Today in History

Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023

Today is Sunday, Jan. 22, the 22nd day of 2023. There are 343days left in the year.

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:

n 1901, Britain’s Queen Victoria died at age 81 after a reign of 63 years; she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII.

In 1938, Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town” was performed publicly for the first time in Princeton, New Jersey.

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 1953, the Arthur Miller drama “The Crucible” opened on Broadway. In 1995, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died at the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at age 104.

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

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski (kah-zihn’-skee) pleaded guilty in Sacramento, California, to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 29injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole. In 2006, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second-highest in NBA history, in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 122-104victory over the Toronto Raptors.

In 2007, a double car bombing of a predominantly Shiite commercial area in Baghdad killed 88 people. Iran announced it had barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country in apparent retaliation for U.N. sanctions imposed the previous month.

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 United States; 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. Health officials in Washington state said they were actively monitoring 16 people who’d come in close contact with a traveler to China, the first U.S. resident known to be infected with the virus. Ten years ago: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line bloc fared worse than expected in a parliamentary election, forcing Netanyahu to negotiate a broad coalition deal. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution condemning North Korea’s rocket launch in Dec. 2012 and imposing new sanctions. Linda Pugach, who was blinded in 1959 when her then-lover, Burton Pugach, hired hit men to throw lye in her face - and became a media sensation after later marrying him died in New York at age 75. Five years ago: President Donald Trump signed a bill reopening the government after a 69-hour shutdown. Former soccer star George Weah was sworn in as Liberia’s new president, taking over the impoverished West African nation from Africa’s first female leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Singer Neil Diamond announced that he would be retiring from touring because he’d recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

One year ago: Thousands of people gathered in European capitals to protest vaccine passports and other requirements their governments had imposed in hopes of ending the coronavirus pandemic. Don Wilson, co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the instrumental guitar band The Ventures, died at 88.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Piper Laurie is 91. Celebrity chef Graham Kerr (TV: “The Galloping Gourmet”) is 89. Author Joseph Wambaugh is 86. Singer Steve Perry is 74. Country singer-musician Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 71. Movie director Jim Jarmusch is 70. Actor John Wesley Shipp is 68. Actor Linda Blair is 64. Actor Diane Lane is 58. Actor and rap DJ Jazzy Jeff is 58. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is 55. Actor Olivia d’abo is 54. Actor Katie Finneran is 52. Actor Gabriel Macht is 51. Actor Balthazar Getty is 48. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson is 43. Jazz singer Lizz Wright is 43. Pop singer Willa Ford is 42. Actor Beverley Mitchell is 42. Rock singer-musician Ben Moody (Evanescence) is 42. Actor Kevin Sheridan is 41. Actor-singer Phoebe Strole is 40. Rapper Logic is 33. Tennis player Alizé Cornet (UH-LEEZ’ kohr-nay’) is 33. Actor Sami Gayle is 27.

Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

Today is Monday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2023. There are 342days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

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:

In 1368, China’s Ming dynasty, which lasted nearly three centuries, began as Zhu Yuanzhang (zhoo whan-zhahng) was formally acclaimed emperor following the collapse of the Yuan dynasty.

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

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

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

In 1950, the Israeli Knesset approved a resolution affirming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

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

In 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.

In 1977, the TV mini-series “Roots,” based on the Alex Haley novel, began airing on ABC.

In 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. In 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.) In 2020, Chinese state media said the city of Wuhan would be shutting down outbound flights and trains, trying to halt the spread of a new virus that had sickened hundreds of people and killed at least 17. The World Health Organization said the viral illness in China was not yet a global health emergency, though the head of the U.N. health agency added that “it may yet become one.”

Ten years ago: Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered fiery rejoinders to Republican critics of the Obama administration’s handling of the deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. Cardinal Jozef Glemp, 83, the longtime head of Poland’s influential Roman Catholic church at a time when it played a key role in the fight against communism, died in Warsaw.

Five years ago: An earlymorning shooting at a high school in Benton, Kentucky, left two 15-year-old students dead and more than a dozen others injured; authorities charged a 15-yearold classmate with murder and assault. Lebron James, at 33, became the youngest player in NBA history with 30,000 career points, reaching that mark during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 114102loss to the San Antonio Spurs; he was the seventh player to score that many points in his career. “The Shape of Water” led the way with 13 Academy Award nominations, including one for best picture. (It went on to win four Oscars, including best picture.)

One year ago: Police in Brussels fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse violent demonstrations against COVID-19 vaccinations and restrictions; the protest drew tens of thousands of people, some traveling from France, Germany and other countries. As China tightened anti-disease controls ahead of the Winter Olympics, people in a Beijing district with some 2 million residents were ordered to undergo mass coronavirus testing following a series of infections. After topping the North American charts in its sixth weekend in theaters, “Spider-man: No Way Home” became the sixth highest grossing film of all time, globally.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Chita Rivera is 90. Actordirector Lou Antonio is 89. Jazz musician Gary Burton is 80. Actor Gil Gerard is

80. Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-del., is 76. Actor Richard Dean Anderson is 73. Rock musician Bill Cunningham is 73. Rock singer Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) is 70. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (veeyah-ry-goh’-sah) is 70. Princess Caroline of Monaco is 66. Singer Anita Baker is

65. Reggae musician Earl Falconer (UB40) is 64. Actor Peter Mackenzie is 62. Actor Boris Mcgiver is 61. Actor Gail O’grady is 60. Actor Mariska Hargitay is

59. R&B singer Marc Nelson is 52. CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’donnell is

49. Actor Tiffani Thiessen is 49. Rock musician Nick Harmer (Death Cab for Cutie) is 48. Actor Lindsey Kraft is 43. Singer-actor Rachel Crow is 25.