Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2018. There are 355 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 10, 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet, "Common Sense," which argued for American independence from British rule.

On this date:

In 1861, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union.

In 1863, the London Underground had its beginnings as the Metropolitan, the world's first underground passenger railway, opened to the public with service between Paddington and Farringdon Street.

In 1870, John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

In 1920, the League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles went into effect.

In 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London. The first manmade contact with the moon was made as radar signals transmitted by the U.S. Army Signal Corps were bounced off the lunar surface.

In 1948, future country music star Loretta Lynn (nee Webb) married Oliver "Mooney" Lynn; she was 15 at the time, he was 21 (the marriage lasted until Oliver Lynn's death in 1996).

In 1957, Harold Macmillan became prime minister of Britain, following the resignation of Anthony Eden.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his State of the Union address, asked Congress to impose a surcharge on both corporate and individual income taxes to help pay for his "Great Society" programs as well as the war in Vietnam. That same day, Massachusetts Republican Edward W. Brooke, the first black person elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, took his seat.

In 1978, the Soviet Union launched two cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 27 capsule for a rendezvous with the Salyut 6 space laboratory.

In 1984, the United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton, attending a NATO summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium, announced completion of an agreement to remove all long-range nuclear missiles from the former Soviet republic of Ukraine.

In 2000, America Online announced it was buying Time Warner for $162 billion (the merger, which proved disastrous, ended in December 2009).

Ten years ago: The United States lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Iran over an incident in which Iranian speedboats harassed U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf. President George W. Bush, visiting Israel and the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, said a Mideast peace pact would require "painful political concessions by both sides." John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid. Maila Nurmi, whose "Vampira" TV persona pioneered the spooky-yet-sexy Goth aesthetic, died in Los Angeles at age 85.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama nominated White House chief of staff Jack Lew to be treasury secretary. Vice President Joe Biden met with representatives from the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups as he worked on recommendations to curb gun violence. Major League Baseball announced it would test for human growth hormone throughout the regular season and increase efforts to detect abnormal levels of testosterone.

One year ago: An unrepentant Dylann Roof was sentenced to death in Charleston, South Carolina, for fatally shooting nine black church members during a Bible study session, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime. President Barack Obama bid farewell to the nation in an emotional speech in Chicago. Singer Buddy Greco, 90, died in Las Vegas.

Today's Birthdays: Opera singer Sherrill Milnes is 83. Blues artist Eddy Clearwater is 83. Rock singer-musician Ronnie Hawkins is 83. Baseball Hall of Famer Willie McCovey is 80. Movie director Walter Hill is 78. Actor William Sanderson is 74. Singer Rod Stewart is 73. Rock singer-musician Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) is 70. Boxing Hall of Famer and entrepreneur George Foreman is 69. Roots rock singer Alejandro Escovedo is 67. Rock musician Scott Thurston (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) is 66. Singer Pat Benatar is 65. Hall of Fame race car driver and team owner Bobby Rahal is 65. Rock musician Michael Schenker is 63. Singer Shawn Colvin is 62. Rock singer-musician Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) is 59. Actor Evan Handler is 57. Rock singer Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 54. Actress Trini Alvarado is 51. Rock singer Brent Smith (Shinedown) is 40. Rapper Chris Smith (Kris Kross) is 39. Actress Sarah Shahi is 38. Presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner is 37. American roots singer Valerie June is 36.

Thought for Today: "History must speak for itself. A historian is content if he has been able to shed more light." -- William L. Shirer (SHY'-rur), American author and journalist (1904-1993).