January 12
1962
The United States Air Force launched Operation Ranch Hand, a “modern technological area-denial technique” designed to expose the roads and trails used by the Viet Cong. Flying C-123 Providers, U.S. personnel dumped an estimated 19 million gallons of defoliating herbicides over 10-20% of Vietnam and parts of Laos between 1962-1971. Agent Orange–named for the color of its metal containers–was the most frequently used defoliating herbicide. The operation succeeded in killing vegetation, but not in stopping the Viet Cong. The use of these agents was controversial, both during and after the war, because of the questions about long-term ecological impacts and the effect on humans who either handled or were sprayed by the chemicals.
1969
At the Orange Bowl in Miami, the New York Jets of the American Football League defeaed the NFL's Baltimore Colts, 16-7, in Super Bowl III—a result considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Days earlier, Jets quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed a victory by New York, an 18-point underdog. Before Super Bowl III, an NFL coach said, "Namath plays his first pro football game today." But the Colts, who had a 15-1 record entering the game, trailed 16-0 after three quarters. Namath, a four-year-veteran and former University of Alabama star, completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.
1981
Soap opera "Dynasty," produced by Aaron Spelling and starring John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins, premiered on ABC-TV. Over the next eight years, the Carringtons, a rich Denver oil clan, and another wealthy family, the Colbys, would form the center of the campy, glamorous universe that was Dynasty. Envisioned as bitter rivals, in the style of the Montagues and Capulets of Romeo and Juliet, the two families intermarried and plotted against each other with equal enthusiasm. By the end of the 1982-83 season, Dynasty was fifth in the top-rated programs; it climbed to third place in 1983-84 and grabbed the number one spot in 1984-85. Its success spawned a short-lived spin-off, Dynasty II: The Colbys, and an entire line of licensed products such as clothing, bedding and perfume.
January 13
1966
President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the first African American cabinet member, making Robert C. Weaver head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency that develops and implements national housing policy and enforces fair housing laws. In keeping with his vision for a Great Society, Johnson sought to improve race relations and eliminate urban blight. As many of the country’s African Americans lived in run-down inner-city areas, appointing Weaver was an attempt to show his African American constituency that he meant business on both counts.
1982
An Air Florida Boeing 737-222 plunged into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., killing 78 people. The crash, caused by bad weather, took place only two miles from the White House. The flight took off from Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, with 74 passengers and 5 crew members on board. Due to ice, the flight was delayed 45 minutes on the runway. Not wanting to further delay the flight, the pilot, Larry Wheaton, did not return for more de-icing, and worse, failed to turn on the plane’s own de-icing system. The plane crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River, less than a mile away from the runway.
1995
America3, an all-female sailing team, won the first race of the America’s Cup defender trials, easily beating Team Dennis Conner by a little more than a minute. The team is the sport's first all-women team to compete in the 144-year history of the America’s Cup, the world's oldest continually contested sporting trophy. The Cup represents the pinnacle of international sailing yacht competition. Pronounced "America Cubed," the team was the brainchild of Bill Koch, a millionaire businessman and skipper of the 1992 America’s Cup-winning vessel. Koch wanted to pique American interest in the sport and field a competitive sailing team. So, he assembled a 23-member team that included female sailors, rowers and professional weightlifters to take on Conner’s team in the defender trials. However, America3 team lost the defender trials to Conner’s team.
January 14
1954
Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio. It was the ultimate All-American romance: the tall, handsome hero of the country’s national pastime captures the heart of the beautiful, glamorous Hollywood star. But the brief, volatile marriage barely got past the honeymoon before cracks began to show in its brilliant veneer and they divorced just 274 days after they were married. However, the two would remain close. When the 36-year-old Monroe died of a drug overdose on August 5, 1962, DiMaggio arranged the funeral. For the next two decades, until his own death in 1999, he sent roses several times a week to her grave in Los Angeles.
1970
Diana Ross and the Supremes performed their final concert. They were the most successful American pop group of the 1960s—a group whose 12 #1 hits in the first full decade of the rock and roll era places them behind only Elvis and the Beatles in terms of chart dominance. They helped define the very sound of the 60s, but like fellow icons the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel, they came apart in the first year of the 70s. The curtain closed for good on Diana Ross and the Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1973
The Miami Dolphins achieved something no NFL team has repeated: a perfect season. The Dolphins held on to beat Washington 14-7 in Super Bowl VII, capping a 17-0 season despite a gaffe by kicker Garo Yepremian. With just over two minutes left, instead of going for it on fourth-and-4 in Washington territory, Don Shula had Yepremian attempt a 42-yard field goal. The kick was blocked, and Yepremian’s attempt to salvage the play resulted in a fumble, which cornerback Mike Bass returned 49 yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins were the first team to reach the Super Bowl with a perfect record. The second team to do so, the 2007 Patriots, rode an 18-game winning streak into Super Bowl XLII but lost that game, 17-14, to the New York Giants.
January 15
1929
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a Baptist minister. King received a doctorate degree in theology and in 1955 helped organize the first major protest of the African American civil rights movement: the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, he advocated civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to segregation in the South. The peaceful protests he led throughout the American South were often met with violence, but King and his followers persisted, and the movement gained momentum. In 1964, the civil rights movement achieved two of its greatest successes: the ratification of the 24th Amendment, which abolished the poll tax, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.
