On This Day in History - January 23rd - Almanac

Today is Monday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2017 with 342 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Evening stars are Neptune, Venus, Mars and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include American patriot John Hancock in 1737; French author Stendhal, a pseudonym for Marie-Henri Beyle, in 1783; French Impressionist painter Edouard Manet in 1832; Russian film director Sergei Eisenstein in 1898; actor Randolph Scott in 1898; actor Dan Duryea in 1907; comedian Ernie Kovacs in 1919; actor/singer Chita Rivera in 1933 (age 84); actor Gil Gerard in 1943 (age 74); actor Rutger Hauer in 1944 (age 73) ; actor Richard Dean Anderson in 1950 (age 67); airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who in 2009 safely landed a disabled airliner carrying 155 people in the Hudson River, in 1951 (age 66); former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 1953 (age 64); Princess Caroline of Monaco in 1957 (age 60); actor Gail O'Grady in 1963 (age 54); actor Mariska Hargitay in 1964 (age 53); actor Tiffani Thiessen in 1974 (age 43).

On this date in history:

In 1789, Georgetown College was founded in Georgetown, Md., which later would be part of the District of Columbia.

In 1845, the U.S. Congress decided that all national elections would take place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in U.S. history to receive a medical degree.

In 1912, the Standard Oil Company of New York was fined $55,000 for violating the Elkins Act in accepting rebates from the New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads during 1904 and 1905.

In 1922, at Toronto General Hospital, 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson became the first person to receive an insulin injection as treatment for diabetes.

In 1948, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight Eisenhower said he couldn't accept a presidential nomination from either party. Four years later, he ran as a Republican and was elected as the 34th president.

In 1968, the USS Pueblo was seized in the Sea of Japan by North Korea, which alleged the ship was on a spy mission. The crew was held for 11 months before being released.

In 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon announced that U.S. troops would cease fighting in Vietnam at midnight Jan. 27.

In 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter reinstated the Selective Service System.

In 1986, the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

In 1997, Madeleine Albright was sworn into office as the first female U.S. secretary of state.

In 2004, Bob Keeshan, the easy going, bushy mustached actor who created the classic children's television show Captain Kangaroo, died at age 76.

In 2005, Johnny Carson, host of TV's Tonight Show for 30 years and a powerful presence in American entertainment, died of emphysema at age 79.

In 2006, Ford Motor Co., reflecting the downsizing of the U.S. auto industry, said it would close 14 factories and eliminate 30,000 jobs over six years.

In 2014, pop star Justin Bieber, 19, was charged with drunken driving, resisting arrest and driving without a valid license in Miami Beach, Fla. Police said he was street racing and failed a sobriety test. In a plea deal months later, the drunken driving charge was reduced to careless driving. Bieber was ordered to take an anger-management course and appear in videos about DUI consequences, and he made a $50,000 donation to a youth charity.

A thought for the day: "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambition. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain