TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS MONDAY, JAN. 22, the 22nd day of 2018. There are 343 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1968, the fast-paced sketch comedy program “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” premiered as a weekly series on NBC-TV.
In 1498, during his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus arrived at the present-day Caribbean island of St. Vincent.
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 1908, Katie Mulcahey became the first — and only — woman to run afoul of New York City’s just-passed ban on females smoking in public establishments. (Mulcahey served a night in jail after refusing to pay a $5 fine; the law, which did not specify any fines, ended up being vetoed by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr.)
In 1922, Pope Benedict XV died; he was succeeded by Pius XI.
In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy.
In 1953, the Arthur Miller drama “The Crucible,” set during the Salem witch trials, opened on Broadway.
In 1957, George P. Metesky, suspected of being the “Mad Bomber” who injured 15 people over a 16-year period, was arrested in Waterbury, Conn. (Metesky was later found mentally ill and committed until 1973; he died in 1994.)
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, legalized abortions using a trimester approach. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson died at his Texas ranch at age 64.
In 1987, Pennsylvania treasurer R. Budd Dwyer, convicted of defrauding the state, proclaimed his innocence at a news conference before pulling out a gun and shooting himself to death in front of horrified onlookers.
In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, Calif., to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 29 injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Former Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., is 90. Actress Piper Laurie is 86. Celebrity chef Graham Kerr (TV: “The Galloping Gourmet”) is 84. Author Joseph Wambaugh is 81. Singer Steve Perry is 69. Country singermusician Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 66. Actor John Wesley Shipp is 63. Actress Linda Blair is 59. Actress Diane Lane, DJ-actor DJ DJ Jazzy Jeff and country singer Regina Nicks (Regina Regina) are 53. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is 50. Actress Olivia d’Abo and rhythmand-blues singer Marc Gay (Shai) are 49. Actress Katie Finneran is 47. Actor Gabriel Macht is 46. Actor Balthazar Getty is 43. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson and jazz singer Lizz Wright are 38. Pop singer Willa Ford, actress Beverley Mitchell and rock singermusician Ben Moody are 37. Actor Kevin Sheridan is 36. Actress-singer Phoebe Strole is 35. Rapper Logic and tennis player Alize Cornet are 28. Actress Sami Gayle is 22.