Hello.
Welcome to your weekend and thank you for making us a part of it!
So, here we are in the home stretch of January. Whew. How’s your 2025 so far? If it’s been a flurry of to-do’s and chipping away at the lists of life, we get it. It’s a lot sometimes. That’s why we take time on Saturday mornings to intentionally slow things down a bit with a look back at events that happened on these days in history before we head out to make new history today.
We call it our “scroll down memory lane.”
If you are new, welcome! If this has been part of your routine for years…thank you. Either way, we appreciate you and are glad you are here. Now, grab your favorite sippin drink and let’s scroll!
Tomorrow is Sunday, January 26th, the 26th day of the year.
On this day:
In 1823, Edward Jenner died. He discovered the smallpox vaccine.
In 1837, Michigan became the 26th state of the Union.
In 1863, 25 days after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the U.S. War Department authorized the enlistment of Black troops. The authorization gave rise to the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer infantry which became the first all-Black Union regiment raised in the north.
In 1875, the electric dental drill was patented by George Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
In 1905, the world’s largest diamond was discovered and named the Cullinan diamond. It weighed in at more than three-thousand carats.
In 1932, businessman William Wrigley, Jr., died at the age of 70. He founded the Wrigley chewing gum empire and also baseball’s Chicago Cubs.
In 1934, New York’s Apollo Theater opened.
In 1965, the military ousted the government and seized power in South Vietnam.
In 1979, former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller died at the age of 70. He served with President Gerald Ford.
In 1983, legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant died at the age of 69. He won six national championships while coaching the Crimson Tide.
In 1996, the U.S. Senate approved the START-two treaty to reduce U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear missiles.
In 1998, President Clinton, denied having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky telling reporters, quote, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
In 2005, the Senate confirmed Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State by an 85-13 vote. Rice’s confirmation followed contentious debate by some Democrats in the Senate who argued Rice should be held accountable for her role in the Bush Administration’s decision to go to war in Iraq. Rice replaced outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In 2006, on her talk show, Oprah Winfrey confronted author James Frey, a man she says “duped” her. Frey confessed to Oprah that his best-selling memoir, “A Million Little Pieces,” was filled with several inaccuracies. Frey’s book was the number-two best seller in 2005, due in large part to the publicity brought on by Oprah’s Book Club.
In 2016, actor Abe Vigoda died in his sleep January 26th at the age of 94 from natural causes. He was best known for playing Salvatore Tessio in the film “The Godfather.” His other credits include the TV show “Barney Miller” and “Fish.”
In 2020, basketball player Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
In 2021, Antony Blinken was confirmed by U.S. Senate as Secretary of State.
In 2022, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.
In 2023, five ex-Memphis police officers were charged for the murder of Tyre Nichols. Nichols was beaten by the officers after a traffic stop for what the police originally said was reckless driving. Nichols died in the hospital three days later.
In 2024, President Trump was ordered to pay 83-million dollars in damages to E. Jean Carroll.
That brings us here to this day. Whatever plans you have for your own 1.24.2025 here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history books.
Thanks for stopping by!
