TODAY IN HISTORY

On Jan. 22, 1968, the fastpaced sketch comedy program "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premiered as a weekly series on NBCTV.

On this date:

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 1917, President Woodrow Wilson, in an address to Congress, pleaded for an end to the war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory." (By April, however, America also was at war.)

In 1922, Pope Benedict XV died; he was succeeded by Pius XI.

In 1938, Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town" was performed publicly for the first time in Princeton, New Jersey.

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, Connecticut. (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, California, to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 29 injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Ten years ago: Actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in a New York City apartment. Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive "dirty bomb," was sentenced by a U.S. federal judge in Miami to 17 years and four months (later increased to 21 years) on other terrorism conspiracy charges.

Five years ago: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc fared worse than expected in a parliamentary election, forcing Netanyahu to negotiate a broad coalition deal.