Today in history

Jan. 25

• 1870 Soda fountain is patented by Gustavus Dows.

• 1881 Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.

• 1961 Walt Disney’s animated film “101 Dalmatians, “based on the novel by Dodie Smith and directed by Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske, is released in the United States.

• 1964 The Beatles get their first U.S. No. 1 hit with “I Want to Hold your Hand.”

• 1989 Michael Jordan scores his 10,000th NBA point in his fifth season.

Jan. 26

• 1837 Michigan is admitted as 26th state.

• 1838 Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the U.S.

• 1954 Groundbreaking begins on Disneyland.

• 1961 “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” by Elvis Presley hits No. 1.

• 1998 President Bill Clinton says “I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

Jan. 27

• 1880 Thomas Edison patents the electric incandescent lamp.

• 1888 National Geographic Society is formed in Washington, D.C.

• 1918 “Tarzan of the Apes,” the first Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater.

• 1976 “Laverne & Shirley,” a spinoff from “Happy Days,” premieres on ABC.

• 1948 The first tape recorder is sold.

Jan. 28

• 1547 Nine-year-old Edward VI succeeds Henry VIII as King of England.

• 1813 Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom.

• 1887 Work begins on the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

• 1887 In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world’s largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches wide and eight inches thick.

• 1958 The Lego company patents their design of Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today

Jan. 29

• 1845 Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Raven” is published.

• 1861 Kansas admitted to the Union as the 34th state.

• 1874 John D. Rockefeller Jr., American financier and philanthropist, is born in Cleveland.

• 1879 Custer Battlefield National Monument is established in Montana.

• 1892 The Coca-Cola Company is incorporated in Atlanta.

Jan. 30

• 1487 Bell chimes are invented.

• 1882 Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd president, is born in Hyde Park, New York.

• 1894 The pneumatic hammer patented by Charles King of Detroit.

• 1931 “City Lights,” an American silent romantic comedy film directed by Charlie Chaplin, premieres at Los Angeles Theater. The film starts Chaplin and Virginia Cherrill.

• 1946 The Franklin Roosevelt dime is first issued.

from actor Michael Wilding occurs.

• 1981 Justin Timberlake is born in Memphis.