Tag Archives: Tidbits for this day in history

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.

January 16 is:

National Fig Newton Day Fig Newtons came into existence when, in the 19th century, physicians began to promote an increase in biscuits and fruit in one’s diet as a remedy for digestive problems.

International Hot and Spicy Food Day

National Nothing Day During this day, people are not judged for lazing around all day but rather appreciate the peace of mind that comes with not being actively involved in their work.

On January 16, 1547, Ivan IV, known as “Ivan, the Terrible“, was crowned Czar of Russia. When Ivan ruled Russia (1547-1584), “terrible” was a direct translation of the Russian word “grozny”, which means to inspire fear or terror through strength and heroism. Unfortunately for Ivan, the word evolved to become synonymous with evil.

The Scottish Parliament ratified the Act of Union in 1707, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.

Virginia enacted the Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. It was authored by Thomas Jefferson and was the foundation for part of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Publication of Federalist Paper #39: The Conformity of the Plan to Republican Principles written by James Madison in 1788. Madison explains the nature of a republic and states the three rules which much apply: What is its foundation? What are the sources of its power? and Who has the authority to make changes? and asks if the proposed Constitution is federal (a confederation of States) or national (a consolidation of States).

In 1883 Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service.

On this date in 1908 Ethel Merman, musical-comedy star was born.

Prohibition began as the 18th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution was enacted in 1920. Connecticut and Rhode Island never ratified it.

In 1936, the first photo-finish camera was installed at a U.S. racetrack. The electric eye was used for races at Hialeah, Florida.

Actress Carole Lombard, age 33, died in a plane crash near Las Vegas in 1942. She had been married to Clark Gable.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force in London in 1944.

“Hello, Dolly!” (musical) starring Carol Channing opened on Broadway in 1964, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.

On January 16, 1991, President George H. W. Bush announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

January 15 is:

National Hat Day According to Today in Science: In 1797, the top hat was first worn in England by James Heatherington, a Strand haberdasher in London. An issue of the Times of that period records that when he left his shop with his extraordinary headwear, a crowd of onlookers assembled, which degenerated into a shoving match. Consequently, Heatherington was summoned to appear in court before the Lord Mayor and fined £50 for going about in a manner “calculated to frighten timid people.” Within a month, he was overwhelmed with orders for the new top hats.

1777 – The people of New Connecticut (now the state of Vermont) declared their independence.

Publication of Federalist Paper #38: Concerning the Difficulties of the Convention in Devising a Proper Form of Government written by James Madison on January 15, 1788. Madison comments that those most objecting to the proposed Constitution are not offering alternatives to replacing the Articles of Confederation. In the meantime, the current congress, without proper authorization, is amassing a “GREAT and INDEPENDENT fund of revenue and passing it into the hands of a SINGLE BODY of men, i.e. the Congress who can RAISE TROOPS to an INDEFINITE NUMBER and appropriate money to their support for an INDEFINITE PERIOD OF TIME.” The new Constitution will not allow any of these dangers to the people and must be acted upon. This article also addresses the question of slavery being allowed for another twenty years – under the Articles there was no such time limit and would have been permitted forever.

1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolized the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).

1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, was incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.

1895 – Tchaikovsky‘s ballet “Swan Lake” premiered, St Petersburg. It tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. See Bedtime Short Stories.com for a synopsis of the story,

Anniversary of the death of Mathew B Brady in 1896. American photographer, made the first photographic war records on the battlefields of the Civil War.

According to Today in Science: In 1919, in a Boston molasses processing plant, an immense vat burst, flooding its contents into the street with a heavy wave of molasses moving at a speed of an estimated 35 mph. The disaster killed 21 and injured 150 people. (Compare the tragedy at the Horseshoe brewery, London, when on the night of 17 Oct 1814, the metal bands of an immense beer brewing vessel snapped releasing a tidal wave of 3,555 barrel of Porter beer, which swept away the brewery walls, flooded nearby basements, collapsed several tenements and resulted in eight deaths.

On Jan. 15, 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Baptist minister who led the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and ’60’s with his doctrine of nonviolent resistance, was born.

1943 – The Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, was dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

On January 15, 1967, the first Super Bowl was played as the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, 35-10.

1974 – “Happy Days” began an 11 year run on ABC (Happy Days Theme Song)

1981 – “Hill Street Blues” premiered on NBC-TV.

2001 – Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, went online.

January 14 is:

Dress Up Your Pet Day Was started in 2009 by celebrity pet lifestyle expert and animal behaviorist Colleen Paige. It celebrates pets and helps to support the pet fashion community.

The Fundamental Orders, the first written constitution that created a government, was adopted in Connecticut on January 14, 1639.
The document was inspired by Thomas Hooker’s sermon of May 31, 1638 and provided the framework for the government of Connecticut colony from 1639 to 1662.

1690 – Clarinet was invented, in Nurnberg, Germany, by Johann Christoph Denner. The clarinet was introduced to London by Bach in 1751.

Birthday of Benedict Arnold (January 14, 1741), American patriot/traitor.

Revolutionary War ended; Congress ratified Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Revolutionary War and establishing the United States as a sovereign nation on January 14, 1784. Representing the United States were Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams. Article I states “Britain acknowledges the United States (New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia) to be free, sovereign, and independent states, and that the British Crown and all heirs and successors relinquish claims to the Government, property, and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof”.

Birthday of Albert Schweitzer (January 14, 1875), author and medical missionary.

When Mohammed VI (b: 14 Jan 1861-1926) became Sultan of Turkey in 1918, he had been a prisoner for fifty-three years, having been put under strict house arrest at the age of four. Arrest was not uncommon in some countries for royal family members who might aspire to the throne and thereby present a threat to the current ruler. Mohammed went from prison to throne.

From Asimov, Isaac. Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts. New York, Bell Publishing Company, 1981

Mohammed VI was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 4 July 1918 until 1 November, 1922 when the Ottoman Empire was dissolved, after World War I, and was replaced by the Republic of Turkey, on 29 October 1923.

US Supreme court ruled in 1878 that race separation on trains was unconstitutional.

Henry Ford introduced an assembly line for Model T Fords in 1914.

On January 14, 1954, the Hudson Motor Car Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form the American Motors Corporation.