On 9 January 1793, A Frenchman, Jean-Pierre François Blanchard, made the first manned free-balloon flight in America’s history at Philadelphia, PA. The event was watched by President George Washington and many other high government officials. The hydrogen-filled balloon rose to a height of about 5,800 feet, traveled some 15 miles and landed 46 minutes later in New Jersey. Reportedly Blanchard had one passenger on the flight— a little black dog.
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Plough Monday is the first Monday after Twelfth Day (Epiphany) when work is resumed on the farm after the 12 Days of Christmas.
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On 9 January 1905, guards at St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace opened fire on some 150,000 unarmed protesting workers, killing at least 200. This event was the major catalyst for revolution in Russia that year, prompting more strikes and uprisings.
Image, public domain via wikipedia.org, photographer unknown, crowd facing armed soldiers in Moscow, an event that led to the Revolution of 1905.
Logo for Masterpiece Theatre, located via Wikipedia.org. Fair Use.
Jan 10, 1971. Television at its best, PBS’s long-running anthology series consists of many highly acclaimed original and adapted dramatizations. Many are produced by the BBC. Alistair Cooke, Russell Baker and Laura Linney have hosted the program. The first presentation was “The First Churchills.” Other notable programs include “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” and “Elizabeth R” (1972); “Upstairs Downstairs” (1974– 77); “I, Claudius” (1978); “The Jewel in the Crown” (1984); “The Buccaneers” (1995); and “White Teeth” (2002). The title of the series is now “Masterpiece.”
On 10 January 1946, on the 26th anniversary of the establishment of the unsuccessful League of Nations, delegates from 51 nations met at London, 
England, for the first meeting of the UN General Assembly.
On 10 January 1878, Senator A.A. Sargent of California, a close friend of Susan B. Anthony, introduced into the US Senate a women’s suffrage amendment known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. It wasn’t until 26 August 1920, 42 years later, that the amendment was signed into law.
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Jan 11, 1755. American statesman, an author of The Federalist papers, first secretary of the Treasury, born at British West Indies. Engaged in a duel with Aaron Burr the morning of July 11, 1804, at Weehawken, NJ. Mortally wounded there and died July 12, 1804.
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Jan 11, 1815. Canadian statesman, first prime minister of Canada. Born at Glasgow, Scotland, he died June 6, 1891, at Ottawa. His birth anniversary is observed in Canada.
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On 11 January 1964, the US Surgeon General issued its landmark report about the dangers of cigarettes.
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Jan 12, 1971. Based on the success of the British comedy “Till Death Us Do Part,” Norman Lear created CBS’s controversial sitcom “All in the Family.”
The series was the first of its kind to realistically portray the prevailing issues and taboos of its time with a wickedly humorous bent. From bigotry to birth control, few topics were considered too sacred to discuss on air. Ultraconservative Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O’Connor) held court from his recliner, spewing invective at any who disagreed with him. Jean Stapleton portrayed Archie’s dutiful wife, Edith. Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner rounded out the cast as Archie’s liberal daughter and son-in-law, Gloria and Mike “Meathead” Stivic.
The series had a 12-year run.
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an 12, 1966. ABC’s crime-fighting show gained a place in Nielsen’s top 10 ratings in its first season. The series was based on the DC Comics characters created by Bob Kane in 1939. Adam West starred as millionaire Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego, Batman. Burt Ward costarred as Dick Grayson/ Robin, the Boy Wonder. An assortment of villains guest-starred each week, including Cesar Romero as the Joker, Eartha Kitt and Julie Newmar as Catwoman, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. Other stars making memorable appearances included Liberace, Vincent Price, Milton Berle, Tallulah Bankhead and Ethel Merman. The series played up its comic-strip roots with innovative and sharply skewed camera angles, bright bold colors and wild graphics.
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Jan 12, 1981. The popular ABC prime-time serial focused on the high-flying exploits of the Denver-based Carrington family. The series had a weekly wardrobe budget of $ 10,000, with many elegant costumes designed by Nolan Miller. In addition to following the juicy story lines, many people tuned in worldwide to view the palatial mansions and lavish sets. John Forsythe played patriarch Blake Carrington, with Linda Evans as his wife, Krystle. Joan Collins played Alexis, Blake’s scheming ex-wife and arch business rival.
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Jan 12, 1932. Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was the first woman elected to the US Senate. Born in 1878, Caraway was appointed to the Senate on Nov 13, 1931, to fill out the term of her husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway, who had died a few days earlier. On Jan 12, 1932, she won a special election to fill the remaining months of his term. Subsequently elected to two more terms, she served in the Senate until January 1945. She was an adept and tireless legislator (once introducing 43 bills on the same day) who worked for women’s rights (once cosponsoring an equal rights amendment) and supported New Deal policies. She died Dec 21, 1950, at Falls Church, VA.
