January 14 is the wedding anniversary of a star-crossed couple, the birthday of the longest-running television show in U.S. history, and the date of two significant milestones in the wide world of sports.
83 BC. Roman politician and general Marcus Antonius is born. Known in English as Mark Antony, he was an important supporter of Gaius Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator. After Caesar's assassination, Antony formed an official political alliance with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, known to historians today as the Second Triumvirate.
The triumvirate broke up in 33 BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war, the Final War of the Roman Republic, in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria. He committed suicide in 30 BC, and his lover, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, killed herself shortly thereafter.
1514. Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery. The pope was ahead of his time but his bull was largely ignored.
1539. Spain annexes Cuba.
1639. The "Fundamental Orders," the first written constitution that creates a government, is adopted in Connecticut. The orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River towns, setting its structure and powers. It has the features of a written constitution, and thus earned Connecticut its nickname of The Constitution State.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is a short document, but contains some principles that were later applied in creating the United States government. Government is based in the rights of an individual, and the orders spell out some of those rights, as well as how they are ensured by the government. It provides that all free men share in electing their magistrates, and uses secret, paper ballots. It states the powers of the government, and some limits within which that power is exercised.
1741. Benedict Arnold, the American general during the Revolutionary War who betrayed his country and became synonymous with the word "traitor," is born. During the war, Arnold proved himself to be a brave, skilled leader, helping Ethan Allen’s troops capture Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and then taking part in the unsuccessful attack on British Quebec later that year, which earned him a promotion to brigadier general. Arnold distinguished himself in campaigns at Lake Champlain, Ridgefield and Saratoga, and gained the support of George Washington.
In 1780, Arnold was given command of West Point, the American fort on the Hudson River in New York (and future home of the United States Military Academy, established in 1802). Arnold contacted Sir Henry Clinton, head of the British forces, and proposed handing over West Point and its men. On September 21 of that year, Arnold met with British Major John Andre and made his traitorous pact, in which the American was to receive a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. However, the conspiracy was uncovered and Andre was captured and executed as a spy. Arnold fled to the enemy side and went on to lead British troops in Virginia and Connecticut. The former American hero and patriot died in London, in relative obscurity, on June 14, 1801.
1784. The United States ratifies a peace treaty with England, formally ending the American Revolutionary War.
1822. In the Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti.
1858. Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt. Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte) was President of the French Republic from 1848 to 1851, then from December 2, 1851 to December 2, 1852 ruler of Dictatorial Government, then Emperor of the French under the name Napoleon III, to 1870 when he was deposed after being captured during a disastrous military campaign. He was the last monarch to rule France and died in exile in Britain.
1860. Unable to agree on anything else, the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee of Thirty-Three submits a proposed constitutional amendment protecting slavery in all areas where it already existed. The proposed measure was not enough to stem the tide of seceding states.
After the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln as president in November 1860, the states of the South began to talk of secession. The Republican Party was committed to restricting slavery in the Western territories, and Southerners feared an eventual campaign to eradicate the institution entirely across the U.S. As the new administration prepared to take over, attempts were made by many politicians in Washington, D.C., to alleviate Southern fears. The House of Representatives appointed the Committee of Thirty-Three, consisting of one member from each state, to investigate avenues of compromise that would keep the South from seceding.
Most of the compromises involved the Republicans forfeiting their plan to keep slavery out of the Western territories. This was, however, the main reason for the existence of the party. As a result, many Northern congressmen would not agree to any such move. Finally, on January 14, committee chair Thomas Corwin of Ohio submitted a plan calling for an amendment to protect slavery, enforce the fugitive slave laws, and repeal state personal liberty laws. South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama had already seceded by the time Corwin made his proposal. The plan died, and the nation continued on the road to the bloodiest war in its history.
1907. An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000 people. The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.5, at about 3:30 PM local time (21:36 UTC), was considered by many writers of that time one of the world's deadliest earthquakes recorded in history. Every building in Kingston was damaged by the earthquake and subsequent fires, which lasted for three hours before any efforts were made to check them, culminated in the death of 800 to 1,000 people, and left approximately 10,000 homeless and $25,000,000 in material damage. Shortly after, a tsunami was reported on the north coast of Jamaica, with a maximum wave height of about 2 m (6-8 ft).
1920. John Dodge, who with his brother Horace co-founded the Dodge Brothers Company, which was once America's third-largest automaker and later became part of Chrysler, dies at the age of 55.
