This day in history

[January 25, 2012]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2012. There are 341 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 25, 1949, the first Emmy Awards, honoring local Los Angeles TV programs and talent, were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club. (The very first Emmy presented, for "Most Outstanding Personality," went to ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale, star of the KTLA children's show "Judy Splinters.")

On this date:

In 1533, England's King Henry VIII secretly married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who later gave birth to Elizabeth I.

In 1787, Shays's Rebellion suffered a setback when debt-ridden farmers led by Capt. Daniel Shays failed to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Mass.

In 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes. The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1909, the opera "Elektra" by Richard Strauss premiered in Dresden, Germany.

In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service between New York and San Francisco.

In 1936, former Gov. Al Smith, D-N.Y., delivered a radio address in Washington, titled "Betrayal of the Democratic Party," in which he fiercely criticized the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1947, American gangster Al Capone died in Miami Beach, Fla., at age 48.

In 1959, American Airlines began Boeing 707 jet flights between New York and Los Angeles.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference to be carried live on radio and television.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate. Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Milton Obote (oh-BOH'-tay) in a military coup.

In 1981, the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States.

In 1990, an Avianca Boeing 707 ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, Long Island, N.Y.; 73 of the 158 people aboard were killed. Actress Ava Gardner died in London at age 67.

Ten years ago: J. Clifford Baxter, a former Enron executive who'd reportedly complained about the company's questionable accounting practices, was found shot to death in a car, a suicide. A judge in Cambridge, Mass., sentenced Thomas Junta (JUN'-tah) to six to 10 years in prison for beating another man to death at their sons' hockey practice. (Junta was released in Aug. 2010 after serving eight years for involuntary manslaughter.)

Five years ago: Ford Motor Co. said it had lost a staggering $12.7 billion in 2006, at that time the worst loss in the company's 103-year history. (Ford later reported a loss of $14.6 billion for 2008.)

One year ago: Pleading for unity in a newly divided government, President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to implore Democrats and Republicans to rally behind his vision of economic revival, declaring: "We will move forward together or not at all." In Egypt, thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police during a Tunisia-inspired demonstration to demand the end of President Hosni Mubarak's rule. A federal judge in New York sentenced Ahmed Ghailani (guh-LAHN'-ee), the first Guantanamo detainee to have a U.S. civilian trial, to life in prison for conspiring in the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998.

Today's birthdays: Actor Gregg Palmer is 85. The former president of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, is 84. Actor Dean Jones is 81. Country singer Claude Gray is 80. Movie director Tobe Hooper is 69. Actress Leigh Taylor-Young is 67. Actress Jenifer (cq) Lewis is 55. Actress Dinah Manoff is 54. Country musician Mike Burch (River Road) is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kina is 43. Actress China Kantner is 41. Actress Ana Ortiz is 41. Musician Matt Odmark (OHD'-mark) (Jars of Clay) is 38. Actress Mia Kirshner is 37. Actress Christine Lakin is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer Alicia (ah-LEE'-sha) Keys is 31. Actor Michael Trevino (TV: "The Vampire Diaries") is 27.

Thought for today: "A first-rate organizer is never in a hurry. He is never late. He always keeps up his sleeve a margin for the unexpected." -- Arnold Bennett, English poet, author and critic (1867-1931)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.