January 111569 - England's first state lottery was held. 1770 - The first shipment of rhubarb was sent to the United States from London. 1805 - The Michigan Territory was created. 1861 - Alabama seceded from the United States. 1867 - Benito Juarez returned to the Mexican presidency, following the withdrawal of French troops and the execution of Emperor Maximilian. 1878 - In New York, milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time by Alexander Campbell. 1902 - "Popular Mechanics" magazine was published for the first time. 1913 - The first sedan-type car was unveiled at the National Automobile Show in New York City. The car was manufactured by the Hudson Motor Company. 1922 - At Toronto General Hospital, Leonard Thompson became the first person to be successfully treated with insulin. 1935 - Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California. 1938 - In Limerick, ME, Frances Moulton assumed her duties as the first woman bank president. 1942 - Japan declared war against the Netherlands. The same day, Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies. 1943 - The United States and Britain signed treaties relinquishing extraterritorial rights in China. 1947 - "Murder and Mrs. Malone" debuted on ABC radio. 1958 - "Seahunt" debuted on CBS-TV. The show was aired on the network for four years. 1964 - U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report that said that smoking cigarettes was a definite health hazard. 1973 - The Open University awarded its first degrees. 1973 - Owners of American League baseball teams voted to adopt the designated-hitter rule on a trial basis. 1977 - France released Abu Daoud, a Palestinian suspected of involvement in the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. 1978 - Two Soviet cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 27 capsule linked up with the Salyut 6 orbiting space station, where the Soyuz 26 capsule was already docked. 1980 - Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton in Britain, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess. 1986 - Author James Clavell signed a 5$ million deal with Morrow/Avon Publishing for the book "Whirlwind". The book is a 2,000 page novel. 1988 - U.S. Vice President George Bush met with representatives of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh to answer questions about the Iran-Contra affair. 1991 - An auction of silver and paintings that had been acquired by the late Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, brought in a total of $20.29 million at Christie's in New York. 1996 - Ryutaro Hashimoto become Japan's prime minister. He replaced Tomiichi Murayama who had resigned on January 5, 1996. 2000 - The merger between AOL and Time Warner was approved by the U.S. government with restrictions. 2000 - The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the second Vietnam Veterans Memorial commemorative stamp in a ceremony at The Wall. 2001 - The Texas Board of Criminal Justice released a review of the escape of the "Texas 7." It stated that prison staff missed critical opportunities to prevent the escape by ignoring a fire alarm, not reporting unsupervised inmates and not demanding proper identification from inmates. 2001 - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner. |