Daily History - by Craig Hill

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On January 24th 1925, Alfred Hitchcocks first feature film, The Pleasure Garden. The film was a commercial failure, however it propelled the aspiring director into the thriller genre, which would make him one of the most influential directors of the 20th century. Hitchcock landed the film after bei...

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On January 20th 1783, the British and U.S. Commissioners signed a preliminary Cessation of Hostilities, which led to the Treaty of Paris and Treaty of Versailles, thus ending the Revolutionary War. The agreement Declarations for Suspension of Arms and Cessation of Hostilities, signed at Ver...

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On January 18th 1919, in Paris, France, some of the most powerful people in the world met to begin the long, complicated negotiations that would officially mark the end of the First World War. Leaders of the victorious Allied powers (France, Great Britain, the United States and Italy) would make ...

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On January 17th 1950, 11 men stole more than $2 million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts. It was almost the perfect crime, as the culprits weren't caught until January 1956, just days before the statute of limitations for the theft expired. The robbery's mastermind was A...

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On January 16th 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified, and becomes the law of the land. The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when ...

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On January 15th 1967, at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the first-ever world championship game of American football. In the mid-1960s, the intense competition for players and fans between the National Football League (NFL) and the upstart American F...

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On January 14th 1875, the theologian, musician, philosopher and Nobel Prize-winning physician Albert Schweitzer was born in Upper-Alsace, Germany (now Haut-Rhin, France). The son and grandson of ministers, Schweitzer studied theology and philosophy at the universities of Strasbourg, Paris and Ber...

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January 28 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes	January 27 1888 National Geographic Society Founded	January 26 1788 First British Settlement In Australia
January 25 1919 The League Of Nations Formed	January 24 1925 Alfred Hitchcock's First Film Released	January 23 1943 First Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Ends
January 22 1840 New Zealand Annexed	January 21 1977 President Carter Pardons Draft Dodgers	January 20 1783 Cessation Of Hostilities Signed During American Revolutionary War
January 19 1809 Edgar Allan Poe Is Born	January 18 1919 Post World War I Peace Conference Begins In Paris	January 17 1950 Boston Thieves Commit Historic Robbery
January 16 1919 Prohibition Takes Effect	January 15 1967 Packers Face Chiefs In First Super Bowl	January 14 1875 Albert Schweitzer Born

January 28 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes

January 28th 2012 00:01

On January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary US civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger's launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January 28, the shuttle lifted off.

Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa's family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors.

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 20th Century

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January 27 1888 National Geographic Society Founded

January 27th 2012 00:01

On January 27th 1888, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC, for "the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge."

The 33 men who originally met and formed the National Geographic Society were a diverse group of geographers, explorers, teachers, lawyers, cartographers, military officers and financiers. All shared an interest in scientific and geographical knowledge, as well as an opinion that in a time of discovery, invention, change and mass communication,

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 19th Century

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January 26 1788 First British Settlement In Australia

January 26th 2012 00:01

On January 26th 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guided a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. After overcoming a period of hardship, the fledgling colony began to celebrate the anniversary of this date with great fanfare.

Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts. With little idea of what he could expect from the mysterious and distant land, Phillip had great difficulty assembling the fleet that was to make the journey. His requests for more experienced farmers to assist the penal colony were repeatedly denied, and he was both poorly funded and outfitted. Nonetheless, accompanied by a small contingent of Marines and other officers, Phillip led his 1,000-strong party, of whom more than 700 were convicts, around Africa to the eastern side of Australia. In all, the voyage lasted eight months, claiming the deaths of some 30 men.

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 18th Century

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January 25 1919 The League Of Nations Formed

January 25th 2012 00:01

On January 25th 1919, the League of Nations, the forerunner to the United Nations, was formed. The league was formed out of the reconciliation process of World War I at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The use of such a league marked a significant departure from the inter-national relations of the previous 100 years, trading military force for peaceful diplomacy in order to fulfill goals like disarmament and peaceful international relations.

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 20th Century

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January 24 1925 Alfred Hitchcock's First Film Released

January 24th 2012 00:01

On January 24th 1925, Alfred Hitchcock’s first feature film, The Pleasure Garden. The film was a commercial failure, however it propelled the aspiring director into the thriller genre, which would make him one of the most influential directors of the 20th century. Hitchcock landed the film after being turned down for another film, The Rat, by Graham Cutts.

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 20th Century

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January 23 1943 First Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Ends

January 23rd 2012 00:01

On January 23rd 1943, the first armed insurgency orchestrated by the Jewish, as part of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, came to an end. The Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland had been in existence since 1939 and was the largest such ghetto formed by the German government under Nazi administration. With the beginning of deportations to death camps throughout 1942, the Jewish began to collaborate in an attempt to rebel against the SS and inhibiting forces.

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 20th Century

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January 22 1840 New Zealand Annexed

January 22nd 2012 00:01

On January 22nd 1840, New Zealand was officially annexed to Britain, marking the transformation of the country's tribal society into a unified British colony. The annexation is historically significant not only for the country's own pride, but also in terms of global diplomacy. In contrast to Australia and many other British colonies, New Zealand was one of the first countries to be peacefully colonised, by means of the Treaty of Waitangi between the British and northern Maori tribes.

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 19th Century

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January 21 1977 President Carter Pardons Draft Dodgers

January 21st 2012 00:01

On January 21st 1977, US President Jimmy Carter granted an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and early 70s to avoid serving in the war. Ninety percent went to Canada, where after some initial controversy they were eventually welcomed as immigrants.

Still others hid inside the United States. In addition to those who avoided the draft, a relatively small number, about one thousand, of deserters from the US armed forces also headed to Canada. While the Canadian government technically reserved the right to prosecute deserters, in practice they left them alone, even instructing border guards not to ask too many questions.

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President Jimmy Carter Announces Pardon Of US Draft Dodgers

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 20th Century

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January 20 1783 Cessation Of Hostilities Signed During American Revolutionary War

January 20th 2012 00:01

On January 20th 1783, the British and U.S. Commissioners signed a preliminary “Cessation of Hostilities,” which led to the Treaty of Paris and Treaty of Versailles, thus ending the Revolutionary War.

The agreement:

Declarations for Suspension of Arms and Cessation of Hostilities, signed at Versailles January 20, 1783. Both original declarations in French, and American declaration also in English.

We the underwritten Ministers Plenipotentiary of the United States of North America, having received from Mr Fitz-Herbert, Minister Plenipotentiary of his Britannic Majesty, a Declaration relative to a Suspension of Arms to be establish’d between his said Majesty and the said States, of which the following is a Copy. viz:

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Posted By: KC Hill - Category: 18th Century

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January 19 1809 Edgar Allan Poe Is Born

January 19th 2012 00:01

On January 19th 1809, poet, author and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts. By the time he was three years old, both of Poe's parents had died, leaving him in the care of his godfather, John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant.

After attending school in England, Poe entered the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1826. After fighting with Allan over his heavy gambling debts, he was forced to leave UVA after only eight months. Poe then served two years in the U.S. Army and won an appointment to West Point. After another falling-out, Allan cut him off completely and he got himself dismissed from the academy for rules infractions.

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