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Highlights in History
On Jan. 23, 1962, Jackie Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
On this date
In 1789, Georgetown University was established in present-day Washington, D.C.
In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1943, critic Alexander Woollcott suffered a fatal heart attack during a live broadcast of the CBS radio program “People’s Platform.”
In 1960, the U.S. Navy-operated bathyscaphe Trieste carried two men to the deepest known point in the Pacific Ocean, reaching a depth of more than 35,000 feet.
In 1964, the 24th amendment to the Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified.
In 1968, North Korea seized the Navy intelligence ship USS Pueblo, charging its crew with being on a spying mission. (The crew was released 11 months later.)
In 1973, President Richard Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.
Ten years ago
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was abducted in Karachi, Pakistan, by a group demanding the return of prisoners from the Afghan campaign; he was later murdered. 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. Kenneth Lay stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Enron Corp.
Five years ago
In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush implored Congress to give his plan to send more troops to Iraq a chance. A new rule requiring U.S. airline passengers to show a passport upon their return from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean took effect. E. Howard Hunt, who’d helped organize the Watergate break-in, leading to the downfall of Richard Nixon’s presidency, died in Miami, Fla., at age 88.
One year ago
Allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez took to the streets of Caracas by the thousands, staging rival demonstrations to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of Venezuela’s democracy. Fitness guru Jack LaLanne died in Morro Bay, Calif., at age 96. The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to their third Super Bowl in six years with a 24-19 victory over the New York Jets to win the AFC championship.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears, 21-14, in the NFC championship game.
