Tidbits of History

January 27 is:

Chocolate Cake Day

Punch the Clock Day

Birthday of Wolgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756), Austrian concert pianist and world-renowned composer.

The University of Georgia was founded in 1785, the first public university in the United States.

In 1825 the U.S. Congress approved Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.

Birthday of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 27, 1832), English mathematician and author who wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, author of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.

Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp in 1880.

Birthday of Jerome Kern (January 27, 1885), American composer who wrote the score for the musical version of Edna Ferber’s novel “Show Boat“. The lyrics were written by Oscar Hammerstein II. Songs included “Ole Man River” and “Make Believe“. Show Boat was made into a movie three times: 1929 starring Laura LaPlante (a semi “talkie” movie”); 1936 starring Irene Dunne; and 1951 starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel.

Birthday of John Roberts (January 27, 1955), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, nominated by President George W Bush.

1956 – Elvis Presley released “Heartbreak Hotel.” It was written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton. A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the lyrics. Axton presented the song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley agreed to record it, and did so on January 10, 1956, in a session with his band, The Blue Moon Boys, including guitarist Chet Atkins, and pianist Floyd Cramer. It was released January 27th.

1967 – Astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo I spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Fla.

1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially ended the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde was killed in action, becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.

2010 – Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPad.

January 25 is:

National Irish Coffee Day

Opposite Day

Birthday of Robert Burns (January 25, 1627), celebrated in Scotland, England, and Newfoundland.

O my Luve’s like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry:

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee well, my only Luve
And fare thee well, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.

Shays’ Rebellion of 1787: The rebellion’s largest confrontation, outside the Springfield Armory, resulted in the killing of four rebels and the wounding of twenty. In 1787, Shays’ rebels marched on the federal Springfield Armory in an unsuccessful attempt to seize its weaponry and overthrow the government. The federal government found itself unable to finance troops to put down the rebellion, and it was consequently put down by the Massachusetts State militia and a privately funded local militia. The widely held view was that the Articles of Confederation needed to be reformed as the country’s governing document, and the events of the rebellion served as a catalyst for the Constitutional Convention and the creation of the new government.

Publication of Federalist Paper #44: Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States written by James Madison in 1788. In this article, Madison discusses the Constitution’s limitation on the powers of the states. The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution on the basis of state sovereignty. Madison explains the necessity of having a “supreme law of the land” and justifies its reserving of some, enumerated powers to the federal government, many of which were in the Articles of Confederation. He discusses the “Necessary and Proper Clause” and the “Supremacy Clause”. He also gives reason to the necessity of state legislative and judicial authorities as well as federal to swear by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution.

“The Wedding March”” by Felix Mendelssohn was played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia in 1858, and became a popular wedding recessional.

Birthday of W. Somerset Maugham (January 25, 1874), English novelist/playwright who penned The Razor’s Edge and Of Human Bondage.

In 1890 Nellie Bly completed her round-the-world journey in 72 days.

On Jan. 25, 1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service.

On January 25, 1959, American Airlines was the first transcontinental commercial airline to offer flights from Los Angeles to New York. Tickets cost $301.

January 24 is:

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Compliment Day

Connecticut colony organized under Fundamental Orders in 1639.

Anniversary of the discovery of gold in California in 1848. James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, starting the famous Gold Rush which brought 300,000 people to California, called “forty-niners”. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy, and the sudden population increase allowed California to go rapidly to statehood, in the Compromise of 1850.

1902 Denmark sold Virgin Islands to USA for $25 million in gold. The Virgin Islands are divided between the United States and the United Kingdom. The U.S.Virgin Islands consist of 4 larger islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Water Island, and some 50 smaller islets and cays. The total area of the U.S.Virgin Islands is 133 square miles.

On January 24, 1922 “Eskimo Pie” patented by Christian K Nelson of Iowa, an immigrant from Denmark. Originally called “I-Scream Bars”. The name Eskimo Pie was suggested by the wife of Russell Stover, a local chocolate producer. The dessert received its current name (Edy’s Pie) in 2020 when Dreyer’s chose to drop the Eskimo Pie name, saying that Eskimo is a derogatory term.

The Russian city of St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad January 24, 1924 in honor of late revolutionary leader, Vladimir Lenin. The name reverted to St. Petersburg in 1991.

1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

On Jan. 24, 1965 Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.

1984 – The first Apple Macintosh went on sale.

2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially began operation. It currently employs 240,000 people.

January 23 is:

National Pie Day Ancient Egyptians used to make pie. Romans had pie in their feasts. And even America’s beloved apple pie came to us via the Dutch! Savory or sweet, there’s something special about baking delicious goodness in a crust. According to the American Pie Council, the first pies were made by the ancient Romans, and the very first published recipe was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie.

National Handwriting Day

Measure Your Feet Day

Birthday of John Hancock (January 23, 1737), American Revolutionary statesman. He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence.

