January 12 Birthday
January 12, 2010: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, centered sixteen miles west of Port-au-Prince. The epicenter was shallow — only eight miles deep — which concentrated the energy. The capital city, built largely without building codes, collapsed. An estimated 220,000 people died, 300,000 were injured, and 1.5 million were left homeless. The Haitian government was so devastated that the exact death toll will never be known. The disaster response that followed was one of the largest humanitarian efforts in history, and also one of the most criticized. Billions in aid poured in, much of it was mismanaged, and ten years later Haiti had little to show for it. The earthquake exposed not just the fragility of Haiti's infrastructure but the brokenness of the international aid system. Jack London was born on this day in 1876 in San Francisco. He grew up in poverty, worked in a cannery at thirteen, became an oyster pirate, sailed on a seal-hunting ship to Japan, joined the Klondike Gold Rush, and wrote about all of it. The Call of the Wild, published in 1903, made him famous and wealthy. He wrote 1,000 words a day, every day, and produced fifty books in twenty years. He was a committed socialist who ran for mayor of Oakland twice and lost both times. He died at forty, possibly of kidney failure, possibly of a morphine overdose. His ranch in Glen Ellen, California, is now a state park. In 1969, the New York Jets, led by Joe Namath, defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III. The AFL had been merged with the NFL for three years, and the AFL teams had lost the first two Super Bowls decisively. Namath guaranteed victory days before the game, a statement that was considered arrogant and foolish. He delivered. The win legitimized the AFL and forced the NFL to take the merger seriously. Namath's performance, and his famous guarantee, changed the way sports were promoted and consumed in America. All in the Family premiered on CBS on January 12, 1971. Archie Bunker was a bigot, and the show let him be funny while never endorsing his views. It tackled topics — racism, rape, homosexuality, menopause — that television had never touched. The network was so nervous that they aired a disclaimer before the first episode. It became the number-one show in America for five consecutive years. People born on January 12 fall under the zodiac sign of Capricorn. The birthstone is Garnet and the birth flower is Carnation. Historical events on January 12 include 1969: New York Jets win Super Bowl III (AFL first victory over NFL), 1971: All in the Family premieres on CBS, 2010: Haiti earthquake kills over 200,000. Famous people born on January 12 include Jack London (1876), John Winthrop (1588), Kirstie Alley (1951).