Moments in Time – January 10, 2024

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• On Jan. 22, 2006, Evo Morales became Bolivia’s first indigenous president, with a primary focus on fighting poverty and reducing the influence of transnational corporations. As more than half of the country’s population identified as indigenous at the time, political analysts drew comparisons with the election of Nelson Mandela to the South African presidency in 1994.
• On Jan. 23, 1986, the first musical artists were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, including Elvis Presley, James Brown and Ray Charles. Generally, the number of inductees each year ranges from about a half-dozen to a dozen.
• On Jan. 24, 1908, the first Boy Scout troop was organized by cavalry officer Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell in England, who had also written a book called “Scouting for Boys.” Two years later, Baden-Powell went on to organize the Girl Guides as a separate entity.
• On Jan. 25, 2005, more than 300 people died in a stampede at the Mandher Devi Temple in India during the annual Kalubai Jatra pilgrimage, which takes place during the first full moon of January and is marked by animal sacrifices to the goddess Kalubai. The pilgrimage attracts over 350,000 Hindus every year.
• On Jan. 26, 2014, two white “Peace” doves released by Pope Francis were attacked by a seagull and crow shortly after they were set free. Thousands of people witnessed the attacks, as they had been observing the Pope’s Angelus prayer.
• On Jan. 27, 1944, following the loss of hundreds of thousands of Russian lives, the siege of Leningrad was finally broken after 872 days, during which German forces had allowed no food or medical supplies to enter the country.
• On Jan. 28, 1917, U.S. forces gave up searching for Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa after nearly a year, following his massacre of 16 American citizens at Santa Isabel in northern Mexico and another 17 U.S. citizens in Columbus, New Mexico. President Woodrow Wilson had sent U.S. forces into Mexico with orders to capture Villa dead or alive.

© 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.