Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2024. There are 356 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 1860, the Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, collapsed and caught fire, killing up to 145 people, mostly female workers from Scotland and Ireland.

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 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.

In 1971, French fashion designer Coco Chanel died in Paris at age 87.

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

In 2002, Marines began flying hundreds of al-Qaida prisoners in Afghanistan to a U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2003, North Korea withdrew from a global treaty barring it from making nuclear weapons.

In 2007, the Democratic-controlled House voted 315-116 to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.

In 2011, a judge in Austin, Texas, ordered former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison for his money laundering conviction. (DeLay's conviction was ultimately overturned.)

In 2022, Robert Durst, the New York real estate heir who was sentenced to life in prison for killing his best friend, died at age 78 at a hospital outside the California prison where he'd been serving his sentence.

Today's birthdays: Jan. 10: Opera singer Sherrill Milnes is 89. Movie director Walter Hill is 84. Actor William Sanderson is 80. Singer Rod Stewart is 79. Rock singer-musician Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) is 76. Boxing Hall of Famer and entrepreneur George Foreman is 75. Roots rock singer Alejandro Escovedo is 73. Rock musician Scott Thurston (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) is 72. Singer Pat Benatar is 71. Hall of Fame race car driver and team owner Bobby Rahal is 70. Rock musician Michael Schenker (UFO) is 69. Singer Shawn Colvin is 68. Rock singer-musician Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) is 65. Actor Evan Handler is 63. Rock singer Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 60. Actor Trini Alvarado is 57. Rock singer Brent Smith (Shinedown) is 46. Rapper Chris Smith (Kris Kross) is 45. Actor Sarah Shahi is 44. American roots singer Valerie June is 42.