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.)
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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/.
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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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Jan 24, 1862. Born at New York, NY, author Edith Wharton in her stories and novels specialized in intense examinations of upper-class Manhattan society at the end of the 19th century. Major novels include The House of Mirth (1905) and The Age of Innocence (1920), which won a Pulitzer Prize. Ethan Frome (1911) departed from the upper-class society milieu to depict a grim New England love triangle and its tragic consequences. Wharton died at Pavillon Colombe, France, Aug 11, 1937.
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Jan 24, 1949. Actor, comedian (“ Saturday Night Live,” Animal House, The Blues Brothers), born at Chicago, Illinois, USA. Died Mar 5, 1982, at Hollywood, California.
On 25 January 1984, Apple’s Macintosh computer went on sale this day for $ 2,495. It wasn’t until mid-1985, however, that sales began to take off and this computer began to replace the Apple II model.
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Newspaper reporter Nellie Bly (pen name used by Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman) set off from Hoboken, New Jersey, 14 November 1889, to attempt to break Jules Verne’s imaginary hero Phileas Fogg’s record of voyaging around the world in 80 days. She did beat Fogg’s record, taking 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds to make the trip, arriving back in New Jersey on 25 January 1890.
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Born 25 January 1759. Farmer, lover of women, father of at least 11 children, freemason, songwriter and beloved poet who wove the folk traditions and dialects of Scotland into lovely lyrics and ballads. Poems and songs include “Tam O’Shanter,” “To a Mouse,” “Green Grow the Rushes, O” and most of “Auld Lang Syne.” “Oh wad some power the giftie gie us/ To see oursels as others see us!” Born at Ayrshire, Scotland, he died at Dumfries, Scotland, July 21, 1796. His birthday is widely celebrated as Burns Night, especially in Scotland, England and Newfoundland.
On 25 January 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened at Chamonix, France, with athletes representing 16 nations. The ski jump, previously unknown, thrilled spectators. The Olympics offered a boost to skiing, which became enormously popular in the next decade.
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25 January. Patron saint of friendship and love in Wales. Dwynwen was a fifth-century saint (died AD 460) who lived in seclusion at Llanddwyn Island. The church (the ruins of which still stand today) there was a medieval pilgrimage site and supposedly featured a magic well. Saint Dwynwen’s Day is not officially recognized in the Catholic and Anglican liturgical calendars, but its celebration has become a popular custom in Wales for lovers.
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On 26 January 1837, Michigan became the 26th state in the Union.
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On 26 January 1788, a shipload of convicts arrived briefly at Botany Bay (which proved to be unsuitable) and then at Port Jackson (later the site of the city of Sydney). Establishment of an Australian prison colony was to relieve crowding of British prisons. Australia Day, formerly known as Foundation Day or Anniversary Day, has been observed since about 1817 and has been a public holiday since 1838.
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Jan 26, 1875. George F. Green, of Kalamazoo, MI, patented the electric dental drill.
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27 January 1967. Three American astronauts, Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee, died when fire suddenly broke out at 6: 31 PM, EST, in Apollo I during a launching simulation test, as it stood on the ground at Cape Kennedy, FL. First launching in the Apollo program had been scheduled for 27 February 1967.
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Beginning on 27 January 1945, the Soviet army liberated about 6,000 prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. It is estimated that 1.5 million inmates were killed at Auschwitz between 1941 and liberation— 95 percent of them were Jewish.
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Jan 27. On Nov 1, 2005, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) designated Jan 27 as an annual day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust conducted during the Second World War by the Nazi regime (Res 60/ 7). In doing so, the UN rejected any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or part. On Jan 26, 2007, the Assembly condemned without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust and urged all Member States unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to that end (Res 61/ 255).
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Jan 27, 1888. The largest nonprofit scientific and educational institution in the world was incorporated on this date after an initial meeting on Jan 13, 1888, in which a group of 33 geographers, explorers, cartographers, teachers and other professionals met at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, to discuss organizing a “a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.” The first president was Gardiner Greene Hubbard. The first National Geographic Magazine was published nine months later in October 1888.
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Born at Thorne, Yorkshire, England, in 1836 (exact date unknown), Crapper is often described as the prime developer of the flush toilet mechanism as it is known today. The flush toilet had been in use for more than 100 years; Crapper perfected it. Founder, London, 1861, of Thomas Crapper & Co, later patentees and manufacturers of sanitary appliances.
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