This Week in History: January 10th – 16th
Welcome to this week’s edition of the staff blog’s ‘This Week in History!’ You will find historical facts, happenings, and associated books; #1 box office movies; and #1 NY Times best sellers from years gone by, all with book recommendations included based on each topic. This will be a weekly feature, so make sure to check out each week’s posting! NOTE: Click on any of the below book/movie titles to be taken to them in our online Café catalog!
NY Times Fiction Bestsellers
- 1946 (75 years ago): The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain
- 1971 (50 years ago): Love Story by Erich Segal
- 1986 (35 years ago): The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
- 1996 (25 years ago): The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
- 2011(10 years ago): What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz
- 2016 (5 years ago): Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham
#1 Box Office Movies
- 1971 (50 years ago): Love Story
- 1986 (35 years ago): Out of Africa
- 1996 (25 years ago): 12 Monkeys
- 2001 (20 years ago): Save the Last Dance
- 2011 (10 years ago): The Green Hornet
- 2016 (5 years ago): Star Wars: The Force Awakens
This Week in History
- January 10th
- 1776- Common Sense is published in the American Colonies. (United States)
- 1941- FDR introduces the lend-lease program, intending to help Britain beat Hitler’s advances while keeping America only indirectly involved in World War II. (United States/World)
- 1946- The first meeting of the United Nations is held in London, England. (World)
- January 11th
- 1908- US President Theodore Roosevelt makes the Grand Canyon a national monument. (United States)
- 1964- US Surgeon General Luther L. Terry announces that cigarette smoking is linked to lung cancer. (United States/World)
- 1978- Song of Solomon wins the National Book Critics Circle Award. (United States)
- January 12th
- 1838- Mormon leader Joseph Smith abandons his settlement in Ohio after his bank fails and flees to Missouri to avoid arrest and create a new religious community. (United States)
- 1966- The live-action Batman TV series premieres on ABC, instantly becoming a huge hit. (United States)
- 2010- A massive earthquake strikes Haiti, leading to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in one hundred years. (World)
- January 13th
- 1968- Johnny Cash performs at Folsom Prison, reinvigorating his musical career, which had been on a sharp downturn in the months and years prior to the concert. (United States)
- 1999- Michael Jordan retires for a second time. (United States)
- 2012- The Costa Concordia, a cruise ship carrying about 4,200 people, runs aground and capsizes off Giglio Island, Italy, killing 32 passengers in the process.(World)
- January 14th
- 1639- The first colonial constitution is adopted in Hartford, CT by representatives of Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hartford. (United States)
- 1784- The Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain, recognizing the independence of the United States of America. (United States/World)
- 2005- The Huygens entry probe lands on Saturn’s largest moon Titan. It is the first time a spacecraft has landed on a planetary surface in the outer solar system. (World)
- January 15th
- 1929- Martin Luther King, Jr. is born in Atlanta, GA. (United States)
- 1967- Green Bay Packers win their first Super Bowl (and the first Super Bowl overall). (Wisconsin/United States)
- 2009- Pilot ‘Sully’ Sullenberger performs the ‘Miracle on the Hudson.’ (United States)
- January 16th
- 1919- Prohibition, via the 18th Amendment, is ratified by the states, but it did not go into effect until January 17, 1920. (United States)
- 1945- Adolf Hitler descends into his bunker in Berlin, where he remained for 105 days before he died by suicide. (World)
- 1979- The Shah flees Iran. (World)
Recommended Reading Related to Movies/Historical Happenings:
- Common Sense by Thomas Paine
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Roy Jenkins
- The United Nations at 70 by Martti Ahtisaari and Carter Wiseman
- The Grand Canyon: Unseen Beauty by Tom Blagden Jr.
- The Cigarette: A Political History by Sarah Milov
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew Bowman
- Back to the Batcave by Adam West
- The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster by Jonathan Katz
- Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece by Michael Streissguth
- Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby
- The Secrets of Italy: People, Places, and Hidden Histories by Corrando Augias
- Colonial Connecticut by Arthur E. Soderlind
- The American Revolution: A Visual History by The Smithsonian Institution
- Titan Unveiled: Saturn’s Mysterious Moon Explored by Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton
- Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by Melville House
- When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl by Harvey Frommer
- Sully: My Search for What Really Matters by Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger
- Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
- Hitler: Downfall, 1939-1945 by Volker Ullrich
- All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer