Jan. 19th – Let’s start off the week with sports! UCLA men’s basketball team held the No. 1 ranking in 1974. They came into Notre Dame, No. 2 ranking, with an 88-game winning streak. With three and a half minutes left in the game, Notre Dame was behind eleven points. Within that time, they scored twelve points consecutively, beating UCLA by one point. Sadly, UCLA’s Bill Walton missed the final shot to end their winning streak. Talk about bad luck!
Jan. 20th – Let’s take a moment to remember the inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States in 1961. Did you know that he is the youngest candidate ever elected for presidency and that he’s the first Catholic president? He became interested in politics after his older brother was killed in a bombing mission. Joseph planned to make a career in politics. Anyways, his running mate, Lyndon Johnson, and he defeated his opponent, Nixon and Cabot. Kennedy fought communism throughout the world, ordering the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, and displaying firmness and restraint during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Such a shame he was assassinated.
Jan. 21st – The first leader of the Soviet Union and the starter of the Bolshevik dies on this day in 1924. I think you’ve heard of this name, Vladimir Lenin. He died at age 54 due to a brain hemorrhage. In his older years, his leadership prevailed the Bolsheviks to power in Russia, and that’s when he became the first virtual dictator of the country. After he died, Joseph Stalin succeeded him as the new leader.
Jan. 22nd – On this day, the US Supreme Court legalizes abortion in 1973. However, this topic has arisen back in the Supreme Court during the late 1980s through early 1990s. This topic intensified primarily through the 80’s. Sandra O’Connor, a Supreme Court justice, fears that abortion is vulnerable to reversal. Such a controversial topic.
Jan. 23rd – An earthquake in Shaanxi, China killed about 830,000 people in 1556. Many aftershocks followed in the evening. The magnitude wasn’t close to the strongest tremor in the world, but it struck in a densely populated area with poorly built buildings. That’s why this is the deadliest earthquake in history.
Jan. 24th – For Disney fans out there, Walt Disney bought Pixar films for $7.4 billion. Pixar was big in movie animation by the end of 2005, but in 2006, Pixar was sold.
Jan. 25th – This year’s winter Olympics are in Sochi, Russia. Well, on this day in 1924, the first Winter Olympics starts at Chamonix in the French Alps. There were six sports at this time, thrilling many spectators.