Today in History

Today is Thursday, Jan. 12, the 12th day of 2023. There are 353 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 12, 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records (originally Tamla Records) in Detroit.

On this date:

In 1828, the United States and Mexico signed a Treaty of Limits defining the boundary between the two countries to be the same as the one established by an 1819 treaty between the U.S. and Spain.

In 1910, at a White House dinner hosted by President William Howard Taft, Baroness Rosen, wife of the Russian ambassador, caused a stir by requesting and smoking a cigarette -- it was, apparently, the first time a woman had smoked openly during a public function in the executive mansion. (Some of the other women present who had brought their own cigarettes began lighting up in turn.)

In 1915, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected, 204-174, a proposed constitutional amendment to give women nationwide the right to vote.

In 1932, Hattie W. Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate after initially being appointed to serve out the remainder of the term of her late husband, Thaddeus.

In 1945, during World War II, Soviet forces began a major, successful offensive against the Germans in Eastern Europe. Aircraft from U.S. Task Force 38 sank about 40 Japanese ships off Indochina.

In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Sipuel v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma, unanimously ruled that state law schools could not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson said in his State of the Union address that the U.S. military should stay in Vietnam until Communist aggression there was stopped. The TV series "Batman," starring Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo, premiered on ABC.

In 1969, the New York Jets of the American Football League upset the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League 16-7 in Super Bowl III, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

In 1971, the groundbreaking situation comedy "All in the Family" premiered on CBS television.

In 2000, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Illinois v. Wardlow, gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer.

In 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7 earthquake; the Haitian government said 316,000 people were killed, while a report prepared for the U.S. Agency for International Development suggested the death toll may have been between 46,000 and 85,000.

In 2016, Iran detained 10 American sailors and their two small Navy boats after the boats drifted into Iranian waters; the sailors and their vessels were released the following day.

Ten years ago: The NHL's four-month lockout finally ended as the league and the players' association completed signing a required memorandum of understanding. Gary Stevens won the first race at Santa Anita, giving the Hall of Fame jockey his first win in North America since 2005, when he began a seven-year retirement that had recently ended. (Stevens rode 5-1 shot Branding to a 2 1/2-length victory in his third race since beginning his comeback on Jan. 6, 2013.)

Five years ago: President Donald Trump's White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, declared him in "excellent health" after the president received his first checkup at Walter Reed military hospital. Sportscaster Keith Jackson, best known as the down-home voice of college football, died; he was 89. John Tunney, whose successful campaign for a California seat in the U.S. Senate was the basis for the Robert Redford film "The Candidate," died in Los Angeles at the age of 83.

One year ago: The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection requested an interview and records from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as it continued to seek first-hand details from members of Congress on former President Donald Trump's actions on Jan. 6; McCarthy issued a statement saying he would refuse to cooperate, accusing the panel of an "abuse of power." The government reported that inflation jumped in December at its fastest year-over-year pace in nearly four decades, surging 7%. Ronnie Spector, who sang 1960s hits including "Be My Baby" as leader of the girl group The Ronettes, died at 78 after a brief battle with cancer.

Today's birthdays: The Amazing Kreskin is 88. Country singer William Lee Golden (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 84. Actor Anthony Andrews is 75. Movie director Wayne Wang is 74. Legal affairs blogger Ann Althouse is 72. Writer Walter Mosley is 71. Country singer Ricky Van Shelton is 71. Radio-TV personality Howard Stern is 69. Writer-producer-director John Lasseter is 66. Broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour is 65. Actor Oliver Platt is 63. Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins is 63. Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is 59. Rock singer Rob Zombie is 58. Actor Olivier Martinez is 57. Model Vendela is 56. Actor Rachael Harris is 55. Rock singer Zack de la Rocha is 53. Rapper Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan) is 53. Actor Zabryna Guevara is 51. Singer Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay) is 50. Singer Melanie Chisholm (Spice Girls) is 49. Contemporary Christian singer Jeremy Camp is 45. Actor Cynthia Addai-Robinson is 43. R&B singer Amerie is 43. Actor Issa Rae is 38. Actor Will Rothhaar is 36. Actor Andrew Lawrence is 35. Rock singer ZAYN is 30. Pop/soul singer Ella Henderson (TV: "The X Factor") is 27.