January 25 Birthday
On January 25, 1533, Henry VIII secretly married Anne Boleyn. She was already pregnant with the future Elizabeth I. The marriage was the culmination of Henry's "great matter" — his attempt to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had not produced a male heir. The Pope refused, so Henry broke with the Catholic Church, created the Church of England, and made himself its head. The political and religious consequences of this personal decision reshaped English history for centuries. Anne would be executed three years later on charges of treason, adultery, and incest. The charges were almost certainly fabricated. Henry married Jane Seymour eleven days after Anne's execution. In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell, in New York, placed the first transcontinental telephone call to Thomas Watson in San Francisco. The call marked the opening of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Bell repeated the words of his first telephone call: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." Watson replied that it would take him a week. The transcontinental line required the construction of 3,400 miles of copper wire and the invention of the electronic repeater, which amplified signals that would otherwise degrade over distance. The call would not have been possible without Lee de Forest's audion tube, which he had patented in 1908. The first Winter Olympics opened in Chamonix, France, on this day in 1924. They were originally called "International Winter Sports Week" and were retroactively designated the first Winter Olympics. 258 athletes from 16 nations competed. The opening ceremony featured a parade, speeches, and the release of doves — a tradition that continued until 1988, when the doves were accidentally roasted alive by the Olympic flame and the practice was discontinued. The first gold medal of the Winter Games was won by Charles Jewtraw of the United States in the 500-meter speed skating. Robert Burns, born this day in 1759, is the national poet of Scotland. He wrote "Auld Lang Syne," which is sung around the world at New Year, and "A Red, Red Rose," and "To a Mouse." He was a farmer, a tax collector, and a prolific adulterer. He died at thirty-seven, probably of endocarditis. His birthday is celebrated as Burns Night with haggis, whisky, and recitation. Virginia Woolf, also born this day in 1882, filled her pockets with stones and walked into the River Ouse on March 28, 1941. She was fifty-nine. People born on January 25 fall under the zodiac sign of Aquarius. The birthstone is Garnet and the birth flower is Carnation. Historical events on January 25 include 1533: Henry VIII secretly marries Anne Boleyn, 1915: First transcontinental telephone call from New York to San Francisco, 1924: First Winter Olympic Games open in Chamonix, France. Famous people born on January 25 include Robert Burns (1759), Virginia Woolf (1882), Alicia Keys (1981).