January 2025

Today marks what would have been the 106th birthday of legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson. Image: Jackie Robinson / Library of Congress Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of five children born into a family of share croppers. A natural athlete, Robinson was inspired to pursue his passion for sports by his older brother, Matthew “Mack” Robinson, who won a silver medal in the men’s 200 meters at the… Read the full story

Image: Franklin D. Roosevelt / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration On January 30, 1882, Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York. The Roosevelts were one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the state. With a long line of distinguished ancestors, it was no surprise that Franklin would eventually make it to the highest office in the country. Roosevelt is the only person in U.S. history to be elected to office… Read the full story

Today many people around the world celebrate Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival. Rooted in centuries-old traditions, this vibrant holiday marks a fresh start, inviting prosperity and good fortune in the new year. Based on the lunar calendar, the date of the holiday varies slightly each year, typically falling between late January and mid-February. Each year of the 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar is represented by an animal –… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Tom Selleck! Today the actor turns 80. Image: Tom Selleck / Alan Light, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) Thomas William Selleck was born on January 29, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan. An athlete growing up, Selleck attended the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship and studied business administration before shifting his focus to acting. One of his first television appearances was on the game show The Dating Game in 1965.  Selleck got his big… Read the full story

On this day in 1884, Swiss physicist, inventor, and explorer Auguste Piccard was born. Piccard is best remembered for his studies of the Earth’s upper atmosphere and his exploration of the ocean’s depths. Image: Auguste Piccard / ETH Library, Wikimedia Commons Piccard and his twin brother, Jean Felix Piccard, were born on January 28, 1884 in Basel, Switzerland. Both brothers showed an interest in science from an early age and would go on to become notable… Read the full story

On this day in 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria. Image: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Wikimedia Commons Mozart was the only surviving son of Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Pertl. He and his older sister, Maria Anna, were the only two of seven children to survive past infancy. His father had been a composer, conductor, and teacher. The year of Mozart’s birth, his father published his famous violin textbook, which was very… Read the full story

American writer Edith Wharton was born on January 24, 1862 in New York City, New York. Image: Edith Wharton / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution CC0 The youngest child of George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander, Wharton began writing poetry and fictional stories as a young girl. Although she had a thirst for knowledge and desired a greater education, women of her social stature were discouraged from intellectual pursuits. She would pursue her own education… Read the full story

It’s National Handwriting Day! Established in 1977, the day is celebrated on the birthday of the man with the most iconic signature in history, John Hancock. Image: John Hancock / Library of Congress Born in Braintree, Massachusetts on January 23, 1737, Hancock inherited a profitable mercantile business from his uncle, which made him one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies. A major figure during the American Revolution, Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration… Read the full story

On this day in 1788, English poet Lord Byron was born in London, England. A leading figure of the Romantic movement, Lord Byron is often regarded as one of the greatest poets in British history. Image: Lord Byron / Library of Congress George Gordon Byron was born on January 22, 1788 to Captain John “Mad Jack” Byron and his second wife, Catherine Gordon. At the age of 10, he inherited the English Barony of Byron of… Read the full story

On this day in 1845, Norwegian painter Harriet Backer was born. A pioneer for female artists, Backer became one of the most prominent Norwegian artists during her lifetime. Image: Harriet Backer / National Library of Norway, Flickr Backer was born on January 21, 1845 in Holmstrand, Vestfold, Norway and was one of four daughters born to Nils Backer and Sofie Smith Petersen. Her mother had come from a wealthy family, which allowed Backer and her sisters the… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Buzz Aldrin! Today the legendary astronaut turns 95. Image: Buzz Aldrin / NASA The famous astronaut was born Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. on January 20, 1930 in Montclair, New Jersey. Nicknamed “Buzz” by his sister during his childhood, Aldrin would legally change his first name in 1988. During the Korean War, Aldrin served a jet fighter pilot. He later earned a Ph.D. in astronautics at MIT and wrote his thesis on Manned Orbital… Read the full story

Boxing champion Muhammad Ali turns was born on this day in 1942. Image: Muhammad Ali / Library of Congress He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. He later changed his name after converting to Islam. Ali learned to box at an early age and by 22, he won his first heavy weight championship. He would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion…. Read the full story

