TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, JAN. 12, the 12th day of 2018. There are 353 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date 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 1773, the first public museum in America was organized in Charleston, S.C.
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 1915, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected, 204-174, a proposed constitutional amendment to give women nationwide the right to vote. The silent film drama “A Fool There Was,” which propelled Theda Bara to stardom with her portrayal of a predatory vamp, premiered in New York.
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 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records (originally Tamla Records) in Detroit.
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, airing twice a week on consecutive nights.
In 1971, the groundbreaking situation comedy “All in the Family” premiered on CBS television.
mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie died in Wallingford, England, at age 85.
In 1986, the shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.
In 1987, Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite arrived in Lebanon on his latest mission to win the release of Western hostages; however, Waite ended up being taken captive himself and wasn’t released until 1991.
In 1998, Linda Tripp provided Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s office with taped conversations between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Katherine MacGregor (TV: “Little House on the Prairie”) is 93. The Amazing Kreskin is 83. Country singer William Lee Golden (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 79. Actor Anthony Andrews is 70. Movie director Wayne Wang is 69. Actress Kirstie Alley, political commentator Rush Limbaugh and legal affairs blogger Ann Althouse are 67. Writer Walter Mosley and country singer Ricky Van Shelton are 66. Radio-TV personality Howard Stern is 64. Writer-producer-director John Lasseter is 61. Broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour is 60. Actor Oliver Platt and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins are 58. Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is 54. Rock singer Rob Zombie is 53. Actor Olivier Martinez is 52. Rapper TBird (B-Rock and the Bizz) and model Vendela are 51. Actresses Farrah Forke and Rachael Harris are 50. Rock singer Zack de la Rocha and rapper Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan) are 48. Singer Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay) and rock musician Matt Wong (Reel Big Fish) are 45. Singer Melanie Chisholm (Spice Girls) is 44. Contemporary Christian singer Jeremy Camp is 40. Actress Cynthia Addai-Robinson and rhythm-and-blues singer Amerie are 38. Actress Issa Rae is 33. Actress Naya Rivera and actor Will Rothhaar are 31. Actor Andrew Lawrence is 30. Rock singer ZAYN is 25. Pop/ soul singer Ella Henderson (TV: “The X Factor”) is 22.