Every date tells a story, and January 7 is rich with chapters of breakthroughs and human creativity. It is a date marked by scientific breakthroughs, financial foundations, artistic triumphs, and moments that have stirred global conversation.
In this edition of Today in History, News Round The Clock (NRTC) highlights the breakthroughs and turning points that make January 7 a day worth remembering.
1610- Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter
On January 7, 1610, Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer discovered four moons orbiting planet Jupiter. He used a homemade telescope for this. Originally, he thought there were three of them but he confirmed them to be four in number. Looking at what he thought were a group of stars, he realized they moved in a regular pattern. Today, those four moons are named the Galilean moons in honour of Galileo. They are: lo, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
1782- First US Commercial Bank
The Bank of North America opened as the first US commercial bank in Philadelphia on January 7, 1782. Leaders established it to stabilize the huge financial crisis during the American Revolution of the 1770s. In 1781, the Continental Congress passed legislation authorizing the creation of the bank under Robert Morris’ stewardship. Government funds and a loan from France largely financed the Bank of North America, with private investors providing some additional financing.
1990- Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public
The Leaning Tower of Pisa closed to the public 36 years ago after officials saw it leaning too far. The top of the tower displaced horizontally 5.5 metres from where it would stand if vertical. Engineers corrected the angle of the lean by removing soil from underneath the raised end and resituating the tower. After a decade of stabilization, officials reopened the tower to the public on December 15, 2001.
ALSO READ:
2003- 50 Cent’s In Da Club
American rapper 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” was released on January 7, 2003. It was the lead single of his album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The song became a massive commercial success and is widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. ‘In Da Club’ has also surpassed 2 billion streams on Spotify, a feat accomplished by fewer than 300 songs all time.
2012- Blue Ivy celebrates 14!
Today marks the 14th birthday of Beyonce’s eldest child with Jay-Z, Blue Ivy Carter. Barely hours old, she climbed the Billboard charts after Jay-Z sampled her cries for his song, “Glory”. At just 14, Blue Ivy has made history, danced on global tours and sang on hit records.
2013- Messi wins Ballon d’Or four times in a row
The then 25-year old Lionel Messi won the FIFA Player of the Year award for the fourth time in a row, being the first ever to achieve this. This is following his record breaking 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina. He won the Ballon d’Or after he beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta to the world crown.
2021- Elon Musk becomes world’s richest person
On January 7, 2021, Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, became the world’s richest person. According to the Bloomberg billionaires index, a 4.8% rise in Tesla’s share price was enough to push Musk into the top spot. His net worth rose to $186bn, making him $1.5bn richer than Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
2021- Facebook blocks Trump
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg suspended Donald Trump from Facebook and Instagram on January 7, 2021. This follows rioters storming the US Capitol after officials declared Joe Biden president-elect. Mark accused the US president of undermining the peaceful transition of power. He had shared two posts on the platform in which he appeared to praise the actions of the rioters. The block, which Facebook initially planned for 24 hours, was later extended indefinitely until the peaceful transition of power was complete.
2022- First successful transplant of a pig’s heart into a human
On January 7, 2022, the XenoHeart team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine performed the world’s first successful pig-to-human cardiac xenotransplant. The recipient, 57-year-old David Bernett Sr., was ineligible for a human heart transplant due to his severe heart failure. He received a pig heart with 10 gene modifications to reduce immune rejection and prevent organ overgrowth. The surgery took about eight hours to complete. The US Food and Drug Administration granted special permission for this case.
