🗞️Today’s Headlines

Everything important that’s ever happened on January 10:

1999 ─ HBO aired the first episode of The Sopranos, a groundbreaking series that would last for six seasons, win multiple awards, and usher in a new era of prestige television. 

1984 ─ After 117 years, the United States and the Vatican established diplomatic relations, which had been severed in 1867 thanks to anti-Catholic sentiment sparked in part by the suspected involvement of three Catholics in the assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln.  

1971 ─ Masterpiece Theatre debuted on PBS and has lasted for more than 50 years, making it the longest-running weekly drama in history. It is now known as Masterpiece and continues to show British productions, mystery series, biographies, and more. 

1946 ─ Project Diana, an experiment in bouncing radar signals off the moon, proved the viability of radio communications in space and opened the door to the radar mapping of celestial bodies. 

1946 ─ The United Nations General Assembly, the policy-making organ of the UN, held its first meeting in London, with 51 countries sending representatives.

1901 ─ One of the largest oil fields in the world was discovered in Beaumont, Texas, starting the Texas oil boom, an era of unprecedented investment in the exploration of oil. 

1861 ─ Florida became the third state to secede from the union and was one of the initial states to join the Confederacy in the lead-up to the Civil War. 

1776 ─ The pamphlet Common Sense was published. Written by Thomas Paine at the onset of the American Revolution, it successfully encouraged everyday Americans to pursue independence and became one of the most widely read works in the world.

🎂 Today’s Birthdays

On January 10, we’re singing to:

Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1883) ─ Russian writer known as one of the world’s all-time greatest novelists, most notably for War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

Rod Stewart (1945) ─ British singer-songwriter who sold over 120 million albums and was a bonafide rockstar from the 1970s on, with Sailing and Maggie May as some of his most popular singles.  

George Foreman (1949) ─ Boxer and entrepreneur who fought everyone from Muhammad Ali to Evander Holyfield in an 81-fight career and went on to promote the George Foreman Grill, an indoor grill that sold more than 100 million units.

 🪦Who Died Today?

On January 10, we’re saying goodbye to:

Buffalo Bill (1917) ─ Legendary US showman who took his show, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, around the US and Europe, showcasing cowboy and frontier culture.

Coco Chanel (1971) ─ French designer who started a small boutique in Normandy that grew into the luxury fashion brand Chanel, which is now owned by her grandsons and worth more than $100 billion.

How Am I Doing?