January 3 in History

250 AD: Every person in the Roman Empire had to burn incense to the gods. Except Jews—they had special permission. Everyone else got a certificate proving they'd sacrificed. No certificate, no citizenship. No buying or selling in markets. Emperor Decius wanted religious unity. He got the opposite. Christians refused. They went underground instead. Some bought fake certificates. Others fled to the desert. Thousands died in the first empire-wide persecution. The certificates were called libelli. Archaeologists still find them. Fragments of papyrus that marked the moment Christianity became illegal. The empire that would eventually bow to Christ first tried to eliminate it entirely.

The Coonan Cross stands in Mattancherry, Kerala. Portuguese missionaries had controlled Indian Christians for 150 years. They banned local customs, imposed Latin liturgy, and appointed only European bishops. On January 3rd, 1653, thousands of Christians gathered at the cross. They swore an oath: never again would they obey Portuguese religious authority.

Benning Wentworth owned 100,000 acres in New Hampshire. Not enough. He started granting land west of the Connecticut River. Problem: New York claimed that territory too. Wentworth issued 135 grants anyway. Each town paid him fees. He also kept 500 acres in every grant for himself. The disputed land became Vermont.

Washington's army had 2,400 men. Half had no shoes. They left bloody footprints in the snow during their night march. At Princeton, they surprised 1,200 British troops eating breakfast. The battle lasted 15 minutes. American morale soared. Enlistments doubled. The victory convinced European powers that America might actually win.

Napoleon had escaped Elba. He was marching toward Paris with a growing army. Austria, Britain, and France signed their secret treaty in three languages. They promised to fight together if Prussia or Russia attacked any of them. The alliance lasted eight months. Napoleon's return changed everything.

Argentina had claimed the Falklands since 1820. Britain hadn't bothered to occupy them. Then HMS Clio arrived with orders from London. Captain John Onslow raised the Union Jack and told the Argentine garrison to leave. Twenty-six people lived on the islands. They raised cattle and sheep. Britain still controls the Falklands today.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts was born free in Virginia. His family moved to Liberia when he was 20. The American Colonization Society had founded Liberia as a place to send freed slaves. Roberts became a merchant, then governor. When Liberia declared independence, he became president. He served for eight years.

General Faidherbe commanded France's Army of the North. His 40,000 men were mostly National Guard volunteers. They attacked Prussian positions at Bapaume in a snowstorm. The Prussians retreated toward Arras. It was one of the few French victories in the war. Prussia still won overall and annexed Alsace-Lorraine.

The Lick Observatory telescope was built on Mount Hamilton in California. James Lick, a real estate millionaire, paid for it. He's buried under the telescope pier. The 36-inch lens took 18 months to grind and polish. It discovered the fifth moon of Jupiter and proved that some nebulae were actually distant galaxies.

Two Latvian anarchists robbed a jewelry shop on Houndsditch. Police cornered them in Sidney Street, Stepney. The gunfight lasted six hours. Home Secretary Winston Churchill arrived to direct operations. Photographers captured him in his top hat, watching the building burn. Critics accused him of grandstanding. The anarchists died in the fire.