This Week in History
by Dianne Hermann
“In the summer of 1776 our Founding Fathers sought to
secure our independence and our liberties that remain the
foundation of our nation today.” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Jan 19-25, 2026
January 19
1825 – Ezra Daggett and his nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans to “preserve animal substances in tin.”
1840 – American naval officer Charles Wilkes leads an expedition that discovers Antarctica.
1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
1922 – The U.S. Geological Survey said the U.S. oil supply will be depleted in 20 years.
1961 – The first episode of the “Dick Van Dyke Show” is filmed. It aired until 1966. Dick Van Dyke is now 100 years old. The only other surviving cast member is Larry Mathews, now 70, who played the son. Watch the story behind the iconic 1962 show intro.
1977 – President Ford pardons American-born World War II propaganda broadcaster Iva Toguri D’Aquino (a.k.a. Tokyo Rose). She was arrested, tried, and convicted of treason in 1949. She served 6 years of a 10-year sentence. D’Aquino died in 2006 at age 90.
2006 – The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto. The probe sent back data from its “flyby” in 2015 and 2016. The mission has been extended to 2021 explore the Kuiper Belt.
2013 – Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories. He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong is now 54 years old.
2017 – Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is extradited to the U.S. to face trial on criminal charges related to his role in the drug cartel. In 2019, he was found guilty and is serving a life sentence at the maximum security facility in Colorado.
January 20
1778 – The first American military court martial trial begins in Brunswick, New Jersey. General Charles Lee, George Washington’s second in command, was charged and found guilty of disobeying orders, misbehavior before the enemy, and disrespect to the Commander-In-Chief. He was suspended from the Army for one year.
1801 – John Marshall was appointed U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice. Chief Justice Marshall served until his death in 1835 at age 79. Marshall is the longest serving Chief Justice in U.S. history, serving during the administration of six presidents.
1937 – This was the first time the presidential inauguration is held on January 20th. It was previously held on March 4th.
1980 – President Carter announced the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Winter Olympics to protest the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.
1994 – Shannon Faulkner becomes the first woman to attend classes at The Citadel in South Carolina, breaking the 152-year-old male-only tradition. Faulkner formally joined the cadet corps in August 1995 under court order, but she dropped out soon after. Faulkner, now 50, is an English teacher in South Carolina.
2009 – Barack Hussein Obama is inaugurated as the first bi-racial president.
2017 – More than 500,000 people marched in protest at President Trump’s inauguration in the “Women’s March.”
January 21
1677 – The first medical publication in America is a pamphlet on smallpox. Thomas Thacher’s pamphlet, “A Brief Rule to Guide the Common People of New England how to order themselves and theirs in the Small Pocks, or Measles” was published in Boston.
1789 – The first American novel, W. H. Brown’s “Power of Sympathy” is published. It was subtitled “The Triumph of Nature.”
1908 – The Sullivan Ordinance was passed in New York City. It made smoking in public places by women illegal. The measure was vetoed by Mayor George McClellan, Jr. two weeks later.
1950 – A New York jury finds former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury. He was convicted of lying about passing state secrets to Whittaker Chambers, a Time magazine editor. He was not charged with espionage because the statute of limitations had run out. Hiss served less than four years of his five year sentence. Hiss died in 1996 at age 92.
1954 – The submarine USS Nautilus is launched in Groton, Connecticut, as the first atomic-powered submarine. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow to christen the sub. It began its first nuclear-powered test voyage one year later. The Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980. It is now part of a museum in Connecticut. Watch a brief history of the Nautilus.
1977 – President Carter pardons almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
2003 – The Census Bureau announces that estimates show that the Hispanic population has passed the black population for the first time.
January 22
1814 – The first Knights Templar grand encampment in the U.S. is held in New York City.
1917 – President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for “peace without victory.” America entered the war the following April.
1946 – Congress createed the CIA, Central Intelligence Agency, during the Hoover administration. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter was its first director.
1950 – Automaker Preston Tucker is found not guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud after being hounded by the SEC for years. Tucker’s defense attorneys surprised everyone by not calling any witnesses to the stand. Even though Tucker was acquitted, his factory had been closed down and he was deep in debt. Of the 51 Tucker Sedans that were made, 47 are still around, mostly in private collections. He died in 1956 at age 53. Watch a video on the rise and fall of Tucker.
1973 – The U.S. Supreme Court legalized some abortions in the Roe vs. Wade decision. There have been an estimated 62.5 million abortions in the U.S. since Roe vs. Wade.
