Today's Highlight in History:
On January 26th, 1950, India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.
On this date:
In 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.

In 1802, Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the US Capitol.

In 1837, Michigan became the 26th state.

In 1861, Louisiana seceded from the Union.

In 1870, Virginia rejoined the Union.

In 1911, the Richard Strauss opera "Der Rosenkavalier" premiered in Dresden, Germany.

In 1942, the first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War Two went ashore in Northern Ireland.

In 1962, the United States launched "Ranger Three" to land scientific instruments on the moon -- but the probe missed its target by some 22,000 miles.

In 1979, former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.

In 1998, President Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with a White House intern, telling reporters, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

Ten years ago: Attorneys for deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega challenged the jurisdiction of the US court system to try their client on drug-trafficking charges, and said Noriega should be declared a prisoner of war.

Five years ago: A little more than three weeks after Republicans took control of Congress, the House endorsed a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution designed to eliminate chronic federal deficits.

One year ago: President Clinton welcomed a frail Pope John Paul the Second as the pontiff began his seventh pilgrimage to the United States in St. Louis. Jordan's King Hussein turned over the temporary operation of his country to his eldest son and flew back to the United States for urgent medical care.

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 27th, 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.
On this date:
In 1832, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" under the pen name Lewis Carroll, was born in Cheshire, England.

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

In 1944, the Soviet Union announced the end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

In 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

In 1951, an era of atomic testing in the Nevada desert began as an Air Force plane dropped a one-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flats.

In 1967, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their "Apollo One" spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Florida.

In 1967, more than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris.

In 1977, the Vatican reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's ban on female priests.

In 1981, President Reagan greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran.

Ten years ago: In Romania, four top associates of executed dictator Nicolae Ceausescu went on trial, charged with abetting genocide.

Five years ago: House Majority Leader Dick Armey apologized for calling Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, an acknowledged homosexual, "Barney Fag" during an interview, saying it was an innocent slip of the tongue. About five-thousand mourners gathered at the site of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its liberation.

One year ago: The Republican-controlled Senate blocked dismissal of the impeachment case against President Clinton and then voted for new testimony from Monica Lewinsky and two other witnesses -- but by margins well short of the two-thirds needed to oust the president.

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle "Challenger" exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members.
On this date:
In 1547, England's King Henry the Eighth died; he was succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Edward the Sixth.

In 1596, English navigator Sir Francis Drake died off the coast of Panama; he was buried at sea.

In 1853, Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti was born in Havana.

In 1902, the Carnegie Institute was established in Washington DC.

In 1909, the United States ended direct control over Cuba.

In 1915, the Coast Guard was created by an act of Congress.

In 1916, Louis D. Brandeis was appointed by President Wilson to the Supreme Court, becoming its first Jewish member.

In 1945, during World War Two, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

In 1980, six US diplomats who had avoided being taken hostage at their embassy in Tehran flew out of Iran with the help of Canadian diplomats.

In 1982, Italian anti-terrorism forces rescued US Brigadier General James L. Dozier, 42 days after he had been kidnapped by the Red Brigades.

Ten years ago: The San Francisco 49ers routed the Denver Broncos 55-to-ten in Super Bowl 24.

Five years ago: President Clinton hosted a five-and-a-half-hour "work session" of governors, legislators and local officials, both Democrats and Republicans, to discuss welfare reform.

One year ago: Ford Motor Company announced it was buying the Volvo car division in a $6.45 billion deal. Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan honored a personal request for mercy from Pope John Paul the Second, sparing triple murderer Darrell Mease from being executed.

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 29th, 1900, the American League, consisting of eight baseball teams, was organized in Philadelphia.
On this date:
In 1820, Britain's King George the Third died insane at Windsor Castle, ending a reign that had seen both the American and French revolutions.

In 1843, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born in Niles, Ohio.

In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" was first published, in the New York "Evening Mirror."

In 1850, Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery which included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.

In 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.

In 1936, the first members of baseball's Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, New York.

In 1958, actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married.

In 1963, the first members of football's Hall of Fame were named in Canton, Ohio.

In 1963, poet Robert Frost died in Boston.

In 1979, President Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (duhng shah-oh ping) to the White House, following the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Ten years ago: Former "Exxon Valdez" skipper Joseph Hazelwood went on trial in Anchorage, Alaska, on charges stemming from the nation's worst oil spill. (Hazelwood was acquitted of the major charges, and convicted of a misdemeanor.)

Five years ago: The San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49-to-26, to win Super Bowl 29; the 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win five Super Bowls.

One year ago: The Senate delivered subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and two of President Clinton's advisers, summoning them for private, videotaped testimony in the impeachment trial. Attorney General Janet Reno rejected a special prosecutor investigation of former White House deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes.

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 30th, 1968, during the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.
On this date:
In 1649, England's King Charles the First was beheaded.

In 1798, a brawl broke out in the House of Representatives in Philadelphia, as Matthew Lyon of Vermont spat in the face of Roger Griswold of Connecticut.

In 1882, the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was born in Hyde Park, New York.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany.

In 1933, the first episode of the "Lone Ranger" radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit.

In 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.

In 1962, two members of the "Flying Wallendas" high-wire act were killed when their seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit.

In 1964, the United States launched "Ranger Six," an unmanned spacecraft carrying television cameras that was to crash-land on the moon.

In 1972, 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers were shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as "Bloody Sunday."

In 1979, the civilian government of Iran announced it had decided to allow Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (hoh-MAY'-nee), who'd been living in exile in France, to return.

Ten years ago: A federal judge ordered former President Reagan to provide excerpts of his personal diaries to John M. Poindexter for the former national security adviser's upcoming Iran-Contra trial. (However, the judge later reversed himself, deciding the material was not essential.)

Five years ago: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 300 wounded when a car bomb blamed on Muslim insurgents exploded in downtown Algiers. The Smithsonian Institution abandoned plans for a major exhibit on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, yielding to critics who charged the exhibit would have portrayed America as the aggressor and Japan as the victim in World War Two.

One year ago: NATO authorized its secretary-general to launch military action in Yugoslavia if the warring parties failed to negotiate an agreement for autonomy in Kosovo.

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 31st, 1950, President Truman announced he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.
On this date:
In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted for his part in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James the First, was executed.

In 1797, composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.

In 1865, General Robert E. Lee was named General-in-Chief of all the Confederate armies.

In 1917, Germany served notice it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

In 1934, President Roosevelt devalued the dollar in relation to gold.

In 1944, during World War Two, US forces began invading Kwajalein Atoll and other parts of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.

In 1949, the first TV daytime soap opera, "These Are My Children," was broadcast from the NBC station in Chicago.

In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, "Explorer One."

In 1971, astronauts Alan B. Shepard Junior, Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

In 1987, discount airline pioneer People Express flew its last flights before merging into Continental Airlines.

Ten years ago: In his first State of the Union address, President Bush proposed a significant cut in US and Soviet combat troops. McDonald's Corporation opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.

Five years ago: President Clinton scrapped a $40 billion rescue plan for Mexico, announcing instead that he would act unilaterally to provide Mexico with $20 billion from a fund normally used to defend the US dollar. Legendary Broadway producer-director George Abbott died in Miami Beach, Florida, at age 107.

One year ago: The Denver Broncos repeated as NFL champions, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-to-19 in Super Bowl 33. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presented what they called convincing proof that the AIDS virus originated in chimpanzees and spread to people in Africa.