This day in history

[January 07, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Jan. 7, the seventh day of 2009. There are 358 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 7, 1789, the first U.S. presidential election was held. Americans voted for electors who, a month later, chose George Washington to be the nation's first president.

On this date:

In 1608, an accidental fire devastated the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia colony.

In 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei began observing three of Jupiter's moons.

In 1800, the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore, was born in Summerhill, N.Y.

In 1927, commercial transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated between New York and London.

In 1942, the Japanese siege of Bataan began during World War II.

In 1949, George C. Marshall resigned as U.S. Secretary of State, effective Jan. 20. President Harry S. Truman chose Dean Acheson to succeed him.

In 1959, the United States recognized the new government of Cuba, six days after Fidel Castro led the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.

In 1972, Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist were sworn in as the 99th and 100th members of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1979, Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government.

In 1989, Emperor Hirohito of Japan died in Tokyo at age 87; he was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Akihito.

Ten years ago: For the second time in history, an impeached American president went on trial before the Senate. President Bill Clinton faced charges of perjury and obstruction of justice; he was acquitted.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush proposed legal status, at least temporarily, for millions of illegal immigrants working in the U.S. Swedish actress Ingrid Thulin died in Stockholm at age 77.

One year ago: The Pentagon reported an Iranian fleet of high-speed boats charged at and threatened to blow up a three-ship U.S. Navy convoy passing near Iranian waters, then vanished as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire. In Baghdad, the head of a key U.S.-backed Sunni group was killed in a double suicide bombing that claimed at least 11 other lives. Second-ranked LSU defeated No. 1 Ohio State, 38-24, in the BCS championship game played in New Orleans. Philip Agee, a renegade CIA agent whose naming of operatives led to a law against exposing spies, died in Cuba at age 72.

Today's birthdays: Author William Peter Blatty is 81. Country singer Jack Greene is 79. Pop musician Paul Revere is 71. Magazine publisher Jann Wenner is 63. Singer Kenny Loggins is 61. Singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman is 60. Latin pop singer Juan Gabriel is 59. Actress Erin Gray is 59. Actor Sammo Hung is 57. Actor David Caruso is 53. "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric is 52. Country singer David Lee Murphy is 50. Rock musician Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go's) is 50. Actor David Marciano is 49. Actress Hallie Todd is 47. Actor Nicolas Cage is 45. Singer-songwriter John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) is 44. Actor Doug E. Doug is 39. Actor Kevin Rahm is 38. Country singer-musician John Rich is 35. Actor Dustin Diamond is 32. Actor Robert Ri'chard is 26. Actor Liam Aiken is 19. Actress Camryn Grimes is 19. Actor Max Morrow is 18.

Thought for today: "I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author (1906-2001)

[Associated Press]

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