Today in History

Today is Thursday, Jan. 19, the 19th day of 2012. There are 347 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 19, 1862, Union forces won a victory over the Confederates in the Civil War Battle of Mill Springs in southeastern Kentucky.

On this date:

In 1807, Confederate general Robert E. Lee was born in Westmoreland County, Va.

In 1853, Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" premiered in Rome.

In 1861, Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the Union.

In 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

In 1942, during World War II, Japan invaded Burma (Myanmar).

In 1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television for the first time, with the permission of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1960, the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States of America was signed by both countries in Washington, D.C.

In 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister of India.

In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court; however, the nomination was defeated because of controversy over Carswell's past racial views.

In 1977, in one of his last acts of office, President Gerald R. Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino, an American convicted of treason for making wartime broadcasts for Japan.

In 1981, the United States and Iran signed an accord paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.

In 1992, German government and Jewish officials dedicated a Holocaust memorial at the suburban Berlin villa where the notorious Wannsee Conference had taken place.

Ten years ago: Israeli troops set off a powerful explosion that gutted the official Palestinian broadcasting building, dealing another retaliatory blow two days after a Palestinian gunman killed six Israelis at a bat mitzvah celebration.

Five years ago: Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison for his role in a lobbying scandal. (Ney was released from a halfway house in August 2008 after serving nearly a year and a-half of his prison sentence.) Denny Doherty, a member of the 1960s folk-rock group The Mamas & the Papas, died near Toronto at age 66.

One year ago: Chinese President Hu Jintao, visiting the White House, declared "a lot still needs to be done" to improve his country's record on human rights; the exchange with President Barack Obama over human rights was balanced by U.S. delight over newly announced Chinese business deals expected to generate about $45 billion in new export sales for the U.S.

Today's Birthdays: Former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar is 92. Actress Jean Stapleton is 89. Actor Fritz Weaver is 86. Actress Tippi Hedren is 82. Former PBS newsman Robert MacNeil is 81. Movie director Richard Lester is 80. Singer Phil Everly is 73. Actor-singer Michael Crawford is 70. Actress Shelley Fabares is 68. Country singer Dolly Parton is 66. ABC newswoman Ann Compton is 65. TV chef Paula Deen is 65. Rock singer Martha Davis is 61. Singer Dewey Bunnell (America) is 60. Actor Desi Arnaz Jr. is 59. Actress Katey Sagal is 58. Comedian Paul Rodriguez is 57. Conductor Sir Simon Rattle is 57. Reggae musician Mickey Virtue (UB40) is 55. Rock musician Jeff Pilson (Foreigner) is 54. Actor Paul McCrane is 51. Actor William Ragsdale is 51. International Tennis Hall of Famer Stefan Edberg is 46. Rock singer Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe) is 44. Singer Trey Lorenz is 43. Actor Shawn Wayans is 41. Rock singer-musician John Wozniak (Marcy Playground) is 41. Actress Drea de Matteo is 40. Comedian-impressionist Frank Caliendo is 38. Actress Marsha Thomason is 36. Actress Jodie Sweetin is 30. Actor Logan Lerman is 20. Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson is 20.

Thought for Today: "Love without passion is dreary; passion without love is horrific." -- Abraham Cowley, English poet (1618-1667).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.