104 years ago today
First Human Insulin Injection Saves a Dying Boy
On January 11, 1922, a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson became the first person ever to receive an insulin injection at Toronto General Hospital. Leonard was dying of Type 1 diabetes — a death sentence at the time — when Canadian physician Frederick Banting and his team administered the experimental extract. The first injection caused an allergic reaction. A refined version given 12 days later worked: Leonard's blood sugar normalized, and he lived another 13 years. Within months, Banting and his colleagues had scaled production and were treating patients across North America. Diabetes, which had killed every patient diagnosed with its severe form, had been transformed into a manageable condition. The discovery of insulin is one of the most dramatic rescues in the history of medicine.
Alexander Hamilton
American Founding Father & First Treasury Secretary
Born in the Caribbean and orphaned young, Hamilton fought in the Revolutionary War as Washington's aide-de-camp, co-authored the Federalist Papers, and as the first Secretary of the Treasury built the financial foundations of the United States — the national bank, public credit, and the customs system. His life and death in a duel with Aaron Burr became one of history's great tragic stories.
John A. Macdonald
First Prime Minister of Canada
The principal architect of Canadian Confederation in 1867, Macdonald served as Canada's first and third Prime Minister and oversaw the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway that linked the nation coast to coast. His legacy is inseparable from the founding of the modern Canadian state, though it is also shadowed by policies that devastated Indigenous peoples.
William James
American Philosopher & Psychologist
Often called the father of American psychology, William James founded the school of pragmatism and wrote The Principles of Psychology (1890), which shaped the entire discipline. His brother was novelist Henry James. William's explorations of consciousness, religious experience, and the will to believe made him one of the most influential thinkers in American intellectual history.
Albert Hofmann
Swiss Chemist — Discoverer of LSD
The Swiss chemist who accidentally discovered the psychedelic properties of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1943 after absorbing a small amount through his fingertips in his laboratory. Hofmann's discovery launched decades of psychiatric research, counterculture movements, and ongoing scientific inquiry into consciousness. He lived to 102.
Mary J. Blige
American R&B Singer & Actress
Known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige broke through with her debut album What's the 411? in 1992 and defined an era of emotionally raw, hip-hop-infused R&B. She has won nine Grammy Awards and received an Academy Award nomination for her acting in Mudbound.
Muhammad Conquers Mecca
The Prophet Muhammad led a force of 10,000 Muslim soldiers into Mecca almost without resistance, as the Quraysh tribe surrendered and accepted Islam. The city was declared the holiest site in Islam, and the conquest effectively unified the Arabian Peninsula under the new religion.
England's First Lottery Drawn
England held its first national lottery, authorized by Queen Elizabeth I, with the draw taking place at the west door of St Paul's Cathedral in London. Prizes included silver plate and tapestries, and the proceeds went toward repairing the nation's harbors.
Herschel Discovers Two Moons of Uranus
Astronomer William Herschel, who had discovered Uranus itself six years earlier, identified two of its largest moons — Titania and Oberon. Using his hand-crafted reflecting telescope, Herschel continued his systematic survey of the sky that would eventually catalogue over 2,400 deep-sky objects.
Alabama Secedes from the United States
Alabama's state convention voted to secede from the Union, making it the fourth state to leave following South Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida. Within weeks, Alabama's capital Montgomery would become the first capital of the Confederate States of America.
Anglo-Zulu War Begins
British forces invaded the Zulu Kingdom in southern Africa under General Lord Chelmsford, beginning the Anglo-Zulu War. Within eleven days, the British suffered one of their worst colonial defeats at the Battle of Isandlwana, before ultimately conquering the Zulu nation.
Grand Canyon Declared a National Monument
President Theodore Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to declare the Grand Canyon a U.S. National Monument, protecting it from commercial mining and development. Roosevelt had visited the canyon in 1903 and declared it beyond human improvement. It became a National Park in 1919.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Founded
MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at a banquet in Los Angeles. The organization was established partly to improve Hollywood's public image and manage labor relations — but its annual Awards ceremony would become the most-watched entertainment event in the world.
East Pakistan Becomes Bangladesh
Following the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indian military intervention that defeated Pakistani forces, East Pakistan formally renamed itself Bangladesh and established itself as an independent republic. It was one of the most devastating conflicts of the Cold War era, with an estimated 300,000 to 3 million people killed.
First COVID-19 Death Reported
Chinese authorities announced the first confirmed death from the novel coronavirus in Wuhan — a 61-year-old man who had been a regular customer at the Huanan Seafood Market. The announcement came as WHO was still advising there was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission, days before a pandemic that would kill millions.
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American Lawyer & Poet
The author of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which he wrote after watching the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Set to a popular British drinking tune, the poem became the U.S. national anthem in 1931. Key died of pleurisy in Baltimore at age 63.
Thomas Hardy
English Novelist & Poet
One of the greatest Victorian novelists, Hardy wrote Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, and The Mayor of Casterbridge — dark, compassionate portrayals of rural English life confronting modernity. He abandoned novels after the hostile reception to Jude the Obscure and spent his final decades writing poetry.
Alberto Giacometti
Swiss Sculptor & Painter
One of the most distinctive sculptors of the 20th century, Giacometti is best known for his elongated, spectral bronze figures that became icons of existentialist art. His works have sold at auction for among the highest prices ever achieved for sculpture.
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