Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 18th. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday, when millions of Americans have the day off from work and school in honor of the civil rights hero. In 1986, King became the first modern private citizen to be honored with a federal holiday. For the many who admired his leadership of the civil rights movement, it made sense to celebrate him. But not everyone agreed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 17th. It was almost the perfect crime: On this day in 1950, 11 men stole $2.7 million--more than $29 million today--from the Brinks Armored Car Depot in Boston.The men staked out the depot for more than 18 months to determine when it would hold the most money, stole plans for the building’s alarm system, and then entered the building wearing fake uniforms and Halloween masks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 16th. The average American adult consumes more than 500 alcoholic drinks annually. So one can only imagine how we’d feel today about the news that greeted the nation on this day in 1919-- that the 18th amendment, banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of “intoxicating liquor” had become the law of the land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 15th. Fiery hot molasses might have been the last thing Bostonians expected to see when they left their homes on this day in 1919. But that’s just what flooded the streets of the city’s North End when a 58-foot-high tank filled with 2.5 million gallons of crude molasses exploded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 14th. These days, American presidents regularly log thousands of flight miles a year on Air Force One, but back on this day in 1943, air travel was still a rarity. That’s when Franklin Roosevelt flew on a Boeing 314 Flying Boat to a World War II strategy session with British prime minister Winston Churchill in Casablanca, becoming the first U.S. president to travel by plane for official business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 13th. Most people only retire once. But basketball legend Michael Jordan is not most people. And on this day in 1999, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball, for the second time. His first retirement had come six years earlier after winning three consecutive NBA championships. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 12th. It’s probably the most famous painting in the world, and more than 6 million people visit the Louvre museum each year to see the Mona Lisa for themselves. But for two years between the summer of 1911 and this day in 1913, almost no one saw it all. The painting went missing thanks to a group of thieves posing as museum janitors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 11th. In a typical year, more than 5.5 million people visit the Grand Canyon. The canyon, which is a mile deep and is the only North American site considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world, was made a national monument on this day in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 10th. Texas is the largest producer of oil in the United States, and it all started on this day in 1901, when a drilling derrick at Beaumont, Texas, produced an enormous gusher of crude oil. The gusher coated everything within hundreds of feet and signaled the advent of the American oil industry. Following the discovery, petroleum, which until that time had been used in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 9th. When Steve Jobs announced the debut of the iPhone on this day in 2007, few could have predicted the effect it would have on modern life--except maybe Jobs, who called it a “revolutionary and magical product.” When it went on sale in the United States six months later, amid huge hype, thousands of customers lined up at Apple stores across the country to be among the first to purchase an iPhone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 8th. With the U.S. national debt currently at more than $27 trillion and climbing, we look back to this day in 1835, when America's debt was completely paid off, a long-held goal of then-President Andrew Jackson. Jackson called the debt “a moral failing” and vetoed a number of spending bills throughout his tenure, putting an end to projects that would have expanded nationwide infrastructure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 7th. Crowds flock to the Leaning Tower of Pisa precisely because of its famous lean, but on this day in 1990, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed to the public amidst fears it might topple over completely. Experts then spent 11 years and $27 million fortifying the tower without completely eliminating the tilt that made it famous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 6th. These days telegrams are basically obsolete, but when inventor Samuel Morse demonstrated the technology for the first time on this day in 1838, they were revolutionary. The telegraph, which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, completely changed long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 30s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 5th. Late last year, news broke that the U.S. divorce rate had hit a 50-year low, with only 14.9 marriages out of every 1,000 ending in divorce. But even with this record decline, divorce was a lot more rare way back on this day 1643. That’s when Anne Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony divorced her absent--and adulterous--husband in the very first recorded divorce in the American colonies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 4th. On this day in 1853, Solomon Northup finally legally obtained his freedom after being enslaved for 12 years. Northup was born a free man in 1807 in upstate New York. A talented fiddler, Northup was convinced by two circus performers to join their troupe, but then was drugged and sold into slavery in New Orleans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 3rd. There have been more than 40 women inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since this day in 1987, when Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, became the very first. Franklin is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million albums while winning 18 Grammy Awards. Franklin’s Hall of Fame class also included Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison and Smokey Robinson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 2nd. With President-elect Joe Biden promising to hire a diverse staff that, as he says, “looks like America,” we look back to this day in 1890, when President Benjamin Harrison hired Alice Sanger as the White House’s first-ever paid female staffer. Sanger, a skilled stenographer, served as presidential secretary to Harrison and also did work for his wife Caroline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on January 1st. More than a century and a half after his death, Abraham Lincoln remains one of our most admired presidents--thanks in large part to what he did on this day in 1863. That’s when Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, calling on the Union Army to free all slaves in states still in rebellion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 31st. New Year’s Eve looks a little different this year, but the ball drop in New York City is still on, albeit without an audience. As you say goodbye to 2020 and watch the brightly lit ball descend tonight, you might take a minute to thank Thomas Edison, who made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on this day in 1879. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 30th. Though it lasted less than 70 years, it had an enormous impact on world history: On this day in 1922, the USSR, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was established. The new state was the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 29th. Today marks 130 years since the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry killed 146 Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee on the PIne Ridge reservation in South Dakota. The cavalry initially surrounded a group of Lakota and demanded they surrender their weapons. As this was happening, a fight broke out between one of the Lakota and a U.S. soldier, and a shot was fired, though is unclear which side fired it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 28th. The humpback whale. The bald eagle. The gray wolf. What do all these animals have in common? Their survival was ensured by the Endangered Species Act, which was signed into law on this day in 1973. The act, which was championed by President Richard Nixon, is considered one of the most significant and successful environmental laws in American history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 27th. If you’ve ever dreamed about life in Neverland with Wendy, Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys, then you know the story of Peter Pan by British author JM Barrie. Years before Peter Pan was adapted into a book, it was written as a stage play, which was first performed in London on this day in 1904. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 26th. If you’re celebrating Kwanzaa today, you’re taking part in a tradition that dates back to this day in 1966. That’s when the very first Kwanzaa was celebrated in Los Angeles under the direction of Cal State professor Maulana Karenga. The seven-day holiday was designed by Dr. Karenga as a celebration of African American family, community, and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Merry Christmas, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 25th. It’s a reminder that the holiday spirit can persist even in the toughest of times: Just after midnight on Christmas 1914, during World War I, the majority of German troops stopped firing their guns and artillery and began to sing Christmas carols. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 24th. It’s become a beloved annual tradition, and it all began on this day in 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge lit the first national Christmas tree ever to grace the White House grounds. Not only was this the first White House “community” Christmas tree, but it was the first to be decorated with electric lights–a strand of 2,500 red, white and green bulbs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 23rd. If you know anything about Vincent Van Gogh, you likely know what happened on this day in 1888. That’s when the Dutch painter, suffering from severe depression, cut off the lower part of his ear with a razor. He later documented the event in a painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 22nd. It was an exciting day for animal lovers around the world: on this day in 1956, the Columbus Zoo in Ohio welcomed Colo, the first-ever gorilla born in captivity. Colo was a western lowland gorilla who weighed just about 4 pounds at birth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 21st. YouTube is the world’s second most popular website, after Google, with more than 2 billion users each month. Most of the site’s most popular videos are music videos, just like the one that became the first video to hit 1 billion views on this day in 2012--Gangnam Style by the Korean rapper Psy. The video’s success made Psy a global sensation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 20th. Just last month, a lock of Elvis Presley’s hair sold for some four thousand pounds at auction in the UK. Decades after his death, Elvis still has a remarkable fan base, and most people have heard hits like “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog.” But they may not know that Elvis was also a U.S. army veteran, who received his draft notice on this day in 1957 during the Korean War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 19th. Most Americans are familiar with the July 1969 footage of the Apollo lunar landing, when NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. But you might not know that the Apollo program continued for another three years. On this day in 1972, Apollo 17 became the last of America’s six crewed lunar landing missions to land safely back on Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 18th. Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November since 1941, but it was actually on this day all the way back in 1777 that Americans celebrated the first day of national thanksgiving. That first celebration was held in honor of the American victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 17th. Prior to the pandemic, nearly 3 million people flew in and out of America’s airports each day. That number would likely have astonished Orville and WIlbur Wright, who made their famous first flight on this day in 1903 near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. That flight--the first made in a self-propelled, heavier-than-air craft--lasted just 12 seconds and covered about 120 feet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 16th. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that just because something seems improbable, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The same adage would apply to the tragedy that unfolded on this day in 1960 over the skies of New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 15th. The leaning tower of Pisa is one of Italy’s most famous tourist attractions, but between 1990 and this day in 2001 it was closed to the public, as a team of experts spent 11 years and $27 million to fortify the tower without eliminating its famous lean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 14th. It was one of the saddest days in modern American history--on this day in 2012, a shooter killed 20 first graders and six school employees before turning the gun on himself at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Prior to the massacre, the shooter had killed his own mother, who was the owner of the guns used in the deadly rampage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 13th. On the heels of a tumultuous election, we look back to this day in 2000, when then-Vice President Al Gore conceded the presidential election to Texas governor George W. Bush. Gore had won the national popular vote by more than 500,000 votes, but narrowly lost Florida, giving the Electoral College to Bush, 271 to 266. Gore’s concession followed weeks of legal battles over the recounting of votes in Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 12th. Would you spend 5 million dollars on a notebook? That’s just what oil tycoon Armand Hammer paid on this day in 1980 for a notebook filled with drawings and writings from famed artist, architect and engineer Leonardo da Vinci. Written around 1508, the book contained 72 pages featuring 300 notes and detailed drawings relating to his study of water and how it moved. Surprising fact? The $5. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 11th. What would you do for love? That’s a question many were asking themselves on this day in 1936, when Great Britain’s King Edward VIII became the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 10th. Just one month after the historic election of Kamala Harris as the nation’s first ever woman vice president, we look back to this day in 1869, when Wyoming became the first territory or state in U.S. history to grant women the right to vote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 9th. As the world continues to await a vaccine to help beat back the Covid-19 pandemic, we look back to this day in 1979, when a commission of scientists declared that smallpox had been officially eradicated from the earth. The disease, which ravaged humanity for centuries and killed about 30 percent of those who contracted it, is the only infectious disease afflicting humans that has officially been eradicated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 8th. It’s been 40 years since former Beatle John Lennon was shot and killed by an obsessed fan as he returned to his apartment on New York City’s Upper West Side on this day in 1980. As a key member of the most successful band of the 20th century, Lennon’s death was mourned by millions around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 7th. President Franklin Roosevelt called it a day “which will live in infamy”--on this day in 1941, a Japanese dive bomber appeared out of the clouds above the island of Oahu, Hawaii. A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault. The surprise attack on the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 6th. On this day in 1865, after 400 years, slavery was finally abolished in America with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. The ratification came eight months after the end of the Civil War. When the war began, some in the North were against fighting what they saw as a crusade to end slavery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 5th. It’s a maritime mystery that’s never been solved: On this day in 1872, a British captain spotted an American ship called the Mary Celeste sailing erratically with its sails fully raised near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 4th. So far at least, the historic New York City bar Fraunces Tavern has survived the pandemic. It’s been a beloved watering hole since even before this day in 1783, when it famously became the site of George Washington’s farewell to his Continental Army officers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 3rd. For now at least, the face of Andrew Jackson is front and center on every one of the nearly 9 billion 20-dollar bills in circulation. On this day in 1828, Jackson was elected the seventh U.S. president. His election marked a turning point in American politics, as the center of political power shifted from East to West, and the political party system as we know it today began to form. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on December 2nd. Actor Matt Damon turned 50 this year, some 23 years after his Oscar-nominated performance in Good Will Hunting, which premiered on this day in 1997. The film was a box-office smash and received nine Academy Award nominations, and two wins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices