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Fresh
Beginnings
We celebrate the first
of January so much more than October 1 or June
1. While turning over a page in the calendar
brings a sense of the movement of time, there's
nothing like throwing out the whole calendar
and starting a new one. We mark New Year's
Day in special ways, saving up momentous proclamations
and other events for that date so they will
take on added significance. And some events
that happen on the first of January don't look
all that important at the time, but looking
back they take on added meaning. Here
are a few of them.
Highlights
from History
Hospitals today award
gifts to the first baby born there each year.
On January 1, 1735 there was no contest, but
Paul Revere
made his entrance into the world just the same.
In 1752, it was the turn of Betsy
Ross (Elizabeth Griscom Ross)
maker of the Continental Union Flag, which George
Washington first hoisted on
January 1, 1776 -- which means she was 24
when she made it, not the gray-haired lady we
all picture! Others born on New Year's
Day: J. Edgar Hoover
(1895), Barry Goldwater (1909), Kim
Philby (British/Soviet double
agent, 1912) and eight
Soviet cosmonauts (though we
seem to remember reading somewhere that Russians
often list the first of the year as their birthdate,
no matter when it actually happened.)
Book It
In the literary world,
E.M. Forster (author
of Howard's End and A Passage to India) was
born in 1879. Another writer partial to
initials, J.D. Salinger
(author of Catcher in the Rye) was born on New
Year's Day 1919. Sherlock Holmes was first
introduced to his sidekick, Dr.
John H. Watson on New Year's
Day (fictionally, of course) in 1881. President
Abraham Lincoln issued his Emacipation
Proclamation on January 1, 1863. In 1995,
the last "Far Side" cartoon by Gary Larson (he started them in 1980) was published
(fortunately, they live on in books, on mugs
and t-shirts, and wherever you least expect
them.)
Music to
Our Ears
The musical world is
not exempt from interesting footnotes that occurred
on January 1. Here are a few:
- 1953 -- Hank
Williams, country singer,
died at age 29.
- 1956 -- Elvis
Presley recorded "Heartbreak
Hotel" for RCA in Nashville.
- 1962 -- The
Beatles auditioned for
Decca Records (and Decca said, "No
thanks.")
- 1966 -- Simon
and Garfunkle's "Sounds
of Silence" reached #1.
Party On!
If you're looking for
tidbits to drop into conversation at the New
Year's Eve party you plan to go to, just keep
some January 1 milestones in mind -- sure to
either start conversation or stop it dead in
its tracks!
- 404 A.D. --
The last gladiator competition
took place in Rome.
- 1772 -- The
first Traveler's
Checks were issued (in
London). And people have been reluctant
to leave home without them ever since.
- 1840 -- The
first recorded bowling match
was held in New York City at Knickerbocker
Alleys.
- 1853 -- The
first practical fire engine
(horse-drawn, of course) in the US entered
service. Wonder if they had a Dalmatian
along?
- 1862 -- The
first US income
tax went into effect (3%
of incomes over $600, 5% of incomes over
10,000.) Truly a black day!
- 1902 -- The
first Rose
Bowl game was played (Pasadena,
CA) and won by University of Michigan
over Stanford, an embarrassing 49-0.
- 1907 -- The
ebullient Theodore Roosevelt
shook a record 8,513 hands in one day
while campaigning. Hope he remembered
to move his rings to the other hand!
- 1908 -- The
first time the ball that signifies a New
Year dropped in Times Square.
- 1928 -- The
first air-conditioned office building
opened, in San Antonio, TX.
- 1934 -- the
FDIC (Federal Depository
Insurance Corp.) went into effect.
- 1946 -- Emperor
Hirohito of Japan announced that
he was not a god.
- 1966 -- All
US cigarette
packs have to carry the
warning, "Caution: Cigarette smoking may
be hazardous to your health." And
it was so effective -- NOT!
- 1969 -- Jack
Kent Cooke, owner of the NHL's Los Angeles
Kings, fined each hockey player $100 for
NOT arguing with the referee.
So that's why there are all those fights
now!
- 1970 --
"The Epoch" -- Time 0
for UNIX systems, Midnight GMT.
- 1971 -- Cigarette
advertisements banned on TV --
and we all breathed easier.
- 1976 -- NBC
replaced the peacock logo.
We still miss him.
- 1985 -- The
first mandatory seat belt law
went into effect in New York.
- 1994 -- Bill
Gates married Melinda
French, and broke the hearts of gold-diggers
everywhere.
- 1995 -- After
27 years of Flintstones vitamins, they
finally added Betty Rubble
to the mix.
If you can't get enough
of this kind of trivia, just put "This Day in
History" into your favorite Search Engine, and
have fun learning about other days -- like your
birthday, anniversary day, or other significant
day in YOUR history.
Thank
you for your patronage in 2003 --
we look forward to serving you in 2004,
and if we can do anything to make your life
easier where fabricare is concerned,
let us know. We love to hear from you! |
