January 19 in Pop Culture History
1825 – The US patent (#X004009) for food storage in cans to “preserve animal substances in tin” was issued to Ezra Daggett and his nephew Thomas Kensett of New York City.
1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden, Yemen. There have not been many companies that could claim “capturing” an area.
1883 – Thomas Edison, using overhead wires, began serving electricity to the residents of Roselle, New Jersey.
1915 – A US patent (#1125476) was issued to George Claude of Paris titled a “System of Illuminating by Luminescent Tubes” an early neon sign.
1920 – The United States Senate voted against joining the League of Nations.
1937 – Howard Hughes set a record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
1953 – Lucy had a baby, and over 70% of every TV in the country watched I Love Lucy.
1959 – #1 Hit February 9, 1959 – March 8, 1959: Lloyd Price – Stagger Lee
1974 – #1 Hit January 19, 1974 – January 25, 1974: Al Wilson – Show and Tell
1977 – President Ford pardoned WWII siren Tokyo Rose (Iva Toguri D’Aquino)
1977 – Snow fell in Miami and The Bahamas. It was the only time in recorded history that it happened, and a sure sign of a coming ice age (global cooling), scientists believed.
1978 – Volkswagen Beetles stopped being produced in Germany.
1980 – #1 Hit January 19, 1980 – February 15, 1980: Michael Jackson – Rock with You
1981 – (fictional) Buffy Summers’ Birthday
1988 – CBS’s 48 Hours debuted.
1989 – President Ronald Reagan pardoned George Steinbrenner for illegal campaign contributions for Richard Nixon.
1990 – Tremors was released in theaters.
1991 – #1 Hit January 19, 1991 – January 25, 1991: Janet Jackson – Love Will Never Do (Without You)
1993 – FOX expanded their prime-time line-up to seven days a week.
1996 – From Dusk Till Dawn was released in theaters.
2007 – The Hitcher debuted in theaters.
2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload was shut down by the FBI.
2254 – (fictional) Space station Babylon 4 disappeared 24 hours after construction is finished, according to the TV show Babylon 5.
