January 31

Guy Fawkes is executed (1606); 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, passes in Congress (1865); Jackie Robinson born (1919); HBD actress Kerry Washington (1977); HBD Justin Timberlake (1981).

January 30

RIP American flag designer Betsy Ross (1836); Franklin D. Roosevelt born (1882); Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany (1933); Mahatma Gandhi assassinated (1948); 14 killed on Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland (1972).

Terence David John “Terry” Pratchett

(April 28,1948 – March 12, 2015) is an English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for the Discworld series of about 40 volumes.

January 29

Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” performed for first time (1595); “Common Sense” author Thomas Paine born (1737); Baseball Hall of Fame announces first inductees (1936); HBD Oprah Winfrey (1954); RIP poet Robert Frost (1963).

January 28

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published (1813); Painter Jackson Pollock born (1912); US Coast Guard is founded (1915); HBD Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim (1940); Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986).

January 27

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born (1756); Auschwitz concentration camp is liberated (1945); Paris Peace Accords brings end to Vietnam War (1973); RIP Andre the Giant (1993); RIP American author JD Salinger (2010).

January 24

Actress Sharon Tate born (1943); RIP Winston Churchill (1965); Ted Bundy executed (1989); RIP Thurgood Marshall (1993); Department of Homeland Security opens (2003).

January 23

American statesman John Hancock born (1737); US and Vietnam reach peace settlement (1973); RIP athlete, artist, and activist Paul Robeson (1976); RIP Salvador Dali (1989); Madeleine Albright becomes first US female Secretary of State (1997).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

(January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945 ) was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. The only American president elected to more than two terms, he forged a durable coalition that realigned American politics for decades.

FDR defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover in November 1932, at the depths of the Great Depression. FDR’s combination of optimism and activism contributed to reviving the national spirit. Working closely with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in leading the Allies against Germany and Japan in World War II, he died just as victory was in sight.

January 21

Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793); Fashion designer Christian Dior born (1905); HBD golf great Jack Nicklaus (1940); RIP founding father of American cinema Cecil B. DeMille (1959); First Women’s March sees large scale protests in 160+ countries (2017).

January 22

English polymath Francis Bacon born (1561); HBD actress Diane Lane (1965); RIP President Lyndon B. Johnson (1973); Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision (1973); RIP Heath Ledger (2008).

Benjamin Franklin

 FRS FRSA FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705]^[1] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions.^[2] He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department^[3] and the University of Pennsylvania.^[4]

Benjamin Franklin

FRS, FRSA, FRSE



Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Duplessis, 1778

6th President of PennsylvaniaIn office
October 18, 1785 – November 5, 1788Vice PresidentCharles Biddle
Peter Muhlenberg
David RedickPreceded byJohn DickinsonSucceeded byThomas MifflinUnited States Minister to SwedenIn office
September 28, 1782 – April 3, 1783Appointed byCongress of the ConfederationPreceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byJonathan RussellUnited States Minister to FranceIn office
March 23, 1779 – May 17, 1785Appointed byContinental CongressPreceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byThomas Jefferson1st United States Postmaster GeneralIn office
July 26, 1775 – November 7, 1776Preceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byRichard BacheSpeaker of the Pennsylvania AssemblyIn office
May 1764 – October 1764Preceded byIsaac NorrisSucceeded byIsaac NorrisPersonal detailsBornJanuary 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705]
Boston, Massachusetts Bay, British AmericaDiedApril 17, 1790 (aged 84)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.Political partyIndependentSpouse(s)

Deborah Read
(m. 1730; died 1774)

ChildrenWilliam Franklin
Francis Folger Franklin
Sarah Franklin BacheParentsJosiah Franklin
Abiah FolgerSignature

Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation.^[5] Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat."^[6] To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."^[7]

Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23.^[8] He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he authored under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of British policies.

He pioneered and was the first president of Academy and College of Philadelphia which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected president in 1769. Franklin became a national hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing shipments of crucial munitions from France.

He was promoted to deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, having been Philadelphia postmaster for many years, and this enabled him to set up the first national communications network. During the revolution, he became the first United States Postmaster General. He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. He initially owned and dealt in slaves but, by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery and became an abolitionist.

His life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death on coinage and the $100 bill, warships, and the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, and corporations, as well as countless cultural references.

Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706,^[1][12] and baptized at Old South Meeting House. He was one of seventeen children born to Josiah Franklin, and one of ten born by Josiah's second wife, Abiah Folger; the daughter of Peter Foulger and Mary Morrill. Among Benjamin's siblings were his older brother James and his younger sister Jane.

Josiah wanted Ben to attend school with the clergy but only had enough money to send him to school for two years. He attended Boston Latin School but did not graduate; he continued his education through voracious reading. Although "his parents talked of the church as a career"^[13] for Franklin, his schooling ended when he was ten. He worked for his father for a time, and at 12 he became an apprentice to his brother James, a printer, who taught Ben the printing trade. When Ben was 15, James founded The New-England Courant, which was the first truly independent newspaper in the colonies.

