List of January 23rd Major News Events
- 1977 Roots TV Mini Series
- 1964 Poll Tax became illegal
- 1922 - Insulin First Used
- 1933 20th Amendment To The Constitution
- 1961 Santa Maria Hijacking
- 1986 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame
- 2001 Protesters Tiananmen Square
Find More Details for What happened 23rd January This Day in History on your birthday
1936 The Queen Mary
1936: The Cunard ocean liner The Queen Mary is nearing completion on Clydebank in Scotland, and will begin sea trials within 10 weeks, she is scheduled for the Transatlantic trips between Southampton and New York and many details are appearing which confirm she will a success before she even starts her transatlantic sailings with the first passage on May 27th oversubscribed by 4 times already, she will be capable of 32 knots which is faster than any other passenger vehicle afloat and will be the biggest passenger ship afloat with a crew of 1200 and carrying 2200 passengers. Due to the government providing a loan of 10 million for 2 ships it is believed before The Queen Mary even starts her transatlantic runs a second even larger ship will be in production which between them will provide a weekly service across the Atlantic.
1977 Roots TV Mini Series
The Alex Haley book "Roots" is turned into a TV Mini Series of 8 episodes and the first episode is shown on 23rd and the last episode shown on January 30th. The mini series made history when it won 9 Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award.
1964 Poll Tax became illegal
The Poll Tax became illegal in all US states it had been a potent prerequisite, and sometimes outright barrier, to voting in national elections, and used as a blunt tool for barring poverty-stricken African-Americans and whites from participating in the electoral process.
1912 Exhaust Horn
A new type of horn was created and patented on this day. This horn is called the "exhaust horn" which is a tail pipe shaped like a pipe organ that plays musical notes. This particular exhaust pipe was created by the Aermore Manufacturing Company.
1922 - Insulin First Used
The first injection of Insulin ( called isletin originally ) on Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic who lay dying at the Toronto General Hospital on January 11th 1922 caused a severe allergic reaction. For the next 12 days the biochemist James Collip worked to improve and purify the ox-pancreas extract and on the second injection bought the boy out of his coma and was a complete success.
1929 Queen Victoria
Four boxers were given an ultimatum on this day. They were urged to fight a suitable contender within 60 days or give up their titles. They were all given championship status in their fighting categories (heavy, middle, and light weight).
1933 20th Amendment To The Constitution
1933: The 20th Amendment to the US Constitution Is Ratified which establishes the beginning and ending of the terms of the elected federal officials.
1937 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a baseball fan most of his life (among other things). Therefore, he wrote a letter with enthusiasm to the Baseball Writer's Association, which was to be read at a dinner sponsored by this organization.
The letter that Roosevelt had sent was addressed to James Dawson. The purpose of it was to compliment the sports' writers who had worked hard at that time to stir sportsmanship and enthusiasm in America. Find Out More on our History of Baseball Page.
In fact, Baseball was considered one of the forms of escape after the bout of the Great Depression. This was one sport that could be enjoyed despite economic woes.
Born This Day In History January 23rd
Celebrating Birthdays Today
Chesley Sullenberger
Born: 23rd January 1951 Denison, Texas, U.S.
Known For : Chesley Sullenberger is best known for an emergency ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 after hitting a large flock of birds, disabling both engines in the Hudson River in January 2009 and saving the lives of all 155 people on the aircraft. What made him a hero was his calm during the crisis working together with his co-pilot to make a well informed decision ensuring the safety of all on board.
1943 Louis Jordan and His Timpany Five
Louis Jordan and His Timpany Five take the song "What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You Gonna Get Drunk Again)" to the top chart spot. It only stays there for one week.
1955 Rail Crash
An express train travelling from York to Bristol derails and overturns at Sutton Coldfield station killing 14 and injuring many more.
1958 United Auto Workers
The United Auto Workers (UAW) were prepared to vote on a new profit-sharing plan. This particular proposal was made by Walter P. Reuther. If this new profit-sharing plan were to take affect, workers would receive 25% of any profits over 10 percent above what companies make (net capital before taxes).
1961 Santa Maria Hijacking
1961 : Luxury Portuguese cruise liner Santa Maria is hijacked by a terrorists leftist rebel group who had boarded in Venezuela and Curacao led by Henrique Galvão. The terrorists took control of the ship after killing 1 crew member and injuring others. When they had control they cut off all communication to the outside world. They then sailed the ship to Brazil and 11 days after hijacking the ship agreed to release the ship, passengers and crew in exchange for political asylum in Brazil.
1964 24th Amendment To The Constitution
The 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is Ratified which removed the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax.
1968 The U.S. ship Pueblo
The U.S. ship Pueblo is seized by North Korean naval vessels and charged with spying and violating North Korean territorial waters, the ship is a US intelligence gathering ship
1968 Community College
The proposal to create a local community college system with in the Midwest City and Tulsa area was approved. This approval was made by the State Regents for Higher Education organization. However plans would be put on hold until communities are allowed to issue bonds for the establishment of these schools.
