January 10 in Pop Culture History

1776 – Common Sense by Thomas Paine was published.

1863 – London’s Metropolitan, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened.

1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil. It is now part of ExxonMobil.

1899 – The US patent (#617592) was issued for an “Electric Device,” invented by David Misell, which was manufactured as the first tubular “Flash Light” by Conrad Hubert at his American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company.

1901 – The first major discovery of oil in Texas was made at Spindletop, near Beaumont.

1920 – The League of Nations was established.

1927 – Fritz Lang’s Metropolis premiered in Germany.

1941 – Arsenic and Old Lace (Broadway Play) Opened on January 10, 1941, and closed on on June 17, 1944

1946 – The United Nations General Assembly met for the 1st time in London.

1949 – RCA introduced the 7-inch ’45’ PRM record. The blue-colored vinyl played a promo in English on one side and Spanish on the other.

1953 – #1 Hit January 10, 1953 – February 13, 1953: Perry Como – Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes

1955 – Inherit the Wind opened on Broadway at the National Theater

1976 – #1 Hit January 10, 1976 – January 16, 1976: C. W. McCall – Convoy

1983 – Fraggle Rock premiered on HBO

1990 – the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications formed Time Warner.

1992 – The Hand That Rocks the Cradle was released in theaters.

1997 – Jackie Chan’s First Strike, Turbulence and The Relic were released in theaters.

1999 – The Sopranos debuted on HBO

2010 – FOX announced that Simon Cowell would depart from American Idol in May to launch a US version of X Factor in Fall 2011, also on FOX