On 11 January 1964, the US Surgeon General issued its landmark report about the dangers of cigarettes.
Image courtesy of Pixabay, CC0.
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.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
J
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.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Fuller Brush Company Logo, fair use.
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.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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).
Image CC BY-SA 3.0 via wikimedia commons.
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.
Image public domain, originally published by
On 14 January 1794. Dr. Jesse Bennett, of Edom, Virginia, performed the first successful caesarean section. The patient was his wife.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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.
Jan 15, 1943. The world’s largest office building with 6.5 million square feet of usable space, the Pentagon is located in Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, and serves as headquarters for the Department of Defense.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Aerial view of the Pentagon, Arlington, VA
Jan 16, 1883. The US Congress passed a bill creating the civil service.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Jan 16, 1976. ABC show hosted by brother-and-sister act Donny and Marie Osmond. There were seven other talented siblings in the Osmond family who appeared on the show at times along with regulars Jim Connell and Hank Garcia. The sister-and-brother team could sing, dance and perform on ice skates.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Jan 16, 1909. Musical comedy star famous for her belting voice and brassy style. Born Ethel Agnes Zimmerman on Jan 16, 1909 (or 1912— the date changed the older she got, but most sources say 1909), at Queens, NY. Died Feb 15, 1984, at New York, NY.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Jan 16, 1991. Allied forces launched a major air offensive against Iraq to begin the Gulf War. The strike was designed to destroy Iraqi air defenses and command, control and communication centers. As Desert Shield became Desert Storm, the world was able to see and hear for the first time an initial engagement of war as CNN broadcasters, stationed at Baghdad, covered the attack live.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Jan 16, 1973. Anniversary of National Nothing Day, an event created by newspaperman Harold Pullman Coffin and first observed “to provide Americans with one national day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.” Since 1975, though many other events have been listed on this day, lighthearted traditional observance of Coffin’s idea has continued. Coffin, a native of Reno, NV, died at Capitola, CA, Sept 12, 1981, at the age of 76.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com user Geralt, CC0.
Jan 16, 1919. When Nebraska became the 36th state to ratify the prohibition amendment, the 18th Amendment became part of the US Constitution. One year later, Jan 16, 1920, the 18th Amendment took effect and the sale of alcoholic beverages became illegal in the US, with the Volstead Act providing for enforcement. This was the first time that an amendment to the Constitution dealt with a social issue.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Jan 16, 1786. The legislature of Virginia adopted a religious freedom statute that protected Virginians against any requirement to attend or support any church and against discrimination. This statute, which had been drafted by Thomas Jefferson and introduced by James Madison, later was the model for the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Image Courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net
