Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Jan. 5, the fifth day of 2017. There are 360 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 5, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist Communist aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.

On this date:

In 1781, a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia.

In 1895, French Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of treason, was publicly stripped of his rank. (He was ultimately vindicated.)

In 1905, the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals was incorporated in New York State.

In 1925, Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming took office as America's first female governor, succeeding her late husband, William, following a special election.

In 1933, the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, died in Northampton, Massachusetts, at age 60. Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge. (Work was completed four years later.)

In 1949, in his State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman labeled his administration the Fair Deal.

In 1953, the Samuel Beckett play "Waiting for Godot" premiered in Paris.

In 1964, during a visit to the Holy Land, Pope Paul VI met with Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople in Jerusalem.

In 1970, Joseph A. Yablonski, an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the United Mine Workers of America, was found murdered with his wife and daughter at their Clarksville, Pennsylvania, home. (UMWA President Tony Boyle and seven others were convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, the killings.) "All My Children" premiered on ABC-TV.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced that he had ordered development of the space shuttle.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Elizabeth Dole to succeed Drew Lewis as secretary of transportation; Dole became the first woman to head a Cabinet department in Reagan's administration, and the first to head the DOT.

In 1994, Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, former speaker of the House of Representatives, died in Boston at age 81.

Ten years ago: The White House announced a shuffling of U.S. military leaders in the Iraq war. Adm. William Fallon ended up replacing Gen. John Abizaid as top U.S. commander in the Middle East; Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus succeeded Gen. George Casey as top American general in Iraq; Casey replaced retiring Gen. Peter Schoomaker as Army chief of staff.

Five years ago: Speaking at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama launched a reshaping and shrinking of the military, vowing to preserve U.S. pre-eminence even as the Army and Marine Corps shed troops and the administration considered reducing its arsenal of nuclear weapons. A U.S. Navy destroyer rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected pirates. Jessica Joy Rees, a Southern California girl who had become a nationally recognized face of child cancer with a blog that chronicled her fight against brain tumors, died at age 12.

One year ago: With tears streaking his cheeks, President Barack Obama launched a final-year push to tighten sales of firearms in the U.S., using his presidential powers in the absence of tougher gun restrictions that Congress refused to pass, coming out with plans for expanded background checks and other modest measures. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, 90, died in Baden-Baden, Germany.

Today's Birthdays: Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale is 89. Actor Robert Duvall is 86. Juan Carlos, former King of Spain, is 79. Singer-musician Athol Guy (The Seekers) is 77. Talk show host Charlie Rose is 75. Actress-director Diane Keaton is 71. Actor Ted Lange is 69. Rhythm-and-blues musician George "Funky" Brown (Kool and the Gang) is 68. Rock musician Chris Stein (Blondie) is 67. Former CIA Director George Tenet is 64. Actress Pamela Sue Martin is 64. Actor Clancy Brown is 58. Singer Iris Dement is 56. Actress Suzy Amis is 55. Actor Ricky Paull Goldin is 52. Actor Vinnie Jones is 52. Rock musician Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson) is 51. Actor Joe Flanigan is 50. Dancer-choreographer Carrie Ann Inaba is 49. Rock musician Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age) is 49. Actress Heather Paige Kent is 48. Rock singer Marilyn Manson is 48. Actor Shea Whigham is 48. Actor Derek Cecil is 44. Actress-comedian Jessica Chaffin is 43. Actor Bradley Cooper is 42. Actress January Jones is 39. Actress Brooklyn Sudano is 36. Actor Franz Drameh (TV: "DC's Legends of Tomorrow") is 24.

Thought for Today: "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." -- George Washington Carver, American educator and scientist (born 1864, died this date in 1943).