1972
“American Pie,”, an epic poem in musical form that has long been etched in the American popular consciousness, hits #1 on the Billboard charts. The story of Don McLean’s magnum opus begins almost 13 years before its release, on a date with significance well-known to any American who was alive and conscious at the time. Tuesday February 3, 1959, was the date of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “the Big Bopper” Richardson—a date that would be imbued with transcendent meaning by Don McLean when he labeled it “the Day the Music Died.”
2009
A potential disaster turned into a heroic display of skill and composure when Captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III safely landed the plane he was piloting on New York City’s Hudson River after a bird strike caused its engines to fail. David Paterson, governor of New York at the time, dubbed the incident the “miracle on the Hudson.” Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot with decades of flying experience, received a slew of honors for his actions, including resolutions of praise from the U.S. Congress. In October 2009, the now-famous pilot, known to his friends as “Sully,” published a book about his childhood, military background and career entitled “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters.” The autobiography was adapted into the feature film "Sully," which was directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Tom Hanks as Captain Sullenberger III.
January 16
1919
The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes,” is ratified by the requisite number of states. The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for total national abstinence. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
1938
Benny Goodman performed at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall. Goodman and his supporting cast claimed a new place for jazz on the American cultural scene that night, in what has come to be seen as the most important jazz concert in history. It would be another decade before anyone who was not in the audience or listening on the radio that night would hear the famed concert. All recordings of the show were presumed lost until a set of acetates were found in 1950. The album made from the recovered acetates became one of the first 33 1/3 LPs to sell over a million copies. The discovery of the studio master recordings led to multiple high-quality CD reissues of the legendary Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert.
1991
At midnight in Iraq, the UN deadline for the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait expired, and the Pentagon prepared to commence offensive operations to forcibly eject Iraq from its five-month occupation of its oil-rich neighbor. Operation Desert Storm, the code-name for the massive U.S.-led offensive against Iraq, was formally announced. U.S. Military Forces start one of the most intense air raids against Iraq. It was 44 days from the start of the air bombardment campaign until a cease-fire was signed. One hundred and twenty-five American soldiers were killed in the Persian Gulf War, with another 21 regarded as missing in action.
January 17
1916
At the invitation of Rodman Wanamaker, the son of the pioneering founder of Wanamaker’s department stores (now Macy’s), a group of golf professionals and several leading amateur golfers gathered at the Taplow Club in New York City, in a meeting that would result in the founding of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA). That October, the first annual PGA Championship took place at the Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York. In the years since 1916, the PGA has grown into one of the sporting world’s largest professional associations. Each summer, top golfers compete at a different outstanding course for one of golf’s most prestigious awards, the Wanamaker Trophy.
1953
A prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car makes its debut at General Motors’ (GM) Motorama auto show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The Corvette, named for a fast type of naval warship, would eventually become an iconic American muscle car and remains in production today. During the second half of the 1950s, Corvettes began setting speed records on the racing circuit. The car also got a publicity boost when it was featured on the TV show “Route 66,” which launched in 1960 and followed the story of two young men driving around America in a Corvette, looking for adventure. In 1977, the 500,000th Corvette was built. Two years later, according to the Times, yearly Corvette production peaked at 53,807. In 1992, the 1-milllionth Corvette came off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
1994
An earthquake rocks Los Angeles, California, killing 54 people and causing billions of dollars in damages. The Northridge Quake was one of the most damaging in U.S. history. It was 4:31 a.m. when the 6.7-magnitude quake struck the San Fernando Valley, a densely populated area of LA located 20 miles northeast of the city’s downtown. The quake caused a huge amount of property damage over a wide area, especially in the beach community of Santa Monica, even though it was relatively far from the epicenter. As much of Santa Monica stands on soil that is less solid than bedrock, it suffered severe ground movement during the earthquake. The partial collapse of the Santa Monica freeway snarled traffic in Los Angeles for months. All told, it is estimated that the earthquake was responsible for $20 billion in damages.
January 18
1919
Leaders of the Allied powers—France, Great Britain, the United States and Italy meet in Paris to begin the negotiations that would officially mark the end of the First World War. For most of the conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson struggled to support his idea of a “peace without victory” and make sure that Germany, the leader of the Central Powers and the major loser of the war, was not treated too harshly. Other leaders wanted members of the Central power severely punished to justify the immense costs of the war. In the end, Wilson compromised on the treatment of Germany in order to push through the creation of his pet project, an international peacekeeping organization called the League of Nations.
1958
Hockey player Willie O’Ree of the Boston Bruins takes to the ice for a game against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black hockey player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Bruins sold O’Ree’s contract to the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL) the next season, and O’Ree spent most of the rest of his career out west, playing 11 years with the Blades and the San Diego Gulls and twice winning the WHL’s scoring title. After one season with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL, he went back to California. He took a two-year break from playing in the late 1970s, then returned for a final season with the Pacific Hockey League’s San Diego Hawks in 1978-79. He retired at the end of that season, at the age of 43, after a professional hockey career of 19 seasons and 10 teams.
1975
Barry Manilow scored his first #1 single with “Mandy." At the height of Barry Manilow’s popularity, none other than Frank Sinatra himself said of Manilow, “He’s next.” Yet even in his heyday, the more youthful arbiters of “cool” were not kind to him. They called Manilow’s music bombastic and schmaltzy, even as Americans devoured his every release. But critics may have missed the point. Barry Manilow never fancied himself hip or cool—far from it. “I have purposely tried not to stay in sync with the times,” he has said. “I just do what feels good.” After getting his start as Bette Midler's piano player and then musical director, he would go on to sell 75 million records. He amassed mre than 21 top-40 hits between 1975 and 1983, which earned him Billboard's top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time.