Also on this date
In 1917, Denmark ceded the Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million.
In 1950, the Great Brink’s Robbery took place as seven masked men held up a Brink’s garage in Boston, stealing $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks and money orders. (Although the entire gang was caught, only part of the loot was recovered.)
In 1955, the submarine USS Nautilus made its first nuclear-powered test run from its berth in Groton, Connecticut.
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 1994, the 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 60 people.
In 1995, more than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan.
In 1997, a court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country’s history.
In 2020, U.S. health officials announced that they would begin screening airline passengers from central China for COVID-19; people traveling from Wuhan, China, would have their temperature checked and be asked about symptoms.
Ten years ago: Italian officials released a recording of a Coast Guard officer demanding that Capt. Francesco Schettino, commander of the Costa Concordia, re-board the ship to direct its evacuation after the vessel rammed into a reef on Jan. 13.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama granted clemency to Chelsea Manning, allowing the transgender Army intelligence officer convicted of leaking more than 700,000 U.S. documents to go free nearly three decades early.
One year ago: U.S. defense officials said they were worried about an attack from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration; the concerns prompted the FBI to vet the 25,000 National Guard troops coming to Washington for the event.