Today in History

Today is Sunday, Jan. 28, the 28th day of 2018. There are 337 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 28, 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War, a day after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords by the United States, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

On this date:

In A.D. 814, Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne died in Aachen in present-day Germany.

In 1547, England's King Henry VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

In 1878, the first daily college newspaper, Yale News (now Yale Daily News), began publication in New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1915, the United States Coast Guard was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill merging the Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service.

In 1939, Irish poet-dramatist William Butler Yeats died in Menton, France.

In 1945, during World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first national TV appearance on "Stage Show," a CBS program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

In 1978, fire swept through the historic downtown Coates House hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 20 people.

In 1980, six U.S. diplomats who had avoided being taken hostage at their embassy in Tehran flew out of Iran with the help of Canadian diplomats.

In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

In 1988, a 13-day standoff in Marion, Utah, between police and a polygamist clan ended in gunfire that killed a state corrections officer, Fred House, and seriously wounded the group's leader, Addam Swapp, who ended up serving more than 25 years behind bars.

In 1999, Ford Motor Co. announced it was buying the Volvo car division in a $6.45 billion deal. (Ford ended up selling the Volvo unit in 2010 to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group for $1.8 billion.)

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, in his last State of the Union address, urged passage of an economic stimulus package and asked Americans to remain patient with the long, grinding war in Iraq. In a daring ambush, Iraqi insurgents blasted a U.S. patrol with a roadside bomb and showered survivors with gunfire from a mosque in Mosul; five American soldiers were killed in the explosion. Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy led two generations of his family in endorsing fellow Democrat Barack Obama for the White House.

Five years ago: Leading Democratic and Republican senators pledged to propel far-reaching immigration legislation through the Senate by summer, providing a possible path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally. (Although the Senate passed such a measure, it encountered opposition from House Republicans who insisted on a more limited approach.) Backed by French helicopters and paratroopers, Malian soldiers entered the fabled city of Timbuktu after al-Qaida-linked militants who had ruled the outpost by fear for nearly 10 months fled into the desert.

One year ago: A federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban. Historian Timothy B. Tyson, the author of a book on the 1955 Emmett Till lynching case, revealed that Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman at the center of the trial of Till's alleged (later admitted) killers, acknowledged in 2008 that she had falsely testified that Till made physical and verbal threats toward her. Serena Williams won her record 23rd Grand Slam singles title, defeating her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 at the Australian Open.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Nicholas Pryor is 83. Actor Alan Alda is 82. Actress Susan Howard is 76. Actress Marthe Keller is 73. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is 71. Actress-singer Barbi Benton is 68. Evangelical pastor Rick Warren is 64. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is 63. Actress Harley Jane Kozak is 61. Movie director Frank Darabont is 59. Rock musician Dave Sharp is 59. Rock singer Sam Phillips is 56. Rock musician Dan Spitz is 55. Country musician Greg Cook (Ricochet) is 53. Gospel singer Marvin Sapp is 51. Singer Sarah McLachlan is 50. Rapper Rakim is 50. DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill) is 50. Actress Kathryn Morris is 49. Humorist Mo Rocca is 49. Rock/soul musician Jeremy Ruzumna (Fitz and the Tantrums) is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Anthony Hamilton is 47. Singer Monifah is 46. Actress Gillian Vigman is 46. Rock musician Brandon Bush is 45. Retired MLB All-Star Jermaine Dye is 44. Actress Terri Conn is 43. Singer Joey Fatone Jr. ('N Sync) is 41. Rapper Rick Ross is 41. Actress Rosamund Pike is 39. Actress Angelique Cabral is 39. Singer Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) is 38. Actor Elijah Wood is 37. Rapper J. Cole is 33. Actress Alexandra Krosney is 30. Actor Yuri Sardarov is 30. Actress Ariel Winter is 20.

Thought for Today: "In dreams begin responsibilities." -- William Butler Yeats (1865-1939).