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Helen Haje (1929?-1998) :Arab American. Public relations activist. Sometimes referred to as the mother of Arab American organizations in the United States, this daughter of Lebanese immigrants grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The mother of three children, Haje left Altoona in the early 1940s after her husband died and moved to Washington, D. C., to work for Catholic Charities. Becoming increasingly concerned about the negative image of Arabs among the American public, in 1972 she joined the National Association of Arab Americans, the first political Arab American organization, as its first executive secretary. She continued her work to champion Arab American interests in the United States until her death.

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Mordecai Johnson (1890-1976): African American. University president. In 1926 this 36 year-old Baptist minister became the first African American president of Howard University in Washington D.C. The 30 years of his presidency saw the transformation of the institution to a distinguished university with a faculty tripled in size, a law school distinguished for its leadership in the field of civil rights, and a multi-million dollar campus. Johnson also served on numerous government commissions and advisory boards.

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Jose Limon (1908-1972) : Mexican American. Dancer and choreographer. Soon after his debut as a performer with Doris Humphrey's modern dance troupe, Limon began creating his own dances, many of them drawing on the traditional dances he had seen as a boy in Mexico. His greatest works, including The Moor's Pavane, based on Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, are distinguished for their combination of emotional expressiveness and formal elegance. Limon's dance troupe was the first to be sent abroad on a tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's cultural exchange program.

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Ernestine Potowski -Rose (1810-1892) : Polish American. Orator and political activist . After immigrating to the United States in 1836, Potowski-Rose gave her energies to the economic emancipation of women, the abolition of slavery, and the improvement of conditions for working people. Her first political success was her leadership of the 12-year campaign to secure property rights for married women in New York State. Her efforts led to the state legislature's passage in 1848 of the Married Women's Property Act, the first law in the United States to give married women the right to control their own property and share legal guardianship of their children.

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Charlotte Ray (1850-1911) : African American. Lawyer. While working as a teacher in the teacher-training program at Howard University, Charlotte Ray began studying in that university's law department. Soon after her graduation in 1872 she was admitted to the District of Columbia bar, becoming the first African American woman lawyer in the United States and the first woman to practice in the District of Columbia. Although she was admired by colleagues, she had to give up active practice when the prevailing prejudices of the day made it impossible for her to obtain sufficient legal business.

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John Dos Passos (1898-1976) ; Portuguese American. Writer. An important novelist of the period between the two world wars, Dos Passos is best known for his trilogy U.S.A. (1930-1936), a set of three novels in which he depicted the United States as two nations one of the privileged and one of the powerless.

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Carlos P. Romulo (1899-1985): Filipino. Diplomat, author, and educator. After an early career in journalism, Romulo received a commission in the U.S. Army when the United States entered the World War II. He spent the war working on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur and in the Philippine government in exile in Washington, and participated in the liberation of Manila in early 1945. For the remainder of his career he served in diplomatic positions: as representative to the United Nations, ambassador to the United States, secretary of foreign affairs, minister of education, and president of the University of the Philippines. He also wrote a number of books on the history and public affairs.

14
New Year: Eastern Orthodox Christian. This date marks the observance of New Years Day according to the Julian calendar by several Eastern Orthodox Christian Churches.

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Ruhiyyih Rabbani (1910-1969): Baha'i. Religious Leader. Ruhiyyih Rabbani became a prominent leader of the Baha'i faith after the death of her husband, Soghi Effendi Rabbani, the last official leader of the faith. Since his death, the Baha'is have been governed by a legislature. Rabbani was a member of the nine hands who oversaw the affairs of the Baha'i community and interpreted matters of faith. This is the day of her death.

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Hiram Revels (1822-1901): African American. Legislator and university president. In 1870 Revels became the first African American elected to the United States Senate when he was chosen to fill the Mississippi seat vacated by Jefferson Davis. After serving his term in the Senate, he became president of Alcorn University in Mississippi. He died on this date.

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day: United States . National observance of Dr. King's birthday.

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Pablo Manlapit (1891-1969): Filipino. Labor leader. A worker who came to Hawaii at the age of 19 to work on sugar plantations, Manlapit was discharged from his first job for involvement in labor organizing. While working as a janitor in a law office, he studied for a law degree, eventually becoming the first Filipino to pass the bar examination in Hawaii. Rather than practicing law, he resumed his efforts to organize unions that would press the powerful Hawaiian Sugar planters Association (HSPA) for improvements in the harsh living and working conditions of laborers, most of them Filipino and Japanese. Manlapit succeeded in building a united movement, but the HSPA repeatedly thwarted the workers' efforts, breaking strikes and using the resulting violence to charge Manlapit with criminal activity. He was permanently deported to the Philippines in 1935.

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Sending Off the Kitchen God Day. China. This festival is associated with the New Year. In traditional Chinese homes, a paper image represents a home deity that is thought to keep track of the deeds of the household for the year. The chief deity then determines the fate of the family for the next year. On this day the family burns the image, whose spirit is believed to go to heaven and report to the chief deity on the family's behavior during the past year. The chief deity then determines the fate of the family for the next year. To positively affect the report of the Kitchen God, the family may put honey or sticky candy over its mouth - some say, to make sure that it reports only sweet things; others say, so that it will not be able to speak at all. This holiday is also celebrated on January 18.

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Daniel Hale Williams (1858-1931) : African American. Surgeon and hospital administrator. After founding Provident Hospital in Chicago to provide a medical center open to doctors of all races, Williams made medical history in 1893 by performing the first successful heart operation on record.

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Epiphany: Eastern Orthodox Christian. Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate this holiday on this day based on the Julian calendar.