Today is Sunday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2007. There are 344 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Jan. 21, 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine.
On this date:
In 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other Southerners resigned from the U.S. Senate.
In 1915, the first Kiwanis Club was founded, in Detroit.
In 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin died at age 53.
In 1942, Count Basie and His Orchestra recorded “One O’Clock Jump” in New York for Okeh Records.
In 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss, accused of being part of a Communist spy ring, was found guilty in New York of lying to a grand jury. (Hiss, who always maintained his innocence, served less than four years in prison.)
In 1950, George Orwell, author of “1984,” died in London.
In 1954, the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Conn. (however, the Nautilus did not make its first nuclear-powered run until nearly a year later).
In 1976, the supersonic Concorde jet was put into service by Britain and France.
In 1977, President Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
In 1982, convict-turned-author Jack Henry Abbott was found guilty in New York of first-degree manslaughter in the stabbing death of waiter Richard Adan in 1981. (Abbott was later sentenced to 15 years to life in prison; he committed suicide in 2002.)
Ten years ago: Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct. The Democratic National Committee announced it would no longer accept money from people or companies with foreign ties and would limit contributions from labor unions and wealthy benefactors.
Five years ago: Sultry singer Peggy Lee died in Bel Air, Calif., at age 81.
One year ago: Rescuers in West Virginia found the bodies of two miners who’d disappeared after a conveyor belt caught fire deep inside a coal mine. A Red Cross-chartered helicopter that had been used for earthquake relief in Pakistan went missing (the wreckage of the copter and the bodies of the seven people on board were found in June 2006).
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Paul Scofield is 85. Actress Ann Wedgeworth is 72. Blues singer-musician Snooks Eaglin is 71. Golfer Jack Nicklaus is 67. Opera singer Placido Domingo is 66. Singer Richie Havens is 66. Singer Mac Davis is 65. Actress Jill Eikenberry is 60. Country musician Jim Ibbotson (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 60. Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 57. Actor Robby Benson is 51. Actress Geena Davis is 51. Basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon is 44. Actress Charlotte Ross is 39. Actor John Ducey is
38. Actress Karina Lombard is 38. Rapper Levirt (B-Rock and the Bizz) is 37. Rock musician Mark Trojanowski (Sister Hazel) is 37. Rock DJ Chris Kilmore (Incubus) is 34. Singer Emma Bunton (Spice Girls) is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nokio (Dru Hill) is 28. Actress Izabella Miko is 26.
Thought for Today: “The road to ruin is always kept in good repair.” — Anonymous.