1972 National Science Foundation
A small organization called the National Science Foundation has given East Central State College a substantial amount of money for technological improvements. Most of the $9,745 given to finance the broadened use of a machine called the Technician Auto Analyzer.
The Technician Auto Analyzer was to be used (and has already been used) to assist students studying in the medical field as well as students taking classes in water chemical analysis.
1973 Vietnam Peace With Honour
1973: US president, Richard Nixon, appears on national television to announce "peace with honour" in Vietnam.
1978 Aerosol Sprays Banned
Sweden becomes the first nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays using Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the propellant, believed to be damaging to earth's ozone layer
1986 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame
The first ten musicians are inducted into Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame including James Brown, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
1989 Tajikistan Earthquake
Hundreds feared dead after a 6.0 earthquake on the richter scaqle strikes the Soviet Central Asian republic of Tajikistan.
1993 Thomas Gorsey
1993: Thomas Gorsey, a highly influential gospel singer, had passed away on this day. He was the son of a Baptist minister and minister's wife.
He had achieved quite a bit of recognition in his lifetime. For one, he was considered to be the "Father of Gospel Music". He had written over a thousand gospel songs in his lifetime.
1997 Madeline Albright
Madeline Albright, America's first female Secretary of State was sworn in on this day. Al Gore had done the honors of officiating her first day of service in one of the highest positions of authority given in the U.S.
Madeline Albright was originally from Czechoslovakia. However, she and her family fled from the communist power that ruled that nation and came to America in 1948. She then studied law at Columbia University and where she received her P.h.D.
Before she became Secretary of State, she was given the title of permanent representative to the United Nations. She had received this title by President Bill Clinton.
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Childrens Toys From The 1980's
Kids Toys From the 80sThe popular toys at of the decade also signaled the age of the video game in arcades, Games Machines and PC's the most popular games being Space Invaders and Pac Man plus talking dolls were all the rage and at the end of the decade Featured Below Children's very own Sony Walkmans, Talking Alf, Star War Figures, Pound Puppies, My Little Pony and Mr and Mr's Potato Head From Our
Check out our Updated Quiz Section
From our 1960's Quiz
Question 12
12. Which Pope became the first to visit the United States in 1965?
Question 13
13. Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in what year?
Question 14
14. In 1966, the actor Ronald Reagan began his involvement with US politics when he became the governor of what state?
2001 Protesters Tiananmen Square
Five protesters set themselves on fire by pouring gasoline on themselves and setting light to themselves in Tiananmen Square recorded by CNN camera men ( Tapes are confiscated ) and Police with fire-extinguishers quickly put out the flames. The chinese media used the protesters as examples to discredit the practice of Falun Gong which is frowned on by the Chinese government. Falun Gong has denied any involvement in the incident.
2010 Joe Biden visits Iraq
Joe Biden is been holding talks in Iraq to defuse a political crisis over candidates for March's general elections. More than five hundred of them have been banned so far, with many on suspicion of loyalty to the dissolved Baath Party. The dispute has been causing bitter recriminations between Iraqi politicians. Many Sunnis are upset, and are saying that their community is being marginalised, while many Shi'tes oppose the rehabilitated Baathists and any U.S. interference. Biden met the U.N. Secretary General's representative for Iraq for a working breakfast, before holding talks with the Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki.
2011 Western Scotland Hit by Earthquake
2011 A magnitude 3.5 earthquake hit the Scotland's Western town of Glenuig. The earthquake was felt up to seventy miles away from the center, but did very little damage to the surrounding area
Â2012 British Woman Crosses Antarctica Solo
2012 : Felicity Aston became the first woman to complete a solo crossing of Antarctica after skiing for 1,084 miles over 59 days. The thirty-three year old celebrated the accomplishment by herself as the weather did not permit a plane to safely collect her from the Hercules Inlet right away.
2013 Cardinal Glemp Dies
Head of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland for over twenty years, Cardinal Jozef Glemp died at the age of eighty-three. Glemp had overseen many crucial moments in the country while heading the church but had resigned in 2004 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
2014 Morocco Changes Controversial Law
2014 : Morocco's parliament unanimously voted to change a controversial law that had spurred protests. The law had allowed rapists of underage girls the ability to avoid punishment by marrying the victims. While activists welcome the changes, they say that more needs to be done to protect women.
We spent many hours researching cost of living information for each year and I created this page after being asked a number of times about why I did not include current prices alongside our cost of living information for each year and thought this was the easiest way to make the information available. includes Average Cost Of New Home, Average Wages, New Car cost, Gallon Of Gas and a 1lb Hamburger Meat, 1920 to 2021
Part of our Collection of Toys 1950
1950 Adding Machine
Price: $1.62 Youngsters love it for playing store. Accurate and dependable enough to take the headaches out of addition for older people, too. Older children can use it to solve homework addition problems. Even Mom finds it useful for her household accounts. Takes four column figures, adds up to 9,999.