On This Day January 24th

 OTD

January 24th is the Twenty-Fourth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 342 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behavior and possible impotence.

1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.

1758 – During the Seven Years' War, the leading burghers of Königsberg submitted to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).

1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.

1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.

1908 – Robert Baden-Powell organized the first Boy Scout troop in England.

1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the United States Supreme Court declared the federal income tax constitutional.

1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.

1984 – Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.

1989 – Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.

 

Birthdays

76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (d. 138), now this guy could build a wall.

1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (d. 1726)

1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (d. 1786)

1814 – John Colenso, British mathematician (d. 1883)

1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1995)

1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)

1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor

1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)

1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer

 

Holiday Spotlight

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week

  The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week began in 1985, initially as the Cowboy Poetry Gathering. In 2000, U.S. Senator Richard H. Bryan sponsored a resolution introduced to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The committee then passed a simple resolution designating the Cowboy Poetry Gathering as National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week, which recognized the event's first edition in Reno, Nevada 1985. Elko, Nevada, was recognized by the U.S. Senate as the original home of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering for their contributions to the gathering and the history and traditions of the art form.

 The event's inaugural edition saw William Wilson secure National Endowment for the Arts funding. It was organized by a team of folklorists and local cowboy poets, including Hal Cannon and Waddie Mitchell. The event provided a place for Western ranchers and cowboys to gather to share poems about ranch life. It became clear from the beginning that these folks had found an artistic community known only to a few.

 Today, National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week is a six-day event filled with poetry, music, dancing, workshops, exhibits, etc., all rooted in the tradition of the rural West. The Gathering embraces its role as the pilgrimage point for thousands of ranch folk and lovers of Western culture to come and experience art that grows from a connection to the “rhythms of earth and sky.”

 

Other Include

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Belly Laugh Day

Change a Pet's Life Day

International Mobile Phone Recycling Day

Library Shelfie Day

National Compliment Day

National "Just Do It" Day

National Peanut Butter Day

Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day