Today in History

Today in History

Today is Monday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2019. There are 351 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 14, 1963, George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama with the pledge, "Segregation forever!" -- a view Wallace later repudiated.

On this date:

In 1784, the United States ratified the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War; Britain followed suit in April 1784.

In 1898, author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson -- better known as "Alice in Wonderland" creator Lewis Carroll -- died in Guildford, Surrey, England, less than two weeks before his 66th birthday.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and French General Charles de Gaulle opened a wartime conference in Casablanca.

In 1953, Josip Broz Tito was elected president of Yugoslavia by the country's Parliament.

In 1967, the Sixties' "Summer of Love" unofficially began with a "Human Be-In" involving tens of thousands of young people at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

In 1968, the Green Bay Packers of the NFL defeated the AFL's Oakland Raiders, 33-14, in the second AFL-NFL World Championship game (now referred to as Super Bowl II).

In 1969, 27 people aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, off Hawaii, were killed when a rocket warhead exploded, setting off a fire and additional explosions.

In 1970, Diana Ross and the Supremes performed their last concert together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.

In 1975, the House Internal Security Committee (formerly the House Un-American Activities Committee) was disbanded.

In 1989, President Ronald Reagan delivered his 331st and final weekly White House radio address, telling listeners, "Believe me, Saturdays will never seem the same. I'll miss you."

In 1994, President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed an accord to stop aiming missiles at any nation; the leaders joined Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk in signing an accord to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.

In 2004, Former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to conspiracy as he accepted a ten-year prison sentence. (He was actually sentenced to six years and was released in Dec. 2011.)

Ten years ago: Freshly returned from a tour of war zones and global hotspots, Vice President-elect Joe Biden told President-elect Barack Obama that "things are going to get tougher" in Afghanistan. A French court acquitted six doctors and pharmacists in the deaths of at least 114 people who'd contracted brain-destroying Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after being treated with tainted human growth hormones. Actor Ricardo Montalban died in Los Angeles at age 88.

Five years ago: Sporadic violence flared across much of Egypt as a two-day referendum on a new constitution began. A federal judge struck down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban, then set aside his order while state and local officials completed an appeal. (Oklahoma was among five states whose bans on same-sex marriage were ultimately overturned.)

One year ago: Authorities east of Los Angeles arrested the parents of 13 siblings after being led to the home by one of them, a 17-year-old girl who had jumped out of a window and called 911; they said they found the girl's 12 brothers and sisters locked up in filthy conditions, with some malnourished and chained to beds. (A September, 2019 trial date has been set for David and Louise Turpin.) Chelsea Manning confirmed that she was a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Maryland; the former Army intelligence analyst was known as Bradley Manning at the time of her 2010 arrest that led to a conviction for leaking classified documents. (Manning lost in a Democratic primary won by incumbent Ben Cardin.) On the defensive in the wake of disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations, President Donald Trump told reporters, "I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed."

Today's Birthdays: Blues singer Clarence Carter is 83. Singer Jack Jones is 81. Actress Faye Dunaway is 78. Actress Holland Taylor is 76. Actor Carl Weathers is 71. Singer-producer T-Bone Burnett is 71. Movie writer-director Lawrence Kasdan is 70. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd is 67. Rock singer Geoff Tate (Queensryche) is 60. Movie writer-director Steven Soderbergh is 56. Actor Mark Addy is 55. Fox News Channel anchorman Shepard Smith is 55. Rapper Slick Rick is 54. Actor Dan Schneider is 53. Actress Emily Watson is 52. Actor-comedian Tom Rhodes is 52. Rock musician Zakk Wylde is 52. Rapper-actor LL Cool J is 51. Actor Jason Bateman is 50. Rock singer-musician Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is 50. Actor Kevin Durand is 45. Actress Jordan Ladd is 44. Actor Ward Horton is 43. Actress Emayatzy Corinealdi is 39. Retro-soul singer-songwriter Marc Broussard is 37. Rock singer-musician Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) is 37. Actor Zach Gilford is 37. Rock musician Joe Guese (The Click Five) is 37. Actor Jonathan Osser is 30. Actor-singer Grant Gustin is 29.

Thought for Today: "Dignity is like a perfume; those who use it are scarcely conscious of it." -- Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689).