January 23rd History, Trivia, and Fun Facts |
January 23rd History Highlights |
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January 23rd is… |
Measure Your Feet Day National Handwriting Day |
| National Handwriting Day is an annual event that celebrates the importance of handwriting and penmanship. The day was established by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association in 1977 with a goal to promote the consumption of pens, pencils, and paper. January 23rd was chosen as John Hancock’s birthday because he was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. |
January 23rd Birthday Quotes |
A chip on the shoulder is too heavy a piece of baggage to carry through life. You can’t do good if you’re wishing bad on others. Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us. To know men thoroughly, to judge events sanely is, therefore, a great step towards happiness. To minimize suffering and to maximize security were natural and proper ends of society and Caesar. But then they became the only ends, somehow, and the only basis of law — a perversion. Inevitably, then, in seeking only them, we found only their opposites: maximum suffering and minimum security. Being fearless means busting down those walls of fear and being who you are, not who someone else thinks you are. One can acquire everything in solitude, except character. People who pay greater respect to a wealthy villain than to an honest, upright man in poverty, almost deserve to be enslaved; they plainly show that wealth, however it may be acquired, is, in their esteem, to be preferred to virtue. There’s a standard formula for success in the entertainment medium, and that is: Beat it to death if it succeeds. |
January 23rd Birthdays |
1737 – John Hancock, American general and politician (died in 1793) 1783 – Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle), French writer (died in 1842) 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (died in 1987) 1913 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (died in 2007) 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American comedic actor and game show host (died in 1962) 1923 – Walter Michael Miller, Jr., American writer (died in 1996) 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor 1947 – Tom Carper, American politician 1948 – Anita Pointer, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter 1953 – Robin Zander, American rock singer-songwriter 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress, and producer 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress 1986 – Michael Stevens, American YouTuber 1998 – XXXTentacion (Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy), American rapper (died in 2018) |
January 23rd History |
1556 (Earthquake) Shaanxi, China. Over 800,000 people were killed. 1571 – The Royal Exchange opened in London. 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, was founded in Georgetown, Maryland (Washington DC). 1793 – Humane Society of Philadelphia (America’s 1st aid organization) founded. 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell was awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States’ first female doctor. 1870 – US cavalrymen killed 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what is known as the Marias Massacre, in Montana. January 23, 1951 Birthday (fictional) Angus MacGuyver, TV 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste set a depth record by descending to 35,797 ft, in the Pacific Ocean. 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, was ratified. 1965 – #1 Hit January 23, 1965 – February 5, 1965: Petula Clark – Downtown 1971 – #1 Hit January 23, 1971 – February 12, 1971: Tony Orlando and Dawn – Knock Three Times 1977 – Roots premiered on ABC 1978 – Chicago Guitarist Terry Kaith’s last words were “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded” while playing Russian Roulette. 1983 – The A-Team premiered on NBC 1984 – Hulk Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik for the WWF (now WWE) championship 1985 – Thundercats debuted, in syndication 1986 – The 1st induction of Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley. 1988 – #1 Hit January 23, 1988 – January 29, 1988: Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel 1998 – Spice World, The Gingerbread Man, Slappy and the Stinkers, and Swept From The Sea were released in theaters. 2003 – Mythbusters premiered on The Discovery Channel 2008 – U2 3D debuted in theaters. |
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts |
The biggest film of 2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Action/Adventure) earned ~ $318,000,000 The local density of mosquitos is inversely proportional to your remaining repellent. SCOTTY’S RULE: When doing work for someone and giving a completion date, make it later than you expect so when you get it done early you look golden! R2D2 must swear a lot considering they bleep out every single word he says. TV Quotes… “I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl …” (Larry) on “Newhart” A bunch of Information is called a Wealth. “To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it.” – Charlie Chaplin Useless Pronunciation: W as in wrest Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” – Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) in Gone with the Wind, 1939 The biggest film of 2000: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Comedy/Adventure) earned ~ $260,000,000 It must be really embarrassing to be the guy who shouts “It’s a bird!” when it turns out to be Superman. Describing yourself as someone smarter than most people is not socially acceptable. Saying that people are stupid is. The only difference is the wording. |
More Pop Culture History Resources |
