What Happened on January 12?

January 12 is National Hot Tea Day, a cozy celebration of the world's second-favorite drink. It is also the day America elected its first woman senator and a famous snowstorm taught the Great Plains hard lessons.

• 1888 — The Schoolchildren's Blizzard strikes the Great Plains without warning

  A warm January morning turned deadly when an Arctic cold front exploded into a blizzard, trapping schoolchildren on the open plains; about 235 people died. Read the full story →

• 1932 — Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate

  Arkansas's Hattie Wyatt Caraway won a special election, becoming the first woman ever elected to the United States Senate. Read the full story →

• 1971 — 'All in the Family' premieres and changes television comedy

  CBS aired the first episode of Norman Lear's groundbreaking sitcom, which dared to make TV comedy talk honestly about real arguments families actually have. Read the full story →

• 2010 — Deadly magnitude-7.0 earthquake devastates Haiti

  A massive earthquake struck near Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, killing hundreds of thousands and triggering one of history's biggest relief efforts. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

John Hancock (1737–1793) · Jack London (1876–1916) · Howard Stern (1954)

Days & observances

National Hot Tea Day · Kiss a Ginger Day · National Marzipan Day