In 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union.

In 1938, the Spanish Nationalist air force bombed Barcelona and Valencia, killing 700 civilians and wounding hundreds more.

In 1975, China published a new constitution that adopted the precepts and policies of Mao Zedong.

In 1977, U.S. President Gerald Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino, who had been convicted of treason for her World War II Japanese propaganda broadcasts as Tokyo Rose.

In 1994, ice skater Tonya Harding's former husband, Jeff Gillooly, was arrested and charged with conspiracy in the attack two weeks earlier on Harding rival Nancy Kerrigan.

In 1995, Russian forces captured the presidential palace in the rebel republic of Chechnya.

In 1999, NATO warned Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic that he must honor the 1998 cease-fire negotiated with the rebels in Kosovo or face airstrikes.

In 2001, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced he had made a deal with the independent prosecutor that would prevent him from being indicted after he left office.

In 2003, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Bush administration might allow Saddam Hussein to seek safe haven in another country as a way to avoid war.

In 2005, the Southeast Asian tsunami death toll was raised to 220,000, including more than 166,000 killed in Indonesia.

Also in 2005, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 16-2 to approve the nomination of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state.

In 2006, monitors for the Dec. 15 Iraq parliamentary elections validated the vote despite reports of irregularities.

In 2007, the new Democratic congressional leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, warned U.S. President George Bush he no longer had a blank check for Iraq.

Also in 2007, former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, the only member of Congress to plead guilty in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

In 2008, the majority of black voters in a new poll, a reported 58 percent indicated a change of direction by supporting Barrack Obama over Hillary Clinton for president.

Also in 2008, U.S. President George Bush said that although the economy is growing, the rate of growth has slowed and there's a risk of a downturn. He called it a challenging period for our economy.

"All the world's a stage,

"And all the men and women merely players.

"They have their exits and their entrances,

"And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Harold Gray, creator of the comic strip Little Orphan Annie, in 1894; comedian George Burns in 1896; Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1906; Italian film director Federico Fellini and actor DeForest Kelley, both in 1920; country singer Otis Slim Whitman in 1924 (age 85); actress Patricia Neal in 1926 (age 83); astronaut Edwin Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon, in 1930 (age 79); comic Arte Johnson in 1929 (age 80); director David Lynch in 1946 (age 63); TV host Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect) in 1956 (age 53); and actor Lorenzo Lamas in 1958 (age 51).

In 1265, Britain's House of Commons, which became a model for parliamentary bodies, met for the first time.

In 1783, U.S. and British representatives signed a preliminary Cessation of Hostilities, which ended the fighting in the Revolutionary War.

In 1892, the first officially recognized basketball game was played at the YMCA gym in Springfield, Mass.

In 1945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only president to be elected to four terms in office, was inaugurated to his final term. He died three months later and was succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman.

In 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy began his presidency with inauguration ceremonies on the newly renovated east front of the Capitol.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States. That same day, 52 American hostages were released by Iran after 444 days in captivity.

In 1990, at least 62 civilians were killed and more than 200 wounded when the Soviet army stormed into Baku to end what Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called fratricidal killing between Muslim Azerbaijanis and Christian Armenians.

In 1993, Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States.

Also in 1993, Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn died of cancer at her home in Switzerland. She was 63.

In 1995, the United States announced it was easing the trade embargo in effect against North Korea since the Korean War.

Also in 1995, a strike-shortened National Hockey League season opened with teams playing a 48-game schedule instead of the usual 84.

In 1996, Yasser Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian Authority with 88 percent of the vote.

In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his second term in office.

Also in 1997, millionaire Steve Fossett landed in northern India after a record-setting bid to become the first person to circle the globe in a hot air balloon.

In 2001, George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd president of the United States.

Also in 2001, just hours before leaving office, U.S. President Bill Clinton issued 176 pardons -- a number of them controversial.

In 2003, Britain said it was sending 26,000 troops to the Persian Gulf for possible deployment to Iraq but France said it wouldn't support a U.N. resolution for military action.

In 2005, George Bush was sworn in for his second term as U.S. president.

In 2006, Lawrence Franklin, a former U.S. State Department analyst and Iran expert, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for passing classified information to Israel and two pro-Israeli lobbyists.

In 2007, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., became the first former first lady to seek the U.S. presidency when she entered the race for the 2008 Democratic nomination.

Also in 2007, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro was fighting for his life, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in a speech in Brazil.

