On January 13, 2020, LSU defeated Clemson to win its 4th Nation -- sorry, getting ahead of myself.


On January 13, 1842, Dr. William Bryden, surgeon for the 16,000 man Anglo-Indian expeditionary force, staggers into the British sentry post at Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He reports the massacre of the force in the Khyber Pass. He is the lone survivor. Great Britain attempted to expand its presence on the sub-continent by occupying Kabul and attempting to replace the emir with a predecessor known to be sympathetic to the British. The blatant interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs triggered the outbreak of the first Anglo-Afghan War in 1839. The occupying force began to withdraw on January 6, 1842, but bad weather delayed the army’s progress, and the Afghans attacked en masse at the Khyber Pass. The war ended with an alliance a year later, but a second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 ended with Britain gaining control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs.

On January 13, 1910, The Radio Telephone Company transmits a live performance of Enrico Caruso performing opera arias at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House. Radio receivers on ships in New York harbor, in hotels, and elsewhere throughout New York allow the public to hear the world's first public radio broadcast.

On January 13, 1968, legendary country singer Johnny Cash performs for inmates at California's Folsom Prison. The concert and subsequent live album would define and revive Cash's career, which was in decline at the time. Despite his bad-boy image, Cash never went to prison, other than a few nights drying out in various jails. He wrote his immortal "Folsom Prison Blues" in 1956, inspired by a movie, not his own experiences. The Folsom concert, along with a subsequent album recorded at San Quentin Prison, also linked Cash permanently with prison life in American pop culture of the 70's, so much so that he was invited to testify before Congress and meet with President Nixon in 1972 to discuss national prison reform.

Good question. It would have to be facilities (like ships) that had wireless stations already. Those places would have been set up to receive (and transmit) Morse code, but I imagine they could receive vocal signals as well.

That's what I figuring. The issue is being able to send the signals, not receive.

On January 14, 1784, the Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the War for Independence. In the agreement, Great Britain officially recognizes the independence of its former 13 colonies. The treaty establishes the borders between the new USA and Britain's holdings in what is now Canada. It also guarantees fishing rights for the US on waterways that make up those northern boundaries, ensures the return of land confiscated by the US from British property owners in the colonies, and assures mutual access to the Mississippi River by both nations.

On January 14, 1980, the US government releases control of its supply of gold; gold promptly reaches a new record price, exceeding $800 an ounce. With the world economy in crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt prohibited the circulation of gold in 1933. Gold was being publicly traded in Europe in 1974, with highs approaching $200 an ounce, when the US allowed its gold onto the market.

On January 14, 1970, Diana Ross and the Supremes perform together for the last time, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. The Motown trio were one of the most commercially successful American acts of the 1960's, but friction had been building between the members for a few years. Much of the animosity came out of Motown Records chief Barry Gordy's decision to bill Ross as the name attraction of the group, a decision that clearly indicated Gordy was grooming Ross for a solo career. After the 1/14/70 show, Ross embarked on a career that saw her named "Female Entertainer of the Century" by Billboard magazine. Jean Terrell joined Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong in the trio rebranded The Supremes, and they would hit the charts 3 times in the 1970's. The classic trio of Ross, Wilson and Florence Ballard were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

On January 15, 209, US Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger is at the controls of an Airbus A320 when the plane struck a flock of Canada geese moments after takeoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport. Both engines lost power. With too little altitude and too little speed to return to LaGuardia or divert to another airport, Sullenberger's only option is to ditch the plane in the Hudson River off midtown Manhattan. Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles successfully bring the plane down with only a few injuries to the 155 onboard. The feat is quickly labelled the "Miracle on the Hudson."


On January 15, 1870, Thomas Nast, political illustrator for Harper’s Weekly, posts a cartoon he calls “A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion.” It is Nast's commentary on how Democratic Party-leaning newspapers in the South challenged Lincoln's Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, throughout the Civil War. It is considered the birth of the donkey as symbol of the Democratic Party. A few years later, Nast will give birth to the elephant as symbol for the Republicans in similar fashion.


On January 15, 1559, two months after the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I, Elizabeth Tudor is crowned Queen Elizabeth I of England. She is the 25-year-old daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth, known as the Virgin Queen for her refusal to marry and possibly dilute her authority, will rule for 44 years. She would reverse many of the religious reforms enacted by her half-sister, who was a devout Catholic, and establishes a permanent Church of England based on Protestant practices. She expands the English navy, which defeats the mighty Spanish Armada in 1588, and finances numerous voyages of discovery, such as Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world and Sir Walter Raleigh’s expeditions to the North American coast. By her death in 1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth I is considered one of England’s greatest monarchs.

