.

February 3

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February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. This day marks the approximate midpoint of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and of summer in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the December solstice).

National Carrot Cake Day

Anniversary of the issuance of the first paper money in the U.S. in 1690.

1787 – Militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln crushed the remnants of Shays’ Rebellion in Petersham, Massachusetts.

1809 – The Illinois Territory was created.

Birthday of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (February 3, 1809), German composer, pianist, and conductor. His “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream was played at the wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Victoria, The Princess Royal, to Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia in 1858, and it remains popular at marriage ceremonies.

1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to citizens regardless of race.

Amendment XV
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

According to Wikipedia:

The amendment had been voted on in the House where the vote was 144 to 44, with 35 not voting. The House vote was almost entirely along party lines, with no Democrats supporting the bill and only 3 Republicans voting against it, some because they thought the amendment did not go far enough in its protections.

The Senate passed the amendment with a vote of 39 Republican votes of “Yea”, 8 Democrat and 5 Republican votes of “Nay”; 13 Republican and 1 Democrat not voting.

1913 – The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.

Amendment XVI

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

Little Known Fact: The first U.S. tax code, as enacted in 1913, was about 400 pages long. Today, the law regulating the assessment and collection of federal income tax spans over 70,000 pages.

Wilson, died February 31924-Death of Woodrow Wilson (born Thomas Woodrow Wilson), twenty-eighth President of the United States. He died at Washington, D. C. at age 67 following a stroke. He is interred at the Washington National Cathedral

February 3, 1959 – Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry Richardson Jr.) died in a plane crash in Iowa on the “Day The Music Died“

Buddy Holly died Feb 3, 1959Richie Valens died Feb 3, 1959Big Bopper died Feb 3, 1959

Per Wikipedia: The Winter Dance Party tour began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 23, 1959. The amount of travel created logistical problems, as the distance between venues had not been considered when scheduling each performance. Adding to the problem, the unheated tour buses twice broke down in freezing weather, with dire consequences. Holly’s drummer Carl Bunch suffered frostbite to his toes (while aboard the bus) and was hospitalized, so Buddy Holly made the decision to find another means of transportation. Before their performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered a four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza airplane at Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa, for himself, Waylon Jennings, and Tommy Allsup, to avoid the long bus trip to their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. Following the Clear Lake show (which ended around midnight), Allsup lost a coin toss and gave up his seat on the charter plane to Ritchie Valens, while Waylon Jennings voluntarily gave up his seat to J. P. Richardson, who was suffering from the flu and complaining about how cold and uncomfortable the tour bus was for a man of his size. When Holly learned that his band mates had given up their seats on the plane and had chosen to take the bus rather than fly, a friendly banter between Holly and Jennings ensued, and it would come back to haunt Jennings for decades to follow: Holly jokingly told Jennings, “Well, I hope your ol’ bus freezes up!” Jennings jokingly replied, “Well, I hope your ol’ plane crashes!” Less than an hour and a half later, shortly after 1:00 AM on February 3, 1959 (later known as The Day the Music Died), Holly’s charter plane crashed at full throttle into a cornfield outside Mason City, Iowa, instantly killing all on board…For decades afterward, Jennings repeatedly admitted that he felt responsible for the crash that killed Buddy Holly.

January 30

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January 30 is:

National Inane Answering Message Day

National Croissant Day

1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England was ritually executed two years after his death, on the anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.

According to Wikipedia:

Cromwell died on Friday, 3 September 1658. On 30 January 1661, (the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I), Cromwell’s body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, and was subjected to the ritual of a posthumous execution, as were the remains of Robert Blake, John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton…. His disinterred body was hanged in chains at Tyburn, and then thrown into a pit. Cromwell’s severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685. Afterwards it allegedly was owned by various people and was publicly exhibited several times. Afterwards, the head changed hands several times, including its sale in 1814 to Josiah Henry Wilkinson, before eventually being buried beneath the floor of the antechapel at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1960. The exact position was not publicly disclosed…

