Moments in Time: Mariana Trench
The History Channel
On Jan. 19, 1977, First Lady and ERA supporter Betty Ford, on a whim and on her final day as a resident of the White House, jumped on the Cabinet Room table and struck a pose. At that time, just three women had ever sat at that table as presidential cabinet members.
On Jan. 20, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld, who in 1975 was America's youngest Secretary of Defense at age 43 when he served under Gerald Ford, became the oldest Secretary of Defense when he was appointed to that job 26 years later by George W. Bush.
On Jan. 21, 2009, after more than 70 years as the world's largest automaker, General Motors finally lost the title when it announced worldwide sales of 8.36 million cars and trucks in 2008, compared with Toyota's 8.97 million vehicle sales that same year.
On Jan. 22, 1779, famed Tory outlaw Claudius Smith met his maker at the end of a rope in Goshen, New York, giving patriot civilians of the American Revolution hope for relief from guerrilla warfare in upstate New York.
On Jan. 23, 1960, the first two humans to reach the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench descended 36,000 feet in a submersible to the deepest part of the ocean -- more than a mile deeper than the height of Mt. Everest -- fortified with 15 chocolate bars for the trip.
On Jan. 24, 1922, Christian K. Nelson was inspired by a boy who came into his confectionery shop and couldn't decide between chocolate and ice cream. He combined the sweet treats and received a patent for the Eskimo bar, originally marketed as the "I-Scream" bar.
On Jan. 25, 1968, the Israeli submarine Dakar, carrying 69 sailors, disappeared. Built at the peak of World War II in Great Britain and commissioned by the British navy in 1943, it would remain missing until its wreckage was finally located in 1999 between the islands of Cyprus and Crete at a depth of some 9,800 feet. While there was speculation that the submarine was deliberately sunk, the exact cause remains unclear.
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