Today in history: Jan. 12
In 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7 earthquake, and more events that happened on this day in history.
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1910: The White House
In 1910, at a White House dinner hosted by President William Howard Taft, Baroness Rosen, wife of the Russian ambassador, caused a stir by requesting and smoking a cigarette — it was, apparently, the first time a woman had smoked openly during a public function in the executive mansion. (Some of the other women present who had brought their own cigarettes began lighting up in turn.)
1959: Motown Records
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records (originally Tamla Records) in Detroit.
1969: Super Bowl III
In 1969, the New York Jets of the American Football League upset the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League 16-7 in Super Bowl III, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
1971: "All in the Family"
In 1971, the groundbreaking situation comedy “All in the Family” premiered on CBS television.
1976: Agatha Christie
In 1976, mystery writer Dame Agatha Christie died in Wallingford, England, at age 85.
1995: Qubilah Shabazz
In 1995, Qubilah Shabazz (keh-BEE’-lah shuh-BAZ’), the daughter of Malcolm X, was arrested in Minneapolis on charges she’d tried to hire a hitman to kill Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan (the charges were later dropped in a settlement with the government).
2006: Mehmet Ali Agca
In 2006, Mehmet Ali Agca (MEH’-met AH’-lee AH’-juh), the Turkish gunman who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, was released from an Istanbul prison after serving more than 25 years in Italy and Turkey for the plot against the pontiff and the slaying of a Turkish journalist.
2010: Haiti
In 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7 earthquake; the Haitian government said 316,000 people were killed, while a report prepared for the U.S. Agency for International Development suggested the death toll may have been between 46,000 and 85,000.
2011: Tucson, Arizona
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama visited Tucson, Arizona, the scene of a shooting rampage that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others; he urged Americans to refrain from partisan bickering and to embrace the idealistic vision of democracy held by 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, the youngest of the victims.
2016: Barack Obama
Five years ago: In his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama urged Americans to rekindle their belief in the promise of change that first carried him to the White House, declaring that the country must not allow election-year fear and division to put economic and security progress at risk.
2016: Iran
Five years ago: Iran detained 10 American sailors and their two small Navy boats after the boats drifted into Iranian waters; the sailors and their vessels were released the following day.
2016: The Rams
Five years ago: The St. Louis Rams’ move back to Los Angeles was approved by 30 of 32 NFL owners.
2020: Donald Trump
One year ago: President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparred ahead of Trump’s impeachment trial, with Pelosi saying senators would “pay a price” for blocking new witnesses, and Trump labeling the House impeachment vote a “totally partisan hoax.”
2020: Mark Esper
One year ago: Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he had seen no hard evidence that four American embassies had been under a possible threat, as Trump had claimed, when the president authorized the drone strike that killed Iran’s top military commander.
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