Today in History

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2017. There are 340 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 25, 1947, gangster Al Capone died in Miami Beach, Florida, at age 48.

On this date:

In 1533, England's King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who later gave birth to Elizabeth I.

In 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes. The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1915, America's first official transcontinental telephone call took place as Alexander Graham Bell, who was in New York, spoke to his former assistant, Thomas Watson, who was in San Francisco, over a line set up by American Telephone & Telegraph.

In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix, France.

In 1936, former Gov. Al Smith, D-N.Y., delivered a radio address titled "Betrayal of the Democratic Party" in which he fiercely criticized the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1945, the World War II Battle of the Bulge ended as German forces were pushed back to their original positions. Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first community to add fluoride to its public water supply.

In 1955, the Soviet Union formally ended its state of war with Germany.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference to be carried live on radio and television.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate. Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Milton Obote in a military coup.

In 1981, the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States.

In 1990, an Avianca Boeing 707 ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, Long Island, New York; 73 of the 158 people aboard were killed. Actress Ava Gardner died in London at age 67.

In 1997, astrologer Jeane Dixon died in Washington, D.C.

Ten years ago: Ford Motor Co. said it had lost a staggering $12.7 billion in 2006, at that time the worst loss in the company's 103-year history. (Ford later reported a loss of $14.6 billion for 2008.)

Five years ago: U.S. military forces flew into Somalia in a nighttime helicopter raid, freeing an American and a Danish hostage and killing nine pirates. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona returned to Congress to officially tender her resignation a year after she was shot and severely wounded in her home district. First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, along with celebrity chef Rachael Ray, announced new guidelines for more healthful school meals during a visit with elementary students in Alexandria, Virginia.

One year ago: President Barack Obama said he would ban the use of solitary confinement for juvenile and low-level offenders in federal prisons, citing the potential for "devastating, lasting psychological consequences" from the use of the isolation as punishment. A Houston grand jury investigating undercover footage of Planned Parenthood found no wrongdoing by the abortion provider, and instead indicted anti-abortion activists for using fake driver's licenses when making the videos that targeted the handling of fetal tissue in clinics. (The charges were later dropped.) The Russian Olympic Committee banned four track and field athletes for doping.

Today's Birthdays: Country singer Claude Gray is 85. Movie director Tobe Hooper is 74. Actress Leigh Taylor-Young is 72. Actress Jenifer Lewis is 60. Actress Dinah Manoff is 59. Country musician Mike Burch (River Road) is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kina is 48. Actress China Kantner is 46. Actress Ana Ortiz is 46. Drummer Joe Sirois (Mighty Mighty Bosstones) is 45. Musician Matt Odmark (Jars of Clay) is 43. Actress Mia Kirshner is 42. Actress Christine Lakin is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Alicia Keys is 36. Actor Michael Trevino is 32. Pop musician Calum Hood (5 Seconds to Summer) is 21. Actress Olivia Edward (TV: "Better Things") is 10.

Thought for Today: "There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing." -- Robert Burns, Scottish poet (1759-1796).