Events of Early January

Jan. 1, 1801 – Ceres, the first-identified heavenly body of this type, is discovered by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi.

Jan. 2, 1971 – TV and radio ads for this product become illegal in the U.S.

Jan. 3, 1924 – British archaeologist Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of this king.

Jan. 4, 1896 – This territory, inhabited by many members of the Mormon Church, becomes the 45th state to enter the Union.

Jan. 4, 1785 – Birthday of this man, one of two brothers who collected old German folktales.

Jan. 5, 1779 – Birthday of Stephen Decatur, U.S. naval officer who fought the Barbary Pirates in what is now this country.

Jan 5, 1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross is elected the first female governor in U.S. history, in this western state.

Jan. 6, 1912 – This territory, acquired in the Mexican War and the Gadsden Purchase, becomes the 47th U.S. state.

Jan. 6, 1412 – Celebrated as the birthday of this French peasant girl who would become a military leader and saint.

Jan. 7, 1785 – A Frenchman and an American make the first successful crossing of the English Channel in this type of conveyance.

Jan. 7, 1800 – Birthday of this man, who became U.S. President on the sudden death of Zachary Taylor.

Jan. 8, 1935 – This singer is born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Jan. 9, 1913 – Birthday of this senator from California, U.S. Vice President, and disgraced President.

Jan. 9, 1788 – This very small state becomes the fifth to enter the Union.

Jan. 10, 1946 – The U.N. General Assembly meets for the first time, in this city. Later it would move to New York City.

Jan. 10, 1928 – Minnie Buckingham Harper becomes the first African-American woman to serve in a legislative body in the U.S., in this mid-Atlantic state.

Jan. 11, 1922 – A Canadian boy becomes the first person to receive an insulin injection as treatment for this disease.

Jan. 12, 1876 – This adventurous author of “The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" is born in San Francisco.

Jan. 12, 1899 – Birthday of Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist who discovered this effective but problematic insecticide.

Jan. 13, 1733 – James Oglethorpe arrives in America with about 115 colonists to found a colony named for this British king.

Jan. 13, 1957 – The Wham-O company begins producing this throwing toy.

Jan. 14, 1741 – This Revolutionary War general and traitor is born in Connecticut.

Jan. 14, 1943 – This man becomes the first U.S. President to fly in an airplane while in office.

Jan. 15, 1919 – A disaster occurs in Boston, as a storage tank bursts and this sweet substance rushes through the streets, killing 21.

Jan. 15, 1929 – This civil rights leader is born in Atlanta.

Jan. 15, 1943 – This building, the largest office building in the world, is completed near Washington, D.C.