Jan 12, 1876. American author of more than 50 books: short stories, novels and travel stories of the sea and of the far north, many marked by brutal realism. His most widely known work is The Call of the Wild, the great dog story published in 1903. London was born at San Francisco, CA. He died of gastrointestinal uremia on Nov 22, 1916, near Santa Rosa, CA. Read more at http://london.sonoma.edu/.
Image: Public Domain, originally published by L C Page and Company Boston 1903 – http://www.archive.org/details/littlepilgrimage00harkuoft located via Wikipedia.org.
Born at Edwardstone, Suffolk, on 12 January 1588 (Old Style), Puritan John Winthrop is renowned for his leadership in the migration to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the key role he played in developing its character and its relationship with neighboring colonies and indigenous people. Father of 16 children, most notably son John, who was governor of the Connecticut Colony. Winthrop served 13 annual terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from his arrival in 1630 to his death on 26 March1649, at Boston. He kept a detailed journal, which is now considered the foremost historical record of the era.
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Jan 13, 1885. Founder of the Fuller Brush Company, born at Kings County, NS, Canada. In 1906 the young brush salesman went into business on his own, making brushes at a bench between the furnace and the coal bin in his sister’s basement. Died at Hartford, CT, Dec 4, 1973.
Lee De Forest
On 13 January 1910, radio pioneer and electron tube inventor Lee De Forest arranged the world’s first radio broadcast to the public at New York City. He succeeded in broadcasting the voice of Enrico Caruso along with other stars of the Metropolitan Opera to several receiving locations in the city where listeners with earphones marveled at wireless music from the air. Though only a few were equipped to listen, it was the first broadcast to reach the public and the beginning of a new era in which wireless radio communication became almost universal.
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Jan 13. St. Knut’s Day (Tjugondag Knut, or “The 20th Day of Knut”) marks the end of the Christmas season in Sweden— with parties, song and the dismantling of the yule tree (which traditionally is thrown out the window). Named for Knut (or Canute) IV, also Knut the Holy, former king and patron saint of Denmark. Although St. Knut’s feast day is Jan 19, Sweden and Finland have conflated observances of Knut IV with that of his nephew and saint Knut Lavard (feast day is Jan 7).
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Tyvendedagen or “Twentieth Day” marks the end of the Christmas festivities in Norway.
Jan 14, 1952. NBC program that started the morning news format we know today. Captained by Dave Garroway, the show was segmented with bits and pieces of news, sports, weather, interviews and other features that were repeated so that viewers did not have to stop their morning routine to watch. The segments were brief and to the point. Sylvester Weaver devised this concept to capitalize on television’s unusual qualities. What used to take three hours to broadcast live across the country was done in two with videotape on a delayed basis. The addition of chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs in 1953 helped push ratings up. There have been a number of hosts over the years, from John Chancellor and Hugh Downs to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel and Matt Lauer. Female hosts (originally called “Today Girls”) have included Betsy Palmer, Florence Henderson, Barbara Walters, Jane Pauley, Katie Couric and Meredith Viera.
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On 14 January 1794. Dr. Jesse Bennett, of Edom, Virginia, performed the first successful caesarean section. The patient was his wife.
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Jan 14, 1784. Anniversary of the act that officially ended the American Revolution and established the US as a sovereign power. On Jan 14, 1784, the Continental Congress, meeting at Annapolis, MD, ratified the Treaty of Paris, thus fulfilling the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776.
Elizabeth Short FBI mugshot
Jan 15, 1947. On this day, the body of Elizabeth Short was found in an empty lot in Los Angeles, CA. Short, nicknamed the Black Dahlia for her striking looks, had been murdered and mutilated, and her body’s discovery sparked a media frenzy. Although dozens of men (and women) confessed to the crime, those confessions were discounted. The murder remains Los Angelos, California’s most famous unsolved murder and one that evokes the noirish aura of postwar Los Angelos’s corruption and crime problems.
Jan 15, 1967. The Green Bay Packers won the first NFL– AFL World Championship Game, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 35– 10, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Packers quarterback Bart Starr was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Pro football’s title game later became known as the Super Bowl.
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Jan 15, 1929. Black civil rights leader, minister, advocate of nonviolence and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1964). Born at Atlanta, GA, he was assassinated at Memphis, TN, Apr 4, 1968. After his death many states and territories observed his birthday as a holiday. In 1983 Congress approved HR 3706, “A bill to amend Title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr, a legal public holiday.” Signed by the president on Nov 2, 1983, it became Public Law 98– 144. The law sets the third Monday in January for observance of King’s birthday. First observance was Jan 20, 1986.
