Today in History - January 7th


  • 1610 - Today in history, Galileo sighted four of Jupiter's moons, which he called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
  • 1782 - The first commercial bank in the US known as the Bank of North America opened in Philadelphia. 
  • 1785 - On this day in history, French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard made the first crossing of the English Channel by air.
  • 1789 - Americans voted to choose George Washington to be the first US president. 
  • 1896 - Today in history, the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" was published.
  • 1904 - The distress signal "CQD" was established. Two years later "SOS" became the radio distress.
  • 1927 - On this day in history, transatlantic phone service began between New York and London.
  • 1953 - President Harry Truman announced the expansion of the hydrogen bomb.
  • 1959 - Today in history, The United States recognized Fidel Castro's government in Cuba, after the fall of Fulgencio Batista.
  • 1975 - OPEC agreed to raise oil prices by 10%, which helped the rise of global inflation. 
  • 1980 - On this day in history, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation that approved $1.5 billion for the bail-out of Chrysler.
  • 1990 - The Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to visitors. The hastened rate of "leaning" raised fears for safety. 
  • 1998 - Today in history, former intern Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying that she had an affair with President Clinton.
  • 1999 - President Bill Clinton went on trial before the Senate. It was only the second time in the history of the United States that a president had gone to trial due to impeachment.
  • 2002 - On this day in history, Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates introduced a new device code which was a cross between a handheld computer and a TV remote control. 
  • 2010 - Apple's iPad was unveiled.

SCIENCE, DISCOVERIES, PATENTS - Today in History, January 7th

  • 1894 - Today in history, W.K. Dickson obtained a patent for motion picture film. 
  • 1949 - The announcement of the first photograph of genes happened at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. 
  • 1954 - On this day in history, The Duoscopic TV receiver first allowed the watching of two different shows at the same time.

SPORTS

  • 1927 - The Harlem Globetrotters played their first game.

MUSIC HISTORY - Today in History, January 7th

  • 1924 - Today in history, George Gershwin completed "Rhapsody in Blue." 
  • 1955 - Marian Anderson became the first African-American to sing at The Met.
  • 1970 - On this day in history, Max Yasgur, whose farm was used for the Woodstock festival, was sued for $35,000 in property damages by neighboring farmers.
  • 1997 - Prince made an appearance on the Rosie O'Donnell show. 

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS - January 7th

  • Kenny Loggins 1948
  • Katie Couric 1957
  • Nicholas Cage 1964 
  • Rhianna (Robin Hannah Louise Kenny) 1983