1639 – Considered to be the first written constitution in the Western tradition, the Fundamental Orders were adopted on this date by the Connecticut Colony council. This is why Connecticut received the nickname of “The Constitution State.”

1699 – In an effort to apologize for the persecution and execution of people who were deemed “witches,” people in Massachusetts hold a day of prayer and fasting in hopes of forgiveness for their wrongdoing.

1914 – Henry Ford revolutionized the auto manufacturing industry when he introduced the assembly line on this date. This innovation cut the time needed to make an automobile in half.

1943 – Winston Churchill and US President FDR initiate the Casablanca Conference to discuss their strategies for their future actions during WWII. The conference lasted from January 14 until the 24th and it was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco

1963 – George C. Wallace is officially sworn in as Alabama’s new governor. In his inaugural speech, he vehemently advocates for his idea of “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!”

1967 – The Human Be-In, which occurred in San Francisco’s popular Golden Gate Park, was the precursor to the “Summer of Love,” which was an iconic time in the area’s history. It helped establish and progress the counterculture of the 1960s.

1968 – The second Super Bowl ever takes place in Miami on this date in 1968. It pitted the Oakland Raiders against the Green Bay Packers. The Packers won with a score of 33 to 14. Bart Starr, the quarterback for Green Bay, was named MVP.

1973 – With a cost of about $2.5 million and broadcast to 40 countries via satellite, Elvis Presley’s Aloha from Hawaii concert special was the most expensive entertainment special until that time. It gave fans all over the world a chance to see Elvis perform during a live event.

1975 – Seventeen-year-old Leslie Whittle was kidnapped on this day from her family’s home in Highley, Shropshire, England. Her body was found in March hanging in a drainage shaft. Her kidnapper, Donald Neilson, was a known criminal and given the nickname of “The Black Panther.”

2005 – Launched in October of 1997, the Huygens probe lands on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. It remains the most distant landing of any spacecraft that was launched from the earth.

83 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician
1875 – Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician Nobel Prize laureate for his philosophy of “Reverence of Life”
1919 – Andy Rooney, American journalist, 60 Minutes contributor
1928 – Garry Winogrand, American street photographer
1941 – Faye Dunaway, Academy Award-winning American actress (Bonnie and Clyde, Network, The Towering Inferno
1952 – Maureen Dowd, American columnist and author (Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide)
1963 – Steven Soderbergh, American director, screenwriter, and producer (Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven)
1968 – LL Cool J, American rapper and actor (Deep Blue Sea, NCIS: Los Angeles)
1969 – Jason Bateman, American actor, director, and producer (Arrested Development, Hancock, Identity Thief)
1969 – Dave Grohl, American singer-songwriter, musician, and director (Nirvana, Foo Fighters)