Daily Calendar for Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Galileo (astronomer) – 1642
Eli Whitney (inventor) – 1825
Terry-Thomas (comedian) – 1990
Dave Thomas (Wendy’s fast food entrepreneur) – 2002
Alexander Prokhorov (Russian scientist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964 for work that led to the development of the laser) – 2002
Yvonne De Carlo (actress best known as Lily Munster on The Munsters) – 2007
Iwao Takamoto (cartoonist; created Scooby Doo) – 2007
Art Clokey (creator of Gumby and Pokey) – 2010

First State of the Union message, delivered by President George Washington– 1790
President George Washington delivered first State of the Union address– 1790
The 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, modifying the power of the Supreme Court, was ratified– 1798
First soup kitchens opened in London for the relief of the poor– 1800
Lewis and Clark saw a 105-foot-long whale skeleton in NW Oregon– 1806
Andrew Jackson defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812)– 1815
Joseph Lister published the results of his study of antiseptic surgical methods. His use of carbolic acid to sterilize instuments and wounds trebles the survival rate of his patients– 1870
President Wilson delivered his Fourteen Points speech, suggesting the creation of a League of Nations– 1918
The Dow Jones industrial stock average passed the 2,000 mark– 1987
Fergie Jenkins became first Canadian elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame– 1991
In Singapore, a barge accidentally rammed Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso, causing it to sink in the harbor (it was later raised)– 1996

New York City stayed below zero degrees F all day– 1859
Record cold hit Nevada, -50 degrees F at San Jacinto– 1937
January 6 to 8: A Nor’easter dumped record snow along the U.S. East Coast – 1996
Operation Recuperation began after ice storm hit New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec– 1998
15,000+ troops began aid during a multiday ice storm in Ontario and Quebec.– 1998