1492 Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
1509 Étienne Dolet (born), French scholar (died 1546)
1527 The first known letter from North America is sent by John Rut while at St. John’s, Newfoundland.
1678 Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes.
1692 John Henley (born), English clergyman (died 1759)
1712 Joshua Barnes (died), English scholar (born 1654)
1721 Grinling Gibbons (died), Dutch-English sculptor and woodcarver (born 1648)
1780 Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (died), French epistemologist and philosopher (born 1715)
1803 Joseph Paxton (born), English gardener and architect, designed The Crystal Palace (died 1865)
1811 Elisha Otis (born), American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (died 1861)
1839 Dorothea von Schlegel (died), German author (born 1763)
1852 Harvard University wins the first Boat Race between Yale University and Harvard. The race is also the first American intercollegiate athletic event
1860 The Second Maori War begins in New Zealand.
1899 Louis Chiron (born), Monegasque race car driver (died 1979)
1900 John T. Scopes (born), American educator (died 1970)
1900 The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.
1901 John C. Stennis (born), American lawyer and politician (died 1995)
1907 Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis fines Standard Oil of Indiana a record $29.4 million for illegal rebating to freight carriers; the conviction and fine are later reversed on appeal.
1907 Lawrence Brown (born), American trombonist and composer (died 1988)
1914 World War I: Germany declares war against France.
1917 Ferdinand Georg Frobenius (died), German mathematician (born 1849)
1917 Les Elgart (born), American trumpet player and bandleader (died 1995)
1918 James MacGregor Burns (born), American historian and political scientist
1920 P. D. James (born), English author
1921 Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the ban of the eight Chicago Black Sox, the day after they were acquitted by a Chicago court.
1924 Joseph Conrad (died), Polish-English author (born 1857)
1924 Leon Uris (born), American author (died 2003)
1925 Marv Levy (born), American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager
1926 Tony Bennett (born), American singer
1929 Emile Berliner (died), German-American inverter and businessman, invented the phonograph (born 1851)
1929 Thorstein Veblen (died), American economist and sociologist (born 1857)
1934 Adolf Hitler becomes the supreme leader of Germany by joining the offices of President and Chancellor into Führer.
1936 Jesse Owens wins the 100 meter dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the Berlin Olympics.
1940 Martin Sheen (born), American actor and producer
1941 Martha Stewart (born), American businesswoman, publisher, and author, founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
1946 John York (born), American bass player, songwriter, and producer (The Byrds and Sir Douglas Quintet)
1946 Santa Claus Land, the world’s first themed amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States.
1948 Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.
1949 B. B. Dickerson (born), American bass player and songwriter (War)
1950 Linda Howard (born), American author
1953 Ian Bairnson (born), Scottish saxophonist and keyboard player (The Alan Parsons Project Keats)
1958 The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap.
1960 Niger gains independence from France.
1961 Molly Hagan (born), American actress
1963 James Hetfield (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Metallica, Spastik Children, and Leather Charm)
1964 Flannery O’Connor (died), American author (born 1925)
1966 Lenny Bruce (died), American comedian (born 1925)
1972 The United States Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
1973 Richard Marshall (died), American general (born 1895)
1977 Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers.
1977 The United States Senate begins its hearing on Project MKUltra.
1977 Tom Brady (born), American football player
1995 Ida Lupino (died), English-American actress, singer, director, and producer (born 1914)
2004 The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopens after being closed since the September 11 attacks.
2005 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes President of Iran.
2006 Arthur Lee (died), American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Love) (born 1945)
2008 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (died), Russian author and critic (born 1918)
2008 Skip Caray (died), American sportscaster (born 1939)
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
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- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017