Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2016. There are 363 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 3, 1946, William Joyce, the pro-Nazi radio propagandist known as "Lord Haw-Haw," was hanged at Wandsworth Prison in London for high treason.

On this date:

In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X.

In 1777, Gen. George Washington's army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1870, groundbreaking took place for the Brooklyn Bridge.

In 1911, the first postal savings banks were opened by the U.S. Post Office. (The banks were abolished in 1966.)

In 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself had been afflicted with the crippling disease.

In 1949, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states had the right to ban closed shops.

In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation.

In 1967, Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital.

In 1977, Apple Computer was incorporated in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Mike Makkula Jr.

In 1980, conservationist Joy Adamson, author of "Born Free," was killed in northern Kenya by a former employee.

In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission.

In 2000, the last new daily "Peanuts" strip by Charles Schulz ran in 2,600 newspapers.

Ten years ago: Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to providing gifts to officials in exchange for their help; he agreed to cooperate in investigations of corruption in Congress. Iran told the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency it planned to resume nuclear fuel research. Militants broke into the home of an Afghan headmaster and decapitated him in the latest in a spate of attacks blamed on the Taliban that had forced many schools to close.

Five years ago: Democrat Jerry Brown was sworn in as California's 39th governor, returning to the office he'd left 28 years earlier. Prosecutors in Dallas declared Cornelius Dupree Jr. innocent of a rape and robbery that had put him in prison for 30 years.

One year ago: Boko Haram extremists kidnapped about 40 boys and young men and killed scores of soldiers in a bold attack on a multinational military base in northern Nigeria. Abu Anas al-Libi, 50, a man accused by U.S. prosecutors of being an al-Qaida member involved in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, died in New York while awaiting trial. Former U.S. Sen. Edward W. Brooke, a liberal Republican who became the first black in U.S. history to win popular election to the Senate, died in Coral Gables, Florida, at age 95.

Today's Birthdays: Record producer Sir George Martin is 90. Actor Dabney Coleman is 84. Journalist-author Betty Rollin is 80. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bobby Hull is 77. Singer-songwriter-producer Van Dyke Parks is 73. Musician Stephen Stills is 71. Rock musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is 70. Actress Victoria Principal is 66. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 60. Actress Shannon Sturges is 48. Actor John Ales is 47. Jazz musician James Carter is 47. Contemporary Christian singer Nichole Nordeman is 44. Musician Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) is 41. Actor Jason Marsden is 41. Actress Danica McKellar is 41. Actor Nicholas Gonzalez is 40. Singer Kimberley Locke ("American Idol") is 38. Actress Kate Levering is 37. NFL quarterback Eli Manning is 35. Actress Nicole Beharie (TV: "Sleepy Hollow" Film: "42") is 31. Pop musician Mark Pontius (Foster the People) is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lloyd (single name is correct) is 30. Pop-rock musician Nash Overstreet (Hot Chelle (shel) Rae) is 30. Actor Alex D. Linz is 27.

Thought for Today: "Not all who wander are lost." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, English author (born this date in 1892, died in 1973).