Throwback Thursday 1/12!
Here's what happened on January 12th!
- 1737: John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. Hancock, the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence, signed in large letters. To this day people will ask for a “John Hancock” when asking for a signature.
(Biography for Beginners, American History) - 1880: Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur died. She didn't live to see her husband, Chester A. Arthur, elected vice president (on the ticket with James A. Garfield) in 1880. Arthur then became the 21st president in September 1881, following Garfield's death by assassination.It was a year after Ellen's death.
(World Biography) - 1900: “It is necessary that this principle [segregation] be applied in every relation of Southern life. God Almighty drew the color line and it cannot be obliterated. The negro must stay on his side of the line and the white man must stay on his side, and the sooner both races recognize this fact and accept it, the better it will be for both.” A Richmond Times editorial following the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Plessy v. Ferguson ruling.
(Defining Moments) - 1920: James Farmer was born in Marshall, Texas. He was the director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) during the Civil Rights Movement. CORE was a group that fought racial segregation and discrimination in America by using nonviolent tactics similar to those Gandhi used. Farmer received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.
(Defining Moments) -
1924: George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, was born.
(American History) - 1932: Hattie Wyatt Caraway was sworn in as the U.S. Senator from Arkansas. (In 1931, she had been appointed to fill the remaining months of her deceased husband's term.) After winning an election herself, she was sworn is as the first American woman to be elected senator.
(American History) - 1951: John Walker was born in Auckland, New Zealand. The distance runner became the first man to run the mile in under 3 minutes, 50 seconds. Walker was voted New Zealand Sportsman of The Decade (1970-1979).
(Sports Champions) - 1957: John Lasseter was born in Hollywood, California. Lasseter is a movie animator and director as well as the head of Pixar. He and Pixar have created some of the most beloved animated movies, including Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monster Inc., and many others.
(Biography for Beginners) - 1964: Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com.
(Defining Moments) - 1965: Lorraine Hansberry died of cancer at the age of 36. She is the author of A Raisin in the Sun, considered a major drama of the mid-20th century. Hansberry was the first playwright to bring the true African-American experience to audiences.
(Biography for Beginners) - 1993: Former One Direction member Zayn Malik was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The band met and was formed in 2010 on the show “X Factor.” In March 2015 Zayn announced that he was leaving the band.
(Biography for Beginners) - 2010: An earthquake measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Haiti. The horrible quake killed more than 316,000 people and left more than one million people homeless.
(Science)