HISTORY
On this day January 20-26, 2019
January 20, 2019 - January 26, 2019 - Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the first African-American President of the United States, the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first jumbo jet, Liechtenstein, the American gold rush, the first Winter Olympic Games, and the Spanish Civil War.
January 20, 2009: Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th and first African-American President of the United States
January 21, 1519: Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa was beheaded for treason in Panama
January 22, 1970: The first Boeing 747, nicknamed the “Jumbo Jet”, entered commercial service on Pan Am’s New York-London route
January 23, 1719: Liechtenstein became an independent principality within the Holy Roman Empire
January 24, 1848: James W. Marshall discovered a nugget of gold at Sutter’s Mill in California. The find sparked the Gold Rush that drew 300,000 people to seek their fortune
January 25, 1924: The first Winter Olympic Games began in Chamonix, France, with medals awarded in 16 events over five sports. Figure skating was the only sport open to women
January 26, 1939: General Franco’s Nationalist forces captured Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. The fall of the Republican capital hastened the end of the three-year conflict