What Happened on January 29?

January 29 is National Puzzle Day — time to flex your brain! It's also the day Karl Benz patented the first automobile and Edgar Allan Poe published his most famous poem about a mysterious raven.

• 1845 — Poe's 'The Raven' appears in print — 'Nevermore' goes viral

  The New York Evening Mirror printed Poe's spooky masterpiece about a grieving man and a talking bird, making the author famous almost overnight. Read the full story →

• 1861 — Kansas joins the Union as the 34th state

  After a violent decade called 'Bleeding Kansas,' in which settlers fought over whether the territory would allow slavery, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. Read the full story →

• 1886 — Karl Benz patents the first true automobile

  German engineer Karl Benz applied for Patent No. 37435 for his three-wheeled, gasoline-powered Motorwagen — often called the automobile's birth certificate. Read the full story →

• 1936 — Baseball elects its first Hall of Fame class

  Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson were voted into the brand-new Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) · Oprah Winfrey (1954) · Heather Graham (1970)

Days & observances

National Puzzle Day · Kansas Day · National Corn Chip Day