This Month in History: January

image of hands in chains and Abraham Lincoln statue

January 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation 

President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed during the Civil War that all persons held as slaves in the rebellious states were to be free. Although the proclamation had its limitations, it did transform the war, allowing Black men to join the Union Army and Navy. Slaves who had been working to ensure their liberty knew that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. The proclamation became a historical document for human freedom and the original is housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The biggest celebration of the abolishment of slavery is called Juneteenth. It wasn't until June 19, 1865, that word of the emancipation reached Texas. Juneteenth became an official federal holiday in 2021.

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3 football players in black and white

January 15, 1967 - First Super Bowl

On January 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) clobbered the American Football League (AFL)’s Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in the first-ever AFL-NFL World Championship, later known as Super Bowl I. Founded in 1960 as a rival to the NFL, the AFL was still finding its way in 1967, and the Packers had been heavily favored to win the game. As 60 million people tuned in, the Chiefs managed to keep it close for the first half, and by halftime, Green Bay was ahead just 14-10. The Packers, however, proceeded to break the game wide open, after safety Willie Wood intercepted a pass from the Chief’s quarterback, Len Dawson, and returned the ball 50 yards to set up a touchdown. In 1970, the AFL and NFL merged into one league, as the Colts, Browns and Steelers agreed to join the 10 AFL teams to form the American Football Conference (AFC). Since then, the Super Bowl has been the annual meeting of the top teams in the AFC and the National Football Conference (NFC) for the championship of the NFL. Coincidentally, in the most recent game, Super Bowl LVII, the champion was the Chiefs. The next Super Bowl will be on Feb. 11, 2024.

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black and white photos of Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis

January 23, 1986 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducts First Class

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts new members once a year in categories such as performers and influencers. The first year saw 17 men inducted: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Yancey, John Hammond, Alan Freed, and Sam Phillips. Highlights from the ceremony were Berry declaring "Dy-no-mite!" after being inducted by Keith Richards. Roberta Flack did the honors for Little Richard, who could not attend because he was recuperating from a car accident. Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, accepted on behalf of her late father, whose presenters were Julian and Sean Lennon, John Lennon's sons. (Cooke from Flickr, Berry from Flickr, Presley from Picryl, Domino from Wikimedia Commons, Charles from Picryl, Richard from GetArchive, and Lewis from Flickr) 

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railroad tracks into Auschwitz, barbed wire barracks, entrance to Auschwitz

January 27, 1945 - Liberation of Auschwitz

At Auschwitz, the largest extermination and concentration camp run by the Nazis, over 1 million people were murdered, mostly Jews. The Red Army liberated the Auschwitz camps after defeating German forces in Krakow, Poland. Shortly before the Russians arrived, SS soldiers ordered 65,000 prisoners on death marches toward German territory. When the army entered the camp, there were about 7000 people in dire health and warehouses full of other people’s belongings. There was evidence that the German soldiers tried to cover up their crimes by destroying buildings and burning plundered possessions and paper records. Auschwitz consisted of three main camps with many smaller sub-camps. Auschwitz I was a concentration camp, Auschwitz II – Birkenau, was for extermination, and Auschwitz III – Monowice, was a forced labor camp. After the war, former prisoners and the Polish government turned the camp into a museum and memorial. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum was created in 1947 and receives more than 1 million visitors each year.

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Factual information adapted from: The National Archives Museum, History, Cleveland.com, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

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By BethN on January 2, 2024