What Happened on January 11?

January 11 is National Milk Day, celebrating the first milk delivered in glass bottles in 1878. It is also the day a 14-year-old became the first person to receive insulin, and the day Teddy Roosevelt protected the Grand Canyon.

• 1878 — Milk is delivered in sealed glass bottles for the first time

  Alexander Campbell of the New York Dairy Company began delivering fresh milk in clean, sealed glass pint bottles instead of open buckets — a big step forward for food safety. Read the full story →

• 1908 — Theodore Roosevelt protects the Grand Canyon as a national monument

  President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed more than 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon a national monument, keeping the giant gorge safe from development. Read the full story →

• 1922 — 14-year-old Leonard Thompson receives the first insulin injection

  At Toronto General Hospital, teenager Leonard Thompson became the first person with diabetes to receive an insulin injection — the start of a treatment that has saved millions of lives. Read the full story →

• 1964 — Surgeon General's landmark report links smoking to lung cancer

  U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report concluding that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, changing public health forever. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804) · Naomi Judd (1946–2022)

Days & observances

National Milk Day · National Human Trafficking Awareness Day · Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day