January 31, 1961 – On this day a chimpanzee named Ham became the first hominid in space.
Born in Cameroon in 1956, Ham was captured and brought to America as part of a roadside zoo in Florida. In 1959 he was drafted by the Air Force as one of 40 chimpanzees trained for space travel.
The chimps [...]
January 30, 1835- This was the day a deranged painter named Richard Lawrence tried to kill President Andrew Jackson. He didn’t succeed, and he wound up being pummeled near death by his intended victim.
Historians agree that Lawrence was a lunatic. For some reason he believed President Jackson had killed his father, even though his [...]
January 29, 1880 – Today is the birthday of William Claude Dukenfield, or as he is remembered, W.C. Fields. At around age 15 he began his career as a juggler and a pool shark. He played boardwalk theaters and vaudeville shows and by age 21 he was performing his acts around the world. To [...]
