Today in history

Today is Thursday, January 25, the 25th day of 2018 and the 36th day of winter.

On this date in the SCV: In 1934, The Signal reported that 10 or 12 officers were found necessary to curb the speeding on the great grade, 8 miles long, coming down Violin Canyon into Soledad Township.

They issued many tickets to motorists who did not understand why they could not come down as fast as they wanted to, not knowing of the many deaths that had taken place when there had been no restraint, nor of the terrible crash in which five trucks were destroyed and four men lost their lives. When they came to Newhall for trial they got a grudge against the town, passing around the word around that Newhall was a terrible town and that motorists suffered, when as a matter of fact, it was outside people and outside motorists who clamored for protection on the beautiful but deadly road.

Today’s Highlights in History:

In 1533, King Henry VIII of England secretly

married Anne Boleyn. In 1787, Shays’ Rebellion forces failed in an attempt to overtake the U.S. arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell made the first transcontinental telephone call from New York to San Francisco. In 1961, a few days after his inauguration, President John F. Kennedy held the first televised presidential news conference. In 2004, NASA’s Opportunity rover landed on the surface of Mars.

Today’s fact: The Mars Opportunity rover continues to make scientific observations and report back to Earth in 2018, more than 13 years beyond the duration of activity for which it was designed.

Today’s sports: In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games began in Chamonix, France.

Today’s number: 6 – wives of King Henry VIII. He ordered two, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, executed by beheading.

Today’s moon: Between first quarter moon (Jan. 24) and full moon (Jan. 31).