On this day …
January 23, 2015
- In 1556, the deadliest earthquake in history struck Shaanxi province in China; the death toll is estimated to be more than 800,000.
- In 1719, the Principality of Lichtenstein was created within the Holy Roman Empire.
- In 1789, Georgetown, the first Catholic university in the United States, was founded in Maryland (it’s now part of Washington, D.C.).
- In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell received her M.D. from the Geneva Medical College in New York to become the first female doctor in the United States.
- In 1941, aviator Charles Lindbergh testified before the U.S. Congress and recommended that the country negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- In 1957, inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sold the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which renamed the product the Frisbee.
- In 1964, the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections.
- In 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its first class of members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley.
- In 1997, Madeleine Albright became the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State.
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