On this day in 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders. During his presidential campaign, he hadannounced his intention to pardon those who had failed to register for the draft or left the country to avoid service.
Vietnam Draft Dodgers in 1977.
On this day in 1976, the French Concorde SST aircraft began regular commercial service for Air France and British Airways.
The official handover ceremony to British Airways of its first Concorde occurred on 15 January 1976 at Heathrow Airport.
On this day in 1981, Iran released 52 Americans that had been held hostage for 444 days. The hostages were flown to Algeria and then to a U.S. base in Wiesbaden, West Germany. The release occurred minutes after the U.S. presidency had passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. The Iranians waited until the hour President Reagan was sworn in before allowing the plane with the hostages to take off.
President Ronald Reagan being sworn into office on this day1981.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy takes the Oath of Office and becomes the 35th President of the United States on this day in 1961. At age 43, he is the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected, winning by one of the smallest margins of victory, only 115,000 popular votes. Lyndon B. Johnson, 51, is his Vice President.
President John F. Kennedy During his inaugural speech on Jan. 20, 1961.
On this day in 2001, President Bill Clinton escaped indictment by surrendering his Arkansas law license for five years and admitting that he made false statements under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
A twelve-year-old Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton at Sevier High School.
Dolly Rebecca Parton is 73 years young today.
Country singer Dolly Parton has released twenty-six #1 Billboard hits, including "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," and "9 to 5." Parton’s music includes 25 Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards.
She grew up alongside eleven brothers and sisters in a one-room cabin in Appalachia, Tennessee where she learned to sing at church.
She received the nickname The Queen of Country Music after releasing more #1 hits than any other country singer in U.S. history. Dolly is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award and has received 47 Grammy nominations.
More than 6,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the city of Kobe, Japan on this day in 1995. It was the most severe earthquake to affect that region this century. The economic loss as a result of this earthquake is estimated to reach $200 billion.
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790)
Franklin was a major figure in the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions.
Benjamin Franklin wrote under the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, and published provocative letters. He was the first United States Ambassador to France, where he advocated religious tolerance.
Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019)
The White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm on this day in 1991. The operation was designed to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf is shown above at ease with his tank troops in Saudi Arabia in January 12, 1991 before the U.S. executed the operation.
On the evening of January 16,1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to discuss the launch of Operation Desert Storm.
Coalition troops from Egypt, Syria, Oman, France and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.
The launch of Space Shuttle Columbia was planned to begin on January 11, 2001, but the mission was delayed 18 times and eventually launched on January 16, 2003 (above).
During the lift-off of Columbia’s 28th mission, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the Space Shuttle’s external tank and struck the left wing of the craft. An accident investigation board determined the damage to the wing allowed hot atmospheric gases to inter the heat shield, destroying the internal wing structure and caused the spacecraft to become unstable and break apart upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere on February 1, killing all seven crew members.