In 2008, Israeli Cabinet ministers called for the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who claimed to have the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include soldier and Vermont folk hero Ethan Allen in 1738; explorer and historian John Fremont in 1813; Confederate Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson in 1824; firearms designer John Browning in 1855; Roger Nash Baldwin, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, in 1884; fashion designer Christian Dior in 1905; actors Paul Scofield in 1922 and Telly Savalas in 1924; comedian Benny Hill in 1924; famed DJ Robert Wolfman Jack Smith in 1938; golfer Jack Nicklaus in 1940 (age 69); opera star Placido Domingo in 1941 (age 68); singers Mac Davis in 1942 (age 67) and Billy Ocean in 1950 (age 59); and actors Jill Eikenberry in 1947 (age 62), Robby Benson in 1956 (age 53) and Geena Davis in 1957 (age 52).

In 1792, French King Louis XVI was executed in Paris.

In 1861, Mississippi Sen. Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate, 12 days before Mississippi seceded from the Union. He later became president of the Confederate States of America.

In 1924, Vladimir Lenin, architect of the Bolshevik Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union, died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 54.

In 1954, the world's first atomic-powered submarine, the Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Conn.

In 1976, the supersonic Concorde airplane was put into service by Britain and France.

In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter pardoned American Vietnam War-era draft evaders and ordered a case-by-case study of deserters.

In 1991, Iraq announced that it would use hostages as human shields against allied warplanes.

In 1997, the full U.S. House of Representatives voted 395-28 to reprimand Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., for violating House rules and misleading congressional investigators looking into his possible misuse of tax-exempt donations for political purposes.

In 1998, allegations of U.S. President Bill Clinton's affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky became public when newspapers reported the story.

Also in 1998, Pope John Paul II arrived in Havana for his first visit to Cuba.

In 1999, the brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari was convicted of masterminding the 1994 shooting death of a ruling party official.

In 2000, a military junta seized power in Ecuador. The next day, following expressions of international concern, the junta leaders turned the government over to the country's vice president.

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau said Hispanics had moved past African-Americans as the largest minority group in the United States.

In 2004, a U.S. scientist who had toured North Korea nuclear facilities told the U.S. Congress there was evidence they could produce enriched plutonium.

In 2005, Iraq officials said $300 million was taken from Baghdad's central bank and flown to Lebanon. Its whereabouts was unknown.

In 2006, a Harris poll said the U.S. public was about equally split on the issue of wiretapping United States citizens without court authorization.

In 2007, Afghanistan's Kabul government was reported planning war against its illegal opium trade with an attack on 55,000 acres of ripening poppies in a leading drug-producing province.

In 2008, stock markets around the world fell sharply amid fears the United States was headed for recession.

Also in 2008, 20 miners were killed in an explosion at a reportedly unsafe coal mine in China's northern Shanxi Province.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Russian Czar Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great, in 1440; English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon in 1561; French physicist Andre-Marie Ampere in 1775; British poet George Byron in 1788; D.W. Griffith, legendary film director (Birth of a Nation), in 1875; U.N. Secretary-General U Thant in 1909; actresses Ann Sothern in 1909 and Piper Laurie in 1932 (age 77); actor Bill Bixby in 1934; soul singer Sam Cooke in 1935; author Joseph Wambaugh in 1937 (age 72); actor John Hurt in 1940 (age 69); Journey lead singer Steve Perry in 1949 (age 60); and actors Linda Blair (The Exorcist) in 1959 (age 50); Olivia d'Abo in 1969 (age 40) and Balthazar Getty in 1975 (age 34).

In 1771, Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain.

In 1901, Queen Victoria of Britain died at age 82 after a reign of 64 years.

In 1943, U.S. and Australian troops took New Guinea in the first land victory over the Japanese in World War II.

In 1944, U.S. troops invaded Italy, landing at Anzio beach in a move to outflank German defensive positions.

In 1973, in the Roe vs. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws restricting abortions during the first six months of pregnancy.

In 1987, Glen Tremml, 27, pedaled the ultralight aircraft Eagle over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for a human-powered flight record of 37.2 miles.

In 1991, Iraq launched a Scud missile attack against Israel, injuring 98 people. Three others died of heart attacks.

In 1995, two Palestinians killed 18 Israeli soldiers, a civilian and themselves in a bombing outside a military camp in central Israel.

In 1996, Costas Simitis was chosen to be prime minister of Greece. His predecessor, Andreas Papandreou, had stepped down due to ill health.

In 1998, accused bomber Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty to all counts against him in California and New Jersey. He was sentenced to life in prison on May 4.

In 2003, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to be the first secretary of Homeland Security by a 94-0 vote.

Also in 2003, snowboard pioneer Craig Kelly died in a British Columbia avalanche.

In 2005, the Indian navy in New Delhi reported finding a tsunami victim 25 days after he had been sucked into the sea and tossed onto a small island where he survived on coconuts until rescued.

In 2006, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said his country was prepared to defend itself if Iran did not halt its nuclear research program.

In 2007, hampered by crowds of scavengers, emergency workers in southwest England secured a grounded freighter that spilled cargo and 200 tons of oil.

In 2008, in response to the global stock market plunge and a weak economic outlook, the U.S. Federal Reserve bank cut interest rates by 0.75 percent, the largest single-day reduction in the bank's history.

Also in 2008, Jose Padilla, an American citizen accused of plotting to explode a radioactive dirty bomb in the United States, was sentenced to 17 years and 4 months in jail for aiding terrorists.

And, a suicide bomber struck at a school in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 21 people, including 17 students, police said.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include 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; actors Randolph Scott in 1898 and Dan Duryea in 1907; comedian Ernie Kovacs in 1919; actress/singer Chita Rivera in 1933 (age 76); actors Gil Gerard in 1943 (age 66), Rutger Hauer in 1944 (age 65), and Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) in 1950 (age 59); Princess Caroline of Monaco in 1957 (age 52); and actresses Gail O'Grady in 1963 (age 46) and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen in 1974 (age 35).

In 1845, the U.S. Congress decided that all national elections would take place on the first 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 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 34th president of the United States.

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

In 1971, the temperature at Prospect Creek, Alaska, dropped to 80 degrees below zero, the lowest temperature recorded in the United States.

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 1988, Sandinista missiles downed a cargo plane that was dropping U.S.-financed supplies to Contra rebels in southeastern Nicaragua. Four crewmen were killed.

In 1991, U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said heavy bombing had destroyed Iraq's two operating nuclear reactors and damaged chemical facilities.

Also in 1991, U.S. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady asked Congress for another $80 billion toward the bailout of the nation's savings and loan industry.

In 1997, Madeline Albright was sworn into office to become the first woman 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 the age of 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.

Also in 2005, Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as Ukraine's president, ending a tumultuous election and promising a period of radical, liberal reforms.

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 the next six years.

Also in 2006, Canadian voters chose Stephen Harper's Conservation Party over outgoing Prime Minister Paul Martin's Labor Party in a close parliamentary election.

In 2007, in his first State of the Union address before a Democratic-controlled Congress, U.S. President George Bush warned of the serious challenge of global climate change.

In 2008, tens of thousands of Palestinians rushed into Egypt to buy food and supplies after members of Hamas destroyed parts of a wall separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

Also in 2008, Thailand returned to civilian rule after a military council that had ruled the country for 16 months disbanded.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include the Roman Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 76; English dramatist William Congreve in 1670; Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1712; British social reformer Edwin Chadwick in 1800; author Edith Wharton in 1862; abstract painter Robert Motherwell in 1915; former sportscaster Jack Brickhouse in 1916; actor Ernest Borgnine in 1917 (age 92); evangelist Oral Roberts in 1918 (age 91); ballet dancer Maria Tallchief Paschen in 1925 (age 84); singers Neil Diamond and Aaron Neville, both in 1941 (age 68); comedian John Belushi in 1949; actor Michael Ontkean in 1946 (age 63); comedian Yakov Smirnoff in 1951 (age 58); actress Nastassja Kinski in 1961 (age 48); and Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton in 1968 (age 41).

In 1848, gold was discovered at John Sutter's mill near Sacramento, Calif. The discovery touched off the great gold rush of 1849.

In 1908, the first Boy Scout troop was organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell, a general in the British army.

In 1916, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an income tax was unconstitutional.

In 1935, beer was sold in cans for the first time, in Richmond, Va.

In 1965, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill died at age 91.

In 1990, Soviet forces shelled merchant ships blockading the harbor in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.

In 1991, Saudi jet fighters shot down the first enemy planes of the Persian Gulf War, while U.S. forces sank an Iraqi minesweeper and forced Iraqi troops off an island near Kuwait.

In 1993, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first black to serve on the nation's highest court, died of cardiac arrest at age 84.

Also in 1993, Thomas A. Dorsey, known as the father of gospel music for adding rhythm to church hymns, died at 93.

