Benjamin Williams (born 1836)

In 1836, in the year that Benjamin Williams was born, on October 22nd, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first elected President of the Republic of Texas, which was formed in 1836 as a result of Texas' independence from Mexico. He served two years, per the Texas Constitution - subsequent Presidents could serve three years.

In 1877, on July 14th, strikes and resulting riots began at the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad. A sympathy strike and rioting began in Pittsburgh and a worker's rebellion began in St. Louis, then spread to other cities. 100 people were killed before the strikes ended when President Rutherford B. Hayes sent federal troops to each of the cities involved.

In 1920, on January 1, over 6000 people were arrested and put in prison because they were suspected of being communists. . Many had to be released in a few weeks and only 3 guns were found in their homes. The U.S. Department of Justice "red hunt" netted thousands of "radicals" and suspected "communists" and aliens were deported. But the "hunt" ended after Attorney General Palmer forecast a massive radical uprising on May Day and the day passed without incident.

In 1950, on October 2, Charlie Brown appeared in the first Peanuts comic strip - created by Charles Schultz - and he was the only character in that strip. That year, Schultz said that Charlie was 4 years old, but Charlie aged a bit through the years.

In 1985, on March 7th, the song "We Are the World" was released as a charity effort to alleviate the African famine. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones. They were joined by 37 other famous singers in the recording studio and a phenomena had begun