On This Day January 7th

 OTD

January 7th is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 358 days remain until the end of the year.

 

 Events

49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army, prompting the tribunes who support him to flee where Caesar is waiting in Ravenna.

1558 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.

1610 – Galileo Galilei observes the four Galilean moons, Ganymede, Calisto, Io, and Europa, although he cannot distinguish the last two until the following day.

1782 – The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens

1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.

1894 – Thomas Edison makes a kinetoscope film of someone sneezing. On the same day, his employee, William Kennedy Dickson, receives a patent for motion picture film.

1927 – The first transatlantic commercial telephone service is established from New York City to London

1954 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York at the head office of IBM

 2023 – The most extended U.S. House of Representatives speaker election since the December 1859 – February 1860 U.S. speaker election concludes, and Kevin McCarthy is elected 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

 

Birthdays

1634 – Adam Krieger, German organist and composer (d. 1666)

1685 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish agronomist and businessman (d. 1761)

1718 – Israel Putnam, American general (d. 1790)

1827 – Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer, created Universal Standard Time (d. 1915)

1837 – Thomas Henry Ismay, English businessman, founded the White Star Line Shipping Company (d. 1899)

1890 – Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, American soldier, pulp magazine writer, and pioneer of the American comic book

1912 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist, created The Addams Family (d. 1988)

1946 – Jann Wenner, American publisher, co-founded Rolling Stone

1957 – Katie Couric, American television journalist, anchor, and author

1997 – Lamar Jackson, American football player

 

 Holiday Spotlight

Distaff Day

  We all love the soft and soothing feel of cotton and woolen clothes on our bodies, especially during the winter season when the cold seeps into our bodies, and we wear clothes for warmth. But really, the history of making clothes as we know it today is rich, and at the forefront of its evolution is a simple but essential tool called the distaff. A distaff is a tool for holding unspun fibers; women would freely wrap them around it.

 Distaff Day takes root in the tradition of women returning to their regular household chores 12 days after Christmas. Distaff Day is also about commemorating and celebrating women’s work in the home. Spinning was essential in European traditions and throughout history. Today, spinning has become more of a hobby than a house chore. The different types of distaffs include the basic distaff, which is simply a smooth stick, and Russian-style distaffs, which are more decorative and board-like.

 Before the spinning wheel was invented in 1533, women used the distaff and the spindle to spin wool fibers or flax. A standard method of handling a distaff was holding it under the arm when turning or attaching it to a designated spinning wheel. Using a distaff and spinning wheel slowly became acknowledged as exclusive to women and a symbol of the maternal side of the family. Writers like Chaucer and Shakespeare also lavishly used the word ‘distaff’ in their works, popularizing symbolism. 

 

 Other Include

Baptism of the Lord

Harlem Globetrotter's Day

I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore Day

International Programmer's Day

National Bobblehead Day

National Pass Gas Day

No Pants Subway Ride Day

Old Rock Day

Orthodox Christmas Day

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