January

January 2
46 Biographer Plutarch was born.
1752 Philip Freneau, poet, editor, sea captain, satirist of Tories, and a strong supporter of Jefferson, was born.
1904 Fan dancer Sally Rand was born in Elkton, Missouri.
1920 Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was born near Smolensk in Russia.
1924 The Simon and Schuster publishing house was founded.
1931 US troops left Nicaragua.
1936 Country and western singer, songwriter, and musician Roger Miller was born in Ft. Worth, Texas.
1963 Baseball pitcher David Cone was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
1968 The first successful human heart transplant was performed.

January 3
1777 Washington's army defeated the British at Princeton.
1793 Lucretia Mott, antislavery leader and one of the founders of the women's rights movement in America, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
1870 Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began.
1909 Comedian and pianist Borge Rosenbaum (Victor Borge) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
1932 Actor Dabney Coleman was born in Austin, Texas.
1945 Musician and songwriter Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, Texas.
1956 Actor and film maker Mel Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York.

January 4
1643 Physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, England.
1746 Physician, patriot, and humanitarian opponent of alcohol abuse Benjamin Rushd was born in Byberry, Pennsylvania.
1754 Kings College (Columbia University) was founded in New York.
1809 Louis Braille, inventor of a touch system of reading and writing for the blind, was born in Coupvray, France.
1813 Shorthand inventor Isaac Pitman was born.
1884 The first recorded, successful, appendix removal occurred in Davenport, Iowa.
1935 Boxer Floyd Patterson was born in Waco, North Carolina.
1937 Actress Dyan Cannon was born in Tacoma, Washington.

January 5
1767 Economist Jean-Baptiste Say was born in Lyon, France.
1794 Agriculturalist and secession leader Edmund Ruffin was born in Prince George County, Virginia.
1855 King Camp Gillette, inventor of the safety razor, was born.
1864 Inventor George Washington Carver was born.
1920 The New York Yankees acquired Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox.
1931 Actor Robert Duvall was born in San Diego, California.
1940 FM radio was demonstrated for the first time.

January 6
106BC Libertarian orator Marcus Tullius Cicero was born.
1799 Mountain man, fur trader, and explorer Jedediah Smith was born in Bainbridge, New York.
1811 Charles Sumner, politically powerful opponent of slavery, was born in Boston.
1838 The telegraph was first publicly tested.
1861 New York City Mayor Fernando Wood proposed that if the Union is dissolved, New York should become a free city and trade with both the North and the South.
1913 Movie and TV actress Loretta Young was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1916 Crossword-puzzle editor Eugene Maleska was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1936 The US Supreme Court invalidated the Agricultural Adjustment Act.
1952 Hallmark Hall of Fame premiered in television.
1957 Golf champion Nancy Lopez was born in Torrance, California.
1970 Professional volleyball star and nude model Gabrielle Reece was born in La Jolla, California.
1973 Libertarians John Hospers and Toni Nathan received one Electoral College vote for President and Vice President of the United States.

January 7
1718 Revolutionary War leader Israel Putnam was born in Massachusetts.
1922 Actor Vincent Gardenia (Vincent Scognamiglio) was born in Naples, Italy.
1978 Baseball star Alfonso Soriano was born in San Pedro de Marcoris, Dominican Republic.

January 8
1851 Jean Foucalt demonstrated that the Earth rotates on it axis.
1862 Publisher Frank Doubleday was born.
1904 Peter Arno, cartoonist who satirized cafe society, was born.
1926 Comedian Soupy Sales (Morton Supman) was born in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
1935 Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll," was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

January 9
1861 Mississippi seceded from the Union.
1915 Guitarist and inventor Les Paul was born.
1925 Actor Lee Van Cleef was born at Somerville, New Jersey.
1929 The Seeing Eye association to train guide dogs for the blind was incorporated.
1935 TV star Bob Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York.
1941 Folksinger Joan Baez was born on Staten Island, New York.
1951 Singer Crystal Gayle (Brenda Gayle Webb) was born in Paintsville, Kentucky.
1959 Rawhide premiered on CBS.
1986 Tasha Faumuina Soares Halliday was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

January 10
1738 Revolutionary War leader Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut.
1776 Common Sense by Thomas Paine was published anonymously.
1834 Historian John Acton was born in Naples, Italy.
1861 Florida seceded from the Union.
1901 In New York, the Automobile Club of America announced it will install signs on major highways.
1904 Ray Bolger, singer, dancer, and movie star, was born in Boston.
1943 Singer and song writer Jim Croce was born.
1945 Pop music star Rod Stewart was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1949 World Heavyweight Boxing Champion George Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas.
1953 Rock singer Pat Benatar was born in Brooklyn, New York.

January 11
1821 Novelist Fedor Dostoevski was born.
1861 Alabama seceded from the Union.
1926 TV producer Grant Tinker was born in Stamford, Connecticut.
1930 Don Mossi, baseball card star, was born in California.

