TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, JAN. 19, the 19th day of 2021. There are 346 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1981, the United States and Iran signed an accord paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.
In 1809, author, poet and critic Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston.
In 1861, Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the Union.
In 1915, Germany carried out its first air raid on Britain during World War I as a pair of Zeppelins dropped bombs onto Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in England.
In 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
In 1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television and newsreels for the first time, with the permission of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1980, retired Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas died in Washington, D.C., at age 81.
In 2005, the American Cancer Society reported that cancer had passed heart disease as the top killer of Americans age 85 and younger.
In 2006, Osama bin Laden, in his first audiotape in more than a year, said al-Qaida was preparing for attacks in the United States; at the same time, he offered a “long-term truce” without specifying the conditions. Vice President Dick Cheney defended the administration’s domestic surveillance program, calling it an essential tool in monitoring al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations.
In 2009, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal restoring natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paving the way for an end to the nearly two-week cutoff of most Russian gas to a freezing Europe.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Tippi Hedren is 91. Former PBS newsman Robert MacNeil is 90. Movie director Richard Lester is 89. Actor-singer Michael Crawford is 79. Actor Shelley Fabares is 77. Country singer Dolly Parton is 75. Former ABC newswoman Ann Compton and TV chef Paula Deen are 74. Actor Desi Arnaz Jr. is 68. Actor Katey Sagal is 67. Comedian Paul Rodriguez and conductor Sir Simon Rattle are 66. Rock musician Jeff Pilson (Foreigner) is 63. Basketball coach and commentator Jeff Van Gundy is 59. International Actor Shawn Wayans and rock singer-musician John Wozniak (Marcy Playground) are 50. Actor Drea de Matteo is 49. Comedianimpressionist Frank Caliendo is 47.. Actor Bitsie Tulloch is 40. Actor Jodie Sweetin is 39. Actors Briana Henry and Logan Lerman, and Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson are 29. Rapper Taylor Bennett is 25.