A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on January 3rd. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On January 3, 1521, Roman Catholic (Augustinian) priest and reformer Martin Luther was ex-communicated from the church by Pope Leo X.
On January 3, 1933, history was made in North Dakota when Minnie D. Craig became the Speaker of the State House of Representatives.
On January 3, 1944, the top American air combat ace, Pappy Boyington, was shot down.
On January 3, 1944, America’s leading fighter Ace of that time, Marine Major Pappy Boyington, was shot down and taken captive by the Japanese.
On January 3, 1959, the United States of America added the largest state ever admitted to the Union when Alaska became the 49th state.
On January 3, 1961, a steam explosion occurred at the SL-1 US Army experimental nuclear reactor located outside Idaho Falls, Idaho, leaving three technicians dead, the only immediately fatal US nuclear reactor accident so far.
On January 3, 2000, the final new comic strip of the Peanuts (Charlie Brown, et al) series was published in the nation’s newspapers, ending a 50 year run as an iconic funny papers staple.
On January 3, 2002, an Israeli operation called “Noah’s Ark” resulted in the seizure of a ship load of munitions bound for Gaza to arm Palestinian militants.
On January 3, 2009, the Genesis block, the first of the blockchains, of the crypto-currency known as Bitcoin was first established online by creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, an alias for an unknown person or persons.
When the idea of a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system” was introduced by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto on the 3rd of January 2009, there was much speculation (or debate) as to how much a bitcoin would actually be worth.
On January 3, 2022, we take a look at the latest movie in the Matrix movie franchise, The Matrix Resurrections that we screened shortly after its release (December 22, 2021).
On January 3, 2023, we at History and Headlines just want to send out some positive thoughts to actor Jeremy Renner and athlete Damar Hamlin, both of whom have experienced potentially life-threatening accidental injuries on January 1st and January 2nd, respectively.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.