Document Asset | January Factoids

January 1-31

January is Mentor Month

Did you know Benjamin Elijah Mays was Martin Luther King, Jr's mentor? (SC Hall of Fame)

January Observances (Day)

Click on a date below to find more factoids and related content.

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1

Petroglyphs

Amateur archaeologist Mike Bramlett discovered several of the "stick figure" petroglyphs on a rainy winter day January 1, 2003. (A Natural State)

Spanish Flu Pandemic

In January 1918, a deadly strain of Influenza known as the "Spanish Flu", or H1N1 began sweeping the globe. The Spanish Flu Pandemic took its toll worldwide; infecting mainly young adults. South Carolina, like the rest of the world, was affected. Learn more about the 1918 Flu Pandemic in South Carolina Here. (History In A Nutshell)

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2

National Science Fiction Day

Listen to Orson Welles’ broadcast of The War of the Worlds (Artopia)

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4

National Trivia Day

Visit our Knowitall Factoids by Month and learn from a wide assortment of topics. Visit each day to learn something new!

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5

Space Shuttle

On January 5, 1972, President Richard Nixon signs a bill approving $6.6 billion for NASA to design, build, and test the space shuttle. The space shuttle would be in operation for over thirty years, beginning in 1981. Take a tour of the space shuttle! (Project Discovery)

National Bird Day

Use the Knowitall search engine to explore content on birds. The results are here.

National Screenwriters Day

View Pauline Kael from Writer's Circle of South Carolina.

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8

Battle of New Orleans

Future President Andrew Jackson led American forces to victory at the Battle of New Orleans, on January 8, 1815. Both American and British combatants were not aware of the declaration of peace with the Treaty of Ghent, signed just two weeks earlier. (History of SC Slide Collection)

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9

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

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11

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

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12

National Pharmacist Day

Meet Pharmacist Jennifer Blair for Palmetto Health Richland or play the Pharmacist Job Play. (Kids Work)

South Carolina Legislature

Every year, the S.C. House and Senate convene on the second Tuesday of January (Let's Go!)

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14

Harvey Gantt

Harvey Gantt was born on January 14, 1943 and was the first African-American student to be admitted to Clemson University. (Road Trip)

Mary Boykin Chestnut

Mary Boykin Chesnut's diary entry from January 14, 1865. She describes the terror of Sherman’s March through the South. (Idella Bodie's SC Women)

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16

First African American Student at Clemson University

On January 16, 1963, the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered Clemson University to admit Harvey Gantt, who became its first African American student. (Road Trip)

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17

Battle of Cowpens

On January 17, 1781, during the American Revolution, General Daniel Morgan's patriots faced off against Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton's loyalist forces at the Battle of Cowpens. This battle resulted in the turning of the tide for the patriots in the South. To this day, Gen. Morgan's tactics at this battle are regarded as military genius, and are still studied by cadets at Westpoint. (Southern Campaign)

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19

Cindy Sherman

Filmmaker Cindy Sherman was born on January 19, 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey (Artopia)

Edgar Allan Poe

Author Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe is most well known for his short stories and poems, featuring dark, macabre, and suspenseful themes. (Poetry All-Stars)

Poe also spent time in Charleston, S.C., where he served as an artillery-man at Fort Moultrie, under the pseudo-nym Edgar Allan "Perry." (South Carolina Focus)

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20

Penguin Awareness Day

Learn about African Penguins (Zoo Minutes) or join D.V. from Eye Wonder for this episode on penguins.

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26

Australia Day

Author Janette Turner Hospital grew up on the steamy sub-tropical coast of Australia in the northeastern state of Queensland.

Lon Redman tells us that inhabitants of the Glossenberg concentration camp were fed, clothed and evacuated to Australia, the U.S., and Israel.

In Periscope's A World of Poetry, we explore Modern Aboriginal Poetry of Australia.

General Douglas MacArthur

General Douglas MacArthur was born on January 26, 1880, on a military base in Little Rock, Arkansas. MacArthur commanded Allied forces, and played a crucial role in the victory of the Pacific theater of World War Two. Several South Carolina veterans recall their memories of General MacArthur. (SCETV Series and Specials: South Carolinians In WWII)

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27

Apollo I

On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck when astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives during the Apollo 1 "Plugs Out" test. The "Plugs Out" test was a simulation to check whether or not the Apollo spacecraft could operate under its own power. Frayed wiring caused a spark to ignite the 100% pure oxygen environment inside the spacecraft, and the three astronauts died by asphyxiation. The lessons learned from Apollo 1 during the "Space Race" enabled the U.S. to finish first to the moon. (History In A Nutshell)

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

View the Holocaust Remembrance Collection

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28

Alice Neel

Painter Alice Neel was born on January 28, 1900 in Merion Square, Pennsylvania. (Artopia)

Jackson Pollock

Painter Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming. (Artopia)

Ronald McNair

Ronald McNair was one of the shuttle astronauts killed in the Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986.(SC Hall of Fame). View a segment from the Shuttle Challenger Special that aired that night on South Carolina ETV's Carolina Journal, including an interview with Ethel Bolden and a brief history of NASA space exploration and reflections on Ron McNair.