This Week in History: Jan. 24-30

Jan. 24- 1848: Working at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, CA, carpenter James Marshall finds traces of gold. And as they say, “The rest is history!” 1935: First canned beer (Krueger’s Cream Ale) is sold in Richmond, VA. Surely this MUST be celebrated as a holiday somewhere! 1984: Apple unveils its first Macintosh PC.

Jan. 25- 1858: Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” first played at the wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter. 1890: Reporter Nellie Bly completes around the world journey in 72 days, beating Jules Verne’s fictional mark by 8 days. 1947: Infamous Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone dies in Miami Beach, FL after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 48 years old.

Jan. 26- 1880: WW II General Douglas McArthur born in Little Rock, AR. 1926: First public demonstration of television takes place in a London, England laboratory. 1972: Serbian Air flight attendant Vesna Vulović survives falling more than 33,000 feet from an airplane WITHOUT A PARACHUTE!

Jan. 27- 1924: Russian Revolution leader V. I. Lenin’s preserved body is interred in a mausoleum in Red Square. (And he’s still looking pretty well preserved 100 years later!) 1956: RCA Records releases Elvis Presley’s single “Heartbreak Hotel” which becomes his first hit to sell more than one million copies. 1973: U.S. and Vietnamese representatives sign Paris Peace Accords, ending Vietnam War.

Jan. 28- 1958: Danish businessman Godtfred Kirk Christiansen receives a patent for LEGOs (to the delight of tens of millions of children)! 1985: A veritable “Who’s who” of musicians, collaborating as USA for humanitarian relief efforts in Africa. 1986: The Challenger Space Shuttle explodes shortly after take-off, killing all seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe, chosen to become the first teacher in space.

Jan. 29- 1886: Karl Benz patents first automobile with an internal combustion engine.
1892: The Coca Cola company is incorporated in Atlanta, GA. 1936: Baseball Hall of Fame elects its first members: Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.
1963: American poet Robert Frost dies in Boston, MA of complications following surgery. He was 88 years old.

Jan. 30- 1882: 32nd U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt is born in Hyde Park, NY. 1948: Aviation pioneer Orville Wright died in his sleep from a heart attack in Dayton, OH. He was 76 years old. 1969: The Beatles give their last live performance, a 42-minute set on the rooftop of Apple Records in London, England. 1977: The final episode of the miniseries “Roots” is watched by a record 100 million viewers in the U.S.