However, many people began to question whether or not the body mutilated at Tyburn was in fact that of Cromwell. These doubts arose because it was assumed that between his death in September 1658 and the exhumation of January 1661, Cromwell’s body was buried and reburied in several places to protect it from vengeful royalists. The stories suggest that his bodily remains are buried in London, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire or Yorkshire. It continues to be questioned whether the body mutilated at Tyburn was in fact that of Oliver Cromwell.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #47: The Particular Structure of the New Government and the Distribution of Power Among Its Different Parts written by James Madison in 1788. It was argued that there must be total separation between the branches of government per writings by Montesquieu. Madison concludes by implying Montesquieu did not mean there had to be total separation of distinct branches of government only that the same person or group could not directly control the actions of more than one branch. Madison considers separation of powers to provide “checks and balances”. He examines the state constitutions and finds that none have absolute separation of the branches.

Andrew Jackson1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house-painter from England, attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson, but failed and was subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen. He aimed a pistol at Jackson, which misfired. Lawrence pulled out a second pistol, which also misfired. Historians believe the humid weather contributed to the double misfiring. Lawrence was restrained, and legend says that Jackson attacked Lawrence with his cane. Others present, including David Crockett, restrained and disarmed Lawrence.

In 1847 Yerba Buena, (good herb) California was renamed San Francisco. (“I left my heart in Yerba Buena” has a pleasant ring to it!) San Francisco was called Yerba Buena because of a fragrant, mint-like herb (Clinopodium douglasii) that grew abundantly in the area,… and was used for tea and medicine by native Ohlone people and early settlers. The Spanish named the area and its bay anchorage “Yerba Buena,” and the settlement that grew there retained the name until it was officially changed to San Francisco in 1847.
“The name was officially changed to San Francisco on January 30, 1847, for two primary reasons:

International Recognition: The town’s American alcalde (mayor), Lieutenant Washington Allon Bartlett, noted that the name “Yerba Buena” was only known locally. International maps already labeled the area as “San Francisco,” named for the nearby mission and bay; changing the town’s name allowed it to take advantage of this existing global recognition.
A Rivalry with “Francisca”: A competing town being planned nearby (at the mouth of the Sacramento River) was intended to be named Francisca to capitalize on the bay’s fame. By quickly claiming the name “San Francisco,” Bartlett effectively eclipsed the rival town before it could establish its identity. As a result, the other town was renamed Benicia, after the middle name of the same noblewoman it was originally trying to honor.”

The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor was launched in 1862.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born Jan 30, 1882, died April 12, 1945Birthday of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882), thirty-second president of the United States

Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933.

Dick Cheney, born January 30, 1941 Birthday of Richard Bruce (Dick) Cheney (January 30, 1941), vice-president during the administration of George W. Bush (2001-2009). VP Cheney died Nov 3, 2025.

On January 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.

MS Hans Hedtoft1959 – Danish liner, MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and “unsinkable” like the RMS Titanic, struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank, killing all 95 aboard.

January 22

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January 22 is:

National Blonde Brownie Day

Birthday of Francis Bacon (January 22, 1561), English essayist, philosopher who developed the inductive method of inquiry. Called the creator of empiricism, his works established what is called the “scientific method”.

June 17 death of Mumtaz Mihal1666 – Shah Jahan, a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, died at the age of 74. He was the Mongul emperor of India and he built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #42: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered written by James Madison in 1788. Madison examines non-military congressional powers including interstate commerce. In Federalist Paper #42 slavery is mentioned the first time. In order to get the Constitution ratified, the states compromised: the importation of slaves would be allowed for 20 years (ending 1808) and a tax of $10 per head would be imposed on importers. This article considers congressional authority to make treaties, establish a post office, coin money, make standards for weights and measures. Paper #42 is the second-most cited Federalist Paper because of its discussion on interstate commerce. Madison limits his opinions to commerce in which foreign goods are involved…not to all commerce between states.

Birthday of Lord George Gordon Byron(January 22, 1788), English Romantic poet, best known for “She Walks in Beauty”

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Queen Victoria died January 22, 1901Queen Victoria died January 22, 1901, at age 81 after 63 years on the British throne.

1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States called for “peace without victory” in Europe.

Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town” premiered in Princeton, N.J. in 1938.

