On this day in:
45 BC New Year's Day was celebrated for the first time on January 1 when the Julian calendar took effect.
1449 Lorenzo de Medici (The Magnificent) of Florence was born. Many in this Italian noble family were patrons of learning and the arts. Lorenzo’s great granddaughter, Catherine, is known as the ‘mother of French haute cuisine’ because when she married the French king Henry II, she brought the finest Italian chefs, and her passion for fine food, with her to France. (With apologies to my French readers. Reasonable rebuttals accepted for future publication).
1735 Paul Revere was born. A silversmith and American Revolutionary folk hero, he also made surgical instruments and false teeth.
1772 The London Credit Exchange Company issued the first traveler’s checks.
1800 Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton died. A French naturalist, he was a pioneer in several fields including plant physiology. He conducted many agricultural experiments and introduced Merino sheep to France. First director of the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
1849 Benjamin Leroy Holt was born (died Dec 5, 1920) Invented first practical track-type or crawler tractor (caterpillar tractor) in 1904.
1859 Michael Joseph Owens was born (died Dec 27, 1923). Invented a revolutionary automatic glass bottle making machine. Founded Owens Bottle Machine Co. (see also: Feb 26, 1895).
1863 Daniel Freeman is the first to submit a claim under the new Homestead Act, for 160 acres near Beatrice, Nebraska.
1876 The first world's oldest trademark is the red triangle registered for Bass Pale Ale. (Some sources say 1883 or 1890)
1876 The first agricultural experiment station was established at Middleton, Connecticut.
1895 C.W. Post of Battle Creek, Michigan introduced Postum Food Coffee, a coffee substitute made from wheat, bran and molasses.
1896 Alfred Ely Beach died. American inventor and publisher of Scientific American magazine.
1898 Post Grape Nuts are introduced by C. W. Post of Battle Creek, Michigan. (There are no grapes or nuts in Grape Nuts).
1906 Alfred C. Fuller founded the Fuller Brush Company.
1909 Marcel Proust had a flashback. On January 1, 1909, he ate a piece of tea-soaked toast whose taste caused a flood of childhood memories. In his 7 volume allegorical novel 'Remembrance of Things Past,' the character named Swann has a similar experience when he bites into a lemon cookie (a 'Madeleine') which brings on a similar flood of memories.
1919 J.D. (Jerome David) Salinger was born (died Jan 27, 2010). Author of 'The Catcher in the Rye' (1951).
1935 In Miami, the first Orange Bowl was played on this day in 1935. Bucknell University wins over the University of Miami, 26-0.
1935 The first Sugar Bowl football game was played on this day in 1935 in New Orleans.
1935 B. (Barnard) Kliban was born. A satirical cartoonist, best known for his cat cartoons. A few of his cartoon book titles: 'Never Eat Anything Larger Than Your Head', 'The Biggest Tongue in Tunisia'.
1942 Country Joe McDonald of 'Country Joe and the Fish' was born.
1958 The agreements establishing the European Economic Community (EEC or Common Market) went into effect. (See also: March 25, 1957)
1968 Cat (Catherine Ann) Cora was born. American celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook author. Only female 'Iron Chef' on Food Network's 'Iron Chef America' [Website: www.catcora.com]
1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
1995 U.S. first class postage rates were raised to 32 cents and post cards to 20 cents.
1996 The last Polynesian tree snail, species Partula turgida, died at the London Zoo. They lived on the South Pacific island of Raiatea, where the residents imported predatory snails from Florida to eat a pest snail, originally imported from Africa. Instead they ate the native Tree Snail to extinction. We never seem to learn about the consequences of introducing nonnative species
1998 Smoking is banned in California restaurants and bars.
1999 The 'euro' was introduced as an accounting currency, the new monetary unit of the European Union.
2002 'Euro' coins and banknotes went into circulation, the new monetary unit of the European Union.
Jackson, Milton/ Milt or Bags (1923-1999) - Birthday
Jan 1, 1923
Milton Jackson, also known as Milt or Bags because of the bags under his eyes, the leader of the Modern Jazz Quartet, was born on January 1, 1923, in Detroit, Michigan, to Manley Jackson and Lillie Beaty Jackson.
Jan 1, 1863
African-American history is the part of American history that looks at the African-American or Black American ethnic groups in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of Africans forcibly brought to and held captive in the United States from 1555 to 1865. Blacks from the Caribbean whose ancestors immigrated, or who immigrated to the U.S., have also traditionally been considered African-American, as they share a common history of predominantly West African or Central African roots, the Middle Passage and slavery.
African Americans have been known by various names throughout American history, including colored and Negro, which are no longer accepted in English. Instead the most usual and accepted terms nowadays are African American and Black, which however may have different connotations (see African American#Terminology). The term person of color usually refers not only to African Americans, but also to other non-white ethnic groups. Others who sometimes are referred to as African Americans, and who may identify themselves as such in US government censuses, include relatively recent Black immigrants from Africa, South America and elsewhere.
African-American history is celebrated and highlighted annually in the United States during February, designated as Black History Month. Although previously marginalized, African-American history has gained ground in school and university curricula and gained wider scholarly attention since the late 20th century.
Most African Americans are descended from Africans brought directly from Africa as slaves. Originally these slaves were captured in African wars or raids and transported in the Atlantic slave trade.[1] African Americans are descended from various ethnic groups, mostly from western and central Africa, including the Sahel. A smaller number came from eastern and southeastern Africa.