While in New York City to attend an auto expo, the brothers both became sick with the flu and pneumonia. John Dodge died that month, while Horace passed away later that same year, on December 10. In 1925, the brothers' widows sold the Dodge Brothers Company to an investment bank for $146 million. In 1928, Walter Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler Corporation, purchased the Dodge company for $170 million. The purchase made Chrysler the world's third-largest automaker overnight.
1938. Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
1943. Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office (he flew from Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill during World War II). This meeting also marked the first time an American president left American soil during wartime. Participants also included leaders of the French government-in-exile, Gen. Charles de Gaulle and Gen. Henri Giraud, who were assured of a postwar united France.
1952. The Today Show premieres on NBC. Today is an American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays (currently one hour) in 1987 and Saturdays (two hours) in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and a fourth hour launched in 2007.
1955. Screen legend Marilyn Monroe weds baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. They were the power couple of their era but did not live happily ever. Joe wanted Marilyn barefoot and pregnant and she just wanted to bare it. (See picture.)
1963. George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. He won the election campaigning as a segregationist, pledging to "stand in the school house door" to prevent black students from entering.
1967. The Human Be-In, takes place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love. Between 20,000 to 30,000 people attend.
1967. British actress Emily Watson is born. She is best known for her acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves.
She was a virtual unknown until director Lars von Trier chose her to star in his controversial Breaking the Waves after the first choice, Helena Bonham Carter, dropped out over the uncompromisingly bleak eroticism the role demanded. (See pictures.)
Her performance as Bess McNeill, a simple yet devout woman who slips into prostitution because she believes it will heal her paralyzed husband, was her first in front of a camera, and became the most critically acclaimed of 1996. She won the Los Angeles, London and New York Critics Circle Awards, the US National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, and ultimately an Oscar nomination.
1973. In Super Bowl VII, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins become the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season.
1973. Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets a record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.
1975. Teenage heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped by Donal Neilson, "Black Panther." Lesley Whittle was 17 years old when she became the youngest and most famous victim of the notorious British murderer known as the Black Panther.
In January 1975, Neilson kidnapped Lesley from the bedroom of her home in Shropshire, England, in order to acquire a £50,000 ransom from her family. Neilson had read that Lesley had been left a considerable sum of money by her late father.
Tragically, a series of police bungles and unfortunate circumstances meant that Lesley's brother Ronald was unable to take the ransom money to the place where Neilson demanded it and at the time he demanded. Ultimately Neilson got so frustrated he pushed Lesley off the ledge where he had tethered her in a secluded Staffordshire park, strangling her.
Lots of recriminations followed but Neilson was ultimately caught and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1976 for the murder of Lesley and four other people. The trial judge recommended that Neilson should never be released unless he lived to a great age or endured infirmity. He is still behind bars as one of the country's longest-serving prisoners.
1980. In a crushing diplomatic rebuke to the Soviet Union, the U.N. General Assembly votes 104 to 18 to "deplore" the Russian intervention in Afghanistan. The resolution also requested the "immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan." The immense margin of victory for the resolution indicated the worldwide disapproval for the December 1979 Soviet invasion and installation of a pro-communist puppet regime in Afghanistan.
1985. Martina Navratilova wins her 100th tennis tournament.
1994. U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords. The Kremlin accords were a series of treaties that stopped the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles at targets on any nation and provided for the dismantling of the Russian nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.
1999. Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city.
2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches a record high of 11,722.98.
2005. The Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan. Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest moon in the solar system after Jupiter's moon Ganymede. It is roughly 50% larger than Earth's moon by diameter, and is larger by diameter and mass than all known dwarf planets. It is also larger by diameter than the planet Mercury, though Mercury is more than twice as massive.
Titan is the only moon in our solar system to have a dense atmosphere. Until very recently, this atmosphere inhibited understanding of Titan's surface, but the moon is currently undergoing study by the Cassini-Huygens mission, and new information about it is accumulating, such as the discovery of liquid hydrocarbon lakes near its north pole.
Titan was discovered on March 25, 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, and was the first satellite in the Solar System to be discovered after the Galilean moons of Jupiter.
2008. Republican Bobby Jindal, the first elected Indian-American governor in the United States, takes office in Louisiana.
2011. Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is summoned to a prostitution investigation to deal with allegations of "improperly assisting" a 17-year-old nightclub dancer he had at one of his private parties.
