MOMENTS IN TIME - Jan. 7, 2010

The History Channel

* On Jan. 18, 1778, English explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu. He named the island group the Sandwich Islands, in honor of John Montague, the earl of Sandwich.

* On Jan. 21, 1789, “The Power of Sympathy: Or, the Triumph of Nature. Founded in Truth” is printed in Boston. The book was the first novel by an American writer to be published in America. The first editions of the book did not carry the author’s name, but it was later attributed to William Hill Brown.

* On Jan. 24, 1927, you...