January 28 - Happy Birthday, Gram!

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Family Birthdays

Gram
Aunt Meredith

This Day In History

1521

The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.

1547

Henry VIII dies. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.

1754

Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to Horace Mann.

1813

Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.

1887

In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.

1896

Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding. He is fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph, thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph.

1902

The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

1915

An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.

1934

The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.

1958

The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.

1986

Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission – Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board.

Famous Birthdays

1225

Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)

1611

Johannes Hevelius, Polish-born astronomer (d. 1687)

1833

Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)

1841

Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)

1864

Charles W. Nash, American automobile entrepreneur (d. 1948)

1884

Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)

1887

Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (d. 1982)

1890

Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)

1912

Jackson Pollock, American Expressionist painter

1919

Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (d. 2002)

1936

Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director

1955

Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France

1959

Megan McDonald, American children's literature author

1981

Elijah Wood, American actor