A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 22nd.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On January 22, 613, in the capital city of Constantinople, Emperor Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire declared his 8 month old son, Constantine, Co-Emperor, or in the vernacular of the day, “Caesar.” On January 22, 1879, the British Army got a taste of colonial medicine when it suffered its worst defeat in its history against a native force armed mostly with archaic…

A Brief History On January 22, 1992, NASA launched mission STS-42, the space shuttle Discovery, into space with a crew that included Ukrainian Canadian Dr. Roberta Bondar, a neurologist.  The first Canadian woman and the first neurologist to become an astronaut, Bondar is a woman of many accomplishments, and is yet another example of Canadians of Ukrainian descent (such as Alex Trebek and Wayne Gretzky) to achieve great things. Digging Deeper A highly accomplished scholar, Bondar was educated at the University of Guelph (BSc), the University of Western Ontario (MSc), the University of Toronto (PhD), and McMaster University (MD). Bondar’s…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 21st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On January 21, 1535, in the aftermath of “The Affair of the Placards,” French Protestants were burned at the stake in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI of France was convicted of treason and taken to the guillotine where he was promptly beheaded, just one of the many instances of famous beheadings…

A Brief History On January 21, 2023, we celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day, one of the greatest holidays in all of the Rodent Kingdom! Digging Deeper Yes, squirrels are rodents, cousins to mice and rats, although with a much more attractive coat.  Tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs and flying squirrels are all in this expansive family.   Although squirrels are native to the Americas, Asia, and Africa, they had to be introduced to Australia and Europe.  Often accused of crimes such as stealing food from bird feeders and burglarizing houses, squirrels provide a lot of visual enjoyment as they scurry…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 20th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On January 20, 1885, LaMarcus A. Thompson patented his version of the modern roller coaster, the Switchback Railway, which became the first roller coaster at Coney Island in New York! On January 20, 1920, a new organization devoted to the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution of the United States (and its amendments) was formed from the National Civil Liberties…