A Blast from the Past

Today is Jan. 4.

Chinese and North Korean forces captured the South Korean capital of Seoul on this date in 1951. Their invasion of Seoul was so quick that to this day the residents of Seoul fear invasion from the north. If you look at a map you'll notice that Seoul is VERY close to the border.

President Nixon refused on this date in 1974 to release any more of the 500 tapes and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee. This intensified the crisis between the White House and Congress over the Watergate burglary and the cover-up of its White House origin. Nixon would later resign rather than be impeached.

It was on this date in 1893 that President Benjamin Harrison granted amnesty to all persons who since Nov. 1, 1890, had abstained from practicing polygamy. The pardon was aimed at a specific group of Morman elders who continued to contract serial marriages. The practice of polygamy was a factor interfering with statehood for Utah.

Dr. William Grant of Davenport, Iowa, performed the first appendectomy on this date in 1885. His patient recovered.

The 104th Congress convened on this date in 1995 with Republicans in control in both chambers for the first time since 1953. Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan, became Senate Majority Leader, while Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga, was elected Speaker of the House.

The same day, CBS quoted Gingrich's mother calling first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton a "bitch."

A Boston man who said he and his pregnant wife had been shot after leaving a birthing class in October 1989 committed suicide on this date in 1990. Charles Stuart's claim that they'd been the victims of a black robber fanned the flames of racial animosity in Boston. But in fact, Stuart had faked the attack -- fatally shooting his wife and then wounding himself. He killed himself as police closed in to arrest him for the deaths of his wife and child.

And Billboard magazine published the first pop music chart on this date in 1936. The list of the best-selling pop records of the week ending Dec. 30, 1935, included recordings by Tommy Dorsey and the Ozzie Nelson orchestra

We now return you to the present, already in progress.