Today In History

Today in History: Friday, January  20, 2017
AP Highlight in History:
On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African-American president of the United States.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

On this date in:
1801 John Marshall was appointed chief justice of the United States.
1841 Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain.
1896 Comedian George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum in New York City.
1936 Britain’s King George V died.
1942 Nazi officials arrived at a “final solution” that called for exterminating Europe’s Jews, during a conference at Lake Wannsee in Berlin.
1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office as president of the United States; Richard M. Nixon was sworn in as vice president.
1961 John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States.

AP Photo

1981 Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States.

AP Photo

1981 Iran released 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days.
1986 The United States observed the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
1987 Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite disappeared in Beirut, Lebanon, while attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages.
1993 Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States.
2001 George W. Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States.
2001 Hundreds of thousands of protesting Filipinos forced President Joseph Estrada to step down; Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as the new president.
Today’s Birthdays:
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley turns 45 years old today.

AP Photo/Alice Keeney

Name Profession Age
Arte Johnson Comedian (“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”) 88
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Astronaut 87
David Lynch Director 71
Paul Stanley Rock musician (Kiss) 65
Lorenzo Lamas Actor 59
James Denton Actor (“Desperate Housewives”) 54
John Michael Montgomery Country singer 52
Rainn Wilson Actor (“The Office”) 51
Stacey Dash Actress 50
Melissa Rivers TV personality 49
Comedian-talk show host Bill Maher turns 61 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

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