On January 15, 2009, a potential disaster turned into a heroic
display of skill and composure when Captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III safely lands the plane he was piloting on New
York City’s Hudson River after a bird strike caused its engines
to fail. David Paterson, governor of New York at the time,
dubbed the incident the “miracle on the Hudson.”

Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III will turn 74 on
January 23.

1948 EVERSHARP PEN AD.

Eversharp is an American brand of writing implements founded
by Charles Rood Keeran (below) in 1913 and marketed by Keeran 
& Co., based in Chicago.  

The company continued until 1957 when it was acquired by
Parker Pen, which continued to use the Eversharp brand for
a time.

Charles Rood Keeran (1883 – 1948)

The 1948 film with Humphrey Bogart shown in the above ad.

On January 15, 1972, “American Pie,”, an epic poem in musical
form that has long been etched in popular consciousness, hit
#1 on the Billboard charts.

The story of Don McLean’s magnum opus begins almost 13
years before its release, on a date with significance well-known
to any American who was alive and conscious at the time.

Donald McLean III will be 80 years old in October.

At midday, a 40-foot wave of fiery hot molasses flooded the
streets of Boston on January 15, 1919, killing 21 people and 
injuring scores of others. 

A 58-foot high tank filled with 2.5 million gallons of crude
molasses burst under pressure due unseasonably hot
weather at the U.S. Industrial Alcohol Company plant in
the north end of the city.

The flood crushed buildings, moved a firehouse, and
knocked an elevated train off its tracks.