DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 19, the 19th day of 2022. There are 346 days left in the year.
On this date in:
1853: Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” premiered in Rome.
1861: Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the Union.
1915: Germany carried out its first air raid on Britain during World War I as a pair of Zeppelins dropped bombs onto Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in England.
1942: During World War II, Japanese forces captured the British protectorate of North Borneo. A German submarine sank the Canadian liner RMS Lady Hawkins off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, killing 251 people; 71 survived.
1944: The federal government relinquished control of the nation’s railroads to their owners following settlement of a wage dispute.
1953: CBS-TV aired the widely watched episode of “I Love Lucy” in which Lucy Ricardo, played by Lucille Ball, gave birth to Little Ricky. (By coincidence, Ball gave birth the same day to her son, Desi Arnaz Jr.)
1966: Indira Gandhi was chosen to be prime minister of India by the National Congress party.
1981: The United States and Iran signed an accord paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.
1987: Guy Hunt became Alabama’s first Republican governor since 1874 as he was sworn into office, succeeding George C. Wallace.
2005: The American Cancer Society reported that cancer had passed heart disease as the top killer of Americans age 85 and younger.
2006: Vice President Dick Cheney defended the administration’s domestic surveillance program, calling it an essential tool in monitoring al-qaida and other terrorist organizations.
2009: Russia and Ukraine signed a deal restoring natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paving the way for an end to the nearly two-week cutoff of most Russian gas to a freezing Europe.
2020: Health officials in central China reported that 17 more people had been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, which had killed two patients and placed other countries on alert.
Actor Tippi Hedren is 92. Journalist Robert Macneil is 91. Director Richard Lester (“A Hard Day’s Night,” “Superman II and III”) is 90. Actor-singer Michael Crawford is 80. Actor Shelley Fabares is 78. Country singer Dolly Parton is 76. TV chef Paula Deen is 75. Singer Martha Davis of The Motels is 71. Singer Dewey Bunnell of America is 70. Actor Desi Arnaz Jr. is 69. Actor Katey Sagal (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Married… With Children”) is 68. Comedian Paul Rodriguez
is 67. Keyboardist Mickey Virtue (UB40) is 65. Actor Paul Mccrane
(“ER”) is 61. Singer Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe is 54. Singer Trey Lorenz is 53. Actor Shawn Wayans (“White Chicks,” “Scary Movie”) is 51. Singer-guitarist John Wozniak of Marcy Playground is 51. Actor Drea de Matteo (“Joey,” “The Sopranos”) is 50. Comedian Frank Caliendo (“Frank TV,” “Mad TV”) is 48. Actor
Drew Powell (“Gotham”) is 46. Actor
Marsha Thomason (“Las Vegas”) is 46.