🗞️Today’s Headlines

Everything important that’s ever happened on January 8:

2011 ─ Gabby Giffords, US Representative from Arizona, was shot in an assassination attempt that killed six and wounded many more. Despite being shot in the head, Giffords recovered and became an advocate for gun control reforms. 

1998 ─ Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the terrorist behind the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was sentenced to life in prison.

1997 ─ 500th anniversary of the House of Grimaldi's sovereign rule in Monaco. The Grimaldi family remains in power and is the longest continuously ruling family in Europe.

1959 ─ Charles de Gaulle, leader of the French resistance against Nazi Germany and prime minister, was elected back into power and inaugurated as president of France's Fifth Republic.

1918 ─ In a speech to the US Congress, President Woodrow Wilson announced his “Fourteen Points,” ideas for lasting peace after World War I. They included the end of secret treaties, freer trade, arms reductions, and more. 

1815 ─ Despite being out-manned, US General Andrew Jackson decisively defeated Great Britain in the Battle of New Orleans. The battle occurred two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent had already ended the War of 1812, but the treaty had yet to be received and ratified.

1790 ─ The first US President, George Washington, delivered the first State of the Union, as required by the Constitution. 

🎂 Today’s Birthdays

On January 8, we’re singing to:

Elvis Presley (1935) ─ American singer, actor, and 1950s heartthrob known as “The King,” one of the early popularizers of rock and roll, who had 117 songs reach the Billboard Top 200. 

Stephen Hawking (1942) ─ Famed British physicist who, despite a paralyzing disease, made major discoveries and innovations in theoretical physics, and was a widely read author. 

David Bowie (1947) ─ Influential British singer and pop culture icon who rose to prominence in the 1970s and became one of the best-selling musicians of all time. 

R. Kelly (1967) ─ American musician and three-time Grammy winner who rose to fame as an R&B artist but is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for various sexual crimes.

 🪦Who Died Today?

On January 8, we’re saying goodbye to:

Marco Polo (1324) ─ Italian explorer and writer who traveled and explored much of Asia, particularly China, and through his book The Travels of Marco Polo, opened European eyes to Chinese innovations, such as paper money and gunpowder.

Galileo (1642) ─ Italian astronomer, scientist, and mathematician who developed early telescopes and microscopes, using these tools to greatly expand knowledge of the universe during his lifetime and beyond.

Eli Whitney (1825) ─ American inventor and manufacturer, known as the “father of the mass production method” and most famous for inventing the mechanical cotton gin, which significantly increased the productivity of cotton farming.

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