NATIONAL THESAURUS DAY
National Thesaurus Day, on January 18th, honors Peter Mark Roget, the author of Roget’s Thesaurus, who was born on this day in 1779. #NationalThesaurusDay
Memorable Birthdays for January 18
Thomas A. Watson (1854-1934) – Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant who helped with the invention of the telephone.
Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931) – Cardiologist who performed the first open heart surgery.
Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) – Comedian and half of the duo Laurel and Hardy.
Kevin Costner (1955-) – Multi-award winning actor with credits in The Untouchables (1987), Open Range (2003), Black or White (2014), and recently Yellowstone.
Amy Barger (1971-) – Astronomer who discovered dusty galaxies, quasars and supermassive black holes.
Burnie Burns (1973-) – Co-founder of Rooster Teeth Productions, a sub company of Warner Brothers.
Memorable Events for January 18
1644 – Pilgrims report a UFO sighting.
1733 – The first polar bear exhibit is open to the public in MA.
1778 – Captain James Cook stumbles over the Hawaiian Islands and what he referred to as the Sandwich Islands.
1896 – The first demonstration of an X-ray machine is held in NY City.
1903 – The first transatlantic radio transmission in the U.S. is sent by a transmitter in MA.
1916 – A meteorite hits a house in Stone County, MO.
1964 – Plans for World Trade Center announced in NY City.
1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in the U.S.