Today is Wednesday, January 9th, the ninth day of the year. There are 356 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1793, Jean-Pierre Blanchard completed the first successful balloon flight in the United States.
In 1894, the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company installed the first battery operated switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
In 1951, the United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City.
In 1996, fashion critic Mr. Blackwell named disc jockey Howard Stern to his annual list of worst dressed women. Stern was pictured in drag on the cover of his second book titled "Miss America."
In 2003, after 14 years in the top position, Tommy Mottola resigned as head of Sony Music Entertainment.
In 2004, deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was officially declared an enemy prisoner of war. Saddam was found hiding in a so-called "spider" hole and captured by U.S. forces on December 13th, 2003 in his hometown of Tikrit.
In 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Using a touch screen, the new device combined the features of Apple's iPod with a mobile phone, allowing users to field phone calls and play music and videos.
In 2016, The "Rolling Stone" magazine published an interview between actor Sean Penn and Mexican drug kingpin Juan "El Chapo" Guzman on this day. It details Guzman's run from Mexican authorities after escaping prison six months prior. The actor secretly traveled to Mexico to speak with "El Chapo," before he was recaptured a day before.
In 2016, Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion went up for sale on this day.