January 12, 2020
Day 12 of 366

 

January 12th is the twelfth day of the year. It is National Youth Day in India and Memorial Day in Turkmenistan.

In the United States, it is “celebrated” as National Curried Chicken Day, National Kiss a Ginger Day, National Marzipan Day, National Pharmacist Day, and National Sunday Supper Day. The last one typically occurs on the second Sunday in January.

 

Historical items of note:

• In 1866, the Royal Aeronautical Society was formed in London.
• In 1876, American novelist and journalist Jack London was born.
• In 1895, the National Trust was founded in the United Kingdom.
• In 1908, a long-distance radio message was sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
• In 1930, Tim Horton was born. A Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, he was the founder of the Tim Horton’s coffee chain.
• In 1932, Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
• In 1958, journalist Christiane Amanpour was born.
• In 1966, Batman debuted on ABC.
• In 1967, Dr. James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically preserved. He remains preserved at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation with the intent of future resuscitation.
• In 2004, RMS Queen Mary 2 made its maiden voyage. It is the world’s largest ocean liner.

 

In 1962, Joe Quesada was born. He was the editor-in-chief of Marvel Entertainment from 2000 to 2011 before being promoted to Chief Creative Officer.

Quesada was born in New York City to Cuban-born parents. The first comic book of which he was an ardent fan was The Amazing Spider-Man. He graduated with a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in 1984 and began working with DC Comics in 1990. He worked on Ninjak, Solar, and Man of the Atom at Valiant Comics, and co-created the updated Ray and Azrael with DC Comics.

In 1998, he worked on the Marvel Knights line, including Daredevil, Punisher, The Inhumans, and Black Panther. Two and a half years later, he moved up to editor-in-chief and helped to establish the Ultimate line which appealed to new readers by stepping outside of continuity. He moved to the Chief Creative Officer role in June 2010, becoming a prominent member of the Marvel Studios Creative Committee. This also included creative oversight over Marvel’s various divisions.

In 2019, Quesada took the role of Marvel Entertainment’s Executive Vice President and Creative Director.

 

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.