This Day in History

Today is Thursday, January 10th, the tenth day of the year.  There are 355 days until the end of the year.

On this day:

In 1861, Florida became the third U.S. state to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.

In 1911, Major Jimmie Erickson shot the first photograph ever taken from an airplane.

In 1917, frontiersman Buffalo Bill Cody died at the age of 70.

In 1920, the League of Nations was created.

In 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt traveled to Trinidad.  The trip made him the first president ever to visit a foreign country during wartime.

In 1951, Donald Howard Rogers piloted the first passenger jet on a trip from Chicago to New York City.

In 1971, fashion designer Coco Chanel died at the age of 87.

In 1982, actor, comedian Paul Lynde died at the age of 55.  He is best remembered as the man who occupied the center square on "The Hollywood Squares."

In 1993, David Letterman announced he would move his late night show from NBC to CBS.  Letterman signed a 14-million dollar contract with CBS to host "The Late Show With David Letterman."

In 1999, the mob drama series "The Sopranos" made its debut on HBO. 

In 2000, singer Melissa Etheridge ended speculation about the paternity of the children she shared with partner Julie Cypher when she announced that musician David Crosby was the children's father.  Cypher carried the children that Crosby fathered by artificial insemination.  Etheridge and Cypher split nine months later.

In 2000, America Online announced that it had agreed to buy Time Warner, the largest traditional media company in the U.S., for $165 billion.

In 2005, a Southern California mudslide turned deadly when the steep hillside in La Conchita, north of Los Angeles, collapsed after several days of heavy rain.  Several people were buried under the rubble created by the mudslide.   

In 2014, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon [[ shuh-rohn ]] died.  Sharon had been in a coma since he suffered a major stroke in January of 2006.  He was 85 years old.

In 2016, iconic singer, songwriter, and actor David Bowie died on this day, just two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his 25th studio album, "Blackstar."  The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer he died after an 18-month battle with cancer.

In 2017, The bumblebee went onto the endangered species list for the first time.


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