Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been a federal holiday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and civil rights leader dedicated to nonviolence. This is a day to honor King’s principles, perhaps best exemplified by his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and how to celebrate.
Daily Calendar for Monday, January 19, 2026
Daily Calendar
View daily calendar information including holidays, advice, and daily features.
Monday, January 19, 2026
Born
- James Watt (inventor) –
- Robert E. Lee (Confederate general) –
- Edgar Allen Poe (author) –
- Paul Cézanne (painter) –
- Jean Stapleton (American actress ) –
- Patsy Rowlands (actress) –
- Janis Joplin (singer ) –
- Dolly Parton (Singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur, born in Pittman Center, Tennessee) –
- Paula Deen (chef) –
- Desi Arnaz, Jr. (actor, son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) –
- Drea de Matteo (actress) –
Died
- Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Canadian religious sister ) –
- William O. Douglas (Supreme Court Justice) –
- James Dickey (writer/poet) –
- Carl Perkins (musician) –
- Wilson Pickett (singer) –
- Denny Doherty (one of the founding members of the musical group The Mamas & The Papas) –
- Suzanne Pleshette (actress) –
- Stan "The Man" Musial (baseball player) –
Events
- Tin can patented –
- Explorer Charles Wilkes claimed discovery of Antarctica –
- First Brown vs. Harvard ice hockey game took place –
- Law raised salary of U.S. president to $100,000 –
- U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized first space satellite communications link between the United States and Europe on an experimental basis. –
- The last old-style, German-made Volkswagen Beetle left the plant in Emden, Germany –
- Astronaut Roberta Bondar became the first Canadian woman to be selected for a space mission –
Weather
- Twenty-four degrees below zero F in Hartford, Connecticut –
- Temperature dropped 50 degrees in Portsmouth, New Hampshire –
- The temperature rose 43 degrees in 15 minutes at Fort Assiniboine, near Havre, Montana. –
- Lake Erie froze from bank to bank for the first time in modern history –
- Snow fell in Miami, Florida –
- A record-low barometer reading of 29.25 inches occurred due to a West Coast storm –
- Temperature dipped to -36 degrees F, New Whiteland, Indiana –