Jan 19, 1809. American poet and story writer, called “America’s most famous man of letters.” Born at Boston, MA, he was orphaned in dire poverty in 1811 and was raised by Virginia merchant John Allan. In 1836 he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. A magazine editor of note, he is best remembered for his poetry (especially “The Raven”) and for his tales of suspense. Died at Baltimore, MD, Oct 7, 1849.
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How many watts do you need to run your home? How many watts is your furnace using? What is the wattage of that light bulb?
WATT. The unit of measure for electrical and mechanical power is named for James Watt. He was a Scottish inventor who contributed significantly to the Industrial Revolution with his improvements to the steam engine and other inventions. Watt died on 19 August 1819. Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/watt_james.shtml.
Image: Public Domain, Source: The Popular Science Monthly, 1877
Jan 19, 1943. Possibly the most highly regarded white female blues singer of all time, Janis Joplin was born at Port Arthur, TX. Joplin’s appearance with Big Brother and the Holding Company at the Monterey International Pop Festival in August 1967 launched her to superstar status. Among her recording hits were “Get It While You Can,” “Piece of My Heart” and “Ball and Chain.” She died of a heroin overdose Oct 4, 1970, at Hollywood, CA, at the age of 27.
Jan 19, 1918. Born at Arkansas City, AR, the grandson of a slave, John H. Johnson rose from abject poverty to become one of the most influential black businessmen in America. In 1942 he launched the first of his successful magazines, Negro Digest, which reached a circulation of 50,000 within eight months. In 1945 came Ebony, followed by Jet in 1951. By the time of his death at Chicago, IL, on Aug 8, 2005, Johnson’s company was the world’s largest African-American owned-and-operated publishing operation. He served the US as goodwill ambassador and received numerous honors, the most important of which was the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 for “building self-respect in the black community.”
A commemorative stamp was released in his honor in 2012.
Jan 19, 1839. Post-Impressionist painter, born at Aix-en-Provence, France. Seeking to “treat nature by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone,” Cézanne’s portraits, still lifes, and landscapes are a seminal bridge from the Romantics and Impressionists to the Fauves, Cubists and later modernists. He created such masterpieces as The Bathers (1875), The Card Players (1892) and Compotier, Pitcher and Fruit (1892– 94). Cézanne died Oct 23, 1906, at Aix, from pneumonia after painting outside in the rain.
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Jan 19, 1807. Greatest military leader of the Confederacy, son of Revolutionary War general Henry (Light-Horse Harry) Lee. His surrender Apr 9, 1865, to Union general Ulysses S. Grant brought an end to the Civil War. Born at Westmoreland County, VA, he died at Lexington, VA, Oct 12, 1870. His birthday is observed in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee. Observed on third Monday in January in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi. Source: http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/robert-e-lee.html.
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Jan 20, 1896. Comedian George Burns was born at New York City. He began in vaudeville without much success until he teamed up with Gracie Allen, who became his wife. As Burns and Allen, the two had a long career on radio, in film and with their hit TV show, “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” Later he played the roles of God and the Devil in the Oh, God! movies. He lived to be 100 and died Mar 9, 1996, at Los Angeles, CA.
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The 20th Amendment provides that “The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January . . . and the terms of their successors shall then begin . . .” A quadrennial event and holiday in the District of Columbia.
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Jan 20, 1981. The Iran hostage crisis ended with the release of 52 US citizens after 444 days of captivity. The deal was announced minutes after the swearing in of President Ronald Reagan. Read more and watch clips at https://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/
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an 21, 1738. Revolutionary War hero and leader of the Vermont “Green Mountain Boys,” born at Litchfield, CT.
Ethan Allen is best remembered for his capture of British Fort Ticonderoga at Lake Champlain, NY, on May 10, 1775, which was the first major American victory of the Revolutionary War. He was captured by British forces on Sept 25, 1775, while attempting to capture Montreal and was a prisoner of war until 1778 when his release was secured in exchange for a British officer. Upon his return, Allen was an ardent supporter of Vermont’s separation from New York for independent statehood, although this goal was not achieved until 1791, two years after his death at Burlington, VT, on Feb 12, 1789.
