By Brenda June Temple
Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been a federal holiday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and civil rights leader dedicated to nonviolence. This is a day to honor King’s principles, perhaps best exemplified by his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and how to celebrate.
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
King first gained attention for playing Brenda Jenkins in the television series 227 (1985–1990). Her subsequent roles included the film Friday (1995), the animated series The Boondocks (2005–2014), and the crime television series Southland (2009–2013). She received four Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles in the ABC anthology series American Crime (2015–2017), the Netflix miniseries Seven Seconds, and the HBO limited series Watchmen (2019). Her other television roles include the drama series The Leftovers (2015–2017) and the sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2013–2019).
She has also played supporting roles in the drama films Boyz n the Hood (1991), Poetic Justice (1993), A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and Ray (2004), as well as in the comedies Down to Earth (2001), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), A Cinderella Story (2004), and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005). She earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk, earning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since starred in the western The Harder They Fall (2021)
King has directed episodes for several television shows, including Scandal in 2015 and 2016 and This Is Us in 2017. She has also directed the music video for the 2010 song “Finding My Way Back” by Jaheim. King’s feature film directorial debut came with the drama One Night in Miami… (2020), which earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director and a Directors Guild of America Award for First Time Feature Film. She became the second black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Philip Livingston (patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence) –
- The Earl of Derby, Lord Stanley (Canadian Governor General 1888 – 1893) –
- Goodman Ace (radio performer) –
- Gene Krupa (drummer) –
- Lloyd Bridges (actor) –
- Martin Luther King, Jr. (civil rights leader) –
- Ernest J. Gaines (novelist) –
- André Alexis (writer) –
- Chad Lowe (actor) –
- Regina King (actress) –
- Howie Day (singer) –
Died
- Mathew Brady (photographer) –
- Ray Bolger (actor) –
- Ruth Warrick (actress) –
- Percy Saltzman (first meteorologist to appear on Canadian television) –
Events
- Elizabeth I of England was crowned in Westminster Abbey–
- Dramatist Molière was baptized–
- Vermont declares its independence from Great Britain and the colony of New York as a republic originally called New Connecticut–
- The University of N.C., the first state university in the US, opens–
- E. G. Otis received a patent for an elevator safety brake–
- Great Molasses Flood, Boston, Massachusetts–
- Ford Foundation is incorporated to administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes–
- First U.S. all-glass windowless structure completed, in Toledo, Ohio–
- First Pro Bowl game in NFL history is played in Los Angeles, California–
- The Pentagon Building in Virginia was completed–
- First nonstop trans-Canada flight completed–
- The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I–
- Happy Days made its television debut–
- First transpacific hot air balloon flight began, Japan to Canada–
- Online encyclopedia Wikipedia launched–
- Stardust capsule landed in Utah, after record re-entry speed of 28,860 mph–
Weather
- New York harbor froze over completely and was sealed for five weeks–
- Los Angeles, California, received 2” of snow–
- 7.8 inches of snow at Forth Worth, Texas–
- Loma, Montana, set a record for the greatest temperature change in a 24 hour period. Temperatures went from -54 degrees F on January 14 to 49 degrees F on January 15–
- It was so cold in Kapuskasing, Ontario, that tires fell off the rims of cars. (it was -45F or -42.8C)–
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