2012. Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
Elsewhere, rescue teams find two survivors trapped inside the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany on January 13, killing at least three people. The ship's captain is detained by police for questioning.
and of course
83 BC. Roman politician and general Marcus Antonius is born. Known in English as Mark Antony, he was an important supporter of Gaius Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator. After Caesar's assassination, Antony formed an official political alliance with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, known to historians today as the Second Triumvirate.
The triumvirate broke up in 33 BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war, the Final War of the Roman Republic, in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria. He committed suicide in 30 BC, and his lover, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, killed herself shortly thereafter.
1514. Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery. The pope was ahead of his time but his bull was largely ignored.
1539. Spain annexes Cuba.
1639. The "Fundamental Orders," the first written constitution that creates a government, is adopted in Connecticut. The orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River towns, setting its structure and powers. It has the features of a written constitution, and thus earned Connecticut its nickname of The Constitution State.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut is a short document, but contains some principles that were later applied in creating the United States government. Government is based in the rights of an individual, and the orders spell out some of those rights, as well as how they are ensured by the government. It provides that all free men share in electing their magistrates, and uses secret, paper ballots. It states the powers of the government, and some limits within which that power is exercised.
1741. Benedict Arnold, the American general during the Revolutionary War who betrayed his country and became synonymous with the word "traitor," is born. During the war, Arnold proved himself to be a brave, skilled leader, helping Ethan Allen’s troops capture Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and then taking part in the unsuccessful attack on British Quebec later that year, which earned him a promotion to brigadier general. Arnold distinguished himself in campaigns at Lake Champlain, Ridgefield and Saratoga, and gained the support of George Washington.
In 1780, Arnold was given command of West Point, the American fort on the Hudson River in New York (and future home of the United States Military Academy, established in 1802). Arnold contacted Sir Henry Clinton, head of the British forces, and proposed handing over West Point and its men. On September 21 of that year, Arnold met with British Major John Andre and made his traitorous pact, in which the American was to receive a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. However, the conspiracy was uncovered and Andre was captured and executed as a spy. Arnold fled to the enemy side and went on to lead British troops in Virginia and Connecticut. The former American hero and patriot died in London, in relative obscurity, on June 14, 1801.
1784. The United States ratifies a peace treaty with England, formally ending the American Revolutionary War.
1822. In the Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti.
1858. Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt. Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte) was President of the French Republic from 1848 to 1851, then from December 2, 1851 to December 2, 1852 ruler of Dictatorial Government, then Emperor of the French under the name Napoleon III, to 1870 when he was deposed after being captured during a disastrous military campaign. He was the last monarch to rule France and died in exile in Britain.
1860. Unable to agree on anything else, the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee of Thirty-Three submits a proposed constitutional amendment protecting slavery in all areas where it already existed. The proposed measure was not enough to stem the tide of seceding states.
After the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln as president in November 1860, the states of the South began to talk of secession. The Republican Party was committed to restricting slavery in the Western territories, and Southerners feared an eventual campaign to eradicate the institution entirely across the U.S. As the new administration prepared to take over, attempts were made by many politicians in Washington, D.C., to alleviate Southern fears. The House of Representatives appointed the Committee of Thirty-Three, consisting of one member from each state, to investigate avenues of compromise that would keep the South from seceding.
Most of the compromises involved the Republicans forfeiting their plan to keep slavery out of the Western territories. This was, however, the main reason for the existence of the party. As a result, many Northern congressmen would not agree to any such move. Finally, on January 14, committee chair Thomas Corwin of Ohio submitted a plan calling for an amendment to protect slavery, enforce the fugitive slave laws, and repeal state personal liberty laws. South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama had already seceded by the time Corwin made his proposal. The plan died, and the nation continued on the road to the bloodiest war in its history.
1907. An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000 people. The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.5, at about 3:30 PM local time (21:36 UTC), was considered by many writers of that time one of the world's deadliest earthquakes recorded in history. Every building in Kingston was damaged by the earthquake and subsequent fires, which lasted for three hours before any efforts were made to check them, culminated in the death of 800 to 1,000 people, and left approximately 10,000 homeless and $25,000,000 in material damage. Shortly after, a tsunami was reported on the north coast of Jamaica, with a maximum wave height of about 2 m (6-8 ft).
1920. John Dodge, who with his brother Horace co-founded the Dodge Brothers Company, which was once America's third-largest automaker and later became part of Chrysler, dies at the age of 55.
