United States Surgeon General Luther Terry knew his report was a bombshell. He intentionally chose to release it on January 11, 1964, a Saturday, so as to limit its immediate effects on the stock market. It was on this date that, on behalf of the U.S. Government, Terry announced a definitive link between smoking and cancer.

The link had long been suspected. Anecdotal evidence had always pointed to negative health effects from smoking, and by the 1930s physicians were noticing an increase in lung cancer cases. The first medical studies that raised serious concerns were published in Great Britain in the late 1940s. 

Source: history.com

1569 – England’s first state lottery was held.

1770 – The first shipment of rhubarb was sent to the United States from London.

1805 – The Michigan Territory was created.

1861 – Alabama seceded from the United States.

1867 – Benito Juarez returned to the Mexican presidency, following the withdrawal of French troops and the execution of Emperor Maximilian.

1878 – In New York, milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time by Alexander Campbell.

1902 – “Popular Mechanics” magazine was published for the first time.

1913 – The first sedan-type car was unveiled at the National Automobile Show in New York City. The car was manufactured by the Hudson Motor Company.

1922 – At Toronto General Hospital, Leonard Thompson became the first person to be successfully treated with insulin.

1935 – Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

1938 – In Limerick, ME, Frances Moulton assumed her duties as the first woman bank president.

1942 – Japan declared war against the Netherlands. The same day, Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies.

1943 – The United States and Britain signed treaties relinquishing extraterritorial rights in China.

1947 – “Murder and Mrs. Malone” debuted on ABC radio.

1958 – “Seahunt” debuted on CBS-TV. The show was aired on the network for four years.

1964 – U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report that said that smoking cigarettes was a definite health hazard.

1973 – The Open University awarded its first degrees.

1973 – Owners of American League baseball teams voted to adopt the designated-hitter rule on a trial basis.

1977 – France released Abu Daoud, a Palestinian suspected of involvement in the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

1978 – Two Soviet cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 27 capsule linked up with the Salyut 6 orbiting space station, where the Soyuz 26 capsule was already docked.

1980 – Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton in Britain, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess.

1986 – Author James Clavell signed a 5$ million deal with Morrow/Avon Publishing for the book “Whirlwind”. The book is a 2,000 page novel.

1988 – U.S. Vice President George Bush met with representatives of independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh to answer questions about the Iran-Contra affair.

1991 – An auction of silver and paintings that had been acquired by the late Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, brought in a total of $20.29 million at Christie’s in New York.

1996 – Ryutaro Hashimoto become Japan’s prime minister. He replaced Tomiichi Murayama who had resigned on January 5, 1996.

2000 – The merger between AOL and Time Warner was approved by the U.S. government with restrictions.

2000 – The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the second Vietnam Veterans Memorial commemorative stamp in a ceremony at The Wall.

2001 – The Texas Board of Criminal Justice released a review of the escape of the “Texas 7.” It stated that prison staff missed critical opportunities to prevent the escape by ignoring a fire alarm, not reporting unsupervised inmates and not demanding proper identification from inmates.

2001 – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.

on-this-day.com

January 10, 1973: Hunt to Burglars: White House Will Take Care of Families If They Plead Guilty, Remain Quiet

E. Howard Hunt, the leader of the seven Watergate burglars (see 2:30 a.m.June 17, 1972) currently on trial, tells fellow burglars Frank Sturgis, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, and Bernard Barker (sometimes called the “Cubans”) that if they plead guilty and keep their mouths shut, the White House will financially take care of their families. Hunt will plead guilty the next day; the others will plead guilty days later (see January 8-11, 1973). [Spartacus Schoolnet, 8/2007] Hunt has been pressuring the White House for executive clemency—in essence, a presidential pardon—for himself in return for his and the burglars’ guilty pleas and subsequent silence. [Reeves, 2001, pp. 557-558] Watergate burglar Bernard Barker will write of the decision to plead guilty in October 1974. He will recall Hunt as being thoroughly demoralized by the death of his wife Dorothy (see December 8, 1972), and telling Barker, “Well, you do what you want, but I am going to plead guilty.” When Barker asks why, Hunt replies: “We have no defense. The evidence against us is overwhelming.” Barker asks, “What about Liddy and McCord?” asking about the two accused burglars, G. Gordon Liddy and James McCord, who are being tried separately. Hunt replies: “Liddy and McCord are in a different sector. We are in one sector and they are in another. They have their own plan.” Barker then asks the Cubans’ lawyer, Henry Rothblatt, what his strategy is. Rothblatt confirms that they have no defense against the charges (see Early January, 1973), but he intends to “aggravate that Judge Sirica [John Sirica, presiding over the trial] to the point where I am going to drive him out of his cotton-pickin’ mind, and he is going to make so many mistakes with his arrogance that this will be a perfect case for appeal.” Unimpressed, Barker says he will follow Hunt’s lead and plead guilty. Rothblatt insists that Barker not trust Hunt and the others, saying: “They are a bunch of b_stards. They’ll double-cross you. They’ll sell you down the river.” Nevertheless, Barker and the other three burglars agree to follow Hunt’s lead and plead guilty. Rothblatt resigns from the case. Apparently, Barker is unaware at this time of Hunt’s negotiations with the White House for executive clemency for himself. [Harper’s, 10/1974]
Entity Tags: Henry Rothblatt, E. Howard Hunt, Dorothy Hunt, Bernard Barker, Eugenio Martinez, G. Gordon Liddy, John Sirica, Virgilio Gonzalez, James McCord, Frank Sturgis, Nixon administration
Timeline Tags: Nixon and Watergate

source: historycommons.org