Publication of Federalist Paper #43: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered written by James Madison in 1788. Madison discusses several issues not brought up in previous articles including patent and copyright laws, the national seat of government, the defining of treason, the process for amending the Constitution, the admission of new states, and the right of the federal government to interfere in a state (when requested by that state’s executive or legislature) where insurrection occurs.

Georgetown University was established Jan 23, 1789 in present-day Washington, D.C.

Birthday of Edouard Manet (January 23, 1832), French Impressionist painter.A sample of his work can be viewed at www.manet.org

Elizabeth Blackwell was awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York in 1849, becoming the United States’ first female doctor.

The first bridge over the Mississippi River opened in 1855 at what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crossing made today by the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.

On January 23, 1897, the body of Elva Zona Heaster was found at her home. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.

New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on this date in 1932.

1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sold the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renamed it the “Frisbee”.

Tony Bennett recorded “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in New York in 1962 for Columbia Records.

1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, was ratified.

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

On Jan. 23, 1973, President Richard Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.

In 1986 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in downtown Cleveland, inducted its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

January 21 is:

National Hugging Day

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Birthday of Ethan Allen (January 21, 1738), American Revolutionary commander, one of the founders of Vermont, organizer of the “Green Mountain Boys.”

On Jan 21, 1793, after being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine.

1799 Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccination was introduced. Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by one of two virus variants, variola major and variola minor. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977 and the World Health Organization certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980. The risk of death following contracting the disease was about 30%, with higher rates among babies. Often those who survived had extensive scarring of their skin and some were left blind.

Birthday of John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813), American surveyor and army officer who made official expeditions into the American West. See January 31, 1848 for details of his court-martial. He became the first candidate of the Radical Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, campaigning against the faction supporting Abraham Lincoln.

1813 Pineapple introduced to Hawaii. Originally cultivated in South America.

Birthday of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson (January 21, 1824), American Confederate general; famous for strategy and tactics in the Civil War. He got his nickname of “Stonewall” at the First Battle of Bull Runn on July 21, 1861 when Brig Gen. Barnard Elliott Bee, Jr., trying to encourage his own troops to re-form said “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.”

1861 Five Southerners resigned from the U.S. Senate, including Jefferson Finis Davis of Mississippi, the future president of the Confederacy.

On January 21, 1905, Christian Dior , French fashion designer and creator of the “New Look” in 1947, was born.

Anniversary of the death of Vladimir Lenin on January 21, 1924, founder of the Russian Communist Party, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. He was responsible for the deaths of between 6-8 million people. Following Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin began a purge of his rivals for the leadership of the Soviet Union. (It is estimated that the death toll directly attributable to Stalin’s rule amounted to some 20 million lives, not counting the war dead of WW II.)

1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally took place. From its inception in 1911 by Prince Albert I, this rally, under difficult and demanding conditions, was an important means of testing the latest improvements and innovations to automobiles.

Anniversary of the death of George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) in 1950, British author best known for “Animal Farm” and “1984”.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada. Excluded were military deserters and convicted civilian protestors who had engaged in acts of violence.

War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard on January 21, 1999, intercepted a ship with over 4,300 kg (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.

January 19 is:

National Popcorn Day Although popcorn is typically thought of as a snack food today, popcorn was once a popular breakfast food. Ahead of its time and very likely a role model for breakfast cereals to come, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, popcorn was eaten just as we eat cereal today.

Birthday of James Watt (January 19, 1736), Scottish engineer and inventor who developed a separate condensing vessel for the steam engine.

Publication of Federalist Paper #41: General View of the Powers Conferred by The Constitution written by James Madison in 1788. Federalist No. 41 – 46 examine the powers given to the general government and address concerns about the divisions of powers.
Madison looks at the powers given to the federal government under the Constitution and asks if these powers are necessary and proper; he then examines if these powers in the aggregate are dangerous to the individual states. He examines the meaning of “general welfare”.

Robert E Lee Day (January 19, 1807), Birthday of Robert Edward Lee, American soldier, commander of the army of Northern Virginia; Honored on this date in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial is in Arlington, Virginia, and was once Lee’s home. It overlooks the Potomac River and the National Mall in Washington, D.C. During the Civil War, the grounds of the mansion were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemetery, in part to ensure that Lee would never again be able to return to his home.

Birthday of Edgar Allen Poe (January 19, 1809), American poet, short-story writer. Wrote “Annabelle Lee”.

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

Also wrote “The Raven”

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

Birthday of Paul Cézanne (1839), French artist and Post-Impressionist painter.

1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.

The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations on January 19, 1920.

1922 Geological survey says US oil supply would be depleted in 20 years.

1935 – Coopers Inc. in Chicago sells the world’s first briefs. Originally called the “Jockey”, 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction.

On Jan. 19, 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

1977 – Snow fell in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snow has fallen.

1978- The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003.

1981 US and Iran sign agreement to release 52 American hostages.

The Apple Lisa (1983), the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.