January 12
1729 Edmund Burke, statesman and social philosopher, was born in Dublin, Ireland.
1905 Western singer Tex Ritter was born.
1944 Joe Frazier, heavyweight boxing great, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina.
1951 Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
1956 Batman premiered on television.

January 13
1777 Thomas Paine published his second American Crisis essay in which he coined the name "United States of America."
1834 Horatio Alger, author of rags-to-riches stories, was born in Revere, Massachusetts.
1961 Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Elaine on Sienfeld, was born in New York City.

January 14
1783 Great Britain recognized American independence in a formal treaty, ratified by Congress.
1875 Albert Schweitzer, missionary, doctor, philosopher, author, and musician, was born in Kayserberg, Upper Alsace.
1892 Film producer, director, and writer Harold (Hal) Roach was born in Elmira, New York.
1914 Henry Ford inaugurated the assembly line.
1941 Actress Faye Dunaway was born in Bascom, Florida.
1952 The Today show premiered on television with Dave Garroway as the host.

January 15
1623 Algernon Sidney, who inspired American revolutionaries and abolitionists, was born in Kent, England.
1777 The Vermont (New Hampshire Grants) convention at Westminster declared independence from New York.
1809 Individualist anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was born in France.
1823 Civil War photographer Matthew Brady was born.
1915 TV and movie actor Lloyd Bridges was born in California.
1926 Rock legend Chuck Berry was born in San Jose, California.
1973 President Richard Nixon called a halt to the US offensive in Vietnam.
1981 Hill Street Blues premiered on television.

January 16
1778 France recognized American independence.
1786 The Virginia legislature passed a religious freedom law that protected Virginians against any requirement to attend or support any church.
1831 Joseph Henry invented the electric engine.
1853 Tire manufacturer Andre Michelin was born in Paris, France.
1911 Baseball pitcher Jay "Dizzy" Dean was born in Lucas, Arkansas.
1948 Suspense-movie director John Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York.
1960 Singer Sade (Helen Folasade Adu) was born.

January 17
1706 Benjamin Franklin, scientist and inventor, was born in Boston.
1771 Charles Brockden Brown, the first American professional novelist, was born.
1781 Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina: Daniel Morgan with 940 men defeated Tarleton and 1150 men, capturing 600 prisoners.
1899 Author Nevil Shute was born.
1922 Comic TV actress Betty White was born in Oak Park, Illinois.
1927 Singer (Santa, Baby) Eartha Kitt was born in North, South Carolina.
1931 Actor James Earl Jones was born in Arktabula, Mississippi.
1942 Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. (Muhammad Ali), boxing champion and draft resister, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
1956 Actor David Caruso was born in Queens, New York.
1962 Comedian and movie star Jim Carrey was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.

January 18
1779 Peter Roget compiler of Roget's Thesaurus was born in London.
1864 Opponents of the Confederate conscription law held meetings in western North Carolina.
1882 A. A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh, was born in London.
1892 Comedian Oliver Hardy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
1904 Actor Archibald Leach (Cary Grant) was born in Bristol, England.
1913 Entertainer Danny Kaye (David Daniel Kaminski) was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1955 Actor and film maker Kevin Costner was born in Compton, California.

January 19
1736 James Watt, inventor of the steam engine, was born in Greenock, Scotland.
1749 Printer, editor, and almanac publisher Isaiah Thomas was born in Boston.
1786 A Bill Establishing Religious Freedom drafted by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson was enacted by the Virginia legislature.
1808 Lysander Spooner, libertarian natural-rights philosopher, was born.
1809 Mystery writer and poet Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston.
1813 Inventor Henry Bessemer was born in England.
1839 Painter Paul Cezanne was born in at Aix-en-Provence, France.
1861 Georgia seceded from the Union.
1922 Geological survey finds the U.S. has only enough oil to last for 20 years.
1931 TV news anchorman Robin MacNeil was born in Montreal, Canada.
1939 Pop singer Phil Everly was born in Brownie, Kentucky.
1943 Blues singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas.
1946 Singer, composer, and actress Dolly Parton was born in Locust Ridge, Tennessee.
1949 Singer Robert Palmer was born in Babley, England,

January 20
1732 Richard Henry Lee, leader for American independence, was born in Westmorland County, Virginia.
1783 British and US Commissioners signed a "cessation of hostilities" agreement.
1892 The first official basketball game was played.
1896 Comedian Nathan Birnbaum (George Burns) was born in New York City.
1942 Singer and actress Shelley Fabares was born in Santa Monica, California.
1956 Comedian Bill Maher was born in New York City.
2004 The estate of McDonald's restaurant heir Joan Kroc donated $1.5 billion to the Salvation Army.