On this day in 1942, actress Carole Lombard died in a plane crash at the age of 33. At the time of the tragic accident, Lombard was returning home from a World War II war bond tour. Image: Carole Lombard / Wikimedia Commons Lombard was born Janice Alice Peters on October 6, 1908 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. At the age of 12, she landed her first on screen role in the silent film, A Perfect Crime. By 16,… Read the full story

Civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Image: Martin Luther King, Jr. / Wikimedia Commons King was the second of three children born to Martin King, Sr. and Alberta Williams. As a child, King enjoyed singing in his church choir. In 1939, he performed with the choir at the Atlanta premiere of Gone With the Wind. An excellent student, King enrolled in college by the age of… Read the full story

Do you have ancestors who fought in the American Revolutionary War? On this day in 1741, Benedict Arnold was born. Image: Benedict Arnold / Library of Congress Before the war, Arnold was a successful business man. He joined the Continental Army as soon as the war broke out and was distinguished for his bravery and skill as a leader. Despite his successes, Arnold was passed over for promotion several times by the Continental Congress. His… Read the full story

Happy birthday to actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus! Today the actress celebrates her 64th birthday. Image: Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Julia Louis-Dreyfus was born on January 13, 1961 in New York City, New York to Judith La Fevre, a special needs tutor, and Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, a French billionaire. Her second great grandfather, Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, founded the Louis Dreyfus Group, a commodities and shipping conglomerate. During World War II, her paternal grandfather, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, was… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Rod Stewart! Today the music legend turns 80. Image: Rod Stewart / Helge Øverås, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) Roderick David Stewart was born on January 10, 1945 in Highgate, North London, England to Robert Joseph Stewart and Elsie Rebecca Gilbart. Growing up, Stewart excelled at soccer and had ambitions to become a professional soccer player, but decided to pursue music instead. Before finding success in music, Stewart worked a series of odd jobs, including… Read the full story

Today folk singer Joan Baez turns 84! An activist and songwriter, Baez’s has released more than 30 albums over her career which has spanned over 60 years. Image: Joan Baez / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration She was born on January 9, 1941 in Staten Island, New York to Albert Baez and Joan Chandos Bridge. Baez has both Mexican and Scottish ancestry. Her mother was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her father was born in… Read the full story

Today marks what would have been the 90th birthday of rock legend Elvis Presley. From very humble beginnings, Presley became one of the most successful and biggest musical icons in history. Image: Elvis Presley / Wikimedia Commons He was born on January 8, 1935 in a two-room shotgun house built by his father. His twin brother, Jesse, was delivered 35 minutes before him stillborn. The Presley’s were a very close family and even after shooting… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Nicolas Cage! Today the actor turns 61. Image: Nicolas Cage / Gerald Geronimo, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) He was born Nicolas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964 in Long Beach, California to August Floyd Coppola, a literature professor, and Joy Vogelsang, a dancer and choreographer. Cage discovered his love for acting at 15 after attending a summer class at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. The nephew of iconic director Francis… Read the full story

On this day in 1838, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail gave the first successful public demonstration of their telegraph in front a small group of onlookers at the Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown, New Jersey. Image: Samuel Morse / Library of Congress The telegraph transmitted electric pulses over wires, enabling people to send messages over vast distances. Morse and Vail also developed a code using pulses and pauses, which we now know as Morse code. After struggling… Read the full story

Image: Lucretia Mott / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, CC0 On January 3, 1793, Lucretia Mott, an early proponent of the women’s rights movement, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Mott was an ardent anti-slavery activist and participated in several public lectures in support of the anti-slavery movement. She helped found the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. In 1848, Mott and fellow abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights… Read the full story

Today is National Science Fiction Day! The day is celebrated annually on the birthday of renowned science fiction author Isaac Asimov, who was born in Petrovichi, Russia. Image: Isaac Asimov / Wikimedia Commons Although the exact date of his birth is unknown, Asimov celebrated his birthday on January 2. The son of Anna Berman and Judah Asimov, Asimov came to the U.S. as a toddler. A bright child, Asimov taught himself how to read at the age of 5… Read the full story