Moments in Time – January 11, 2023

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• On Jan. 25, 1533, England’s King Henry VIII secretly married Anne Boleyn. The bride was pregnant with the future Queen Elizabeth I, and the ceremony took place shortly before dawn with just a handful of witnesses present. Its stealthy nature was, of course, due to a lack of papal permission.
• On Jan. 29, 1886, Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine.” His first model, known as the “Benz Patent Motorwagen,” was financed by his wife and business partner Bertha’s dowry, had three wheels, and ran on an internal combustion engine similar to modern automobiles.
• On Jan. 23, 1922, a second injection of insulin brought Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic, out of his coma at the Toronto General Hospital. An initial dose caused a severe allergic reaction, but after biochemist James Collip worked nearly two weeks to improve and purify the extract, he was rewarded with success and Thompson survived.
• On Jan. 24, 1935, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company of Richmond, Virginia, sold the first canned beer, Krueger Cream Ale, to the public. When approached by the American Can Company, Krueger executives were unenthused, but American Can’s offer to install the necessary equipment for free helped seal the deal, to a nearly 100% customer approval rating.
• On Jan. 28, 1978, TV viewers were treated to their first sight of the mysterious Mr. Roarke and his sidekick, Tattoo, on a tropical beach with the debut episode of “Fantasy Island.” While there were hints that Roarke was immortal or at least centuries old, the real entertainment was in watching guests learn unexpected life lessons or, on occasion, carry out last wishes as they lived their enormously expensive dreams.
• On Jan. 27, 1993, French wrestler Andre the Giant (Andre Rene Roussimoff), who stood nearly seven and a half feet and weighed over 500 pounds, died of a heart attack after his father’s funeral. Afflicted with acromegaly, Roussimoff had declined potentially life-prolonging medical treatment for fear it might hamper his career.
• On Jan. 26, 2006, Western Union announced the end of its paper telegram service. The very first telegram had been sent by Samuel Morse, inventor of the Morse Code, to his partner, Alfred Vail, in May 1844. It read simply, “What hath God wrought?”

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.