On this date
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be “forever free.”
In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, was discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, W.Va., while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio.
In 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrew Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic.
In 1975, a jury in Washington, D.C., found Nixon administration officials John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate coverup (Mardian’s conviction for conspiracy was later overturned on appeal).
In 1984, the breakup of AT&T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.
In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.
Ten years ago: New no-smoking rules went into effect in France, prohibiting people from lighting up in cafes, bars and restaurants.
Five years ago: No. 8 Stanford defeated Wisconsin, 20-14, in the 99th Rose Bowl.
One year ago: A gunman killed 39 New Year’s revelers at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, in an attack claimed by Islamic State (a suspect is facing trial).