Of Balloons, Beetles

•On Jan. 7, 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air. They nearly crashed into the Channel, however, as their balloon was weighed down by extraneous supplies such as silk-covered oars, with which they hoped to row their way through the air.

•On Jan. 8, 1867, Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson’s veto of a bill granting all adult male citizens of the District of Columbia the right to vote, and the bill becomes law. It was the first law in American history that granted black males the right to vote.

•On Jan. 10, 1979, the last convertible Volkswagen Beetle is produced. The VW “Bug” was a popular car throughout the 1960s and 1970s, leading to innovations such as sunroofs and convertible tops in an otherwise unchanging design.

•On Jan. 11, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt designates a large part of the Grand Canyon a national monument. Congress increased the protection of the canyon in 1932 by making it a national park, ensuring that private development would never spoil the Grand Canyon.