1. In 1836, Samuel Morse was granted a patent for his invention, the telegraph, which revolutionized communication across great distances. The development of the telegraph paved the way for modern telecommunications and the internet.

2. On January 8, 1890, the major league baseball player Larry Cheney was born in Belleville, Pennsylvania. Cheney had a successful career as a pitcher, playing for the Cubs, the Pirates, and the Dodgers.

3. In 1915, the Pennsylvania State Police was founded as a full-time law enforcement agency to provide services to rural areas of the state that did not have local police departments. Today, the Pennsylvania State Police has more than 4,500 troopers and provides law enforcement services to all 67 counties in the state.

4. On January 8, 1981, Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh signed a bill that designated the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly as the official state butterfly. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is found throughout Pennsylvania and is one of the largest and most striking butterfly species in North America.

5. In 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state's congressional district map was unconstitutional due to gerrymandering, which is the practice of drawing political boundaries in a way that favors one political party over another. The ruling led to a redistricting process that resulted in a more fair and representative electoral map for the state's congressional elections.