January 31

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

January 30

American flag designer Betsy Ross dies (1836); Franklin D. Roosevelt born (1882); Mahatma Gandhi assassinated (1948); The Beatles give their last public performance (1969); 14 killed on Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland (1972).

January 27

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

January 28

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” published (1813); Painter Jackson Pollock born (1912); Modern US Coast Guard is founded (1915); Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986); Actress Cicely Tyson dies (2021).

January 26

Actor Paul Newman born (1925); Ellen DeGeneres born (1958); Football coaching great Paul "Bear" Bryant dies (1983); Condoleezza Rice becomes first Black woman appointed US secretary of state (2005); Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna among nine deaths in California helicopter crash (2020).

January 25

First Winter Olympics take place in Chamonix, France (1924); Battle of the Bulge comes to an end (1945); Al Capone dies (1947); Alicia Keys born (1981); Mary Tyler Moore dies (2017).

January 24

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

January 23

American statesman John Hancock born (1737); The US and Vietnam reach peace settlement (1973); Athlete, artist, and activist Paul Robeson dies (1976); Salvador Dalí dies (1989); Madeleine Albright becomes first US female secretary of state (1997).

January 21

Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793); Fashion designer Christian Dior born (1905); Golf great Jack Nicklaus born (1940); Founding father of American cinema Cecil B. DeMille dies (1959); First Women’s March sees large-scale protests in more than 160 countries (2017).

January 20

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin born (1930); Iran hostage crisis ends as 52 Americans are released after 444 days (1981); Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed for first time (1986); Actress Audrey Hepburn dies (1993); Barack Obama becomes first Black president of the US (2009).

January 19

Author Edgar Allan Poe born (1809); Musician Dolly Parton born (1946); Indira Gandhi becomes first female prime minister of India (1966); Actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr dies (2000).

January 18

President John Tyler dies (1862); Actor Cary Grant born (1904); WWI Paris Peace Conference begins (1919); Author Rudyard Kipling dies (1936); Willie O’Ree becomes first Black player in the National Hockey League (1958).

January 17

Benjamin Franklin born (1706); Actress Betty White born (1922); Muhammad Ali born (1942); UN Security Council holds its first meeting (1946); Michelle Obama born (1964).

January 16

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

December 14

Astronomer Edmond Halley dies (1742); “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll dies (1898); Actress Faye Dunaway born (1941); Franklin D. Roosevelt is first president to travel on official business by airplane while in office (1943); NBC’s “Today” debuts (1952).

January 13

Author James Joyce dies (1941); Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus born (1961); Robert C. Weaver becomes first Black US cabinet member (1966); Douglas Wilder becomes first elected Black US governor (1990); 32 die as cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off coast of Italy (2012).

January 12

 Author Jack London born (1876); Hattie Caraway becomes first woman elected to US Senate (1932); Howard Stern born (1954); Mystery novelist Agatha Christie dies (1976); Earthquake in Haiti kills more than 100,000 (2010).

January 11

Alexander Hamilton born (1755 or 1757); Grand Canyon becomes a national monument (1908); First use of insulin to treat diabetes in humans (1922); Mary J. Blige born (1971); Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first two people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, dies (2008).

January 10

UN General Assembly gathers for first time (1946); Boxer George Foreman born (1949); The US and Holy See reestablish diplomatic relations for first time in 117 years (1984); David Bowie dies (2016).

January 9

"Common Sense" published by Thomas Paine (1776); President Richard Nixon born (1913); Activist and singer-songwriter Joan Baez born (1941); Catherine, Princess of Wales born (1982); iPhone makes its debut (2007).

January 7

Galileo Galilei discovers first three Jupiter moons (1610); First US presidential election held (1789); Author Zora Neale Hurston born (1891); Inventor Nikola Tesla dies (1943); Katie Couric born (1957); Actor Nicolas Cage born (1964).

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. The red-headed actress is perhaps best known for her role as klutzy, accident-prone Lucy Ricardo from the 1950s hit series I Love Lucy, but the New York native’s long list of accomplishments extends well beyond her talents on screen.