The Organization of American States suspended Cuba’s membership on January 22, 1962.

1966 – The Beach Boys recorded “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”

Roe v Wade (1973) The Supreme Court of the United States delivered its decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.

LBJ died January 22, 1973January 22, 1973 Death of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States. He became president upon the death of John F. Kennedy. Johnson died at his ranch in Johnson City, Texas, at age 64 from a massive heart attack.

1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, was introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous “1984” television commercial.

K-mart Corp became the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 22, 2002.

2003 The United Nations reported that there was no link between al Queda and Iraq.

January 20

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January 20 is:

National Buttercrunch Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

Penguin Awareness Day

1265 – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducted its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the “Houses of Parliament“.

1503 – Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) founded in Spain to deal with American affairs. It was founded by Queen Isabella I of Castile.

First American military court martial trial began in Cambridge, Mass in 1778. Ordered by George Washington against William Seeds and Samuel Carter for desertion from the Continental Army.

The Kingdom of Great Britain signed a peace treaty with France and Spain in 1783, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).

John Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United States in 1801.

LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the roller coaster in 1885 for the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. There are now over 6500 roller coasters all over the world.

1887 – The United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor, in Honolulu,Hawaii as a naval base.

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded by Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Helen Keller, and Walter Nelles on January 20, 1920. Its stated mission was “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David) became King of the United Kingdom in 1936. He was the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary. He abdicated in December the same year. He was succeeded by his younger brother Albert, (Albert Frederick Arthur George) who chose the regnal name of George VI.

Ronald ReaganTwenty minutes after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981. Iran released 52 American hostages after holding them hostage for 444 days. The hostages were placed on a plane in Tehran as Reagan delivered his inaugural address.

January 18

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January 18 is:

Thesaurus Day (Birthday of Peter Roget)

National Gourmet Coffee Day

Peking Duck Day

Winnie the Pooh Day -The Birthday of Winnie’s creator, A.A. Milne

Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru in 1535. Pizarro is famed for the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he named the “Sandwich Islands” in 1778.

President James Madison, born March 16, 1751Publication of Federalist Paper #40: The Powers of the Convention to Form a Mixed Government Examined and Sustained written by James Madison in 1788. This paper addresses one question “whether the Convention were authorized to frame and propose this mixed Constitution” or was the authorization merely to amend the Articles. Madison argues that to fix the Articles, it was necessary to scrap them and start over. The Convention was given the task of “revising the Articles which shall render them adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the union.” The changes were to be submitted to Congress and presented to the states for ratification.

Birthday of Peter Mark Roget (January 18, 1779), English physician, and author, famous for the Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases

Birthday of Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782), American statesman, lawyer, and orator, senator from Massachusetts. As Secretary of State for John Tyler, he negotiated the Webster-Ashbuton Treaty which resolved several border issues between the U. S. and Canada. He and Henry Clay from Kentucky and John C. Calhoun from South Carolina were known as the “Great Triumvirate”, three statesmen who dominated the U.S. Senate in the 1830’s and 1840’s.

The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrived at Botany Bay. Admiral Arthur Phillip sailed the armed tender HMS Supply into the bay on 18 January, 1788. Two days later the remaining ships of the First Fleet arrived to found the planned penal colony. However, the land was quickly ruled unsuitable for settlement as there was insufficient fresh water.

On January 18, 1861 Georgia joined South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.

January 181862 John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States, died in Richmond, Va., at age 71. Tyler was the first Vice-President to ascend to the Presidency upon the death of the President, William Henry Harrison. He fathered more children than any other president – eight with his first wife and seven with his second wife. When Civil War broke out, Tyler sided with the Confederacy and his death was not officially recognized in Washington, D.C. His coffin was draped with the Confederate Flag.

1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany was proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire is known as the Second Reich to Germans. The Second Reich ended in 1919 with formation of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933).

(The First Reich, was also known as The Holy Roman Empire (a continuation of the Roman Empire in Europe), that started in the lands ruled by Charlemagne (Germany, Austria, Eslovenia, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, eastern France, Northern Italy and western Poland), with a period beginning on the 9th century and finishing in the 19th century.)