On January 16, 1919, Nebraska becomes the 36th state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes.” A year and a day later, Prohibition will become the law of the land. The temperance movement has its roots in the 19th century, but doesn't begin gaining political power until late in the century. Congress would approve the 18th Amendment in December 1917, sending it to the states for ratification.

This day in 27 BC sees the official beginning of the Roman Empire, when the Roman Senate grants to Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, the title Augustus, giving him imperial powers and ending the republic

January 16, 1991, the Persian Gulf War begins. At midnight in Iraq, the United Nations deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait expires. Later that day, the first fighter aircraft were launched from Saudi Arabia and off U.S. and British aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf on bombing missions over Iraq. The allies will hit targets around the nation from the air for the next 6 weeks. On February 24, a massive coalition ground offensive began, and Iraq’s outdated and poorly supplied armed forces were rapidly overwhelmed. Kuwait was liberated in less than four days, and a majority of Iraq’s armed forces surrendered, retreated into Iraq, or were destroyed. On February 28, President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire, and Iraq pledged to honor future coalition and U.N. peace terms.

On January 17, 1945, Soviet troops under General Georgi Zhukov liberate Warsaw from German occupation. The capital city of Poland had been in German hands since September 27, 1939. Between those two dates, Warsaw's population was reduced from 1.3 million to 153,000.

On January 17, 1893, a group of American sugar planters under Sanford B. Dole overthrow Liliuokalani, Queen of the Hawaiian islands, and establish a new provincial government with Dole as president. The island nation was discovered and colonized by Polynesian explorers some time in the 8th century. American traders introduced the sugar industry to the island in the early 1800's. After that, Hawaii and the U.S. reached numerous economic and political treaties, including one that provided for the establishment of the U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor. However, in 1891 Liliuokalani, the sister of the late King Kalakaua, ascended to the throne and began increasing her personal authority. Dole organized a revolutionary “Committee of Safety" and staged a coup against the queen. On his own authority, U.S. Minister to Hawaii, John L. Stevens , who had foreknowledge of the coup, recognized Dole’s new government and proclaimed Hawaii a U.S. protectorate. Dole resisted the efforts of President Grover Cleveland to restore Queen Liliuokalani, and when the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 demonstrated the strategic value of Pearl Harbor, Congress approved formal annexation.

On January 17, 1950, 11 men steal more than $2 million ($29 million today) from the Brink's Armored Car depot in Boston. It was almost the perfect crime; the culprits weren’t caught until January 1956, just days before the statute of limitations for the theft expired. Career criminal Anthony “Fats” Pino staked out the depot for 18 months before deciding the time was right for the robbery. Wearing clothing similar to the Brink's employee uniforms and rubber Halloween masks, the thieves entered the depot with copied keys, surprising and tying up several employees inside the company’s counting room. They made off with more than $2.7 million—the largest robbery in U.S. history up until that time, leaving behind no injured and virtually no clues. The gang agreed to hide the money and split up, laying low until the statute of limitations ran out. But one member, Joseph “Specs” O’Keefe, was jailed for another burglary, and began threatening to spill the beans (in a letter to another gang member). After a failed attempt on his life, O’Keefe made a deal with the FBI to testify against his fellow robbers. Eight received life sentences. Two more died before they could go to trial. Only a small part of the money was ever recovered; the rest is fabled to be hidden in the hills north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

On January 18, 2000, South Carolina becomes the last state to officially recognize Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday. President Reagan signed the bill recognizing MLK Day as a federal holiday in 1983, but it took some states longer to embrace the holiday than others.

On January 18, 1778, English explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to travel to the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he landed at Waimea on the island of Kauai and named the island group the Sandwich Islands, in honor of John Montague, who was the earl of Sandwich and one his patrons.


On January 18, 1975, Barry Manilow scores his first #1 single with “Mandy.” It's the first of 46 songs to hit the charts for Manilow, who defied pop musical convention of the 70's and 80's with songs that had more of a Broadway/big band era style. Manilow's career started in the commercial jingle writer/performer business, and he got his break as a performer when he met a kindred spirit in Bette Midler. Midler hired Manilow as his music director/pianist and allowed him to perform a short set of his own songs during her intermissions. Manilow then went solo and between 1975 and 1983 recorded 28 top ten hits, 13 of which reached number one. Later in his career, both Billboard and Radio & Records would recognize Manilow as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time.