This day in history

[January 22, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, Jan. 22, the 22nd day of 2011. There are 343 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Roe v. Wade decision, legalized abortions using a trimester approach.

On this date:

In 1498, during his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, explorer Christopher Columbus arrived at the present-day Caribbean island of St. Vincent.

In 1901, Britain's Queen Victoria died at age 81.

In 1907, the Richard Strauss opera "Salome" made its American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; its racy content sparked outrage and forced cancellation of additional performances.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory." (By April, however, America also was at war.)

In 1922, Pope Benedict XV died; he was succeeded by Pius XI.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy.

In 1959, 12 workers were killed in the Knox Mine Disaster in Pennsylvania.

In 1973, former President Lyndon B. Johnson died at age 64.

In 1995, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy died at the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 104.

In 2008, actor Heath Ledger was found dead of an accidental prescription overdose in New York City; he was 28.

Ten years ago: On the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, President George W. Bush signed a memorandum reinstating full abortion restrictions on U.S. overseas aid. Four of the seven convicts who'd broken out of a Texas prison the previous month were captured southwest of Denver; a fifth inmate killed himself.

Five years ago: Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, took office with a promise to lift his nation's struggling indigenous majority out of centuries of poverty and discrimination. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC title game, dismantling the Denver Broncos 34-17. The Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC title, routing the Carolina Panthers 34-14.

One year ago: President Barack Obama tried to revive his battered agenda and rally Democrats with a renewed emphasis on jobs during a town hall meeting in Elyria, Ohio. The "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon raised over $66 million. Conan O'Brien ended his brief tenure on "The Tonight Show" after accepting a $45 million buyout from NBC to leave the show he'd long dreamed of hosting after only seven months. Actress Jean Simmons, 80, died in Santa Monica, Calif. Actor James Mitchell, 89, died in Los Angeles.

Today's birthdays: Former Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) is 83. Actress Piper Laurie is 79. Actor Seymour Cassel is 76. Author Joseph Wambaugh is 74. Actor John Hurt is 71. Singer Steve Perry is 62. Country singer-musician Teddy Gentry (Alabama) is 59. Movie director Jim Jarmusch is 58. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Mike Bossy is 54. Actress Linda Blair is 52. Actress Diane Lane is 46. Actor-rap DJ Jazzy Jeff is 46. Country singer Regina Nicks (Regina Regina) is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marc Gay (Shai) is 42. Actor Gabriel Macht is 39. Actor Balthazar Getty is 36. Actor Christopher Kennedy Masterson is 31. Pop singer Willa Ford is 30. Actress Beverley (cq) Mitchell is 30. Rock singer-musician Ben Moody is 30.

Thought for today: "Children need models rather than critics." -- Joseph Joubert (zhoo-BAYR'), French moralist (1754-1824)

[Associated Press]

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