Every weekend Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history.
January 16
In 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became President of Liberia, and Africa’s first female elected head of state. The country got its name because it was founded in the 19th century as somewhere that freed American slaves could start their new lives. This is why Liberia’s flag so closely resembles that of the US.
January 17
In 1998, news broke of Monica Lewinsky’s affair with Bill Clinton. The former intern escaped press attention during the biggest American political scandal since Watergate by hiding in her mother’s apartment … which was in the Watergate complex.
January 18
Glenn Frey (died 2016). The musician always insisted that his band was just called Eagles, not The Eagles.
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