January 18 in Pop Culture History

On this day in 1779, Peter Mark Roget, the father of the modern thesaurus, was delivered, produced, came into being, born. After a long career as a physician, scientist, and tinkerer (he also invented a slide rule), Roget retired from medicine. They dedicated his time to cataloging, assembling, gathering, composing, and compiling a dictionary of synonyms.

First published in 1852, Roget’s Thesaurus (from the Greek thēsauros, meaning storehouse, treasury, or treasure) is still the go-to source for word alternates, substitutes, equivalents, euphemisms, and synonyms by poets, academics, and crossword lovers everywhere. That’s quite the legacy. What’s on your retirement/ bucket list?

While you contemplate, ponder, and puzzle over that one, take a moment to thank Peter Roget. Happy Thesaurus Day!

1644 – “In this year, one James Everell, a sober, discreet man, and two others, saw a great light in the night at Muddy River. When it stood still, it flamed up and was about three yards square; when it ran, it was contracted into the figure of a swine: it ran as swift as an arrow towards Charlton and so up and down about two or three hours. They were come down in their lighter about a mile, and, when it was over, they found themselves carried quite back against the tide to the place they came from. Divers[e] other credible persons saw the same light, after, about the same place.“
– John Winthrop (1588-1649) John was the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. *some reports say it was 1638

1778 – James Cook ‘discovered’ Hawaii, naming it ‘The Sandwich Islands.’

1896 – The X-Ray Machine was shown to the public. Not really. The Cabaret du Neant charged people to see an ‘illusion’ of the effect.

1911 – The first landing of an aircraft on a ship occurred as pilot Lt. Eugene B. Ely landed on the USS Pennsylvania.

1944 – Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, and Jack Teagarden performed at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC.

1960 – #1 Hit January 18, 1960 – February 7, 1960: Johnny Preston – Running Bear

1971 – Ivan Koloff beat Bruno Sammartino in New York to become the WWWF champion.

1975 – #1 Hit January 18, 1975 – January 24, 1975: Barry Manilow – Mandy

1975 – (fictional) Leslie Knope’s Birthday

1980 – Gold reached $1,000 an ounce for the first time.

1985 – Blood Simple was released in theaters.

1986 – #1 Hit January 18, 1986 – February 14, 1986: Dionne Warwick – That’s What Friends Are For

1990 – Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested in a drug enforcement sting. He claimed that the “bitch set me up” when he was caught with crack cocaine.

1991 – White Fang & Flight of the Intruder were released in theaters.

1993 – Martin Luther King Day became official in all 50 United States.

2002 – Snow Dogs debuted in theaters.

2004 – The L Word premiered on Showtime.

2008 – Cloverfield, 27 Dresses, Blonde and Blonder and Teeth debuted in theaters.

2014 – #1 Hit January 18, 2014 – February 7, 2014: Pitbull featuring Kesha – Timber

#1 Hit –  January 18, 2020 – April 3, 2020: The Box – Roddy Ricch