TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. There are 350 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight

On Jan. 15, 2020, Chinese officials said they couldn’t rule out the possibility that a new coronavirus in central China could spread between humans, though they said the risk of transmission appeared to be low.

On this date

In 1862, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Abraham Lincoln’s choice of Edwin M. Stanton to be the new Secretary of War, replacing Simon Cameron.

In 1865, Union forces captured Fort Fisher near Wilmington, N.C., depriving the Confederates of their last major seaport.

In 1892, the original rules of basketball, devised by James Naismith, were published for the first time in Springfield, Mass., where the game originated.

In 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.

In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in peace negotiations.

In 1974, “Happy Days” premiered on ABC.

In 1976, Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford in San Francisco. (Moore was released on the last day of 2007.)

In 2009, US Airways Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger ditched his Airbus 320 in the Hudson River after a flock of birds disabled both engines; all 155 people aboard survived.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Margaret O’Brien is 83. Actor Andrea Martin is 74. Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy White is 68. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 64. Actor Chad Lowe is 53. Actor Regina King is 50. Actor Eddie Cahill is 43. NFL quarterback Drew Brees is 42. Rapper-singer Pitbull is 40. Singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal (“America’s Got Talent”) is 17.