TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. Today’s highlight in history

On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, declared a nationwide constitutional right to abortion.

On this date

In 1901, Britain’s Queen Victoria died at age 81 after a reign of 63 years.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy.

In 1947, America’s first commercially licensed television station west of the Mississippi, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, made its official debut.

In 1995, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died at age 104.

In 1997, the Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the first female secretary of state.

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 29 injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

In 2008, actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in a New York City apartment.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within a year. (The facility remained in operation as lawmakers blocked efforts to transfer terror suspects to the U.S.; President Donald Trump later issued an order to keep the jail open and allow the Pentagon to bring new prisoners there.) In 2020, Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings after warning that a new viral illness that had infected hundreds of people and caused at least nine deaths could spread further.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Piper Laurie is 91. Celebrity chef Graham Kerr (“The Galloping Gourmet”) is 89. Singer Steve Perry is 74. Singer Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 71. Actor Linda Blair is 64. Actor Diane Lane is 58. Actor-rapper DJ Jazzy Jeff is 58. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is 55. Actor Olivia d’abo is 54. Actor Balthazar Getty is 48. Actor Beverley Mitchell is 42.