When denied the chance to write a letter to the paper for publication, Franklin adopted the pseudonym of "Silence Dogood", a middle-aged widow. Mrs. Dogood's letters were published and became a subject of conversation around town. Neither James nor the Courant's readers were aware of the ruse, and James was unhappy with Ben when he discovered the popular correspondent was his younger brother. Franklin was an advocate of free speech from an early age. When his brother was jailed for three weeks in 1722 for publishing material unflattering to the governor, young Franklin took over the newspaper and had Mrs. Dogood (quoting Cato's Letters) proclaim: "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech."^[14] Franklin left his apprenticeship without his brother's permission, and in so doing became a fugitive.^[15]

At age 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seeking a new start in a new city. When he first arrived, he worked in several printer shops around town, but he was not satisfied by the immediate prospects. After a few months, while working in a printing house, Franklin was convinced by Pennsylvania Governor Sir William Keith to go to London, ostensibly to acquire the equipment necessary for establishing another newspaper in Philadelphia. Finding Keith's promises of backing a newspaper empty, Franklin worked as a typesetter in a printer's shop in what is now the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great in the Smithfield area of London. Following this, he returned to Philadelphia in 1726 with the help of Thomas Denham, a merchant who employed Franklin as clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper in his business.^[15]

January 17

Benjamin Franklin born (1706); Capt. James Cook is first person to reach Antarctic Circle (1773); Muhammad Ali born (1942); UN Security Council holds its first meeting (1946); HBD Michelle Obama (1964).

January 16

RIP Hiram Revels, first African American to serve in Congress (1901); 18th Amendment ratified, banning alcohol in the US (1919); Pop and R&B singer Aaliyah born (1979); HBD "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (1980); Gulf War begins (1991).

James Robert B. Quincey

 (8 January 1965) is a British businessman in the United States.^[2] After starting his career at Bain & Co,^[3] he joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1996^[4] and was later named chief operating officer (COO). He is now the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO).^[5]

After working with Bain & Co and a smaller consultancy,^[3] he joined Coca-Cola in 1996.^[4] With Coke he has lived in Latin America^[7] and worked for Coke in Mexico, where he led the acquisition of Jugos del Valle.^[4] He was president of the Northwest Europe & Nordics Business Unit from 2008 until 2012. In 2013, he became president of Coca-Cola's Europe Group.^[8] In Europe, he oversaw Coca-Cola's acquisition of Innocent Drinks, and the sale and consolidation of Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Europe.^[3] When he was working with Coke early on, Bloomberg says he was instrumental in getting the company to sell smaller portions.^[9]

COO and PresidentEdit

In August 2015, Coke made him the chief operating officer (COO).^[8][10] He became president later that year.^[11] He outlined a plan to have five category clusters for brands in the company.^[12] He also changed management and the entire Coke hierarchy.^[13]

Chairman and CEOEdit

He was named CEO in December 2016.^{[14][15][16][17]} He became CEO the following May when Muhtar Kent retired. Among his first acts as CEO, he announced reducing 1,200 corporate positions as part of a plan to invest in new products and marketing and restore the year's revenue and profit growth from four to six percent.^[4] Quincey also said in interviews that he wanted to rid the Coke company's culture of over-cautiousness concerning risk,^[18] and that he intended to further diversify Coke's portfolio by accelerating investments in startup businesses.^[19] He later launched a plan to recycle a bottle for every bottle sold by 2030.^[20] On April 24, 2019, Quincey was elected Chairman of the Board.^[21]

January 14

RIP astronomer Edmond Halley (1742); RIP author Lewis Carroll (1898); HBD actress Faye Dunaway (1941); Franklin D. Roosevelt is first president to travel by airplane in office (1943); NBC’s “Today” debuts (1952).

January 15

Coca-Cola Co. is incorporated (1889); Martin Luther King, Jr. born (1929); Super Bowl I is played (1967); Wikipedia is launched (2001); RIP Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan (2018).

January 13

RIP author James Joyce (1941); HBD actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1961); Robert C. Weaver becomes first African American US cabinet member (1966); Douglas Wilder becomes first elected African American US governor (1990); 32 die as cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off coast of Italy (2012).

January 10

UN General Assembly gathers for first time (1945); HBD George Foreman (1949); RIP fashion designer Coco Chanel (1971); US and Holy See reestablish diplomatic relations for first time in 117 years (1984); RIP David Bowie (2016).

January 9

"Common Sense" published by Thomas Paine (1776); Richard Nixon born (1913); HBD activist and singer-songwriter Joan Baez (1941); HBD musician Dave Matthews (1967); HBD Kate Middleton (1982); iPhone makes its debut (2007).

January 8

George Washington delivers first State of the Union address (1790); Elvis Presley born (1935); HBD fashion designer Carolina Herrera (1939); Stephen Hawking born (1942); David Bowie born (1947).

January 7

Galileo Galilei discovers first three Jupiter moons (1610); First US presidential election held (1789); Author Zora Neale Hurston born (1891); RIP inventor Nikola Tesla (1943); HBD Katie Couric (1957).

Joanne “Jo” Rowling

(31 July 1965), pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400 million copies.

January 6

Joan of Arc born (1412); Telegraph publicly demonstrated for first time (1838); RIP geneticist and botanist Gregor Mendel (1884); First Montessori school is opened (1907); RIP Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (1919).

Lau Tzu Laozi

(Chinese: also Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tzu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China, and is a central figure in Taoism (also spelled “Daoism”). Laozi literally means “old master”, and is generally considered honorific. Laozi is revered as a deity in most religious forms of Taoism

January 2

Reconquista completed (1492); Viet Cong achieve first major victory of Vietnam War (1963); President Ronald Reagan sworn in as CA governor (1967); President Jimmy Carter ends US-Russia detente (1980); HBD actress Kate Bosworth (1983).

January 3

"Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien born (1892); US cuts diplomatic ties with Cuba (1961); Apple is incorporated (1977); Author Joy Adamson murdered (1980); Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to US (1990)