Though she’s remembered as one of the most beloved actresses in Hollywood, Ball came from humble beginnings: Ball was born in 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Her father worked for Bell Telephone, a job that required the family to relocate frequently. He died suddenly in 1915 from typhoid fever, an incident that Ball has often cited as her first memory. After his death, she and her younger brother, Fred, were raised by their grandparents.

As a child, Ball was reserved, but she knew she wanted to try her hand at show business. At age 14, she enrolled in Manhattan’s John Murray Anderson School for Dramatic Arts, where her classmates included some future leading ladies. "I was a tongue-tied teenager spellbound by the school's star pupil, Bette Davis," Ball once said. The school wasn’t so convinced of Ball’s own talents, though; teachers told her mother that Ball was “too shy” to ever be successful. That feedback didn’t stop Ball, however. She went on to explore a number of different paths, including modeling. Fashion designer Hattie Carnegie hired Ball as her in-house model in 1928, and later, as a model for Chesterfield cigarettes. It was Carnegie who suggested that Ball dye her brunette hair blonde — but Ball’s signature bright red hair wouldn’t come until later.

In 1933, Ball moved to Hollywood, determined to pursue acting more seriously. She was able to land a few minor roles, including one as a “Goldwyn Girl” to promote the 1933 film Roman Scandals. One of her bigger roles was a part in 1937’s Stage Door, alongside Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn. She was known somewhat disparagingly (and somewhat fondly) as “The Queen of B Movies” in the 1940s, given the number of second-tier films she was cast in. But among these was one life-changing role: the lead in the musical Too Many Girls. It was on this set that Ball met and fell in love with Desi Arnaz, a Cuban American actor. The couple eloped one year later.

What followed was a whirlwind of good fortune, business acumen, and extreme persistence. Ball was cast as the wife on a hit radio comedy series for CBS Radio, My Favorite Husband, in 1948. Following its success, CBS asked Ball to develop the show for television, and the actress agreed — under one condition: that she be able to cast Arnaz as her husband. CBS execs were skeptical, so Ball and Arnaz took their show on the road, literally. They created a vaudeville act and performed on tour, to the delight of audiences nationwide. CBS extended a contract to the couple, and I Love Lucy was born. The show was an immediate hit, quickly breaking records with 23 million viewers and becoming the most-watched show in America by the following year.

The series premiered in 1951, with Ball and Arnaz at the helm of their newly formed production company, Desilu Productions. The pair made many groundbreaking decisions, including shoot the series on film versus the less expensive kinescope (they took a pay cut to ensure the quality of the aesthetic); locating their sets in Hollywood rather than New York; and filming the show in front of a live studio audience. Desilu Productions went on to produce other hit TV shows, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and Star Trek.

Though the couple’s business partnership was a gold mine, behind the scenes their romantic relationship was faltering, and in 1960, they divorced. Arnaz sold his share of Desilu Productions to Ball, making her the first woman to own a major production studio. The two remained friends and co-parented two children together, Lucie and Desi Jr.

Later in life, Ball continued acting, most notably in two spin-offs of I Love Lucy: The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. When she died in 1989 at the age of 77, she left behind a legacy for generations of actresses and comedians. Here, we’ve rounded up 17 of her most hilarious and inspiring quotes about success, life, and everything in between.

January 6

Joan of Arc born (1412); Telegraph publicly demonstrated for first time (1838); President Teddy Roosevelt dies (1919); US Capitol stormed in attempt to disrupt certification of 2020 electoral results (2021); Actor Sidney Poitier dies (2022). 

January 5

Actress Jane Wyman born (1917); Dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey born (1931); Construction of Golden Gate Bridge begins (1933); Scientist and inventor George Washington Carver dies (1943); Singer and congressman Sonny Bono dies in skiing accident (1998).

January 4

Boxer Floyd Patterson born (1935); Biographer and journalist Doris Kearns Goodwin born (1943); Luna 1 is first spacecraft to reach vicinity of the moon (1959); Poet TS Eliot dies (1965); Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world, opens in Dubai (2010). 

January 3

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

January 2

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