On January 10, 1776 Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine but published anonymously, appeared in Philadelphia and quickly spread throughout the Thirteen Colonies. In the pamphlet Paine clearly laid out the rationale for American independence fromGreat Britain.

Image via Wikimedia Commons public domain in the US

The Light Guard Ball at the Academy of Music, on the evening of January 10, 1860. Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions

American Civil War Veteran, Arctic Explorer and naval innovator George W. Melville was born on January 10, 1841 in New York City. Melville became Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering in the US Navy in 1887 and introduced numerous vessels with advanced propulsion systems which modernized the Navy’s fleet. Image c. 1905 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On January 10, 1812, the first steamboat to successfully navigate the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers arrived in New Orleans. Image from rrafson via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

By early 1926 the Charleston dance craze was sweeping the nation. On January 10 of that year Dorothea Richmond of Seattle thought that artillery horse George, assigned to nearby Fort Lawton, would be an apt pupil. It appears that George had another talent in addition to pulling cannons!Image from Seattle Museum of History and Industry via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

American poet Robinson Jeffers (shown) was born on January 10, 1887 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. After moving to California he built this stone structure that you see called Hawk Tower (which took four years) that was an addition to Tor House at Carmel-by-the-Sea in California. After apprenticing with a contractor during the first year of construction of Tor House, Jeffers continued to use ropes and horses to haul large rocks from the shore below to build the structure. The property and its surroundings served as an inspiration for Jeffers’ poetry.Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

January 10 is an oily day is American history. On that day in 1870 John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil. On January 10, 1901 the first significant oil strike, the Lucas gusher was discovered at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont, Texas.Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

“The venerable Franklin, then in his eighty-second year, determined, at the expiration of his term as President of the Council, to withdraw altogether from public employments. In casting about for a successor to so illustrious a man, none seemed more worthy than the soldier who, during the War of the Revolution, had been among the most able and devoted in the country’s service. The choice fell upon Thomas Mifflin, and it is a distinction which he enjoys above all others who have been elevated to the enviable position of Chief Executive of the Commonwealth, both before and since, that he for the longest period exercised this power, having been two years President of the Council, and for three terms Governor, an aggregate of eleven years. Thomas Mifflin was descended from one of the earliest settlers in Pennsylvania, and was born in Philadelphia, (on January 10) in 1744…”From: Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania by William C. Armor, published in 1874Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin – Sarah Morris & Thomas Mifflin by JS Copley, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

“The “Silent Sentinels” – women who wanted the right to vote – began organized protests outside the White House on January 10, 1917. Some of the suffragists were arrested and passersby often shouted abuse. The efforts of The Sentinels and many other Americans resulted in women gaining the right to vote in August, 1920.Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mrs. John N. Garner at a luncheon of the Senate Ladies Club on January 10, 1939.Image via LOC, no known restrictions

American actor Ray Bolger, who played the role of the Scarecrow in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” was born on January 10, 1904 in Boston, Massachusetts. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American musician Jim Croce was born on January 10, 1943 in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Image via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions

Thirty years after becoming an American Citizen in 1941, Alistair Cooke introduces a new TV series called Masterpiece Theatre which aired for the first time on January 10, 1971. While the series features a multitude of British dramas, it actually originated in America.Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American Forces on horseback in Maÿen, Germany in 1920, a few years after Armistice.American troops remained in Germany in the years following WWI until they were recalled on January 10, 1923.Image via Library of Congress, no known restrictions.

American pro boxer and World Heavyweight Champion, Joe Louis, enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 10, 1942.Image of Joe in 1941 via Wikimedia Commons, no known restrictions