1990 – Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. was convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm. He was the first person to be indicted under the new Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Morris was sentenced to three years of probation, 400 hours of community service, and fined $10,050.
2002 – Kmart Corp became the largest retailer in U.S. history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
January 23
1855 – The first bridge over the Mississippi River opened in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bridge today is called the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.
1862 – Agoston Haraszthy, the first vintner in Sonoma Valley, California, imported 10,000 grapevine cuttings. He introduced more than 300 varieties of European grapes. Haraszthy, a Hungarian immigrant, is called the “Father of Modern Winemaking in California.” He had previously started the second oldest winery in the U.S. in Wisconsin.
1930 – The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is established in Colonial Beach, Virginia.
1968 – The spy ship USS Pueblo and its 83-man crew were seized in Sea of Japan by North Korea. The crew was released 11 months later, but the ship still remains in North Korea. Watch a video by the Council on Foreign Relations.
1986 – The first inductees into Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame are Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, “Fats” Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
1993 – New York Newsday reports that Oregon’s Senator Bob Packwood sexually harassed 23 women. Packwood announced his resignation from the Senate on September 7, 1995, the day after the Senate Ethics Committee unanimously recommended that he be expelled from the Senate for ethical misconduct.
2002 – Reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan. He was subsequently murdered by Al-Quaeda terrorists on live TV. A British national of Pakistani origin was sentenced to death by hanging in Pakistan for the murder.
2013 – The U.S. armed forces overturned a 1994 ban on women serving in combat.
2019 – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi disinvited President Donald Trump from making the State of the Union Address in Congress because of the government shutdown. Trump presented his Address on February 5th.
January 24
1848 – James Marshall finds gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, starting the gold rush.
1922 – Christian K. Nelson received the patent for the Eskimo Pie, a chocolate covered ice cream bar. It was originally called the “I Scream Bar.” Woke culture extremists coerced Eskimo Pies to be renamed Edy’s Pie in 2021.
1935 – The Krueger Brewing Company sold the first canned beer, “Krueger Cream Ale.” Beer had previously only been sold in bottles.
1964 – The 24th Amendment to the Constitution went into effect. It states that voting rights cannot be denied due to failure to pay taxes.
1984 – Apple Computer Inc. unveils its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer. It sold for $2,500. Watch Apple’s first Mac commercial.
1989 – Confessed serial killer Ted Bundy was put to death in Florida’s electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. He murdered more than 25 girls and young women between 1974 and 1978.
2003 – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation. It was established by President George Bush following the 9-11 attacks.
2017 – President Trump withdraws the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
January 25
1851 – Sojourner Truth addresses the first Black Women’s Rights Convention, held in Akron, Ohio.
1890 – Nellie Bly beats the fictional Phileas Fogg’s time around world by 8 days. American-born Bly traveled around the world mostly by ship and rail, completing the trip alone in just over 72 days. Bly died in 1922 at age 57.
1907 – Julia Ward Howe, who penned “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” was the first woman elected to National Institute of Arts & Letters.
1937 – The first broadcast of “Guiding Light” airs on NBC radio. It premiered on TV in 1952 and aired until 2009. It is still the longest running soap opera ever. General Hospital is the longest-running soap opera still in production with 63 seasons.
1949 – The first television Emmy Awards ceremony is aired. Ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale and the popular TV show “Pantomime Quiz” won the first Emmy awards.
1971 – Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted of the seven Tate-LaBianca murders. He was sentenced to death but his sentence was changed to life in prison when the death penalty was abolished. He was repeatedly denied parole. Manson died in 2017 at age 83.
1981 – The 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in the U.S. They were freed just moments after President Reagan was inaugurated. Watch Walter Cronkite’s report.
1996 – Billy Bailey is the last person to be executed by hanging in the U.S. He was convicted of a double murder. Bailey chose to be executed by hanging instead of lethal injection.
2004 – The Mars Exploration Rover “Opportunity” lands on surface of Mars. The 3-month mission lasted 14 years longer than its operating plan, gathering scientific observations and sending reports to Earth. Communication was lost in 2018 after a severe dust storm. Opportunity traveled 28 miles over the surface of Mars.
2017 – The Dow Jones closes above 20,000 for the first time, just 5 days after Donald Trump is inaugurated as president. It was at almost 31,000 when Trump left office. The Dow dropped to 19,000 during the Biden’s first year in office.
Image from: invention.si.edu
