On This Day January 8

When British forces threatened New Orleans in the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson took command of the defenses, including militia from several western states and territories. Jackson's 4,000 militiamen and 16 heavy cannons behind barricades of cotton bales opposed 10,000 British regulars marching across an open field, led by General Edward Pakenham. The Battle of New Orleans was a total American victory and made Andrew Jackson a national hero.

E. Percy Moran, The Battle of New Orleans (1910)

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On This Day January 7

Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard, (1753-1809), the inventor of the parachute, successfully made the first balloon crossing of the English Channel from Dover to Calais on January 7, 1785. Mr. Blanchard and his American passenger, Dr. John Jeffries, had to shed all of their clothes as the wind died and the balloon’s airbag cooled too quickly over the sea. Neither man could swim.

 

Crossing of the English Channel by Blanchard in 1785.

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On This Day January 6

Anne of Cleves, the pudding-faced sister of the German protestant leader, the Duke of Cleves, was recommended as a wife for Henry VIII of England by Thomas Cromwell. They met at Blackheath Common pageant, but Henry was not impressed by her looks. Despite Henry's very vocal misgivings, the two were married at the royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer on January 6, 1540. However, Henry quickly pensioned Anne off.

Anne of Cleves Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1539. 

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On This Day January 5

Clyde Barrow (1909–34) first met Bonnie Parker (1911–34) at the West Dallas, Texas home of Clyde’s friend Clarence Clay on January 5, 1930. Two months after he first met Parker, Barrow was arrested on seven accounts of burglary and car theft, convicted, and sentenced to two years in jail. Parker smuggled a gun to him and he escaped. Bonnie and Clyde then embarked on a crime spree with their gang until the pair were betrayed by a friend.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, sometime between 1932 and 1934

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On This Day January 4

William III of England and his wife Mary disliked Whitehall Palace, which had been the main residence of the English monarchs since 1530, They lived mostly in Hampton Court. William was not too put out when one of the maid servants that they had bought with them from Holland set fire to Whitehall Palace and burned most of it down on January 4, 1698.

View Of A Fire At Whitehall Palace Pastel On Paper by English School

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On This Day January 3

Adolf Hitler's father Alois Hitler died on January 3, 1903. Alois Hitler was a petty clerk in the Austrian Customs Service. Adolf's mother Klara Pölzl, was Alois' niece and third wife. Their marriage was not a happy one. In Mein Kampf, Hitler described his father as an irascible tyrant; however, there is little indication that Alois Hitler treated his son more strictly than was usual for that time and place. "My father I respected, my mother I loved." he wrote.

Alois Hitler

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On This Day January 2

American engineer Willis Carrier invented the first electric air conditioning unit after he was commissioned to come up with the design by a printing company whose work was being wrecked by humidity in the factory.  He was awarded a patent for his appliance on January 2, 1902. The installation marked the birth of air conditioning because of the addition of humidity control.

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