Happy Birthday January 3

Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, was born in Putney, London on January 3, 1883 to Henry Attlee, a solicitor, and Ellen Bravery Watson. His Labour government carried out their manifesto commitment for nationalization of basic industries and public utilities. By 1951 about 20% of the British economy had been taken into public ownership. They also presided over the decolonization of a large part of the British Empire including India and Pakistan.

Portrait by George Harcourt 1946

Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit author J. R. R. Tolkien was born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on January 3, 1892. He was known to his family as Ronald. John came from his grandfather and great-grandfather, and Reuel was his father's middle name. By the age of 16, he'd lost both parents. A catholic priest, Father Francis Morgan, took over his upbringing.

The oldest conjoined twins ever (female) Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova were born January 3, 1950 in the Soviet Union and lived 53 years and 104 days. Masha and Dasha were a rare form of conjoined twins - two heads, four arms and two legs.

German race driver Michael Schumacher was born in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on January 3, 1969 to Rolf Schumacher, and his wife Elisabeth. When Schumacher was four, his father attached a motorcycle engine to his pedal kart. The contraption didn’t work so well and Michael crashed it into a lamp post, however he started getting interest in motor sport from that time.

For more January 3 anniversaries, including the patenting of the first paraffin-covered paper drinking straw, the incorporation of Apple Inc and the creation of the bitcoin cryptocurrency network, check out OnThatDay.