Today in History: Jan. 10

A portrait of Mr. John Davison Rockefeller circa 1930. (AP Photo)
In 1870, John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil. A portrait of Rockefeller circa 1930. (AP Photo)
This is a general view of the first session of the United Nations Organization's General Assembly at Central Hall on Parliament Square in London, England, on January 10, 1946.  In his opening session address British Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee, on speaker's platform, warned that another war would destroy mankind. In the background is the U.N. emblem, the world surrounded by olive wreaths.  (AP Photo)
On Jan. 10, 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London. This is a general view of the first session of the United Nations Organization’s General Assembly at Central Hall on Parliament Square in London, England, on January 10, 1946. (AP Photo)
Pope John Paul II hands U.S. Vice President George Bush a book during their meeting in Vatican City, Feb. 15, 1984. 

In 1984, the United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century. (AP Photo/Arturo Mari)
Pope John Paul II hands U.S. Vice President George Bush a book during their meeting in Vatican City, Feb. 15, 1984. In 1984, the United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century. (AP Photo/Arturo Mari)
America Online's chairman and chief executive, Steve Case, left, and Time Warner's chairman and chief executive, Gerald Levin, shake hands before a news conference Monday, Jan. 10, 2000, in New York. Time Warner, the world's largest media and entertainment company, is being acquired by America Online for about $166 billion in stock in what would be the biggest corporate merger ever. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
In 2000, America Online announced it was buying Time Warner for $162 billion (the merger, which proved disastrous, ended in Dec. 2009).  (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
Treaty of Versailles, 1919 in France. (AP Photo)
In 1920, the League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) went into effect. Treaty of Versailles, 1919 in France. (AP Photo)
On Jan. 10, 1863, the London Underground had its beginnings as the Metropolitan, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened to the public with service between Paddington and Farringdon Street. A woman walks away from Notting Hill underground station as snow falls in London Sunday, Dec.10, 2017. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
In 2009, the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush was commissioned with its namesake, the 41st president, and other members of the Bush family on hand for the ceremonies at Naval Station Norfolk. In this Monday, March 20, 2017 photograph, crew man the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush as it travels toward the Strait of Hormuz. The arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf marks the first such deployment under new U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
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A portrait of Mr. John Davison Rockefeller circa 1930. (AP Photo)
This is a general view of the first session of the United Nations Organization's General Assembly at Central Hall on Parliament Square in London, England, on January 10, 1946.  In his opening session address British Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee, on speaker's platform, warned that another war would destroy mankind. In the background is the U.N. emblem, the world surrounded by olive wreaths.  (AP Photo)
Pope John Paul II hands U.S. Vice President George Bush a book during their meeting in Vatican City, Feb. 15, 1984. 

In 1984, the United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century. (AP Photo/Arturo Mari)
America Online's chairman and chief executive, Steve Case, left, and Time Warner's chairman and chief executive, Gerald Levin, shake hands before a news conference Monday, Jan. 10, 2000, in New York. Time Warner, the world's largest media and entertainment company, is being acquired by America Online for about $166 billion in stock in what would be the biggest corporate merger ever. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
Treaty of Versailles, 1919 in France. (AP Photo)

Today is Thursday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2019.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 10, 1863, the London Underground had its beginnings as the Metropolitan, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened to the public with service between Paddington and Farringdon Street.

On this date:

In 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet, “Common Sense,” which argued for American independence from British rule.

In 1860, the Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Mass., collapsed and caught fire, killing up to 145 people, mostly female workers from Scotland and Ireland.

In 1861, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union.

In 1870, John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

In 1920, the League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) went into effect.

In 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London. The first manmade contact with the moon was made as radar signals transmitted by the U.S. Army Signal Corps were bounced off the lunar surface.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his State of the Union address, asked Congress to impose a surcharge on both corporate and individual income taxes to help pay for his “Great Society” programs as well as the war in Vietnam. That same day, Massachusetts Republican Edward W. Brooke, the first black person elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, took his seat.

In 1984, the United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton, attending a NATO summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium, announced completion of an agreement to remove all long-range nuclear missiles from the former Soviet republic of Ukraine.

In 2000, America Online announced it was buying Time Warner for $162 billion (the merger, which proved disastrous, ended in December 2009).

In 2002, Marines began flying hundreds of al-Qaida prisoners in Afghanistan to a U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2006, Iran resumed nuclear research two years after halting the work to avoid possible U.N. economic sanctions.

Ten years ago: Vice President-elect Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan, where he pledged long-term American support. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Europe and in Lebanon against the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush was commissioned with its namesake, the 41st president, and other members of the Bush family on hand for the ceremonies at Naval Station Norfolk.

Five years ago: The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added just 74,000 jobs in December 2013. Larry Speakes, who’d spent six years as acting press secretary for President Ronald Reagan, died in Cleveland, Mississippi, at age 74.

One year ago: Immigration agents descended on dozens of 7-Eleven stores nationwide before dawn to check on the immigration status of employees in what officials described as the largest operation so far against an employer under Donald Trump’s presidency. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra said Charles Dutoit had stepped down as artistic director and principal conductor after multiple allegations of sexual assault. After nine terms in the House, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa announced that he would not seek re-election.

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