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 […]

1520s 1521: MARTIN LUTHER WAS FORMALLY EXCOMUNICATED FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BY POPE LEO X 1770s 1777: GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON DEFEATED THE BRITISH UNDER LORD CORNWALLIS AT THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON 1790s BORN 1793: LUCRETIA MOTT (SOCIAL REFORMER) 1830s BORN 1835: LARKIN GOLDSMITH MEAD […]

1640s BORN 1647: NATHANIEL BACON (COLONIAL LEADER) 1780s 1788: GEORGIA RATIFIED THE U.S. CONSTITUTION 1830s BORN 1831: JUSTIN WINSOR (HISTORIAN) 1880s BORN 1881: FREDERICK VARLEY (CANADIAN ARTIST) 1890s 1890: ALICE SANGER BECAME THE FIRST FEMALE STAFFER FOR THE WHITE HOUSE BORN 1895: COUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE […]

Every Year DOCTOR’S DAY 1130s BORN 1135: MOSES MAIMONIDES (RABBI) 1790s 1791: PRESIDENT WASHINGTON PROCLAIMED BOUNDARY OF NEW CAPITAL CITY ON POTOMAC RIVER 1820s BORN 1820: ANNA SEWELL (AUTHOR) 1840s 1842: DR. CRAWFORD LONG OF JEFFERSON, GA, PLACED AN ETHER-SOAKED TOWEL OVER THE FACE OF […]

HOGMANAY In Scotland, December 31 is known as Hogmanay, the word children use to ask for their traditional present of an oatmeal cake (which is why this is also called Cake Day). It’s believed that Hogmanay originated with the invading Vikings who celebrated the passing […]

1170s 1170: SAINT THOMAS BECKET WAS MURDERED BY FOUR KNIGHTS 1760s BORN 1766: CHARLES MACINTOSH (CHEMIST & INVENTOR) 1800s BORN 1800: CHARLES GOODYEAR (INVENTOR) BORN 1808: ANDREW JOHNSON (17TH U.S. PRESIDENT) 1840s 1845: TEXAS ADMITTED TO THE UNION AS THE 28TH STATE 1848: GASLIGHTS WERE […]

1570s BORN 1571: JOHANNES KEPLER (ASTRONOMER) 1770s BORN 1773: “FATHER OF AVIATION” SIR GEORGE CAYLEY 1820s BORN 1822: LOUIS PASTEUR (CHEMIST) 1860s 1864: AN ILL YOUTH IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, WROTE IN HIS DIARY: “I DON’T SEE NO NEED OF BEING SICK NOW THAT SCHOOL […]

BOXING DAY (CANADA) This holiday derives from the Old English custom of giving Christmas “boxes” to tradesmen, postmen, and servants. The original boxes were usually made of earthenware and contained money, which could be retrieved only by breaking the boxes open. These days, a gift […]

CHRISTMAS DAY Christmas Day is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the actual date of Christ’s birth is unknown, it has been celebrated on December 25 since the 4th century. Christmas is also extensively celebrated by non-Christians as a seasonal holiday, […]

1770s 1772: CONSTRUCTION BEGAN FOR FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE WEST OF ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS, IN SCHOENBRUNN, OHIO 1775: CONTINENTAL FLEET WAS ORGANIZED BY THE REBELLIOUS AMERICAN COLONIES UNDER THE COMMAND OF ESEK HOPKINS 1850s BORN 1858: GIACOMO PUCCINI (COMPOSER) 1860s BORN 1869: EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON (POET) 1870s 1877: […]