by Haylie Lohmar
Have you ever sat down
and thought about what happened the last January 28ths or 13ths or 6ths or any
random day? Well, here we go on a
journey to visit a world of January’s past.
On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape
Canaveral, only to burst into smoke, and flames seventy-three seconds
later. There were no survivors. What is
really different about this event was that NASA was allowing 37-year old social
science teacher from New Hampshire the ability to go on this endeavor. After
several months of training, and a delayed launch because of weather, she
finally had her chance to travel to space on January 28.
Needless to say she did not survive, her family along
with hundreds on the ground, and millions via satellite stared, taken aback as
they watched the explosion. Twenty-six years later NASA has closed its program.
January 9, 1913 the 37th president of the
United States was born, Richard Nixon. From 1953-1961 Nixon served as the vice
president under Dwight D. Eisenhower, after his term as vice president Nixon
narrowly lost his run for presidency to John F. Kennedy. Nixon stayed
persistent in politics and ran for governor of California, his home state. Losing
that election is when Nixon said he was done with politics. However, he wasn’t.
In 1968 he ran for presidency against Hubert Humphrey, winning by a long shot
in 1972. Only halfway through his term Nixon resigned because of impeachment
proceedings of the Watergate scandal.
Why was there no school on January, 16? Well, for Martin
Luther King Jr. Day, of course. The third Monday of January is observed as MLK
day, the day is based on his birthday. King was the lead activist in the
nonviolent movement to end discrimination. After his assassination in 1968,
Ronald Reagan signed a bill stating the third Monday of the year to be a
Federal Reserve holiday for the work King did to change our country. This year
President Obama and the First Lady spent Martin Luther King Day performing
community service in Washington D.C. So, next time you have a day off of school
remember the real reason for the day off.
January includes many birthdays, war resolutions, and
ways to change and start a new year. How will this January go down in history?