In 1999, the International Olympic Committee expelled six IOC members amid charges that money and other compensation had been accepted from officials whose cities were bidding to host the Games.

Also in 1999, Jordan's King Hussein, who was seriously ill, named his son Abdullah as crown prince. Abdullah replaced his father's younger brother as successor to the throne.

In 2002, John Walker Lindh, the 20-year-old American seized with the Taliban in Afghanistan, appeared in an Alexandria, Va., court to hear charges he had conspired to kill Americans and help terrorist groups.

In 2003, a report said the global economic slowdown that began about two years previously had wiped out some 20 million jobs, bringing total world unemployment to perhaps 180 million people.

Also in 2003, a U.S. government program to vaccinate 500,000 front-line healthcare workers in case of bio-terrorist attack began on this date.

In 2004, after years of denials, Pakistan admitted scientists may have sold nuclear designs to other nations probably for personal financial gain.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to prevent the husband of Terri Schiavo from removing her life support system. Lower court rulings said the severely brain-damaged woman was in a persistent vegetative state.

In 2007, three precision raids on predominantly Sunni-controlled areas of Baghdad allowed Iraqi and U.S. troops to regain control of the city.

Also in 2007, European defense officials said North Korea was is sharing its nuclear data on 2006's test explosion with Iran.

In 2008, Societe Generale, one of France's largest banks, blamed a $7 billion loss on what it called fraudulent stock dealings in European stock futures by an unauthorized employee.

Also in 2008, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned after losing a confidence vote in the Senate.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Irish natural philosopher Robert Boyle, a founder of modern chemistry, in 1627; Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1759; soap maker and philanthropist William Colgate in 1783; novelists W. Somerset Maugham in 1874 and Virginia Woolf in 1882; news commentator Edwin Newman in 1919 (age 90); former Philippine President Corazon Aquino in 1933 (age 86); and actors Dean Jones in 1931 (age 78); Leigh Taylor-Young in 1945 (age 64) and Dinah Manoff in 1958 (age 51).

In 1890, Nellie Bly, a young New York reporter, completed a trip around the world in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.

In 1915, transcontinental phone service was inaugurated in a hookup between New York and San Francisco.

In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix, France.

In 1947, gangster Al Scarface Capone died at age 48 after suffering from syphilis.

In 1959, the first scheduled transcontinental flight took place, a non-stop American Airlines flight from California to New York.

In 1961, newly inaugurated U.S. President John Kennedy had the first televised presidential news conference.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three women were found guilty of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people in Los Angeles.

In 1981, 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days returned to the United States.

In 1984, Apple's Macintosh computer went on sale. Price tag: $2,495.

In 1990, the U.S. Senate failed by four votes to override President George H.W. Bush's veto of a statutory guarantee of asylum for Chinese students in United States.

Also in 1990, a Colombian jetliner with little fuel left crashed in Long Island, N.Y., after missing its first approach to Kennedy Airport. Seventy-three people died.

In 1991, a huge Persian Gulf oil slick began to form as Iraqi forces sabotaged Kuwaiti oil terminals.

In 1993, a man with a rifle opened fire near the main CIA gate in Langley, Va., killing two agency employees and wounding three others. He escaped, but was later captured.

Also in 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton put his wife, Hillary Clinton, in charge of a healthcare task force with a mandate to produce a plan for universal coverage in 100 days.

In 2003, two small planes collided over Denver, killing four people and spilling wreckage and fuel on a neighborhood injuring at least four others.

In 2004, Opportunity, the second of two NASA robot explorers, landed safely on Mars, joining its twin to explore the planet.

In 2005, the death toll from December's 11-nation tsunami in southern Asia was 281,000 with thousands more missing.

In 2006, the militant Islamic group Hamas, calling for destruction of Israel, scored a stunning victory in the Palestinian parliamentary election.

In 2007, a car and two motorcycles rigged with explosives exploded in three Baghdad sites, killing at least 32 people and injuring at least 80 others.

Also in 2007, Israeli President Moshe Katsav, facing indictment for rape and sexual harassment, was granted a three-month leave of absence.

In 2008, Egyptian soldiers fortified the country's border with Gaza with a human chain and barbed wire. The move came in response to the tens of thousands of Palestinians who crossed back and forth since Hamas damaged the crossing walls.

Also in 2008, China's Ministry of Railway said 18 railroad workers were killed and nine injured by a high-speed train that barreled into their work site in Anqiu.