Today in History: Jan. 3

Circa 1530, German theologian and religious reformer Martin Luther (1483 - 1546). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X. Circa 1530, German theologian and religious reformer Martin Luther (1483 – 1546). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
** FILE ** In this Oct. 29, 1932 file photo, Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York is shown in his car in Albany as he starts out for his campaign speaking tour.   The "mirage" of American economic invulnerability has vanished, along with "much of the savings of thrifty and prudent men and women," the presidential hopeful told the crowd. Franklin Roosevelt's words in 1932 are oddly prescient for today's crisis. (AP Photo)
In 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself had been afflicted with the crippling disease. In this Oct. 29, 1932 file photo, Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York is shown in his car in Albany as he starts out for his campaign speaking tour. (AP Photo)
WIth a copy of Anchorage Daily News headlined 'We're In,' US President Dwight Eisenhower (1890 - 1965) poses with Governor of the Alaska Territories Mike Stepovich and Secretary of the Interior Fred Andrew Seaton (1909 - 1974) in the White House after Congress voted to approve Alaska’s statehood, Washington DC, July 1, 1958. Alaska became the 49th state the following year. (Photo by Abbie Rowe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation. (Photo by Abbie Rowe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
Jack Ruby, who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, is shown being returned to jail after a psychiatric examination in Dallas, Tex., Jan. 28, 1964.  (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman)
In 1967, Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, died in a Dallas hospital. Jack Ruby, who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, is shown being returned to jail after a psychiatric examination in Dallas, Tex., Jan. 28, 1964. (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman)
Portrait of American businessmen and engineers Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple Computer Inc, at the first West Coast Computer Faire, where the Apple II computer was debuted, in Brooks Hall, San Francisco, California, April 16th or 17th, 1977. (Photo by Tom Munnecke/Getty Images)
In 1977, Apple Computer was incorporated in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Mike Makkula Jr. (Photo by Tom Munnecke/Getty Images)
FILE - In this June 3, 2008 file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to supporters before speaking at a primary night rally in St. Paul, Minn. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in the cat-and-mouse stage of their national race, chasing each other around the map as they jockey for position. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
In 2008, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won Democratic caucuses in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee won the Republican caucuses. In this June 3, 2008 file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to supporters before speaking at a primary night rally in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
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Circa 1530, German theologian and religious reformer Martin Luther (1483 - 1546). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
** FILE ** In this Oct. 29, 1932 file photo, Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York is shown in his car in Albany as he starts out for his campaign speaking tour.   The "mirage" of American economic invulnerability has vanished, along with "much of the savings of thrifty and prudent men and women," the presidential hopeful told the crowd. Franklin Roosevelt's words in 1932 are oddly prescient for today's crisis. (AP Photo)
WIth a copy of Anchorage Daily News headlined 'We're In,' US President Dwight Eisenhower (1890 - 1965) poses with Governor of the Alaska Territories Mike Stepovich and Secretary of the Interior Fred Andrew Seaton (1909 - 1974) in the White House after Congress voted to approve Alaska’s statehood, Washington DC, July 1, 1958. Alaska became the 49th state the following year. (Photo by Abbie Rowe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
Jack Ruby, who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, is shown being returned to jail after a psychiatric examination in Dallas, Tex., Jan. 28, 1964.  (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman)
Portrait of American businessmen and engineers Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple Computer Inc, at the first West Coast Computer Faire, where the Apple II computer was debuted, in Brooks Hall, San Francisco, California, April 16th or 17th, 1977. (Photo by Tom Munnecke/Getty Images)
FILE - In this June 3, 2008 file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to supporters before speaking at a primary night rally in St. Paul, Minn. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in the cat-and-mouse stage of their national race, chasing each other around the map as they jockey for position. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Today is Thursday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2019. There are 362 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 3, 1977, Apple Computer was incorporated in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Mike Makkula Jr.

On this date:

In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X.

In 1777, Gen. George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1868, Japan’s Meiji (may-jee) Restoration re-established the authority of the emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns; the upheaval paved the way for Japan’s drive toward becoming a modern power.

In 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself had been afflicted with the crippling disease.

In 1958, the first six members of the newly formed U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held their first meeting at the White House.

In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation.

In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the United States was formally terminating diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.

In 1967, Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, died in a Dallas hospital.

In 1980, conservationist Joy Adamson, author of “Born Free,” was killed in northern Kenya by a former employee.

In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the START II missile-reduction treaty in Moscow. (However, the agreement ultimately fell apart.)

In 2008, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won Democratic caucuses in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee won the Republican caucuses.

In 2013, students from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, reconvened at a different building in the town of Monroe about three weeks after the massacre that had claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six educators. The new 113th Congress opened for business, with House Speaker John Boehner re-elected to his post despite a mini-revolt in Republican ranks.

In 2009: After seven days of pummeling the Gaza Strip from the air, Israel launched a ground offensive; Hamas vowed that Gaza would be a “graveyard” for the Israelis. Veteran actor Pat Hingle died in Carolina Beach, N.C., at age 84.

In 2014: The secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled again that the National Security Agency could keep collecting every American’s telephone records every day. Phil Everly, who with his brother Don formed an influential harmony duo, died in Burbank, California, at age 74. No. 12 Clemson rallied to beat No. 7 Ohio State 40-35 in the Orange Bowl.

In 2018: President Donald Trump signed an executive order disbanding the controversial voter fraud commission he had set up to investigate the 2016 presidential election after alleging without evidence that voting fraud cost him the popular vote; the White House blamed the decision to end the panel on more than a dozen states that refused to cooperate. A brutal winter storm delivered a rare blast of snow and ice to the coastal Southeast, giving parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina their heaviest snowfall in nearly three decades.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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