January 6 in Pop Culture History

Happy Birthday, Sherlock! Beloved super sleuth Sherlock Holmes was created by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. He is one of (if not the) most adapted fictional characters in literature, appearing in over sixty stories written by Doyle and countless other books, plays, comics, films, and television shows in the one-hundred-plus years since. What’s your favorite Sherlock incarnation?

Although Doyle never explicitly mentioned Holmes’ birthday, January 6th has been accepted as canon by most Sherlock fans. An annual celebration of feasting marks the day, lectures, costuming, and other festivities in New York City, but fans worldwide can observe (deduce, infer, conclude) in their own way… logically.

1540 – King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1838 – Samuel Morse made the 1st public telegraph demonstration in New Jersey.

1839 – The Night of the Big Wind swept Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.

1854 – Sherlock Holmes’ Birthday

1912 – New Mexico became the 47th state.

1941 – FDR gave his “4 Freedoms” speech (speech, worship, from want and fear)

1957 – Elvis Presley made his 7th (and final) appearance on Ed Sullivan Show

1973 – #1 Hit January 6, 1973 – January 26, 1973: Carly Simon – You’re So Vain

1973 – ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock debuted with Multiplication Rock

1974 – In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time began nearly four months early in the United States.

1979 – #1 Hit January 6, 1979 – February 9, 1979: Bee Gees – Too Much Heaven

1994 – Olympic Ice skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked when Tonya Harding’s husband and bodyguard hired Shane Stant to break her legs. Kerrigan finished in second place, Harding in 8th for the event.

1995 – Houseguest was released in theaters.

1996 – Blizzard of 1996 on the US east coast