History

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2021. There are 339 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 26, 2020, NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed when their helicopter plunged into a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California; the former Lakers star was 41.

On this date:

In 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.

In 1907, Congress passed the Tillman Act, which prohibited corporations from making direct campaign contributions to federal election candidates.

In 1960, National Football League team owners chose Pete Rozelle to be the new commissioner, succeeding the late Bert Bell.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Dr. Janet G. Travell to be his personal physician; she was the first woman to hold the job. In 1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon — but the probe ended up missing its target by more than 22,000 miles.

In 1988, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Phantom of the Opera” opened at Broadway’s Majestic Theater. In 1992, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” acknowledged “causing pain in my marriage,” but said past problems were not relevant to the campaign.

In 1993, Vaclav Havel (VAHTS’-LAHV Hah’-vel) was elected president of the newly formed Czech Republic. In 1994, a scare occurred during a visit to Sydney, Australia, by Britain’s Prince Charles as college student David Kang lunged at the prince, firing two blank shots from a starter’s pistol. (Kang was later sentenced to 500 hours of community service.) In 1998, President Bill Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with a former White House intern, telling reporters, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

In 2005, a U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in western Iraq, killing 30 Marines and a Navy medic aboard. A man parked his SUV on railroad tracks in Glendale, California, setting off a crash of two commuter trains that killed 11 people. (The SUV’S driver, Juan Alvarez, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.) In 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California to six boys and two girls; criticism came after the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant with the octuplets and six elder children through in vitro fertilization.

Ten years ago: Speaking in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, President Barack Obama campaigned vigorously for his revamped economic message, warning that other countries were grasping for first place in the global marketplace as the U.S. fell down on the job. Afghan President Hamid Karzai swore in the country’s new parliament, marking the end of a drawn-out battle over whether the lawmakers would be able to start work despite ongoing investigations into electoral fraud. Five years ago: The FBI arrested the leaders of an armed group that was occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than three weeks during a traffic stop that left one man, Robert “Lavoy” Finicum, dead. Pope Francis held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican, calling on Tehran to play a key role in stopping the spread of terrorism. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that its symbolic “Doomsday Clock” remained at three minutes to midnight, citing rising tension between Russia and the U.S., North Korea’s recent nuclear test and a lack of aggressive steps to address climate change. Character actor Abe Vigoda, 94, died in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

One year ago: The U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, said it would evacuate its personnel and some private citizens aboard a charter flight. Five cases of the new coronavirus were now confirmed in the United States, including new cases in California and Arizona; all involved people who had traveled to Wuhan. The New York Times reported that in a draft of an upcoming book, former national security adviser John Bolton said that President Donald Trump had wanted to maintain a freeze on military assistance to Ukraine until it aided political investigations into his Democratic rivals. Eighteenyear-old singer Billie Eilish made history at the Grammy Awards, becoming the youngest to win one of Grammy’s top awards and the first to sweep all four in nearly 40 years.

Today’s Birthdays: Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 92. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 86. Actor Scott Glenn is 82. Singer Jean Knight is 78. Activist Angela Davis is 77. Actor Richard Portnow is 74. Rock musician Corky Laing (Mountain) is 73. Actor David Strathairn (STREH-THEHRN’) is 72. Producer-director Mimi Leder is 69. Alt-country singersongwriter Lucinda Williams is 68. Reggae musician Norman Hassan (UB40) is 63. Actor-comedian-talk show host Ellen Degeneres is 63. Rock musician Charlie Gillingham (Counting Crows) is 61. Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky is 60. Musician Andrew Ridgeley is 58. R&B singer Jazzie B (Soul II Soul) is 58. Actor Paul Johansson is 57. Director Lenny Abrahamson is 55. Actor Bryan Callen is 54. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is 51. Actor Nate Mooney is 49. Actor Jennifer Crystal is 48. Rock musician Chris Hesse (Hoobastank) is 47. Actor Matilda Szydagis is 47. Actor Gilles Marini (ZHEEL ma-ree’-nee) is 45. Gospel singer Tye Tribbett is 45. Retired NBA player Vince Carter is 44. Actor Sarah Rue is 43. Actor Colin O’donoghue is 40.

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2021. There are 338 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 27, 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

On this date:

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp. In 1901, opera composer Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan, Italy, at age 87.

In 1944, during World War II, the Soviet Union announced the complete end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

In 1945, during World War II, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

In 1967, astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo spacecraft.

In 1972, “Queen of Gospel” Mahalia Jackson, 60, died in Evergreen Park, Ill.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran at the White House.

In 1984, singer Michael Jackson suffered serious burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics set his hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-cola TV commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In 1998, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, on NBC’S “Today” show, charged the sexual misconduct allegations against her husband, President Bill Clinton, were the work of a “vast rightwing conspiracy.”

In 2006, Western Union delivered its last telegram. In 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the ipad tablet computer during a presentation in San Francisco. J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of “The Catcher in the Rye,” died in Cornish, New Hampshire, at age 91.

Ten years ago: Tens of thousands of Yemenis demanded their president step down; taking inspiration from Tunisians’ revolt, they vowed to continue until their U.s.-backed government fell. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that color-coded terror alerts would be phased out by late April 2011.

Five years ago: The Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department agreed to overhaul its policies, training and practices as part of a sweeping deal with the Justice Department following the 2014 fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. As he honored four people for risking their lives to protect Jews, President Barack Obama warned during a visit to the Israeli Embassy in Washington that anti-semitism was on the rise; he said an attack on any faith was an attack on all faiths.

One year ago: China confirmed more than 2,700 cases of the new coronavirus with more than 80 deaths in that country; authorities postponed the end of the Lunar New Year holiday to keep the public at home. U.S. health officials said they believed the risk to Americans remained low and that they had no evidence that the new virus was spreading in the United States; they advised Americans to avoid non-essential travel to any part of China. Stocks fell for a fifth straight day as investors worried that the virus outbreak could hurt the global economy. Senators faced increasing pressure to summon former national security adviser John Bolton to testify at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, after a draft of Bolton’s forthcoming book said Trump had wanted to withhold military aid from Ukraine until it helped investigate Democrat Joe Biden; Trump denied having said that to Bolton.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor James Cromwell is 81. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 77. R&B singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) is 75. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 73. Latin singer-songwriter Djavan is 72. Chief U.S. Justice John Roberts is 66. Country singer Cheryl White is 66. Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) is 66. Actor Mimi Rogers is 65. Rock musician Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) is 64. Actor Susanna Thompson is 63. Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 62. Rock singer Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 60. Rock musician Gillian Gilbert is 60. Actor Tamlyn Tomita is 58. Actor Bridget Fonda is 57. Actor Alan Cumming is 56. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is

53. Rock singer Mike Patton is 53. Rapper Tricky is

53. Rock musician Michael Kulas (James) is 52. Actorcomedian Patton Oswalt is

52. Actor Josh Randall is 49. Country singer Kevin Denney is 43. Tennis player Marat Safin is 41. Rock musician Matt Sanchez (American Authors) is 35. Actor Braeden Lemasters is 25.