Today in History
Today is Monday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2024. There are 337 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Jan. 29, 1936, the first inductees of baseball’s Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, New York.
On this date:
In 1820, King George III died at Windsor Castle at age 81; he was succeeded by his son, who became King George IV.
In 1919, the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, establishing the prohibition of alcohol, was certified by Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk.
In 1929, The Seeing Eye, a New Jersey-based school which trains guide dogs to assist the blind, was incorporated by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank.
In 1963, poet Robert Frost died in Boston at age 88.
In 1964, Stanley Kubrick’s nuclear war satire “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” premiered in New York, Toronto and London.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (dung shah-oh-ping) to the White House, following the establishment of diplomatic relations.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced in a nationally broadcast message that he and Vice President George H.W. Bush would seek reelection in the fall.
In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win five Super Bowl titles, beating the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, in Super Bowl XXIX.
In 1998, a bomb rocked an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, killing security guard Robert Sanderson and critically injuring nurse Emily Lyons. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was captured in May 2003 and is serving a life sentence.)
In 2002, in his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said terrorists were still threatening America — and he warned of “an axis of evil” consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
In 2007, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized because of medical complications eight months after his gruesome breakdown at the Preakness Stakes.
In 2013, the Justice Department ended its criminal probe of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with a U.S. judge agreeing to let London-based oil giant BP PLC plead guilty to manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 rig workers and pay a record $4 billion in penalties.
In 2017, six people were killed in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers. (Alexandre Bissonnette, who was arrested nearby, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges and was sentenced to life in prison.)
In 2018, the Cleveland Indians announced that they would remove the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms in the coming baseball season, after decades of protests and complaints that the grinning, red-faced caricature was racist. (The Indians changed their name to the Guardians starting in the 2022 season).
In 2022, actor Howard Hesseman, who played a radio DJ on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” and a teacher on “Head of the Class,” died in Los Angeles at 81.
Today’s birthdays: Feminist author Germaine Greer is 85. Actor Katharine Ross is 84. Feminist author Robin Morgan is 83. Actor Tom Selleck is 79. R&B singer Bettye LaVette is 78. Actor Marc Singer is 76. Actor Ann Jillian is 74. Rock musician Louie Perez (Los Lobos) is 71. R&B singer Charlie Wilson is 71. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is 70. Actor Terry Kinney is 70. Country singer Irlene Mandrell is 68. Actor Diane Delano is 67. Actor Judy Norton (TV: “The Waltons”) is 66. Rock musician Johnny Spampinato is 65. Olympic gold-medal diver Greg Louganis is 64. Rock musician David Baynton-Power (James) is 63. Rock musician Eddie Jackson (Queensryche) is 63. Actor Nicholas Turturro is 62. Rock singer-musician Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) is 60. Actor-director Edward Burns is 56. Actor Sam Trammell is 55. Actor Heather Graham is 54. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is 54. Actor Sharif Atkins is 49. Actor Sara Gilbert is 49. Actor Kelly Packard is 49. Actor Justin Hartley is 47. Actor Sam Jaeger is 47. Writer and TV personality Jedediah Bila is 45. Actor Andrew Keegan is 45. Actor Jason James Richter is 44. Blues musician Jonny Lang is 43. Pop-rock singer Adam Lambert (TV: “American Idol”) is 42. Country singer Eric Paslay is 41.
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