Image courtesy of Flickr.com, public domain.
Jan 21, 1976. The supersonic Concorde airplane was put into service by Britain and France. The Concorde ended flights on Oct 24, 2003— bringing an end to supersonic air travel.
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Kiwanis Club International was founded on 21 January 1915. The first Kiwanis Club was chartered at Detroit, Michigan.
Jan 21. Because hugging is something everyone can do and because it is a healthful form of touching, this day should be spent hugging anyone who will accept a hug, especially family and friends.
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Jan 22, 1944. A predominately American Allied force of 36,000 men was landed at Anzio on Italy’s western coast. Commanding officer John P. Lucas failed to take the initiative but instead fortified his original position and thus possibly missed an early opportunity to retake Rome. The Allies entered Rome on June 4, 1944.
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Jan 22–28. Clean Out Your Inbox Week, observed annually the last business week of January, urges businesses and individuals to cure their e-mail “e-ddictions” and clean out their e-mail inboxes. A new year brings new beginnings— it’s a great time to adopt healthy e-mail habits, which make life stress-free and work more productive. People across the world have benefited from COYIW, which has been recognized by countless media outlets internationally.
Graphic made with Pixabay.com images, courtesy of users “pillipechazal” and “open-clipart-vectors,” CC0.
Jan 22, 1968. Actually the name of this NBC comedy was “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” Funny men Dan Rowan and Dick Martin hosted the show, but they seemed staid next to the show’s other regulars, most of whom were young unknowns, including Dennis Allen, Chelsea Brown, Judy Carne, Ruth Buzzi, Ann Elder, Richard Dawson, Teresa Graves, Arte Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Alan Sues, Jo Anne Worley and Lily Tomlin. The show moved fast from gag to gag, with heads popping out of bushes or doors in the big wall. The show brought a new energy to comedy as well as new phrases to our vocabulary (“ You bet your sweet bippy,” “Sock it to me”). The last telecast was May 14, 1973.
Images: NBC publicity photos, public domain.
Jan 22. Spanish deacon and martyr who died AD 304. Patron saint of wine growers. Old weather lore says if there is sun on this day, good wine crops may be expected in the ensuing season.
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The 20th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on 23 January 1933 and changed the inauguration date of the US President from 4 March to 20 January. It also made the vice-president the successor if the president-elect were to die before being sworn in.
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The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on 23 January 1964 and eliminated poll taxes and other taxes as a pre-requisite for voting.
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Jan 23, 1849. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive an MD degree. The native of Bristol, England, was awarded her degree by the Medical Institution of Geneva, NY.
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Jan 23, 1737. American patriot and statesman, first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hancock served as president of the Continental Congress (1775– 77) and served as Massachusetts governor for nine terms beginning in 1780.
Because of his conspicuous signature on the Declaration, Hancock’s name has become part of the American language, referring to any handwritten signature. Born at Braintree, MA, he died at Quincy, MA, Oct 8, 1793. (Some sources cite Hancock’s Old Style birth date of Jan 12, 1736/ 7.)
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.
In honor of John Hancock’s birthday and famous signature on the Declaration of Independence, National Handwriting Day is on 23 January 2017.
Jan 23. First observed in 1975 as a day to set aside and celebrate pie! Today is a day to maintain America’s pie heritage, pass on the tradition of pie making and promote America’s love affair with pie.
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Jan 24. Belly Laugh Day is a day to celebrate the great gift of laughter. Smiling and laughing are permitted, encouraged and celebrated. How? Smile, throw your arms in the air and laugh out loud. Join the Belly Laugh Bounce Around the World, as people from Antarctica to Hawaii in kitchens, schools, hospitals, offices, plants and stores stop at 1: 24 PM (local time) to bounce a smile and a laugh around the world. More information at http://www.bellylaughday.com/.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com CC0.
Jan 24, 1848. James W. Marshal, an employee of John Sutter, accidentally discovered gold while building a sawmill near Coloma, California. Efforts to keep the discovery secret failed, and the gold rush of 1849 was under way.
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