Special Points of Interest about
January
·
Many
U.S. states got their official start in January, including Alaska (January 3,
1959, becoming the 49th state), Utah (January 4, 1896, becoming the
45th state), New Mexico (January 6, 1912, becoming the 47th
state) and Kansas (January 29, 1861, becoming the 34th state)
·
On
the first of January in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation
·
The
first American presidential election was held on January 7, 1789
·
Martin
Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, was born on January 15, 1929
·
The
gold rush was kicked off when gold was discovered in California on January 24,
1848
·
The
world’s largest diamond, known as the Cullinan diamond, was discovered on
January 26, 1905, weighing in at 3106.75 carats, or 1.369 pounds
·
Inventor
Thomas Edison was granted the first patent for his incandescent light bulb on
January 27, 1880
·
The
U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in space, killing the seven crew members
aboard, on January 28, 1986
·
Congress
authorized the purchase of Thomas Jefferson’s library on January 30, 1815,
which birthed the Library of Congress
·
Adolf
Hitler was named chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, ushering in one of
the world’s darkest times