Today in History – Wilmington News Journal

Today is Wednesday, January 4, the fourth day of 2023. There are 361 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight in the story:

On January 4, 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected the first female Speaker of the House as Democrats took control of Congress.

To this date :

In 1821, the first native-born American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, died in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address, called for legislation to provide assistance to the unemployed, the elderly, poor children, and the disabled.

In 1948, Burma (now called Myanmar) became independent from British rule.

In 1964 Pope Paul VI began a visit to the Holy Land, the first such papal pilgrimage

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his State of the Union address in which he outlined the goals of his “great society”.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon refused to turn over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.

In 1987, 16 people were killed when a Washington, D.C., Boston-bound Amtrak train collided with Conrail locomotives that had passed each other on its way from a side track in Chase, Maryland.

In 1990, Charles Stuart, who claimed he had been injured and his pregnant wife had been shot by a robber, jumped to death from a Boston bridge after becoming a suspect himself.

In 1999, Europe’s new currency, the euro, got off to a good start on its first day of trading, appreciating against the dollar in global currency markets. Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura has been sworn in as Governor of Minnesota.

In 2002, Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman, a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, was killed by small-arms fire during an ambush in eastern Afghanistan; he was the first American serviceman to die under enemy fire in the War on Terror.

In 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a severe stroke; his official powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert (EH’-hood OHL’-murt). (Sharon remained in a coma until her death in January 2014.)

In 2015, Pope Francis appointed 156 new cardinals, selecting them from 14 countries, including remote corners of the world, to reflect the diversity of the Roman Catholic Church and its growth in places like Asia and Africa. .

Ten years ago: The new Congress passed a $9.7 billion bill to help pay flood insurance claims to homeowners, renters and businesses damaged by Super Hurricane Sandy. No. 10 Texas A&M defeated No. 12 Oklahoma, 41-13, in the Cotton Bowl.

Five years ago: The Trump administration moved to dramatically expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean with a five-year plan that would open up federal waters off California for the first time in decades and possibly open up new areas for oil and gas exploration along the East Coast. A huge winter storm roared across the east coast, dumping up to 17 inches of snow in some areas. The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through the 25,000 mark, closing at 25,075.13 just five weeks after its first close above 24,000. Ray Thomas, founding member of British rock band Moody Blues, died at home in south London at the age of 76, months before the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A year ago: Nearly a year after the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection, a poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only about 4 in 10 Republicans remembered of the attack on Donald Trump’s supporters as violent or extremely violent. violent; just 22% of Republicans said Trump bore significant responsibility for the riot. The government reported that a record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November, further evidence that the US labor market was rebounding strongly from the coronavirus recession.

Today’s birthdays: Actress Barbara Rush turns 96. Opera singer Grace Bumbry is 86 years old. Actor Dyan Cannon is 84 years old. Author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is 80 years old. musician Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) is 68 years old. Country singer Patty Loveless is 66. Actor Julian Sands is 65 years old. Rock singer Michael Stipe is 63 years old. Actor Patrick Cassidy is 61 years old. Actor Dave Foley is 60 years old. Actor Dot Jones is 59 years old. Actor Rick Hearst is 58 years old. Singer-musician Cait O’Riordan is 58 years old. Actor Julia Ormond is 58 years old. Former tennis player Guy Forget (ghee fohr-ZHAY’) is 58 years old. Country singer Deana Carter is 57. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 56. Actor Josh Stamberg is 53 years old. Actor Damon Gupton is 50 years old. Actor-singer Jill Marie Jones is 48 years old. Actor D’Arcy Carden is 43 years old. Christian rock singer Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath) is 40. Actress Lenora Crichlow is 38 years old. Comedian-actor Charlyne Yi is 37 years old. MLB All-Star Kris Bryant is 30 years old. Actor-singer Coco J Those is 25.