Winnie the PoohWinnie the Pooh Day -The Birthday of Winnie’s author A.A. Milne (1882)

Oliver HardyBirthday of Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892), American comic movie actor, one-half of the famed Laurel & Hardy team. He was born Norvell Hardy and added his father’s name “Oliver” to his own prior to 1910.

Cary GrantBirthday of Cary Grant, (January 18, 1904), actor, born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England.

1911 – Eugene B. Ely landed on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.

Danny KayeBirthday of Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky) (January 18, 1913), American actor/comedian/dancer whose performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes and rapid-fire nonsense songs. See BenneynLinda.com/showtunes for my tribute to Danny Kaye.

1919 – Bentley Motors Limited was founded by W. O. Bentley. It was purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931.

1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosted a jazz concert for the first time. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.

January 17

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January 17 is traditionally the “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolutions Day.” It is estimated that 40% of the population makes New Year’s Resolutions and 8% keep them.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

National Hot Buttered Rum Day

395 – Emperor Theodosius I died in Milan; the Roman Empire was re-divided into an eastern and a western half. The Eastern Roman Empire (which became the Byzantine Empire) was centered in Constantinople (now Istanbul) under Arcadius, 12 year-old son of Theodosius, and the Western Roman Empire in Mediolanum (ancient Milan) under Honorius, his brother (aged 10). Theodosius I was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395, the last emperor to rule over the entire Roman Empire.

1377 – Pope Gregory XI moved the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon. The papacy had been centered in Avignon, France since 1309. Seven popes resided in France. Gregory XI died 27 March 1378. The College of Cardinals was pressured into choosing an Italian pope – Urban VI. Soon after, the cardinals regretted selecting Urban and returned to Avignon (called the Western Schism) and elected a French Pope, the antipope, Clement VII. The church had two popes until 1418.

born January 17, 1706Birthday of Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706), Founding Father of America. He was a leading printer, statesman, inventor and diplomat. Author of “Poor Richard’s Almanac“. Inventor of the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, and a carriage odometer.

Captain James Cook and his crew on the HMS Resolution circumnavigated the globe at an extreme southern latitude, becoming one of the first to cross the Antarctic Circle on this date in 1773.

Birthday of David Lloyd George (January 17, 1863), British Prime Minister 1916-1922. He is the only Prime Minister to have been Welsh and to have spoken English as a second language.

1873 – A group of Modoc warriors defeated the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold (now called Captain Jack’s Stronghold) in Northern California. Part of Lava Beds National Monument today.

Birthday of Mack Sennett (born Mikall Sinnott) (January 17, 1880), movie creator (Keystone Kops), innovator of slapstick comedy in film.

Hayes, died January 171893 Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States (from 1877 to 1881), died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70 of complications of a heart attack.

Birthday of Al Capone (January 17, 1899), the American gangster and prohibition era crime leader.

On Jan. 17, 1912, English explorer Robert Falcon Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that they had been preceded by Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott and his four comrades all died from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold.

Commander Taussig of the U.S. Navy took possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean for the United States in 1899. It was intended to be used as a telegraph cable station. Today it is the location of the Wake Island Airfield, managed by the United States Air Force, and a missile facility operated by the U. S. Army. It is part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument

1917 – The United States paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.

U.S. Territories

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution took effect on January 17, 1920 (Prohibition) when the Volstead Act went into effect. It was repealed in 1933 with ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Birthday of Betty White (January 17, 1922), Actress (“The Golden Girls“, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show“, “Hot in Cleveland“)

Popeye1929 – Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Segar, first appeared in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.

I’m Popeye the Sailor Man,
I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.
I’m strong to the finich (sic)
Cause I eats me spinach.
I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.

1949 – The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first aired. It was a domestic comedy featuring the life of a Jewish family liiving in the Bronx. It was written by, directed by, and starred Gertrude Berg.

1961 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warned against the accumulation of power by the “military-industrial complex”.

Michelle ObamaBirthday of Michelle Obama (January 17, 1964), wife of Barack Obama; First Lady 2009-Jan 20, 2017.

Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning of January 17, 1991. Iraq fired 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.