Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 15, the 15th day of 2013. There are 350 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 15, 1943, work was completed on the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of War (now Defense).

On this date:

In 1559, England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1777, the people of New Connecticut declared their independence. (The republic later became the state of Vermont.)

In 1862, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Abraham Lincoln's choice of Edwin M. Stanton to be the new Secretary of War, replacing Simon Cameron.

In 1913, actor Lloyd Bridges was born in San Leandro, Calif.

In 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.

In 1947, the mutilated remains of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short, who came to be known as the "Black Dahlia," were found in a vacant Los Angeles lot; her slaying remains unsolved.

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio got married at San Francisco City Hall. (The marriage, however, lasted only about nine months.)

In 1961, a U.S. Air Force radar tower off the New Jersey coast collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean during a severe storm, killing all 28 men aboard.

In 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, retroactively known as Super Bowl I.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in peace negotiations.

In 1993, in Paris, a historic disarmament ceremony ended with the last of 125 countries signing a treaty banning chemical weapons.

In 2009, US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger ditched his Airbus 320 in the Hudson River after a flock of birds disabled both engines; all 155 people aboard survived.

Ten years ago: White House budget director Mitchell Daniels predicted federal deficits would balloon to the $200-$300 billion range over the next two years. Mickey Mouse and The Walt Disney Co. scored a big victory as the Supreme Court upheld longer copyright protections for cartoon characters, songs, books and other creations worth billions of dollars.

Five years ago: Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory in his native Michigan. During a visit to Saudi Arabia, President George W. Bush warned that surging oil prices threatened the U.S. economy and he urged OPEC nations to boost their output. Actor Brad Renfro, who as a youngster had played the title role in "The Client," was found dead in his Los Angeles home; he was 25.

One year ago: Addressing a conference in Beirut on democracy in the Arab world, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded that Syria's president, Bashar Assad, stop killing his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties was over in the Middle East. At the Golden Globes, "The Artist" won best musical or comedy; "The Descendants" won best drama.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Margaret O'Brien is 76. Actress Andrea Martin is 66. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 56. Actor James Nesbitt is 48. Singer Lisa Lisa (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam) is 46. Actor Chad Lowe is 45. Alt-country singer Will Oldham (aka "Bonnie Prince Billy") is 43. Actress Regina King is 42. Actor Eddie Cahill is 35. Rapper/reggaeton artist Pitbull is 32. Electronic dance musician Skrillex is 25.

Thought for Today: "One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." -- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.