Today in History

Today is Saturday, Jan. 17, the 17th day of 2015. There are 348 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On Jan. 17, 1945, Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II; Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews, disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody.

On this date:

In 1562, French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.

In 1893, the 19th president of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70. Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Lili'uokalani to abdicate.

In 1929, the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor made his debut in the "Thimble Theatre" comic strip.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces launched the first of four battles for Monte Cassino in Italy; the Allies were ultimately successful.

In 1950, the Great Brink's Robbery took place as seven masked men held up a Brink's garage in Boston, stealing $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks and money orders. (Although the entire gang was caught, only part of the loot was recovered.)

In 1955, the submarine USS Nautilus made its first nuclear-powered test run from its berth in Groton, Connecticut.

In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."

In 1975, the undercover cop drama "Baretta," starring Robert Blake, premiered on ABC-TV.

In 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., ruled 5-4 that the use of home video cassette recorders to tape television programs for private viewing did not violate federal copyright laws.

In 1994, the 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 60 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1995, more than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan.

Ten years ago: Iraqi expatriates in 14 countries began registering to vote in Iraq's Jan. 30 elections. Zhao Ziyang, who was ousted as China's Communist Party leader after sympathizing with the 1989 pro-democracy protests, died in Beijing at age 85 after 15 years under house arrest. Actress Virginia Mayo died in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 84.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama appeared at a rally in Boston for Democratic senatorial candidate Martha Coakley, who was running in a special election. (Coakley ended up losing to Republican Scott Brown.) Pope Benedict XVI paid a visit to a Rome synagogue, where he and Jewish leaders sparred over the World War II-era record of Pope Pius XII. Erich Segal, author of the best-selling novel "Love Story," died in London at age 72. At the Golden Globes, top honors went to James Cameron's "Avatar" as well as the TV series "Glee" and "Mad Men."

One year ago: President Barack Obama ordered new limits on the way intelligence officials accessed phone records from hundreds of millions of Americans; the president also signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through the end of September 2014. Acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak marked the 50th anniversary of the Surgeon General's report on smoking and health by saying one in 13 children could see their lives shortened by smoking unless the nation took more aggressive action to end the tobacco epidemic. A Vatican document obtained by The Associated Press showed that in his last two years as pope, Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests for raping and molesting children.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Betty White is 93. Former FCC chairman Newton N. Minow is 89. Actor James Earl Jones is 84. Talk show host Maury Povich is 76. International Boxing Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali is 73. Pop singer Chris Montez is 73. Rhythm-and-blues singer William Hart (The Delfonics) is 70. Actress Joanna David is 68. Rock musician Mick Taylor is 67. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sheila Hutchinson (The Emotions) is 62. Singer Steve Earle is 60. Singer Paul Young is 59. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 58. Singer Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) is 56. Movie director/screenwriter Brian Helgeland is 54. Actor-comedian Jim Carrey is 53. Actor Denis O'Hare is 53. First lady Michelle Obama is 51. Actor Joshua Malina is 49. Singer Shabba Ranks is 49. Rock musician Jon Wysocki is 47. Actor Naveen Andrews is 46. Electronic music DJ Tiesto is 46. Rapper Kid Rock is 44. Actor Freddy Rodriguez is 40. Actor-writer Leigh Whannel is 38. Actress-singer Zooey Deschanel is 35. Professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy (TV: "Dancing with the Stars") is 34. Singer Ray J is 34. Actor Diogo Morgado is 34. Country singer Amanda Wilkinson is 33. DJ/singer Calvin Harris is 31. Folk-rock musician Jeremiah Fraites is 29. Actor Jonathan Keltz is 27.

Thought for Today: "If there is one basic element in our Constitution, it is civilian control of the military." -- President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.