Today in History: January 14, 1129 Very little is known about origins of the Temple of Solomon or the Poor Knights of Christ, as the Knights Templar are also known. The information that made it down through the ages is minimal and often contradictory. The best evidence comes from a later source named Guillaume de Tyre, who claims that a […]

Today in History: January 13, 1863 It’s almost too perfect. A man named Thomas Crapper invents the world’s first indoor one-piece flushing toilet on this day in history, and the world rejoices. The problem is, it’s not true, particularly that “first” part. Crapper was instrumental in drawing the public’s attention to the product in his London store, which was the […]

Today in History: January 10, 1642 On January 10, 1642, King Charles and his family made their way to Oxford in fear of their lives, as the English Civil War commenced leading to the eventual execution of the King in 1649. Charles was the son of James VI of Scotland, who became King of England when Elizabeth I died in […]

Today in History: January 9, 1493 While sailing the waters around Haiti on January 9, 1493, Christopher Columbus spotted what he thought were three mermaids frolicking in the water. He reported later that they “came quite high out of the water,” but they were “not as pretty as they are depicted, for somehow in the face they look like men.” […]

Today in History: January 8, 1800 Victor of Aveyron was a feral child who was believed to have spent most of his childhood surviving alone in the woods. Captured twice in 1798 and 1799, he finally stepped out from the woods on January 8, 1800 on his own, perhaps hoping to escape a harsh winter and remembering the kindness he’d […]

Today in History: January 7, 1901 Alferd Packer went down in history as one of Colorado’s most notorious – and macabre – criminals. Nicknamed the “Man-eater,” Packer was tried and found guilty of eating five of his fellow travelers on an expedition from Utah to Colorado in 1874. The group originally included 21 people, with Packer acting as guide. As […]

Today in History: January 6, 1994 Projected by many to win the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked as she stepped off the ice following a practice session in Detroit on this day in history, 1994. (Yes, that happened 20 years ago!) Her assailant whacked her in the knee with a metal baton, causing the […]

Today In History: January 3, 1938 President Franklin Roosevelt, himself a victim of polio, founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis on this day in history, during an era when the disease was on the rise in the United States. Better known as the March of Dimes, efforts to launch the organization were boosted by stars of the screen and […]

Today in History: January 2. 1974 On January 2, 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act into law, which set a new national speed limit. This law was drafted to counter the effect of spikes in oil prices and disruptions in supply that were common during the 1973 oil crisis. Before 1974, speed limits were […]

Today in History: January 1, 1973 Roseann Quinn was a 27-year-old teacher living in New York City who had a spent a quiet New Year’s Eve home alone. Restless and bored by New Year’s Day, she decided to hang out for awhile at Tweed’s, a bar located across the street from her Upper West Side apartment. While she was there, […]

Today in History: December 31, 1696 Rendering unto Caesar has never been a popular pastime, and the window tax imposed upon the citizens of Great Britain on this day in history, 1696, was no exception. The new window tax was actually a progressive form of property tax. Every homeowner, no matter how humble, paid a base tax of two shillings. […]

Today in History: December 30, 1809 On December 30, 1809, it became illegal to wear masks at balls held within the City of Boston, as its citizens believed this practice was “detrimental to morals.” This was not just an isolated incident of off-the-wall prudery. Bostonians were setting the standard for killjoys everywhere since the 1650s, not surprising considering the city’s […]

Today in History: December 27, 1900 Carry Nation’s vendetta against alcohol was personal. In 1867 at the age of 22, she married a physician by the name of Charles Gloyd, who, like so many of that era, turned out to have a serious drinking problem. Their marriage produced a child, but Charles’s alcoholism made him unable to provide for his […]

Today in History: December 26, 1610 If contemporary accounts are to be believed, the Countess Elizabeth Bathory is one of the most prolific serial killers of all time. She makes Ted Bundy look like a chump, and Jeffrey Dahmer a mere dabbler in torture and perversion. In a word, this lady was a real whack-job, and on this day in […]

Today in History: December 25, 1941 “White Christmas,” one of the most instantly recognizable songs in history, was introduced to the world on Christmas Day 1941. Composed by famed songwriter Irving Berlin, the song was performed on NBC radio during Bing Crosby’s weekly radio program. It went on to become the top-selling single of all time, with an estimated 50 […]

Today in History: December 24, 1923 The first national Christmas tree lighting occurred on Christmas Eve 1923, the result of an idea first put forth by President Woodrow Wilson ten years earlier. In part, the president lighting a national Christmas tree was also a way for the electrical industry trade group The Society for Electrical Development to coax consumers into […]

Today in History: December 23, 1888 Most everyone knows the official story of how Vincent van Gogh, the epitome of the tortured artist, on this day in history, 1888, supposedly cut off his left earlobe during a bout of madness and then presented it to a prostitute as a gift. The recipient promptly fainted, and the heavily bleeding Van Gogh […]

Today in History: December 20, 1962 On this day in 1962, a very young, well-scrubbed barbershop quartet from Ogden, Utah, The Osmand Brothers, made the first of many appearances on Andy Williams’ popular variety show, performing “I’m a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas” and “Side By Side.” The original singing Osmond Brothers, Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay were 9, 7, […]