On This Day January 9th

 OTD

January 9th is the Ninth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 356 days remain until the end of the year.

 Events

1431 – The trial of Joan of Arc begins in Rouen.

1693 – 1693 Sicily earthquake: The first of two earthquakes destroys parts of Sicily and Malta. After the second quake on 11 January, the death toll was estimated to be between 60,000 and 100,000 people.

1793 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first person to fly in a balloon in the United States.

1806 – Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral.

1839 – The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process

1909 – Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time.

1927 – A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, kills 78 children.

1962 – Apollo program: NASA announced plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, then known as the "Advanced Saturn," to carry human beings to the moon.

1992 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.

2007 – Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco.

 Birthdays

1590 – Simon Vouet, French painter (d. 1649)

1606 – William Dugard, English printer (d. 1662)

1829 – Adolf Schlagintweit, German botanist and explorer (d. 1857)

1854 – Jennie Jerome, American-born wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill (d. 1921)

1902 – Rudolf Bing, American impresario and businessman (d. 1997)

1914 – Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)

1928 – Judith Krantz, American novelist (d. 2019)

1934 – Bart Starr, American football player and coach (d. 2019)

1935 – Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005)

1935 – Dick Enberg, American sportscaster (d. 2017)

1950 – Alec Jeffreys, English geneticist and academic

1955 – J. K. Simmons, American actor

1968 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress

1982 – Catherine, Princess of Wales

1996 – Vítek Vaněček, Czech ice hockey player

 Holiday Spotlight

National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

  For a while, the United States’ idea of law enforcement was pretty loose. The Wild West was, well, wild. And most states and cities didn’t consider emergency services like firefighters and police officers necessary until much later than most would think. In the mid-1800s, most law enforcement was carried out in posse comitatus, where the sheriff and a posse of volunteers and deputies (much like the stereotypical Westerns of the 1960s) would enforce laws rather than a centralized police force.

 Once the 20th century rolled around, most larger cities, counties, and states had developed a centralized police or sheriff’s department. In doing so, most of the country slowly started to see a reduction in the “Wild West” and a tamer and more domesticated America, despite many newly formed local authorities needing to pick sides in a rise of unionizing laborers going on strike.

 Whether it's civil unrest, labor strikes, huge sporting events, or just helping a cat get down from a tree, law enforcement officers are a critical part of our lives, woven into the everyday fabric of living in America. They keep our neighborhoods safe and help ensure that whatever you need to do, you can do with peace of mind.

 National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was created by multiple organizations in 2015 to express their gratitude for officers in the United States. In support of their services, citizens are encouraged to do their part in thanking law enforcement on this day. One of the prominent organizations to take the lead in this is C.O.P.S – Concerns of Police Survivors. According to them, law enforcement officers must be shown that the problematic career path they have chosen is recognized by those they protect and uphold the law.

 This holiday was triggered by the chain of events in 2014 when a police officer was involved in a crossfire shooting in Missouri. The backlash and violence that followed this event led C.O.P.S to take the initiative to change this negative portrayal of police officers in the news in recent years into a positive one. With over 900,000 officers in the United States, the organization believes it is essential to support law enforcers during difficult times, and a holiday dedicated to them does just that. The day also raises awareness of the importance of understanding that the difficult decisions taken by police officers are in the best interest of citizens and the law.

 Other Include

Balloon Ascension Day

International Choreographers Day

National Apricot Day

National Cassoulet Day

National Poetry at Work Day

National Shop for Travel Day

National Static Electricity Day

National Take the Stairs Day

National Word Nerd Day

Panama's Martyrs' Day

Play God Day

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