On This Day January 8th

 OTD

January 8th is the Eighth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 357 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.

1547 – The first Lithuanian-language book, the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas, is published in Königsberg.

1735 – George Frideric Handel's Ariodante premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

1790 – George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.

1815 – War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.

1867 – The United States Congress passed the bill allowing African American men to vote in Washington, D.C.

1877 – Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory.

1889 – Herman Hollerith is issued U.S... patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator.

1940 – World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.

1982 – Breakup of the Bell System: In the United States, AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.

2004 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, then the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

 

Birthdays

1587 – Johannes Fabricius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1616)

1786 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and financier (d. 1844

1859 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American mountaineer, geographer, and cartographer (d. 1925)

1905 – Carl Gustav Hempel, German philosopher from the Vienna and the Berlin Circle (d. 1997)

1911 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, dancer, and author (d. 1970)

1926 – Soupy Sales, American comedian and actor (d. 2009)

1935 – Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (d. 1977)

1942 – Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (d. 2018)

1953 – Bruce Sutter, American baseball pitcher (d. 2022)

1998 – Tony Bradley, American basketball player

 

Holiday Spotlight

Plough Monday

  The origins of Plough Monday go back to East Anglia and the East Midlands, where the celebrations were popular. Traditionally, Plough Monday was when workers returned to the farm after an unpaid Christmas holiday since agricultural work was scarce in winter. They asked for ‘donations’ from better-off neighbors — someone like the village Squire. Farmworkers would shout, “Penny for the plowboys!” while dragging a plow around. In attempts to disguise themselves, workers blackened their faces with soot. Villagers unwilling to donate faced the possibility of having their gardens plowed.

 Entire villages would join in the fun. The plowboys often came with a colorful entourage, too. One of the most popular characters was The Fool – a person dressed like an animal carrying a pig’s bladder on the end of a stick. Sometimes, Molly dancers would also accompany the workers to entertain for money. All the dancers blackened their faces with soot — preventing future employers from recognizing them. In the past, communities performed a series of plays on Plough Monday — similar to Christmas Mummers Plays. The performances were popular in the East Midlands, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. Story elements usually depict the death and resurrection of the primary characters.

 Plow Day occurs on the first Monday after Epiphany (January 6) or the Twelfth Night. Today, the observance is primarily associated with Molly's dancing and plays. The best place to catch the festivities is at Maldon in Essex every year. Places like Exeter and Durham cathedrals also conduct a Blessing the Plough service on the Sunday before Plough Monday.

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Other Include

Argyle Day

Bubble Bath Day

Coming of Age Day

Earth's Rotation Day

International Typing Day

Midwife's Day or Women's Day - (In Greece)

National Clean Off Your Desk Day

National English Toffee Day

National Gluten-Free Day

National Joygerm Day

National Man Watcher's Day

National Weigh-In Day

National Winter Skin Relief Day

Show and Tell Day at Work

War on Poverty Day

World Literary Day

World Typing Day

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