Interesting Facts

30th January 1948 - Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by an extremist. 1933 - Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany.

27th January 1945 - Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated.

26th January 1950 - The independent republic of India was officially born, after nearly 100 years of British rule. 1998 - In response to allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, President Bill Clinton declared: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

22nd January 1521 – Emperor Charles V opened the Diet of Worms. (Not as disgusting as it sounds.) 1561 - Francis Bacon was born. 1879 – The Battle of Rorke's Drift: 139 British soldiers successfully defend their garrison against an onslaught by 3 to 4 thousand Zulu warriors. 1901 – Edward VII was proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria. 1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg began the 1905 revolution. 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald became the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 1927 – The first live radio commentary of a football match was broadcast. 2002 – Kmart became the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

20th January 2001 - George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States. 1993 - Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States. 1987 – Church of England envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Lebanon. 1986 - Soviets launched the space station Mir. 1981 - Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. 1962 - John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. 1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. 1958 - The UK government announced the naval dockyards at Sheerness were to close. 1936 - Britain's King George V died and Edward VIII became King of the United Kingdom. 1841 – The island of Hong Kong was occupied by the British. 1783 - Great Britain signed a peace treaty with France and Spain. Officially ending hostilities between the countries in the American War of Independence. 1649 - Charles I of England went on trial for treason and other "high cri

18th January 1882 - A.A.Milne was born. (18th January is designated Winnie the Pooh Day in his honour. Yes the bear with little brain (aka the great philosopher) has his own day. And why not?)

15th January 1929 - Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia. 2001 - Wikipedia was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.

12th January 1895 - The National Trust was founded in England. Within days it was given its first place - five acres of cliff top at Dinas Oleu in Wales.

11th January 2008 - Sir Edmund Hillary died. (In 1953, he took part in John Hunt's expedition, in which he and Tenzing became the first to reach the summit. Interestingly there's only a photo of Sherpa Tenzing at the top, Tenzing couldn't take Sir Edmund's photo, but seemingly he didn't mind.)

According to research conducted by Nationwide, office workers in the UK spend an average of £40,000 during their careers on treats, traditions, whip rounds and equipment associated with the job. (All those tea jars, after work drinks, leaving presents, highlighters etc. add up. In fact tea and coffee clubs alone cost £66.36 a year.)

10th January 1920 - The Treaty of Versailles came into effect, officially ending World War I. 1927 – Fritz Lang's futuristic film Metropolis was released in Germany. 1954 - Thirty-five people died, after a BOAC Comet jet airliner crashed into the Mediterranean off the Italian island of Elba. 1957 - Harold Macmillan officially became prime minister following the sudden resignation of Sir Anthony Eden. 2016 - Starman David Bowie died. 

According to a survey carried out by (of all people) Hillary Blinds, having access to the internet is more important to young people in the UK than daylight, hot water, the NHS, or a good night's sleep. (So, it looks like we will end up with a generation of pasty faced, smelly, tired young people in poor health.)

9th January 2008 - Iwao Takamoto, the US animator who created cartoon dogs Scooby-Doo and Muttley, died aged 81.

4th January Fat Cat Wednesday - This is the day when, according to the High Pay Centre, UK bosses will have earned more by midday than typical workers (with an average UK salary of £28,200) earn in the entire year.

According to Public Health England, kids in the UK eat more than half of their recommended sugar intake - at breakfast! (The culprit?  All those sugary breakfast cereals with cartoon characters on the packaging.  (Are you listening Tony?)  What is even more worrying is that 80% of parents think sugary cereals are healthy.) 

In the UK the most popular search term on Google for politicians was no surprise. The D word.

January 1st 45 B.C. - New Year’s Day was celebrated on January 1 for the first time in history as the Julian calendar took effect. 1600 – Scotland began its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25 for the first time. 1651 – Charles II was crowned King of Scotland. 1772 – The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, went on sale in London, England. 1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland was completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1808 – The importation of slaves into the United States was banned. 1833 – The United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. 1863 – The first claim under the Homestead Act in America was made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska. 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was proclaimed Empress of India. 1898 – New York annexed land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initia