Did you know...

... that today, besides being New Year's Eve, is the birthday

of the East India Company? In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I of

England chartered the East India Company, a trading group that

would become the largest company in the world. The company was

dissolved by the British government in 1858, but only after

helping England gain a world empire.

January 1, 1979

The United States and China established diplomatic relations.

 

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The Times Square celebration started in 1904 to commemorate the opening of the new headquarters of the New York Times.

January 2, 1974

President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph.

 

January 4, 1974

President Richard Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.

Did you know...

... that today is Deep Ocean Life Day? In 1985, Science

magazine reported the discovery of plant life 268 meters

(almost 880 feet) deep in the ocean, the deepest plant life

ever reported. That was well beyond the 200-meter limit

biologists had set based on the availability of sunlight. But

there it was; and it may be found even deeper!

The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896... Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.




 

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be

made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define

yourself."

January 5, 1914

Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, introduced a minimum wage scale of $5 per day.

 

Did you know...

... that today is Silent Cowboy Day? In 1880, Tom Mix was born

in Driftwood, Pennsylvania. America's greatest silent movie

cowboy star, Mix was in the top 10 of highest paid film stars,

with Mix and his horse, Tony, earning $4,000 a week. Sixteen

years after his first walk-on, Tom Mix became the highest paid

movie star to that time when Fox resigned him at $20,000 a

week!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

January 9, 2001

Apple Computer Inc. introduced its iTunes music management software at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco.

 

January 8, 1815

U.S. forces led by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

 

 

 

January 7, 1927

Commercial transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated between New York and London.



 

Did you know...

... that today is Wild Boy of Aveyron Day? Victor of Aveyron

was a feral child who apparently lived his entire childhood

naked and alone in the woods before being found wandering the

woods near Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, France, in 1797. He was

captured, but soon escaped after being displayed in the town.

However, on January 8, 1800, he emerged from the forests on

his own.