TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Jan. 17.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

On Jan. 17, 1995, more than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan.

ON THIS DATE

In 1806, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.

In 1916, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America had its beginnings as department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker hosted a luncheon of pro and amateur golfers in New York City. (The PGA of America was formally established on April 10, 1916.)

In 1917, Denmark ceded the Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million.

In 1945, Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II; Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews, disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody.

In 1955, the submarine USS Nautilus made its first nuclear-powered test run from its berth in Groton, Connecticut.

In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against“the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex.”

In 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., ruled 5-4 that the use of home video cassette recorders to tape television programs for private viewing did not violate federal copyright laws.

In 1994, the 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 60 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1996, Sheik Omar AbdelRahman and nine followers were handed long prison sentences for plotting to blow up New York-area landmarks. In 2001, faced with an electricity crisis, California used rolling blackouts to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people; Gov. Gray Davis signed an emergency order authorizing the state to buy power.

Ten years ago: Pope Benedict XVI paid a visit to a Rome synagogue, where he and Jewish leaders sparred over the World War II-era record of Pope Pius XII.

Five years ago: Pope Francis braved an approaching tropical storm to travel to the far eastern Philippines to comfort survivors of the deadly Typhoon Haiyan.

One year ago: As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers were set to depart on a previously undisclosed trip to Afghanistan and Brussels, President Donald Trump denied use of a military plane for the trip, calling it a“public relations event” and saying it would be best if Pelosi stayed in Washington to negotiate an end to the government shutdown; the move came a day after Pelosi called on Trump to postpone his State of the Union address due to the shutdown.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever.” — Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (1916-1997).

— ASSOCIATED PRESS