This Day In History: January 30, 1972 On January 30, 1972, British Army paratroopers shot and killed 13 unarmed demonstrators participating in a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland. The march was in protest of the policy of internment without trial, which allowed the British government to detain suspected Irish nationalists indefinitely. The day became forever known as Bloody […]

This Day In History: January 29, 1820 On January 29, 1820, King George III died at Windsor Castle after 60 years on the throne, the longest reign of any English monarch up to that time. Extremely ill both mentally and physically for the last decade of his life, his son George, Prince of Wales had begun acting as Regent in […]

This Day In History; January 28, 1986 On January 28, 1986, one of the nation’s, and certainly NASA’s, most heart-wrenching tragedies occurred when the space shuttle Challenger blew apart just a minute after lift-off, ultimately killing all on board. This event, which had been anticipated with such optimism, turned into a cause for national mourning almost in the blink of […]

This Day In History: January 26, 1962 There is only one song that made it to number one on the Billboard charts on two separate Billboard runs, and that is Chubby Checker’s legendary dance smash “The Twist.” The title first topped the chart for the week of Sept. 24, 1960, and then reclaimed the number one position on January 13, […]

This Day In History: January 23, 1957 On January 23, 1957 the Wham-O toy company rolled out their very first batch of plastic aerodynamic flying discs – now known the world over as Frisbees. Since that day, the landscape of college campuses, parks and beaches have never been the same. The story of the Frisbee began on a Santa Monica, […]

Today in History: January 22, 1779 On January 22, 1779, notorious Tory outlaw Claudius Smith, who had plundered and terrorized the people of New York during the Revolutionary War, was executed on a makeshift gallows in Goshen, New York. Since his mother had long suspected he’d meet such an end and “die with his boots on”, he supposedly kicked off […]

This Day In History: January 21, 1977 On January 21, 1977, during his first full day as president, Jimmy Carter fulfilled a promise he made during his campaign when he granted a pardon to Vietnam War era draft evaders. The president felt that “reconciliation calls for an act of mercy to bind the nation’s wounds and to heal the scars […]

This Day In History: January 20, 1968 It certainly wasn’t a case of love at first sight. Initially, Roman Polanski refused to speak to the equally unimpressed Sharon Tate. Even by the time they were on their second date, Roman’s idea of romance was jumping out at Sharon wearing a Frankenstein mask, scaring her to death. But rocky beginnings or […]

This Day In History: January 19, 1809 The tumultuous life of Edgar Allan Poe, the American writer, editor, and literary critic, began in Boston, MA on January 19, 1809. Poe was one of the early architects of detective fiction and is also considered a major contributor to the birth of science fiction. He was also among the first well-known American […]

This Day In History: January 16, 1547 On January 16, 1547, 16-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich, Grand Prince of Moscow, assumed the Russian throne in the Cathedral of the Dormition, ushering in a new political era for the country – for better or worse. He demanded the title “Tsar of All the Russias” although he was in reality The Duke of Moscow. […]

This Day In History: January 15, 1947 The murder of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed “The Black Dahlia”, was one of the most brutal crimes in Los Angeles history. Her body was found on January 15, 1947, when a mother out walking her baby saw what she thought was a mannequin tossed in the weeds a few feet from the sidewalk. It […]

This Day In History: January 14, 1794 On January 14, 1794, Dr. Jesse Bennett’s wife, Elizabeth, was suffering through a very difficult labor with their first child. Dr. Humphrey, her attending physician, determined the only options left after a forceps delivery failed were a cesarean section on Elizabeth or a craniotomy on the infant (removing part of the skull temporarily). […]

This Day In History: January 13, 1962 “Nothing in moderation – We all loved him.” – Ernie Kovacs epitaph On Jan 13, 1962, the immensely popular, cigar-puffing comedian Ernie Kovacs was killed in a car accident when he crashed into a telephone pole on his way home from a baby shower held for Mr. and Mrs. Milton Berle. Kovacs lost […]

This Day In History: January 12, 1971 When the very first episode of All in the Family aired on January 12, 1971, CBS ran the following disclaimer immediately preceding it: The program you are about to see is All in the Family.  It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns.  By making them a source […]

This Day In History: January 9, 1911 On January 9, 1911, legendary striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee was born as Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle, Washington. One of the most popular performers of the 1940s and 1950s, Gypsy was much more than a pretty girl who provocatively removed clothing. She was a brainy businesswoman who created a winning persona and […]

This Day In History: January 8, 1941 As the year 1941 dawned, 24-year-old Orson Welles had just finishing making what is largely considered one of the best films of all time – Citizen Kane. But at the time, he was having a difficult time getting his picture released. Why? Because Hollywood’s Boy Genius had stepped on the toes of the […]

This Day In History: January 7, 1990 The Cathedral in Pisa’s free-standing bell tower obviously wasn’t intended to be lopsided. When construction began in August of 1173, everything seemed OK at first. But the builders set the tower on a too-small foundation in unstable, weak soil. By the time construction had reached the third floor in 1178, the structure had […]