January Almanac
Named after the Roman god Janus who was depicted with two faces,
one looking to the past, the other to the future.
Jan 1 –Astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovers the first asteroid in 1801 from his observatory at Palermo. He names it Ceres, after the mythological patroness of Sicily.
–Patron of the Renaissance Lorenzo de Medici was born in Florence in 1449
–Actor Frank Langella is born in 1940
–Boxer Rocky Graziano was born in 1922 in New York City. He became the middleweight champion of the world in 1947.
Jan 2 – Singer Julius La Rosa is born in 1930.
Jan 3 – Roman Statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero is born in 107 BC
– Benito Mussolini assumes dictatorial powers in 1925.
Jan 4 – In 1954, RAI, Italy’s national radio and television network initiates its first broadcast.
Jan. 5 – The City of Rome begins the use of gas street lamps in 1854.
– Catherine de Medici, who brought Italian culture and cuisine to France died in 1589 at age 69.
Jan 6 – Count Giacomo Beltrami dies in 1855. He first explored the Mississippi River to its source in 1825. Beltrami County, MN is named for him.
Jan. 7 – In 1610, Galileo discovers the four, largest satellites of the planet Jupiter.
–Angelo Rossi becomes the first Italian American mayor of San Francisco in 1931, serving for twelve years.
Jan 8 – Ella Grasso of CT was inaugurated in 1975 as first elected female governor in the U.S.
–Marco Polo dies in Venice in 1324 after a life of travel and adventure. His tales of the Orient inspired all of Europe to search for shorter routes to
East Asia. The discovery of America was one of the surprising results.
–Italian artist Giotto dies in 1337. He ushered in modern painting.
Jan. 9 – A legend has it that pretzels were invented by an Italian monk in AD 610 to resemble arms across the chest in prayer.
Jan. 10 – In 49 BC, Roman Consul Gaius Julius Caesar leads his army across the Rubicon River and marches to Rome to assert his power. Two millennia later, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” will still be used to describe any bold or decisive action.
–Born: Biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani is born in 1749 (Modena, Italy)
Jan 11 – Italian-American author Bernard DeVoto is born in 1897. His book, Across the Wide Missouri became a movie starring Kirk Douglas.
– Rear Admiral Louis Sartori dies in 1899. He was the first Italian American admiral in the U.S. Navy.
Jan 12 – Teatro San Carlo opens in Naples in 1817.
– The first Italian rocket is launched off the island of Sardegna in 1961, reaching an altitude of one hundred miles.
– In 1799, the Kingdom of Piemonte-Sardinia becomes the first Italian state to enact copyright laws for the protection of authors and journalists
– In 1848, Sicilian patriots initiate a violent uprising against their Spanish Bourbon rulers. The revolt sparks a year of insurrections across Europe.
– Physiologist Lazzaro Spalanzani is born in 1729
– Mathematician Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro in born in1853. He helped develop absolute differential calculus “Ricci Calculus”, the basis for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Jan 13 – In 1898, Emil Zola’s J’accuse was published in Paris in defense of Capt Alfred Dreyfus
– Roman general Caius Marius dies in 86 BC. His reforms converted the Roman legions from a citizen draft to a professional army.
Jan 14 – Puccini’s Tosca premiers in 1900, in Rome
Jan 15 – Earthquake rocks western Sicilian in 1968 killing between 230 – 400 people.
Jan 16 – Italian dramatist/poet Vittorio Alfieri is born in 1749, considered the “Founder of Italian Tragedies.”
Jan 17 – In 1943, Italian military commanders in France refuse German demands to turn over all Jews in their zones of occupation.
Jan 18 – Italian racer Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari takes first place at the premier edition of the Formula One Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos Aires in 1953
– Italian admiral Francesco Caracciolo is born in Naples in 1752. As a soldier of fortune he fought on the British side during the American Revolution.
Jan 19 – Verdi’s Il Trovatore premiered in 1853, in Rome
Jan 20 – Film Director Federico Fellini is born in 1920
– Fr. Alessandro Volignano died at the Portuguese colony of Macau, in 1606. He was the first Christian missionary to Japan.
Jan 21 – Albert Dean Roselini is born in 1910. He served as governor of Washington State from 1957 to 1965, the first Italian American and Roman Catholic governor elected west of the Mississippi River.
Jan 22 – Angelo Rossi is born in 1978. He served as mayor of San Francisco from 1931 to 1944, the first mayor of 100% Italian descent of a major U.S. city (NYC Mayor LaGuardia was half Jewish). The Golden Gate Bridge project was undertaken during his administration.
Jan. 23 – In 1984, Italian cyclist Francesco Moser sets a new world’s unpaced distance record at Mexico City, pedaling 31 miles, 1,381 yards in 60 minutes.
Jan 24 – Claudius becomes Roman emperor in 41AD. He completed the conquest of Britannia.
– Actor Ernest Borgnine is born in 1917
Jan 25 – Mathematician Giuseppe Luigi La Grangia (aka LaGrange) is born in Torino in 1736. During the French Revolution he chaired the committee that developed the Metric System.
Jan 26 – Pierre-Paul Brazza is born in Rome in 1852. His explorations in Africa for the French were acknowledged when the capital of the French Congo was named Brazzaville
– In 1855, The Kingdom of Sardinia enters the Crimean War on the side of Great Britain and France.
– In 1887, an isolated column of 548 Italian soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Tommasso de Cristorforis is massacred by an onslaught of 7,000 Ethiopian warriors at Dogali in East Africa.
– Louis Zamperini, is born in 1917, was a WW II Army Air Corps survivor immortalized in the book Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand and 2014 movie Unbroken by Angelina Jolie.
Jan 27 – In 1861, elections are held for the first national parliament of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
– Alfa Romeo auto works is founded at Milan in 1910
Jan 28 – Actor Alan Alda is born Alfonso d’Abruzzo in 1936
– In 1982, Italian police rescue US Army Brigadier General from the leftist Red Brigades
Jan 29 – Donna Caponi is born in 1945. She won four major LPGA championships and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame
Jan 30 – The Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara Pacis Augustae) is dedicated in 9 BC after three and one-half years of construction. Restored in 1938, it is considered the most humanistic work of art from the ancient world. The family of Augustus and Rome’s elite are portrayed on its walls.
Jan 31 – In 1958, Singer/Songwriter Domenico Modugno introduces and takes 1st Place with his new hit Volare at the San Remo music competition.
– Singer Mario Lanza is born in 1921)