TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

Jan. 17, 1961

President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex.”

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1806

Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.

1893

Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Lili’uokalani to abdicate. The 19th president of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70.

1917

Denmark ceded the Virgin Islands to the United States for $25million.

1929

The cartoon character Popeye the Sailor made his debut in the “Thimble Theatre” comic strip.

1945

Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II; Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews, disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody.

1977

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

1994

The 6.7magnitude Northridge earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 60people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

1995

More than 6,000people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2devastated the city of Kobe, Japan.