January 17
1711: The Lords Proprietors charter the “building of a town to be called Beaufort Town” in honor of the new Proprietor, Henry Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort. The town was “to be located on the Port Royal River on Port Royal Island.” The Port Royal River was later renamed the Beaufort River.
January 19
1907: The Great Fire of Beaufort, allegedly started by three young boys hiding in a barn to smoke a cigarette, burns more than 40 houses and businesses in Beaufort and does more than $150,000 of damage – more than $4.4 million in today’s dollars.
January 22
1973: Joe Frazier loses by technical knock-out to George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica – his first professional defeat – to fall to 29-1 and lose the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles.
— Compiled by Mike McCombs
