January Montana History Anniversaries

Sometimes when I am trying to decide what to share in this blog, I do a little research to see what historical anniversaries are coming up.  One of the books I commonly refer to is Montana Dateline by Ellis Roberts Parry.  It lists, day by day, events that took place in Montana history.  While the book deals just a little too much with sporting events for my taste, there are many entries that have caught my attention, leading to digging for more information.  Here are a few of the January topics that caught my eye:

• January 9, 1874  A major fire destroyed much of Helena's business district, including the building that housed the collection of the Montana Historical Society. 
• January 22, 1890  John X. Beidler, Vigilante hangman and lawman died in Helena. The book tells of his funeral at the Ming Opera House in Helena.
• January 25, 1962 Governor Donald Nutter, two state officials and three members of the Air National Guard are killed in an airplane crash.  The books entry gives some details of the flight and cause of the crash.