January 31, 1865

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It was ratified by the necessary number of states on December 6, 1865. The amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

January 30, 1649

England's King Charles I was beheaded.

January 29, 1854

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" was published for the first time in the "New York Evening Mirror."

January 28, 1807

London's Pall Mall became the first street lit by gaslight.

Also :

1521 - The Diet of Worms began, at which Protestant reformer Luther was declared an outlaw by the Roman Catholic church.

1547 - England's King Henry VIII died. He was succeeded by his 9 year-old son, Edward VI.

1878 - The first telephone switchboard was installed in New Haven, CT.

1878 - "The Yale News" was published for the first time. It was the first, daily, collegiate newspaper in the U.S.

1909 - The United States ended direct control over Cuba.



January 27, 1926

John Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrated a pictorial transmission machine called television.

January 26, 1784

In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the eagle as the symbol of America. He wanted the symbol to be the turkey.

January 25, 1870

G.D. Dows patented the ornamental soda fountain.



Also on this day:

1533 - England's King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife Anne Boleyn. Boleyn later gave birth to Elizabeth I.