While in New York City to attend an auto expo, the brothers both became sick with the flu and pneumonia. John Dodge died that month, while Horace passed away later that same year, on December 10. In 1925, the brothers' widows sold the Dodge Brothers Company to an investment bank for $146 million. In 1928, Walter Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler Corporation, purchased the Dodge company for $170 million. The purchase made Chrysler the world's third-largest automaker overnight.
1938. Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
1943. Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office (he flew from Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill during World War II). This meeting also marked the first time an American president left American soil during wartime. Participants also included leaders of the French government-in-exile, Gen. Charles de Gaulle and Gen. Henri Giraud, who were assured of a postwar united France.
1952. The Today Show premieres on NBC. Today is an American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays (currently one hour) in 1987 and Saturdays (two hours) in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and a fourth hour launched in 2007.
1955. Screen legend Marilyn Monroe weds baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. They were the power couple of their era but did not live happily ever. Joe wanted Marilyn barefoot and pregnant and she just wanted to bare it. (See picture.)
1963. George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. He won the election campaigning as a segregationist, pledging to "stand in the school house door" to prevent black students from entering.
1967. The Human Be-In, takes place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love. Between 20,000 to 30,000 people attend.
1967. British actress Emily Watson is born. She is best known for her acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves.
She was a virtual unknown until director Lars von Trier chose her to star in his controversial Breaking the Waves after the first choice, Helena Bonham Carter, dropped out over the uncompromisingly bleak eroticism the role demanded. (See pictures.)
Her performance as Bess McNeill, a simple yet devout woman who slips into prostitution because she believes it will heal her paralyzed husband, was her first in front of a camera, and became the most critically acclaimed of 1996. She won the Los Angeles, London and New York Critics Circle Awards, the US National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, and ultimately an Oscar nomination.
1973. In Super Bowl VII, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins become the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season.
1973. Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets a record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.
1975. Teenage heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped by Donal Neilson, "Black Panther." Lesley Whittle was 17 years old when she became the youngest and most famous victim of the notorious British murderer known as the Black Panther.
In January 1975, Neilson kidnapped Lesley from the bedroom of her home in Shropshire, England, in order to acquire a £50,000 ransom from her family. Neilson had read that Lesley had been left a considerable sum of money by her late father.
Tragically, a series of police bungles and unfortunate circumstances meant that Lesley's brother Ronald was unable to take the ransom money to the place where Neilson demanded it and at the time he demanded. Ultimately Neilson got so frustrated he pushed Lesley off the ledge where he had tethered her in a secluded Staffordshire park, strangling her.
Lots of recriminations followed but Neilson was ultimately caught and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1976 for the murder of Lesley and four other people. The trial judge recommended that Neilson should never be released unless he lived to a great age or endured infirmity. He is still behind bars as one of the country's longest-serving prisoners.
1980. In a crushing diplomatic rebuke to the Soviet Union, the U.N. General Assembly votes 104 to 18 to "deplore" the Russian intervention in Afghanistan. The resolution also requested the "immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan." The immense margin of victory for the resolution indicated the worldwide disapproval for the December 1979 Soviet invasion and installation of a pro-communist puppet regime in Afghanistan.
1985. Martina Navratilova wins her 100th tennis tournament.
1994. U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords. The Kremlin accords were a series of treaties that stopped the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles at targets on any nation and provided for the dismantling of the Russian nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.
1999. Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city.
2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches a record high of 11,722.98.
2005. The Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan. Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest moon in the solar system after Jupiter's moon Ganymede. It is roughly 50% larger than Earth's moon by diameter, and is larger by diameter and mass than all known dwarf planets. It is also larger by diameter than the planet Mercury, though Mercury is more than twice as massive.
Titan is the only moon in our solar system to have a dense atmosphere. Until very recently, this atmosphere inhibited understanding of Titan's surface, but the moon is currently undergoing study by the Cassini-Huygens mission, and new information about it is accumulating, such as the discovery of liquid hydrocarbon lakes near its north pole.
Titan was discovered on March 25, 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, and was the first satellite in the Solar System to be discovered after the Galilean moons of Jupiter.
2008. Republican Bobby Jindal, the first elected Indian-American governor in the United States, takes office in Louisiana.
2011. Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is summoned to a prostitution investigation to deal with allegations of "improperly assisting" a 17-year-old nightclub dancer he had at one of his private parties.
2012. Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
Elsewhere, rescue teams find two survivors trapped inside the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany on January 13, killing at least three people. The ship's captain is detained by police for questioning.
and of course
