Birthdays

January 9, 1913 - Richard Milhous Nixon
The 37th President of the United States, Nixon was the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency (1968 and 1972) and the Vice-Presidency (1952 and 1960). A much more unfortunate distinction is that of being the only President to resign the office. In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, five men were caught during a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington, D.C. In the pocket of one of the burglars - along with thousands of dollars - was a phone number for "Hunt - W.H" - short for Howard Hunt, White House. Oops...this was the beginning of the Watergate scandal, which would culminate in Nixon's resignation just over two years later in August of 1974.


January 12, 1951 - Rush Limbaugh
Limbaugh is an American radio host, conservative political commentator, and an influential opinion leader in the conservative movement in the United States. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States.


January 14, 1741 - Benedict Arnold
A general during the American Revolutionary War, Arnold originally fought for the American Continental Army. Despite early successes, he was passed over for promotion by the Congress while other officers to credit for his accomplishments. Political adversaries initiated an investigation for corruption, even though Arnold had contributed much of his own money to the American effort.
Frustrated, bitter, and strongly opposed to the new American alliance with France, Arnold decided to change sides in 1779. In July 1780, he sought and obtained command of West Point in order to surrender it to the British. Arnold's scheme was exposed when American forces captured British Major John André carrying papers that revealed the plot. Upon learning of André's capture, Benedict Arnold escaped down the Hudson River, narrowly avoiding capture by the forces of General Washington, who was arriving the same day to inspect West Point and to meet and dine with Arnold.


January 15, 1929 - Martin Luther King
King was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, and he has become a human rights icon. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. In a speech the day before his assassination, King said:
"And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."


Events

January 10, 1776 - Common Sense Published
After experiencing several business and personal failures in England, Thomas Paine emigrated to the American colonies and soon became active in the early stages of the revolutionary movement, authoring several pamphlets supporting a break with Britain. His most popular, and most incendiary, pamphlet was entitled "Common Sense", and it laid out the case for independence in a style that common people understood. In relation to the population of the Colonies at that time, this pamphlet had the largest sale and circulation of any book in American history.


January 15, 1967 - First Super Bowl
Played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, the game was billed as the "First AFL-NFL World Championship Game". Only later would it become known as "Super Bowl 1". The Green Bay Packers faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs and won by a score of 35 to 10. At the time, the ticket price of $12 was viewed as exorbitant, and the game was not a sellout. Nowadays, individual ticket prices start at around $2,000 and go up to $10,000 and more, and the cost of a 30-second television ad during the game will exceed $3 million.

January 15, 1943 - Pentagon Completed
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. It the world's largest office building by floor area, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, of which 3,700,000 sq ft are used as offices.

Approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 miles of corridors. On September 11, 2001, the Pentagon was targeted by one of four airplanes hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists - 125 people in the building and all 64 people on the airliner were killed.