Mahatma Gandhi Assassinated
On January 30, 1948, a Hindu extremist assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi used civil disobedience and hunger strikes to fight discrimination and push for India’s independence from Great Britain, among many other causes.
International History
Collapse of the Honeymoon Bridge
On January 27, 1938, the Honeymoon Bridge at Niagara Falls collapsed from the force of ice on the river pressing against its supports. It had been the largest steel arch bridge in the world.
Australia Day
On January 26, 1788, the first British prisoners arrived in Australia, establishing an experimental penal colony. Though the colony struggled at first, it eventually thrived and became an independent commonwealth.
Happy Birthday, Albert Bierstadt
Artist Albert Bierstadt was born on January 7, 1830, in Solingen, Germany. He was the most successful of the Hudson River School Artists and his paintings of the American West helped inspire increased settlement.
Birth of Louis Braille
Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809, in Coupvray, France. Braille invented the reading and writing system used by the visually impaired for nearly two centuries.
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.
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.
Birth of Franz Waxman
Franz Waxman was born on December 24, 1906, in Königshütte, Upper Silesia, German Empire (present-day Chorzów, Poland). Waxman was the first composer to win an Academy Award for best film score two years in a row.
Doctors Without Borders
On December 22, 1971, Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders was founded. The international humanitarian non-governmental organization provides medical aid in times of crisis around the world.