1800s BORN 1804: JOHN DEERE (FARM EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER) 1810s BORN 1812: CHARLES DICKENS (AUTHOR) 1820s 1827: MADAME FRANCISQUY HUTIN FIRST INTRODUCED BALLET IN THE U.S. WHEN SHE STAGED THE DESERTER AT THE BOWERY THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY 1860s BORN 1867: LAURA INGALLS WILDER (AUTHOR) […]

1630s 1631: RELIGIOUS LEADER ROGER WILLIAMS ARRIVED IN AMERICA (BOSTON) 1780s BORN 1784: NANCY HANKS LINCOLN (MOTHER OF U.S. PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN) 1840s 1840: FIRST ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION 1846: THE OREGON SPECTATOR WAS THE FIRST NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED ON THE PACIFIC COAST […]

Every Year NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY (UNITED STATES) MONTH OF FEBRUARY 1700s 1709: ALEXANDER SELKIRK, A SCOTTISH SAILOR, WAS FOUND ON AN ISLAND WHERE HE HAD BEEN STRANDED FOR OVER 4 YEARS. HIS EXPERIENCE WAS THE BASIS FOR DANIEL DEFOE’S NOVEL, “ROBINSON CRUSOE” 1790s 1791: FIRST […]

Every Year AUSTRALIA DAY 1780s 1788: FIRST SETTLERS, INCLUDING 717 CONVICTS, ARRIVED AT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1810s BORN 1810: JOSEPH BROWN (INVENTOR) 1820s BORN 1826: JULIA DENT GRANT (U.S. FIRST LADY) 1827: PERU SECEDED FROM COLUMBIA 1830s BORN 1831: MARY ELIZABETH DODGE (AUTHOR) BORN 1833: ELISABET […]

Every Year NATIONAL HANDWRITING DAY (UNITED STATES) 1550s 1556: DEADLIEST EARTHQUAKE ON RECORD KILLED 830,000 IN CHINA 1810s BORN 1813: CAMILLA COLLETT (WRITER) 1840s 1849: ELIZABETH BLACKWELL BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO RECEIVE AN M.D. DEGREE 1849: ENVELOPE MACHINE PATENTED 1860s 1862: CALIFORNIA VINTNER AGOSTON […]

1730s BORN 1738: ETHAN ALLEN (PATRIOT) 1740s BORN 1743: JOHN FITCH (INVENTOR) 1780s 1789: FIRST AMERICAN NOVEL, THE POWER OF SYMPATHY, PUBLISHED IN BOSTON. 1790s 1793: LOUIS XVI OF FRANCE WAS BEHEADED 1820s BORN 1824: THOMAS “STONEWALL” JACKSON (CONFEDERATE ARMY GENERAL) 1890s DIED 1891: CALIXA […]

1800s 1809: FIRST MAJOR U.S. GEOLOGY BOOK DEBUTED 1810s BORN 1811: SAMUEL KEEFER (FIRST CANADIAN CHIEF ENGINEER OF PUBLIC WORKS) 1890s BORN 1896: GEORGE BURNS (COMEDIAN & ACTOR) 1900s DIED 1900: JOHN RUSKIN (ART CRITIC) 1920s BORN 1926: PATRICIA NEAL (ACTRESS) 1930s BORN 1930: EDWIN […]

Every Year CONFEDERATE HEROES DAY (TEXAS, UNITED STATES) 1730s BORN 1736: JAMES WATT (INVENTOR) 1800s BORN 1807: ROBERT E. LEE (CONFEDERATE GENERAL) BORN 1809: EDGAR ALLEN POE (AUTHOR) 1820s 1825: TIN CAN PATENTED 1830s BORN 1839: PAUL CÉZANNE (PAINTER) 1840s 1840: EXPLORER CHARLES WILKES CLAIMED […]

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S BIRTHDAY (OBSERVED) 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 […]

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S BIRTHDAY Benjamin Franklin, born on January 17, 1706, not only was a world-renowned statesman, inventor, and scientist, but also was fascinated by agriculture. To demonstrate the value of gypsum as fertilizer, he applied it to a field in a pattern that spelled out, […]

WIKIPEDIA INFORMATION ON SADE Helen Folasade Adu CBE (Yoruba: Fọláṣadé Adú [fɔ̄láʃādé ādú]; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade (/ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY), is a British singer, songwriter, and actress, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. She has been credited as one of the most successful British female […]

1550s 1559: ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND WAS CROWNED IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY 1620s BORN 1622: MOLIÈRE (DRAMATIST) 1710s BORN 1716: PHILIP LIVINGSTON (PATRIOT, AND SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE) 1770s 1777: VERMONT DECLARES ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN AND THE COLONY OF NEW YORK AS […]

ST. KNUT’S DAY In Sweden, January 13 is the traditional day to discard the Christmas tree and end the season’s festivities. A children’s party is the favored way to strip the tree of its decorations, after which the children are free to “plunder” the edible […]

CHINESE NEW YEAR The new year is by far the most important festival of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is celebrated on the second new Moon after the winter solstice. The holiday is a time of renewal, with debts cleared, new clothes bought, shops and […]

PLOUGH MONDAY The first Monday after Epiphany (January 6) was the day for the menfolk to return to work after the holidays — although no work was actually done on this day. Dressed in clean white smocks decorated with ribbons, the men dragged a plow […]

1770s 1776: THOMAS PAINE PUBLISHED COMMON SENSE, A PAMPHLET CALLING FOR INDEPEDENCE FROM ENGLAND DIED 1778: CAROLUS LINNAEUS (BOTANIST) 1860s 1861: FLORIDA SECEDED FROM THE UNION (U.S. CIVIL WAR) 1863: THE FIRST LINE OF LONDON’S UNDERGROUND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OPENED 1870s 1870: STANDARD OIL COMPANY WAS […]

1570s 1570: IVAN THE TERRIBLE OF RUSSIA, SUSPECTING A REVOLT IN THE CITY OF NOVGOROD, CAPTURED THE CITY AND EXECUTED MANY OF ITS INHABITANTS 1580s DIED 1584: WILLIAM CARTER (PRINTER, HANGED FOR PRINTING LEWD PAMPHLETS) 1780s 1788: CONNECTICUT BECAME THE FIFTH STATE TO JOIN THE […]

Every Year US: BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS DAY 1640s DIED 1642: GALILEO (ASTRONOMER) 1680s BORN 1682: JONATHAN BELCHER (COLONIAL GOVERNOR AND MERCHANT) 1730s BORN 1735: JOHN CARROL (FOUNDED GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY) 1790s 1790: FIRST STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE, DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON 1790: PRESIDENT […]

DISTAFF DAY The day after Epiphany (January 6) was traditionally the one on which women went back to work after the 12-day Christmas celebration. A distaff is the wooden rod (staff) that holds the flax or wool on a spinning wheel. The term distaff came […]

TWELFTH NIGHT In the olden days, the festivities of Christmas lasted twelve days, which was the time supposed to have been taken by the three wise men or kings in their journey to Bethlehem. The final evening (January 5) was called “Twelfth Night” and marked […]