Today in History

Today is Saturday, Jan. 4, the fourth day of 2014. There are 361 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 4, 1964, Pope Paul VI began a visit to the Holy Land, the first papal pilgrimage of its kind.

On this date:

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

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. (Puerto Ricans received U.S. citizenship in 1917.)

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 1943, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin appeared on the cover of Time as the magazine's 1942 "Man of the Year."

In 1944, Ralph Bunche became the first African-American officer at the State Department as he was appointed to a post in the Near East and African Section.

In 1951, during the Korean War, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces recaptured the city of Seoul.

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

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his State of the Union address in which he outlined the goals of his "Great Society."

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

In 1989, in an incident reminiscent of a 1981 confrontation, two U.S. Navy F-14 fighters shot down a pair of Libyan MiG-23 fighters in a clash over international waters off the Libyan coast.

In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected the first female speaker of the House as Democrats took control of Congress.

Ten years ago: In Iowa, seven of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls participated in a feisty, first debate of the election year. Afghans approved a new constitution. Georgians overwhelmingly elected Mikhail Saakashvili president, two months after he'd led protests that forced Eduard Shevardnadze to step down. Louisiana State University won college football's Sugar Bowl, defeating Oklahoma 21-14.

Five years ago: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors had won a lucrative state contract. (Prosecutors later declined to bring charges against Richardson.) A female suicide bomber struck Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing 38.

One year ago: The new Congress passed a $9.7 billion bill to help pay flood insurance claims to homeowners, renters and businesses damaged by Superstorm Sandy. No. 10 Texas A&M beat No. 12 Oklahoma, 41-13, in the Cotton Bowl.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Rush is 87. Football Hall-of-Fame coach Don Shula is 84. Opera singer Grace Bumbry is 77. Actress Dyan Cannon is 75. Author-historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is 71. Country singer Kathy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 59. Actress Ann Magnuson is 58. Rock musician Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) is 58. Country singer Patty Loveless is 57. Rock singer Michael Stipe is 54. Actor Patrick Cassidy is 52. Actor Dave Foley is 51. Actress Dot Jones (TV: "Glee") is 50. Actor Rick Hearst is 49. Singer-musician Cait O'Riordan is 49. Actress Julia Ormond is 49. Tennis player Guy Forget is 49. Country singer Deana Carter is 48. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 47. Actor Jeremy Licht is 43. Actress-singer Jill Marie Jones is 39. Alt-country singer Justin Townes Earle is 32. Christian rock singer Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath) is 31. Actress Lenora Crichlow (TV: "Back in the Game" "Being Human") is 29. Comedian-actress Charlyne Yi is 28. Actress-singer Coco Jones (TV: "So Random" "Good Luck Charlie") is 16.

Thought for Today: "Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste." -- Charlotte Bronte, English author (1816-1855).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.