Also on this date
In 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.
In 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
In 1942, during World War II, a German submarine sank the Canadian liner RMS Lady Hawkins off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, killing 251 people; 71 survived.
In 1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television and newsreels for the first time, with the permission of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 2005, the American Cancer Society reported that cancer had passed heart disease as the top killer of Americans age 85 and younger.
In 2006, Osama bin Laden, in an audiotape that was his first in more than a year, said al-Qaida was preparing for attacks in the United States; at the same time, he offered a “long-term truce” without specifying the conditions.
In 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.
In 2009, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal restoring natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paving the way for an end to the nearly twoweek cutoff of most Russian gas to a freezing Europe.
In 2020, the San Francisco 49ers rolled past the Green Bay Packers, 37-20, to advance to the Super Bowl.
Ten years ago: Chinese President Hu Jintao, visiting the White House, declared “a lot still needs to be done” to improve his country’s record on human rights.
Five years ago: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump received the endorsement of conservative firebrand Sarah Palin, giving the businessman a potential boost less than two weeks before Iowa’s kick-off caucuses.
One year ago: 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.