Today in History
Today is Friday, Jan. 24, the 24th day of 2020. There are 342 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in
History: On Jan. 24, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco.
On this date:
In 1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of '49.
In 1935, beer was first sold in cans in Richmond, Virginia, by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co.
In 1939, at least 28,000 people were killed by an earthquake that devastated the city of Chillan in Chile.
In 1945, Associated Press war correspondent Joseph Morton was among a group of captives executed by the Germans at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria.
In 1965, British statesman Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.
In 1984, Apple Computer began selling its first Macintosh model, which boasted a built-in 9-inch monochrome display, a clock rate of 8 megahertz and 128k of RAM.
In 1985, the space shuttle Discovery was launched from Cape Canaveral on the first secret, all-military shuttle mission.
In 1987, gunmen in Lebanon kidnapped educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh. (All were eventually released.)
In 1989, confessed serial killer Theodore Bundy was executed in Florida's electric chair.
In 1993, retired Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall died in Bethesda, Maryland, at age 84.
In 2003, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn as the first secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security.
In 2018, former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who had admitted molesting some of the nation's top gymnasts for years under the guise of medical treatment, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison. Singer Elton John announced that he would be retiring from the road after an upcoming three-year global tour.
Ten years ago: In an audio message, Osama bin Laden endorsed the failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day and threatened new attacks against the United States. Afghanistan postponed parliamentary elections. The Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Jets 30-17 in the AFC championship game. The New Orleans Saints of the NFC made it to their first Super Bowl after battering the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime. Bowler Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title, beating Chris Barnes in the final of the 45th Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama condemned the murder of Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa by the Islamic State group and called for the immediate release of another Japanese hostage, journalist Kenji Goto (Goto was beheaded by his captors days later). Parts of the Northeast got their first real taste of winter as a storm dumped rain, sleet and snow as it moved up the coast. "Birdman" received the Producers Guild of America's highest film award.
One year ago: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called home all Venezuelan diplomats from the United States and closed its embassy, a day after ordering all U.S. diplomats out of the country; the Trump administration had said the order wasn't legal because the U.S. now recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido, and not Maduro, as Venezuela's legitimate leader.