January 21
1743 Steamboat pioneer, inventor, gunsmith, clockmaker, and surveyor John Fitch was born at East Windsor, Connecticut.
1738 Revolutionary War leader Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut.
1924 Vladimir Lenin, founder of Soviet communism, died.
1924 Actor Telly Savalas was born.
1938 Disk jockey Woolfman Jack (Robert Smith) was born in Brooklyn, New York.
1940 Golfing great Jack Nicklas was born in Columbus, Ohio.
1941 Singer and guitarist Richie Havens was born.
1950 Singer and song writer Billy Ocean (Leslie Charles) was born in Trinidad, West Indies.
1957 Actress Geena Davis was born in Ware, Massachusetts.
1963 Basketball star Hakeem Olajuwan was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
1977 Vietnam War draft evaders were granted full pardon by President Carter.

January 22
1561 Essayist Francis Bacon was born in London.
1775 Andre Ampere, founder of electrodynamics, was born in Lyons, France.
1875 Movie pioneer, director, and producer D. W. Griffith was born at LaGrange, Kentucky.
1912 The privately financed railroad from Key West to mainland Florida, built by Henry Morrison Flagler, was completed.
1931 Pop singer Sam Cooke was born.
1949 Heavyweight boxing champion, preacher, and businessman George Forman was born in Marshall, Texas.

January 23
1737 Revolutionary War leader John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts.
1783 Novelist Stendhal (Marie Henri Beyle) was born in Grenoble, France.
1832 Painter Edouard Manet was born in Paris.
1899 Actor Humphrey Bogart was born in New York City.
1919 Comedian and TV pioneer Ernie Kovacs was born in Trenton, New Jersey.
1975 Barney Miller premiered on ABC.

January 24
1749 Libertarian political leader Charles James Fox was born in London.
1776 Henry Knox reached Cambridge, Massachusetts, with 43 cannon from Fort Ticonderoga.
1787 Shay's rebellion began with a march on the Federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1862 Author Edith Wharton was born in New York City.
1915 TV game-show creator and producer Mark Goodson was born in Sacramento, California.
1916 The US Supreme Court ruled the income tax unconstitutional.
1935 Canned beer went on sale for the first time in Richmond, Virginia.
1949 Comedian John Belushi was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1951 Comedian Yakov Smirnoff was born in Odessa, Ukraine.
1984 Apple's first MacIntosh personal computer went on sale.

January 25
1627 Physicist, chemist, and author Robert Boyle was born at Lismore, Ireland.
1759 Poet Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Scotland.
1775 Americans dragged cannon up Gun Hill Road in the Bronx to fight the British invaders.

January 26
1861 Louisiana seceded from the Union.
1911 Aviator Glenn Curtis made the first successful takeoff from water.
1913 Songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen (nee Edward Chester Babcock) was born in Syracuse, New York.
1925 Movie star, salad dressing salesman, and philanthropist Paul Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1934 The Apollo theater opened in Harlem, New York.
1935 Bob Uecker, comedian, sportscaster, and baseball player was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
1942 Actor Scott Glenn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1955 Guitarist Eddie Van Halen was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
1958 Singer Anita Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio.
1961 Ice-hockey great Wayne Gretsky was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

January 27
1756 Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.
1832 Charles Dodgeson (Lewis Carroll), author and mathematician, was born in Cheshire, England.
1880 Thomas Edison patented the electric light.
1885 Composer Jerome Kern was born in New York City.
1945 Soviet troops freed the prisoners at Auschwitz.
1973 The military draft ended in the USA.

January 28
1648 John Lilburne published the pamphlet A Defiance to Tyrants.
1841 Explorer and journalist Henry Stanley was born in Wales.
1915 Wilson vetoed a bill that would have imposed a literary test on immigrants to America. (It was eventually imposed in 1917 and followed by the quota system in 1921.)

January 29
1737 Thomas Paine, revolutionary theorist and writer, was born in Thetford, England.
1860 Anton Chekhov, playwright and short-story writer, was born in Taganrog, Russia.
1880 Comedian W. C. Fields was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1900 The American League of Baseball Clubs was organized.
1909 Metropolitan Life opened the biggest office building in the world in New York City.
1936 The first five players were elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.
1943 Actress Katherine Ross was born in Los Angeles, California.
1945 Actor Tom Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1960 Champion diver Greg Louganis was born in San Diego, California.

January 30
1866 Poet Gellett Burgess was born.
1930 Actor Gene Hackman was born in San Bernadino, California.
1933 The Lone Ranger was first broadcast on WXYZ radio in Detroit.
1937 Chess champion Boris Spassky was born in Leningrad, USSR.
1951 Singer and songwriter Phil Collins was born in Chiswick, England.
1959 Singer Jody Watley was born in Chicago.

January 31
1797 Composer Franz Peter Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.
1865 Congress proposed the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery.
1872 Western story writer Zane Grey (Pearl Grey) was born in Zanesville, Ohio.
1915 TV host and comedy writer Garry Moore (Thomas Garrison Morfit) was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
1919 Baseball star Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia.
1923 Carol Channing, Broadway musical-comedy star, was born in Seattle, Washington.
1931 Baseball star Ernie Banks was born in Dallas, Texas.
1937 Actress Suzanne Pleshette was born in New York City.
1947 Pitching star Nolan Ryan was born in Refugio, Texas.

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