04
Louis Braille (1809-1852): French. Educator. Blinded in an accident at the age of three, Braille attended the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles (Nations Institute for Blind Youth) in Paris on a scholarship and began teaching there in 1826. While still a student he became interested in a form of writing that used raised dots to encode a message. He developed this idea into a complete writing system that bears his name, a series of arrangements of six dots. Braille's writing system, published in 1829, has become the most widely used form of writing for the blind.

04
Cyril Lionel Robert James (1901-1989): Trinidadian. Historian, literary critic, and philosopher. The writings of C.L.R. James include one of the first novels written in English in the West Indies (Minty Alley, 1927), but James' most significant achievements were as a leader of the Pan-African movement. In his writings (World Revolution, 1937, A History of Negro Revolt, for example) and in his work as a teacher in England, the United States, and his native Trinidad, he articulated and encouraged the aspirations of African peoples for freedom from colonial rule. Eric Williams of Trinidad and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana were among the many political leaders influenced by James' thought.

04
Elizabeth Ann B. Seton Feast Day : Roman Catholic. This feast honors the first American-born saint and founder of the American Sisters of Charity, the first American order of Roman Catholic nuns.

05
Alvin Ailey (1931-1989): African American. Dancer and Choreographer. As founder, director, and principal choreographer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (established in 1958), Alvin Ailey blended elements of classical ballet, Afro-Caribbean dance, jazz, and modern dance. He received his greatest acclaim for works that vividly and eloquently evoked the historical experience of African Americans, including the exuberant ensemble piece Revelations, with a score drawn from spirituals. Tours sponsored by the State Department brought Ailey's company an international following.

05
George Washington Carver (1864-1943): African American. Scientist. This day marks the anniversary of Carver's death. As director of the department of agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama from 1896, Culver developed hundreds of new uses for common agricultural products, including the peanut, sweet potato, and soybean. His research provided the foundation for the change in the economy of the South from dependence on a single crop (cotton) to a more diversified base.

05
Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Birthday (1666-1708): Sikh. This celebrates the birth of the Sikhs' tenth great master and teacher, who sought to abolish the caste system in India by creating a single community. The Sikh religious order has decided that beginning in 1999 the Nanakshahi calendar would be aligned with the Gregorian calendar. This change results in Guru Gobind Singh Ji's birthday being celebrated on this date in 2001. However, some members of the Sikh community may continue to observe this birthday according to the Bikarami calendar, which defines the date as January 2.

06
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) : African American. Author and folklorist. Hurston spent years collecting folklore among the Black people of the rural South and celebrated their culture in her stories and novels. Her best known work is the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Born in the all black town of Eatonville, Florida, she left Eatonville in 1917 to attend Morgan Academy in Baltimore, where she completed high school. She then attended Howard Prep School and Howard University and earned an associate's degree. She completed her undergraduate education at Bernard College and studied under the well-known anthropologist Franz Boas. While in New York, Hurston became a part of the Harlem Renaissance literary circle that included Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman, and Jessie Fauset. She became well known not only for her writing, but also for her outspokenness, her distinctive way of dress, and her refusal to be ashamed of her culture. Hurston was a pioneer in the study of African American folklore. For her folklore writing, she traveled down South to the Caribbean and Latin America. Her most active years were the 1930s and early 1940s. During that time she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, joined the Federal Writers Project in Florida, Published four novels and an autobiography, and worked as a story consultant for Paramount Pictures. Since 1989, there has been an annual festival in her honor in Eatonville. For more information, contact The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc., 227 East Kennedy Blvd., Eatonville, FL 32751, Tel. No. 4076473307 or the web site at www.longwood.cs.ucf.edu.

06
Christmas: Armenian Apostolic Church. As part of the Orthodox Christian movement, Armenians celebrate Christmas on this day.

06
Epiphany: Christian. This is also known as Little Christmas and Twelfth Day. It commemorates the visit of the three Kings, Magi, to the infant Jesus.

06
Three Kings Day (Dia de los Tres Magos) :Puerto Rico. This traditional holiday corresponds to the Christian Feast of Epiphany. It commemorates the arrival in Bethlehem of the three kings, or Magi. Traditionally, Children leave straw or grass under their beds and find a gift in its place in the morning.

07
Christmas: Coptic Orthodox Christian and Eastern Orthodox Christian. Christmas is celebrated on this date, set according to the Julian calendar, by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and several Eastern Orthodox Christian communities (e.g., Russian Orthodox Christians).

08
Coming of Age Day (Seijin No Hi) Japan. This public holiday celebrates the coming of age of everyone who turned 20 in the past year. Those who reached age 20 in the past year gather at public halls for commemorative ceremonies.

10
Carlo Tresca (c. 1882-1943) : Italian American. Journalist and human rights activist. Tresca was a lifelong crusader for social and economic justice and individual rights. After his opposition to the powerful political leader of his southern Italian town brought him a conviction for libel, he fled to the United States, where he continued to speak out as editor of radical Italian newspapers, first in Philadelphia and then in New York. Gentle and courtly in person, Tresca was an out-spoken foe of Fascism in Germany and Italy and of Communism in the Soviet Union. He was assassinated by an unknown gunman on this date in 1943.

10
Dean Dixon (1915-1976): African American. Orchestra conductor. Although recognized as one of the finest American conductors of his generation Dixon was blocked by racial prejudice from obtaining a regular conducting position in the United States. He spent much of his professional life in Europe, where he conducted nearly every major orchestra on the continent and served as principal conductor of the Goteborg (Sweden) Symphony and later of the Hessian Radio Symphony in Frankfurt, Germany.

11
Eugenio Maria de Hostos (1839-1903) : Puerto Rico. Educator, writer, and patriot. A distinguished scholar and a writer of works ranging from treatises on law to children's stories, Eugenio Maria de Hostos spent most of his life in exile, working as a university teacher and leading educational reform efforts in the Dominican Republic and Chile. He traveled widely to promote cooperation among Latin American countries and advocate freedom for Puerto Rico and Cuba.

11
National Unity Day: Nepal. This celebration pays homage to King Prithvinarayan Shah (1723-1775), founder of the present house of rulers of Nepal and creator of today's unified Nepal.