Moments in Time – December 27, 2023

#MiddleburyCT

• On Jan. 8, 1310, near the beginning of the Little Ice Age, when average temperatures around the world dropped by as much as 3.6 F (particularly in Europe and North America), the Thames River in London froze so thickly that bonfires were lit on it.
• On Jan. 9, 1768, British former cavalry Sergeant Major Philip Astley staged the first modern circus after discovering that if he galloped in a tight circle, centrifugal force would allow him to perform seemingly impossible acts on horseback. He drew up a ring and invited the public to watch him wave his sword in the air while riding with one foot on his saddle and one on his horse’s head.
• On Jan. 10, 1845, poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning began the correspondence that would eventually lead to their secret courtship and marriage, which Elizabeth’s father disapproved of so strongly that he disowned her. The couple then fled England for Italy, where they would live for 15 years until Barrett’s death.
• On Jan. 11, 1915, Jacob Ruppert and Colonel Tillinghast Huston purchased the New York Yankees for $450,000. Ruppert put up his share of the sale in cash, and within a decade had built Yankee Stadium, acquired baseball legend Babe Ruth, and won the first of the franchise’s World Series titles.
• On Jan. 12, 1948, pacifist and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi began his final fast. Eighteen days later, he was assassinated by Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse while on his way to address a prayer meeting.
• On Jan. 13, 1976, American inventor Ray Kurzweil and the National Federation of the Blind debuted the Kurzweil Reading Machine, the first omnifont optical character recognition system, which converts print to speech.
• On Jan. 14, 2004, the national flag of Georgia, also known as “the five-cross flag,” was returned to official use for the first time in five centuries. Originally a banner of the medieval Kingdom of Georgia, it became popular again in the late 20th and early 21st centuries during the country’s national revival.

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.