Browsing: January 11

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 11th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On January 11, 532, the seeds of a riot broke out in the capital of the Byzantine Empire (spawn of the Eastern Roman Empire), Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) over competing support of chariot racing teams. On January 11, 1569, the first documented example of a lottery in England took place. On January 11, 1960, by killing his own mother, serial murderer Henry…

A Brief History On January 11, 1569, the first documented example of a lottery in England took place.  Although 1569 seems like a long time ago, lotteries actually go back much, much farther! Digging Deeper The first evidence of any sort of government run lottery for money game takes us back to the Chinese Han Dynasty somewhere between 205 and 187 BC.  This money raising scheme was for the purpose of financing public works, including The Great Wall of China. Lotteries first showed up in Europe in the Roman Empire, first in private parties and later under Emperor Augustus as…

A Brief History On January 11, 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther L. Terry released a landmark report finally confirming what millions of people had suspected all along: that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, and a host of other deadly health problems. Although Dr. Terry’s report was hardly the first anti-smoking publication – King James I wrote about the negative effects of smoking as early as 1604 – it was the first publication that had a major impact around the world and a lasting effect on smoking reduction. Once people are addicted to nicotine, though, quitting is not easy.…

A Brief History On January 11, 532, the seeds of a riot broke out in the capital of the Byzantine Empire (spawn of the Eastern Roman Empire), Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) over competing support of chariot racing teams.  Not your typical few hours of drunken revelry, the Nika Riots went on for a week and resulted in half the city being burned down!  While we consider a modern sports related riot that results in a fatality to be a tragedy, the Nika Riots resulted in an estimated 30,000 rioters killed, making it the worst sports related riot in history.  Today…

A Brief History On January 11. 2003, Governor George Ryan took the extraordinary step of commuting the sentences of 167 Illinois Death Row inmates to life in prison due to the scandal that had rocked the Chicago Police Department, in which Detective Jon Burge was accused of torturing confessions out of over 200 arrestees.  Burge was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury, later serving 3 years in jail for his crimes. Digging Deeper Burge, a Vietnam War veteran, had earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart while in combat.  After leaving the Army, he had joined the Chicago…