Today in History

Today in History

Today is Monday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2017. There are 335 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. (Godse and a co-conspirator were later executed.)

On this date:

In 1649, England's King Charles I was executed for treason.

In 1815, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in agreeing to purchase the personal book collection of former President Thomas Jefferson to replace volumes lost when the British burned the U.S. Capitol and its congressional library during the War of 1812.

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

In 1911, James White, an intellectually disabled black man who'd been convicted of rape for having sex with a 14-year-old white girl when he was 16, was publicly hanged in Bell County, Kentucky.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. The first episode of the "Lone Ranger" radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit.

In 1945, during World War II, more than 500 Allied captives held at the Japanese prison camp in Cabanatuan in the Philippines were liberated by U.S. Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrilla fighters. Adolf Hitler marked the 12th anniversary of his appointment as Germany's chancellor with his last public speech in which he called on Germans to keep resisting until victory.

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

In 1968, the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.

In 1969, The Beatles staged an impromptu concert atop Apple headquarters in London; it was the group's last public performance.

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 1981, an estimated 2 million New Yorkers turned out for a ticker-tape parade honoring the freed American hostages from Iran.

In 1997, the U.S. Marine Corps opened an investigation of two videotaped hazing incidents in 1991 and 1993 known as "blood pinnings" in which elite paratroopers had golden jump pins beaten into their chests. (The 1993 incident led to a recommended discharge for a sergeant.)

Ten years ago: A propane tank explosion leveled the Flat Top Little General Store in Ghent, West Virginia, killing four people. Two gunmen shot and killed Mellie McDaniel, the wife of the Jackson County, Florida, sheriff and a deputy sent to check on her; other deputies opened fire and killed the assailants. Hollywood writer-producer and novelist Sidney Sheldon died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 89.

Five years ago: All European Union countries except Britain and the Czech Republic agreed to sign a new treaty designed to stop overspending in the eurozone and put an end to the bloc's crippling debt crisis. A reactor at a northern Illinois nuclear plant shut down after an electrical insulator failed (the Unit 2 reactor at the Byron Generating Station resumed operating a week later).

One year ago: Two biker clubs clashed during a weekend motorcycle show in Denver, resulting in a brawl that left one person dead and seven others shot, stabbed or beaten. Virginia State Police found the remains of missing 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lovell in Surry County, North Carolina; two Virginia Tech engineering students were arrested in connection with her death. A boat carrying Syrians attempting the short sea journey from Turkey to Greece capsized, causing at least 37 people to drown, among them several babies and young children. Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores died in the capital at age 56. Germany's Angelique Kerber won her first major title, upsetting Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director Michael Anderson (Film: "Around the World in 80 Days") is 97. Actress Dorothy Malone is 92. Producer-director Harold Prince is 89. Actor Gene Hackman is 87. Actress Vanessa Redgrave is 80. Chess grandmaster Boris Spassky is 80. Country singer Jeanne Pruett is 80. Country singer Norma Jean is 79. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is 76. Rock singer Marty Balin is 75. Rhythm-and-blues musician William King (The Commodores) is 68. Singer Phil Collins is 66. Actor Charles S. Dutton is 66. World Golf Hall of Famer Curtis Strange is 62. Actress-comedian Brett Butler is 59. Singer Jody Watley is 58. Actor-filmmaker Dexter Scott King is 56. The King of Jordan, Abdullah II, is 55. Actor Norbert Leo Butz is 50. The King of Spain, Felipe VI, is 49. Country singer Tammy Cochran is 45. Actor Christian Bale is 43. Rock musician Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket) is 43. Actress Olivia Colman is 43. Actress-singer Lena Hall is 37. Pop-country singer-songwriter Josh Kelley is 37. Actor Wilmer Valderrama is 37. Actress Mary Hollis Imboden (TV: "The Real O'Neals") is 31. Actress Kylie Bunbury (TV: "Pitch") is 28. Actor Jake Thomas is 27. Actress Danielle Campbell is 22.

Thought for Today: "The excellent becomes the permanent." -- Jane Addams, American social worker and Nobel Peace laureate (1860-1935).