Today In History

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2024. There are 343 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

On Jan. 23, 1964, the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified as South Dakota became the 38th state to endorse it.

ON THIS DATE

› 1368: China’s Ming dynasty, which lasted nearly three centuries, began as Zhu Yuanzhang was formally acclaimed emperor, following the collapse of the Yuan dynasty.

› 1789: Georgetown University was established in present-day Washington, D.C.

› 1845: Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

› 1932: New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

› 1962: Jackie Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

› 1973: President Richard Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War, and would be formally signed four days later in Paris.

› 1977: The TV miniseries “Roots,” based on the Alex Haley novel, began airing on ABC.

› 1998: Fighting scandal allegations involving Monica Lewinsky, President Clinton assured his Cabinet during a meeting that he was innocent and urged them to concentrate on their jobs.

› 2002: John Walker Lindh, a U.S.-born Taliban fighter, was returned to the United States to face criminal charges that he’d conspired to kill fellow Americans. (Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support for the Taliban; he was released in May 2019 after serving more than 17 years.)

› 2012: In a rare defeat for law enforcement, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed to bar police from installing GPS technology to track suspects without first getting a judge’s approval.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Chita Rivera is 91. Actor-director Lou Antonio is 90. Jazz musician Gary Burton is 81. Actor Gil Gerard is 81. Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., is 77. Actor Richard Dean Anderson is 74. Rock musician Bill Cunningham (The Box Tops) is 74. Rock singer Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) is 71. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is 71. Princess Caroline of Monaco is 67. Singer Anita Baker is 66. Reggae musician Earl Falconer (UB40) is 65. Actor Peter Mackenzie is 63. Actor Gail O’Grady is 61. Actor Mariska Hargitay is 60. R&B singer Marc Nelson is 53. CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell is 50. Actor Tiffani Thiessen is 50. Rock musician Nick Harmer (Death Cab for Cutie) is 49. Actor Lindsey Kraft is 44. Singer-actor Rachel Crow is 26.