What Happened on January 7?

January 7 is when Galileo first spotted little 'stars' near Jupiter — they turned out to be moons, changing astronomy forever!

1610 — Galileo discovers three moons of Jupiter

Pointing his homemade telescope at Jupiter, Galileo saw three bright 'stars' in a perfect line — stars that moved. They were moons, the first ever seen orbiting another planet. Read the full story →
1785 — First balloon flight across the English Channel

Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries floated from Dover to France in a hydrogen balloon — then had to throw everything overboard, even their trousers, to stay airborne. Read the full story →
1927 — First commercial transatlantic telephone call

'New York talked to London today.' A five-minute call full of static connected two continents by radio — at $75 for just three minutes. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Millard Fillmore (1800–1874) · Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)

National Tempura Day