Today in History

Today is Sunday, Jan. 22, the 22nd day of 2023. There are 343 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, declared a nationwide constitutional right to abortion.

On this date:

In 1901, Britain's Queen Victoria died at age 81 after a reign of 63 years; she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII.

In 1938, Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town" was performed publicly for the first time in Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy.

In 1947, America's first commercially licensed television station west of the Mississippi, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, made its official debut.

In 1953, the Arthur Miller drama "The Crucible" opened on Broadway.

In 1995, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died at the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at age 104.

In 1997, the Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state.

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, California, to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 29 injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

In 2006, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second-highest in NBA history, in the Los Angeles Lakers' 122-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

In 2007, a double car bombing of a predominantly Shiite commercial area in Baghdad killed 88 people. Iran announced it had barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country in apparent retaliation for U.N. sanctions imposed the previous month.

In 2008, actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in a New York City apartment.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within a year. (The facility remained in operation as lawmakers blocked efforts to transfer terror suspects to the United States; President Donald Trump later issued an order to keep the jail open and allow the Pentagon to bring new prisoners there.)

In 2020, Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings after warning that a new viral illness that had infected hundreds of people and caused at least nine deaths could spread further. Health officials in Washington state said they were actively monitoring 16 people who'd come in close contact with a traveler to China, the first U.S. resident known to be infected with the virus.

Ten years ago: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc fared worse than expected in a parliamentary election, forcing Netanyahu to negotiate a broad coalition deal. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution condemning North Korea's rocket launch in Dec. 2012 and imposing new sanctions. Linda Pugach, who was blinded in 1959 when her then-lover, Burton Pugach, hired hit men to throw lye in her face -- and became a media sensation after later marrying him -- died in New York at age 75.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump signed a bill reopening the government after a 69-hour shutdown. Former soccer star George Weah was sworn in as Liberia's new president, taking over the impoverished West African nation from Africa's first female leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Singer Neil Diamond announced that he would be retiring from touring because he'd recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

One year ago: Thousands of people gathered in European capitals to protest vaccine passports and other requirements their governments had imposed in hopes of ending the coronavirus pandemic. Don Wilson, co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the instrumental guitar band The Ventures, died at 88.

Today's birthdays: Actor Piper Laurie is 91. Celebrity chef Graham Kerr (TV: "The Galloping Gourmet") is 89. Author Joseph Wambaugh is 86. Singer Steve Perry is 74. Country singer-musician Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 71. Movie director Jim Jarmusch is 70. Actor John Wesley Shipp is 68. Actor Linda Blair is 64. Actor Diane Lane is 58. Actor and rap DJ Jazzy Jeff is 58. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is 55. Actor Olivia d'Abo is 54. Actor Katie Finneran is 52. Actor Gabriel Macht is 51. Actor Balthazar Getty is 48. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson is 43. Jazz singer Lizz Wright is 43. Pop singer Willa Ford is 42. Actor Beverley Mitchell is 42. Rock singer-musician Ben Moody (Evanescence) is 42. Actor Kevin Sheridan is 41. Actor-singer Phoebe Strole is 40. Rapper Logic is 33. Tennis player Alize Cornet is 33. Actor Sami Gayle is 27.