News, Events, Birthdays, History - January 22 - January 28
Birthdays
John Hancock - January 23, 1737 John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Secon
![]() Although not fully confirmed by historical accounts, it is claimed that Hancock signed his name in this manner so that King George of England could read it clearly without his glasses on...in other words, a kind of "Take That!" attitude. We have all heard of Paul Revere's famous ride during which he warned Boston-area residents of a British attempt to seize ammunition. Perhaps lesser known is that Revere's mission included bringing a warning to John Hancock, who was spending the night in Lexington. There was concern that the British aim was to capture Hancock and other revolutionary leaders. John Belushi - January 24, 1949 ![]() Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - January 27, 1756 ![]() Events
January 25, 1961 - First Televised Presidential News Conference
President John F. Kennedy's first press conference - covered by all three networks -was the first live telecast of a presidential news conference. Broadcast on January 25, 1961, the conference was held in the auditorium of the State Department building in Washington, D.C.. A total of 31 questions were asked over a 38-minute period. And for those of you younger than 30 or 40....yes, there used to be only three networks - ABC, NBC, and CBS!
January 25, 1924 - First Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics first took place in 1924, in Chamonix, France. A total of 16 nations sent athletes, totaling 258 (247 men and 11 women). The Games were actually called "The International Winter Sports Week" and went on for 11 days, from January 25 to February 5. A total of 16 events were scheduled, including bobsled racing, figure skating, hockey, cross-country skiing, and curling.
January 25, 1984 - Apple Macintosh debuts
![]() The first Macintosh was introduced on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface. The Macintosh had a retail price of $2495 (in today's dollars, that would be about $5000), and came bundled with two applications designed to show off its interface: MacWrite and MacPaint.
January 26, 1784 - Franklin Prefers Turkey
Benjamin Franklin was one of our country's most prominent founding fathers, and is also remembered for his prolific writings, including a wealth of wise statements and witty advice published in the "Poor Richard's Alman
![]() For my own part, I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; he does not get his living honestly. Too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length take a fish...the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him. In truth, the turkey is, in comparison, a much more respectable bird..." Ben, Ben, Ben.... a turkey?? |
![]() |
|