January 9

Today in History
• 1788 - Connecticut became the 5th state in the United States
• 1793 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard made the first successful balloon flight in the U.S.
• 1848 - The first commercial bank was established in San Francisco, CA.
• 1861 - Mississippi became the second state to secede from the Union
• 1902 - New York State introduced a bill to outlaw flirting in public
• 1929 - The Seeing Eye was incorporated to train dogs to guide the blind
• 1964 - Anti-American rioting broke out in the Panama Canal Zone
• 1968 - Surveyor 7, the last of America's unmanned lunar probes, landed on the Moon


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Balloon Ascension Day
• Coming of Age Day
• Golden Globe Awards
• International Choreographers Day
• National Apricot Day
• National Clean Your Desk Day
• National Faith Day
• National WONK Day

Birthdays
• 1554 - Gregory XV [Alessandro Ludovisi], pope (1621-23)
• 1745 - Caleb Strong, 6th and 10th Governor of Massachusetts
• 1819 - James Francis, Premier of Victoria
• 1829 - Adolf von Schlagintweit, German explorer
• 1859 - Carrie Chapman Catt, founder (League of Women Voters)
• 1870 - Joseph B Strauss, civil engineer/builder (Golden Gate Bridge)
• 1913 - Richard M. Nixon, 37th President, 1968-74
• 1922 - Ahmed Sekou Toure, president of Guinea, 1957-84