Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 4, the fourth day of 2012. There are 362 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 4, 1951, during the Korean War, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces recaptured the city of Seoul (sohl).

On this date:

In 1821, the first native-born American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, died in Emmitsburg, Md.

In 1861, Alabama seized a federal arsenal at Mount Vernon near Mobile.

In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th state.

In 1904, the Supreme Court, in Gonzalez v. Williams, ruled that Puerto Ricans were not aliens and could enter the United States freely; however, the court stopped short of declaring them U.S. citizens.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address, called for legislation to provide assistance for the jobless, elderly, impoverished children and the handicapped.

In 1948, Burma (now called Myanmar) became independent of British rule.

In 1960, Algerian-born French author and philosopher Albert Camus died in an automobile accident in Villeblevin, France, at age 46.

In 1964, Pope Paul VI began a visit to the Holy Land, the first papal pilgrimage of its kind, as he arrived in Jerusalem.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his "Great Society" in his State of the Union Address.

In 1974, President Richard M. Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.

In 1987, 16 people were killed when an Amtrak train bound from Washington, D.C., to Boston collided with Conrail locomotives that had crossed into its path from a side track in Chase, Md.

In 1990, Charles Stuart, who'd claimed to have been wounded and his pregnant wife fatally shot by a robber, leapt to his death off a Boston bridge after he himself became a suspect.

Ten years ago: Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman, a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, was killed by small-arms fire during an ambush in eastern Afghanistan; he was the first American military death from enemy fire in the war against terrorism. Florida coach Steve Spurrier resigned to pursue an NFL job, two days after leading the Gators to victory over Maryland in the Orange Bowl.

Five years ago: Nancy Pelosi was elected the first female speaker of the House as Democrats took control of Congress. Harriet Miers resigned as White House counsel. Vincent Sardi Jr., owner of Sardi's restaurant, the legendary Broadway watering hole, died in Berlin, Vt., at age 91.

One year ago: President Barack Obama signed a $1.4 billion overhaul of the nation's food safety system. The Navy fired the commander of the USS Enterprise, Capt. Owen Honors, more than three years after he'd made lewd videos to boost morale for his crew. The Mega Millions lottery drew two winning tickets for a jackpot totaling $380 million. (In a strange coincidence, four of the six winning numbers matched those used by a lottery-winning character on the TV show "Lost.")

Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Rush is 85. Football Hall-of-Fame coach Don Shula is 82. Actress Dyan Cannon is 75. Opera singer Grace Bumbry is 75. Author-historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is 69. Country singer Kathy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 57. Actress Ann Magnuson is 56. Rock musician Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) is 56. Country singer Patty Loveless is 55. Rock singer Michael Stipe is 52. Actor Patrick Cassidy is 50. Actor Dave Foley is 49. Actor Rick Hearst (TV: "The Bold and the Beautiful") is 47. Singer-musician Cait O'Riordan is 47. Actress Julia Ormond is 47. Tennis player Guy Forget is 47. Country singer Deana Carter is 46. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 45. Actor Jeremy Licht is 41. Actress-singer Jill Marie Jones is 37. Alt-country singer Justin Townes Earle is 30. Christian rock singer Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath) is 29. Comedian-actress Charlyne Yi is 26.

Thought for Today: "The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason." -- T.S. Eliot, American-born English poet (born in 1888, died this date in 1965).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.