This day in history

[February 04, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Jan. 7, the seventh day of 2010. There are 358 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 7, 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei began observing three of Jupiter's moons, which he initially took to be stars; he spotted a fourth moon almost a week later. (Another astronomer, Simon Marius, who claimed to have spotted the moons before Galileo did, later named the Jovian satellites Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.)

On this date:

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

In 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.

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

In 1927, commercial trans-Atlantic 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; President Harry S. Truman chose Dean Acheson to succeed him.

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.

In 1999, 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.

Ten years ago: U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., subpoenaed Elian Gonzalez to testify before Congress in a bid to keep Elian in the United States for at least another month while courts decided whether the 6-year-old should be returned to Cuba. (Elian never testified.)

Five years ago: A military jury at Fort Hood, Texas, acquitted Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins of involuntary manslaughter in the alleged drowning of an Iraqi civilian, but convicted him of assault in the January 2004 incident. (Perkins was sentenced to six months in prison.) Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died at a Fort Atkinson, Wis. hospital at age 86. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announced they were separating after 4 1/2 years of marriage.

One year ago: President-elect Barack Obama met at the White House with America's four living presidents: George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Russia shut off all its gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine in a price and payment dispute; the cutoff lasted nearly two weeks.

Today's birthdays: Author William Peter Blatty is 82. Country singer Jack Greene is 80. Pop musician Paul Revere is 72. Magazine publisher Jann Wenner is 64. Singer Kenny Loggins is 62. Singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman is 61. Latin pop singer Juan Gabriel is 60. Actress Erin Gray is 60. Actor Sammo Hung is 58. Actor David Caruso is 54. "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric is 53. Country singer David Lee Murphy is 51. Rock musician Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go's) is 51. Actor David Marciano is 50. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is 49. Actress Hallie Todd is 48. Actor Nicolas Cage is 46. Singer-songwriter John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) is 45. Actor Doug E. Doug is 40. Actor Kevin Rahm is 39. Actor Jeremy Renner is 39. Country singer-musician John Rich is 36. Actor Dustin Diamond is 33. Actor Robert Ri'chard is 27. Actor Liam Aiken is 20. Actress Camryn Grimes is 20. Actor Max Morrow is 19.

Thought for today: "There may be Peace without Joy, and Joy without Peace, but the two combined make Happiness." -- John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish author (1875-1940)

[Associated Press]

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