Today in History

Today in History

Today is Monday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2016. There are 355 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 11, 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued "Smoking and Health," a report which concluded that "cigarette smoking contributes substantially to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate."

On this date:

In 1861, Alabama became the fourth state to withdraw from the Union.

In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Grand Canyon National Monument (it became a national park in 1919).

In 1913, the first enclosed sedan-type automobile, a Hudson, went on display at the 13th National Automobile Show in New York.

In 1927, the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was proposed during a dinner of Hollywood luminaries at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart began an 18-hour trip from Honolulu to Oakland, California, that made her the first person to fly solo across any part of the Pacific Ocean.

In 1942, Japan declared war against the Netherlands, the same day that Imperial Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies.

In 1946, the People's Republic of Albania was proclaimed after King Zog was formally deposed by the Communists.

In 1966, Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti, 64, died in Chur.

In 1977, France set off an international uproar by releasing Abu Daoud, a PLO official behind the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

In 1989, nine days before leaving the White House, President Ronald Reagan bade the nation farewell in a prime-time address, saying of his eight years in office: "We meant to change a nation and instead we changed a world."

In 1995, 51 people were killed when a Colombian DC-9 jetliner crashed as it was preparing to land near the Caribbean resort of Cartagena -- however, 9-year-old Erika Delgado survived.

In 2010, Mark McGwire admitted to The Associated Press that he'd used steroids and human growth hormone when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998.

Ten years ago: A Georgian court convicted Vladimir Arutyunian of trying to assassinate President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili with a grenade in Tbilisi on May 10, 2005, and sentenced him to life in prison. Gunmen stormed an offshore oil platform run by Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria and seized the workers, an American, a Briton, a Bulgarian and a Honduran. (The four were freed nearly three weeks later.)

Five years ago: Several hundred mourners remembered the victims of the Arizona shooting rampage during a public Mass at St. Odilia Catholic Church in Tucson. David Nelson, 74, who co-starred on his parents' popular TV show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," died in Los Angeles.

One year ago: More than a million people surged through the boulevards of Paris behind dozens of world leaders walking arm-in-arm in a rally for unity against three days of terror that killed 17 people and changed France. At the 72nd Golden Globes, the movie "Boyhood" won best dramatic picture while "The Grand Budapest Hotel" was named best musical or comedy picture; in the TV categories, "The Affair" was named best dramatic series while "Transparent" was named best musical or comedy series. Anita Ekberg, 83, the Swedish-born actress and sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s, died in Rome.

Today's Birthdays: Producer Grant Tinker is 91. The former prime minister of Canada, Jean Chretien, is 82. Actor Mitchell Ryan is 82. Actor Felix Silla is 79. Movie director Joel Zwick is 74. Country singer Naomi Judd is 70. World Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw is 64. Singer Robert Earl Keen is 60. Actress Phyllis Logan (TV: "Downton Abbey") is 60. Musician Vicki Peterson (The Bangles) is 58. Actress Kim Coles is 54. Actor Jason Connery is 53. Former child actress Dawn Lyn (TV: "My Three Sons") is 53. Contemporary Christian musician Jim Bryson (MercyMe) is 48. Rock musician Tom Dumont (No Doubt) is 48. Movie director Malcolm D. Lee is 46. Singer Mary J. Blige is 45. Musician Tom Rowlands (The Chemical Brothers) is 45. Actor Marc Blucas is 44. Actress Amanda Peet is 44. Actor Rockmond Dunbar is 43. Actress Aja Naomi King is 31. Actress Kristolyn Lloyd is 31. Reality TV star Jason Wahler (TV: "Laguna Beach"; "The Hills") is 29. Pop singer Cody Simpson is 19.

Thought for Today: "Je sais que je ne sais pas ce que je ne sais pas." (I know that I don't know what I don't know.) -- Marguerite Youcenar, French author (1903-1987).

Copyright 2016, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.