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This Day in History: January 28

A couple of accounts on this day in history have already been covered: Remembering the Challenger and the Blizzard of '77: The White Death. As with most any day, not just one occurrence is recorded in the annals of history. Here are just a few more...not all, keep in mind...just a few more to feed your brain and enhance your knowledge.

1878 - The first telephone switchboard was installed in New Haven, CT.

Casson, Herbert N.
The History of the Telephone

The first Bell telephone company started in 1878. This is now known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), which was incorporated in 1885. Early telephones were leased in pairs to subscribers. The subscriber was required to put up his own line to connect with another.

Erna Schneider Hoover began working for Bell Labs in 1945 and in 1971 patented the first computerized telephone exchange. The clumsiness in design has come a long way since the first exchange was installed.

Bit of Telephone Trivia: Alexander Graham Bell by all historical accounts is credited with being the inventor of the telephone. There were actually two inventors and both men rushed their respective designs to the patent office within hours of each other. One was Bell and the other, Elisha Gray. Alexander Graham Bell got there first thereby patenting his telephone. A famous battle ensued over the telephone's invention. Bell won. 

1878 - "The Yale News" was published for the first time. It was the first, daily, collegiate newspaper in the U.S.
 
The Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. The newspaper's first editors wrote:

The innovation which we we begin by this morning's issue is justified by the dullness of the times, and the demand for news among us.

Carnegie Institution for Science

1902 - The Carnegie Institution was established in Washington, DC. It began with a gift of $10 million from Andrew Carnegie. 

"It is proposed to found in the city of Washington, an institution which...shall in the broadest and most liberal manner encourage investigation, research, and discovery [and] show the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind..." — Andrew Carnegie, January 28, 1902

1909 - The United States ended direct control over Cuba. 

Following the election of José Miguel Gómez, in November 1908, Cuba was deemed stable enough to allow a withdrawal of American troops, which was completed in February 1909.

1915 - The United States Coast Guard was created by an act of the U.S. Congress to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea. 

The legal basis for the Coast Guard is Title 14 of the United States Code, which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." Upon the declaration of war or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates under the authority of the Department of the Navy.

For over two centuries the U.S. Coast Guard has safeguarded our Nation’s maritime interests in the heartland, in the ports, at sea, and around the globe. We protect the maritime economy and the environment, we defend our maritime borders, and we save those in peril. This history has forged our character and purpose as America’s Maritime Guardian — Always Ready for all hazards and all threats.

Today’s U.S. Coast Guard, with nearly 42,000 men and women on active duty, is a unique force that carries out an array of civil and military responsibilities touching almost every facet of the U.S. maritime environment.

The Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready." Source: United States Coast Guard