This day in history

[January 29, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2010. There are 336 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 29, 1860 (according to the New Style calendar), Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov was born in the port city of Taganrog (TAG'-uhn-rahg).

On this date:

In 1820, Britain's King George III died at Windsor Castle.

In 1843, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born in Niles, Ohio.

In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" was first published, in the New York Evening Mirror.

In 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.

In 1919, the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which launched Prohibition, was certified by Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk.

In 1929, The Seeing Eye, a New Jersey-based school which trains guide dogs to assist the blind, was incorporated by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank.

In 1936, the first members of baseball's Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 1963, the first members of pro football's Hall of Fame were named in Canton, Ohio.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House, following the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In 1998, a bomb rocked an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., killing security guard Robert Sanderson and critically injuring nurse Emily Lyons. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was captured in May 2003 and is serving a life sentence.)

Ten years ago: Delegates meeting in Montreal reached an international agreement on the trade of genetically modified food and other products. Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott, architects of San Francisco's Super Bowl dynasty, were among five individuals elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Five years ago: Jetliners from China landed in rival Taiwan for the first time in 56 years. Serena Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the Australian Open final. Ashley McElhiney, the first female coach of a men's pro basketball team, was fired after an on-court dispute with Sally Anthony, co-owner of the Nashville Rhythm of the ABA. Irina Slutskaya won a sixth title at the European Figure Skating Championships.

One year ago: The Illinois Senate voted, 59-0, to convict Gov. Rod Blagojevich of abuse of power and throw him out of office, nearly two months after his arrest on charges of trying to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. President Barack Obama issued a withering critique of Wall Street corporate behavior, calling it "the height of irresponsibility" for employees to be paid more than $18 billion in bonuses while their crumbling financial sector received a bailout from taxpayers.

Today's birthdays: Actor John Forsythe is 92. Actor Noel Harrison is 76. Author Germaine Greer is 71. Actress Katharine Ross is 70. Actor Tom Selleck is 65. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bettye LaVette is 64. Actor Marc Singer is 62. Actress Ann Jillian is 60. Rock musician Tommy Ramone (Ramones) is 58. Rock musician Louie Perez (Los Lobos) is 57. Rhythm-and-blues/funk singer Charlie Wilson is 57. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is 56. Country singer Irlene Mandrell is 54. Actress Diane Delano is 53. Actress Judy Norton Taylor ("The Waltons") is 52. Rock musician Johnny Spampinato (NRBQ) is 51. Olympic gold-medal diver Greg Louganis is 50. Rock musician David Baynton-Power (James) is 49. Rock musician Eddie Jackson (Queensryche) is 49. Actor Nicholas Turturro is 48. Rock singer-musician Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) is 46. Actor-director Edward Burns is 42. Actress Heather Graham is 40. Actor Sharif Atkins is 35. Actress Sara Gilbert is 35. Actor Andrew Keegan is 31. Actor Jason James Richter is 30. Blues musician Jonny Lang is 29. Pop-rock singer Adam Lambert ("American Idol") is 28.

Thought for today: "Any idiot can face a crisis -- it's this day-to-day living that wears you out." -- Anton Chekhov (1860-1904).

[Associated Press]

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