TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – JAN 19
379 Theodosius installed as co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
1419 Rouen surrendered to Henry V, completing his conquest of Normandy.
1523 In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli publishes his 67 Articles, the first manifesto of the Zurich Reformation which attacks the authority of the Pope.
1783 William Pitt becomes the youngest Prime Minister of England at age 24.
1793 King Louis XVI was tried by the French Convention, found guilty of treason and sentenced to the guillotine.
1847 New Mexico Governor Charles Bent is slain by Pueblo Indians in Taos.
1861 Georgia secedes from the Union.
1883 The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey
1915 Georges Claude patents his neon discharge tube
1920 4,000 individuals are rounded up in a single night mostly members of the Industrial Workers of the World union who were suspected of being suspected radical leftists who were either deported or jailed as part of the Palmer Raids. The Palmer Raids ( named for Alexander Mitchell Palmer, United States Attorney General ) were a series of controversial raids by the U.S. Justice and Immigration Departments from 1919 to 1921 on suspected radical leftists in the United States . These arrests were made under the provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918
1923 The French announce the invention of a new gun that has a firing range of 56 miles.
1931 The Wickersham Committee issues a report asking for revisions in the dry law, but no repeal.
1937 Howard Hughes flies from Los Angeles to New York in seven hours and 22 minutes.
1937 In the Soviet Union, the People’s Commissars Council is formed under Molotov.
1953 Sixty-eight percent of all TV sets in the U.S. were tuned to CBS-TV, as Lucy Ricardo, of “I Love Lucy,” gave birth to a baby boy.
1955 President Eisenhower okayed the first filming of a news conference for television.
1969 In protest against the Russian invasion of 1968, Czech student Jan Palach set himself on fire in Prague’s Wenceslas Square.
1971 At the Charles Manson murder trial, the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” was played. At the scene of one of his gruesome murders, the words “helter skelter” were written on a mirror.
1977 U.S. President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D’Aquino (the “Tokyo Rose”).
1981 The United States and Iran signed an agreement paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.
1983 The New Catholic code expands women’s rights in the Church.
1983 Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia. Barbie was known as the “Butcher of Lyon”
1993 Apple announces “The Apple Lisa” the first commercial personal computer to have a graphical user interface GUI and a computer mouse. The Lisa was targeted at businesses and cost a massive $9,995
1996 U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury. The investigation was concerning the discovery of billing records related to the Whitewater real estate investment venture.
1997 Yasser Arafat returned to Hebron for the first time in 30 years, as Israel hands over control of the West Bank city to Palestinians.
2001 President Clinton admitted he made false statements under oath about Monica Lewinsky.
2007 Turkish journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated The murderer was a 17-year old Turkish nationalist who disagreed with Dink’s view on the Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
2009 Taleban militant extremeists continue thier bombing campaign of schools as part of their campaign to ban education for girls. The Taleban have destroyed 150 government schools over the past year, most of them for girls.
2013 In Scottsdale, AZ, the original Batmobile for the TV series “Batman” sold at auction for $4.6 million. It was the first of six Batmobiles produced for the show.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
