On This Day in History - January 11th - Almanac

Today is Saturday, Jan. 11, the 12th day of 2024 with 354 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include artist Parmigianino in 1503; U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in 1757; John MacDonald, first prime minister of Canada, in 1815; department store founder Harry Gordon Selfridge Sr. in 1858; women's rights activist Alice Paul in 1885; writer Alan Paton in 1903; automobile designer Carroll Shelby in 1923; actor Rod Taylor in 1930; musician Clarence Clemons (E Street Band/Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band) in 1942; musician Naomi Judd in 1946; actor Phyllis Logan in 1956 (age 69); musician Vicki Peterson (Bangles) in 1958 (age 67); writer Jasper Fforde in 1961 (age 64); Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Tracy Caulkins in 1963 (age 62); model/TV personality Yolanda Hadid in 1964 (age 61); musician Tom Dumont (No Doubt) in 1968 (age 57); actor/TV personality Kyle Richards in 1969 (age 56); musician/actor Mary J. Blige in 1971 (age 54); musician Tom Rowlands (Chemical Brothers) in 1971 (age 54); actor Amanda Peet in 1972 (age 53); actor Aja Naomi King in 1985 (age 40); musician Cody Simpson in 1997 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1785, the Continental Congress convened in New York City.

In 1861, Alabama seceded from the United States.

In 1922, at Toronto General Hospital, 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson became the first person to receive an insulin injection as treatment for diabetes.

In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart completed the first solo flight made between the Hawaiian Islands and the American mainland.

In 1949, Los Angeles noted a record-setting snowfall, a rare event for the city's semitropical climate. A three-day storm in early 1949 dumped more than a foot of snow through much of the San Fernando and outlying valleys.

In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report saying smoking cigarettes is a definite "health hazard."

In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a $10 million award to the family of Oklahoma nuclear worker Karen Silkwood, who died in 1974.

In 1990, martial law, imposed during the June 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, was lifted in Beijing.

In 1996, the Japanese Diet elected Ryutaro Hashimoto, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, as prime minister.

In 2002, Ford announced it planned to lay off 35,000 employees, drop four car models and close four plants.

In 2011, heavy rain in Brazil triggered floods and mudslides that killed more than 900 people and left an estimated 25,000 homeless.

In 2014, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died at age 85. He had been in a coma for eight years following a massive stroke.

In 2020, China reported its first known death from what was then considered a mysterious outbreak of viral pneumonia. The disease would come to be identified as a novel coronavirus -- COVID-19 -- that, after one year, killed nearly 2 million people worldwide.

In 2024, the Biden administration announced $623 million in grants to develop a network of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the nation.

A thought for the day: "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come." -- American author Anne Lamott