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Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. Often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", Presley began his career in 1954 and became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll in the late 1950s. Conscripted in 1958, he relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. In 1968, he returned to live performance in a television special that led to an extended Las Vegas residency and a string of tours. In 1973, he staged the first concert broadcast globally via satellite, seen by around 1.5 billion viewers. Prescription drug abuse severely affected his health, and he died suddenly in 1977. With wide success in many musical genres, Presley is one of the best-selling solo artists in the history of popular music. He won three Grammys, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the age of 36. (Full article...)

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Remnants of the Onekaka Wharf

... that painter Doris Lusk chose the Onekaka Wharf (remnants pictured) as her main subject for five years?
... that Josie Childs served as a Chicago mayor's assistant, worked as a campaign organizer for three U.S. presidents, and hosted the British queen?
... that Kenshi Yonezu's song "Dune" describes his perception of a "desert-like atmosphere" on the video-sharing website Niconico?
... that Haliey Welch earned more than $65,000 within weeks of hawk tuah going viral?
... that Mauritius's abortion law was "dormant for nearly two centuries"?
... that the first women's dormitory built at Hampton University was partially paid for with money collected by the school's choir in tours led by Thomas P. Fenner?
... that hefker, unowned property in Talmudic law, came to express both personal freedom and societal abandonment in 20th-century Yiddish poetry?
... that NFL player Darrell Hogan watched Gunsmoke every day?
... that players play Pokémon Smile by brushing their teeth?

In the news (For today)

Luke Littler

Luke Littler (pictured) wins the PDC World Darts Championship.
A spree shooter in Cetinje, Montenegro, kills 12 people and injures 4 others.
Romania and Bulgaria become full members of the Schengen Area.
In New Orleans, an attacker rams a truck into a crowd and opens fire, killing at least 14 people and injuring 35 others.

In two days

January 8

Blackstone Library

1697 – Scottish student Thomas Aikenhead became the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
1904 – Blackstone Library (pictured), the first branch of the Chicago Public Library system, was dedicated.
1977 – Three bombs attributed to Armenian nationalists exploded across Moscow, killing seven people and injuring 37 people.
1981 – In Trans-en-Provence, France, a local farmer reported a UFO sighting claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".
2011 – Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a public meeting held by U.S. representative Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, killing six people and injuring twelve others.

Prince Albert Victor (b. 1864)
Mary Arthur McElroy (d. 1917)
Joseph Franklin Rutherford (d. 1942)
T. J. Hamblin (d. 2012)

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Featured picture (Check back later for the day after tomorrow's.)

The golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family, Picidae. It is found in the southern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America. It inhabits mesic and xeric landscapes, including mesquite brushlands and riparian woodlands. It can also be found in urban parks and suburban areas. Males and females have the same plumage except for the pattern on their heads. Adult males have a red crown and a golden orange to yellow nape with a gap between them; females have a grayish crown and a paler yellow nape. The golden-fronted woodpecker has a diet of adult and larval arthropods, some aerial insects, fruit, nuts and corn, as well as occasionally eating other birds' eggs. The bird has a loud call and a short, slow drumming pattern. This male golden-fronted woodpecker was photographed perching on a branch in Copán, Honduras.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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