Birth of Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury (now Franklin), New Hampshire on January 18, 1782. A successful lawyer and statesman, he negotiated an important treaty with Canada and served as Secretary of State under three presidents.
Famous Americans
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Birth of Ethel Merman
Ethel Agnes Zimmermann was born on January 16, 1908, in Astoria, Queens, New York. Known as the “Queen of Broadway,” her dazzling career lasted more than 50 years.
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Birth of Alice Paul
Alice Paul was born on January 11, 1885, in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Paul was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement, staging protests and parades to gain support for the right to vote.
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Birth of José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón was born on January 8, 1912, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He won the first-ever Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and was the first Hispanic actor to win an Oscar.
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Birth of Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn was born on January 6, 1882, in Kingston, Tennessee. Famous for his integrity, Rayburn served as Speaker of the House of Representatives longer than anyone else and spent 49 consecutive years in Congress.
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Birth of Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur Jr. was born on January 5, 1779, in Sinepuxent, Maryland. The youngest man in the navy to reach the rank of captain, Decatur was a hero of the War of 1812 and the Barbary Wars.
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Birth of Jaime Escalante
Jaime Alfonso Escalante Gutiérrez was born on December 31, 1930, in La Paz, Bolivia. Escalante taught math to a class of students previously deemed “unteachable.” Escalante became famous after the story of his success was re-told in a book and a movie.
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Birth of Philip Mazzei
Italian physician, merchant, horticulturalist and close friend of President Thomas Jefferson, Philip Mazzei was born on December 25, 1730, in Poggio a Caiano (Prato) in Tuscany.
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Birth of Hazel Wightman
Olympic tennis star Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss Wightman was born on December 20, 1886, in Healdsburg, California. She won two Olympic gold medals, in addition to many US titles and has been called the “Queen Mother of American Tennis.”
