January second

Today's Highlight in History:
One hundred years ago, on January second, 1900, Secretary of State John Hay announced the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China.

On this date:
In 1492, the leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand the Second and Queen Isabella the First.

In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the US Constitution.

In 1921, religious services were broadcast on radio for the first time as KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the regular Sunday service of the city's Calvary Episcopal Church.

In 1929, the United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.

In 1935, Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, New Jersey, on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was found guilty, and executed.)

In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War Two.

In 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1965, the New York Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000.

In 1974, President Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles-an-hour. (Federal speed limits were abolished in 1995).

In 1983, the musical play "Annie," based on the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip, closed on Broadway after a run of 2,377 performances.

Ten years ago: On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record high, ending the day above 2800 for the first time, at 2800.15.

Five years ago: Chechen defenders drove Russian troops out of the capital of Grozny. Marion Barry was inaugurated as mayor of Washington DC, four years after leaving the office in disgrace to serve a six-month sentence for misdemeanor drug possession.

One year ago: A UN-chartered cargo plane carrying nine people was downed in Angola's central highland war zone; there were no survivors.

"It is the tragedy of the world that no one knows what he doesn't know -- and the less a man knows, the more sure he is that he knows everything."

-- Joyce Cary, British author (1888-1957).