January 19th

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 19th, 1807, Robert E. Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate armies, was born in Stratford, Virginia.

On this date:
In 1736, James Watt, inventor of the steam engine, was born in Scotland.

In 1809, author Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston.

In 1853, Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" premiered in Rome.

In 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union.

In 1944, the federal government relinquished control of the nation's railroads following settlement of a wage dispute.

In 1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television for the first time, with permission from President Eisenhower.

In 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister of India.

In 1970, President Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court; however, the nomination was defeated because of controversy over Carswell's past racial views.

In 1977, in one of his last acts of office, President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino, an American who'd made wartime broadcasts for Japan.

In 1981, the United States and Iran signed an agreement paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.

Ten years ago: Arthur J. Goldberg, former Supreme Court justice, labor secretary and US Ambassador to the United Nations, was found dead in his Washington apartment at age 81.

Five years ago: Russian troops regained control of the presidential palace in Grozny, the capital of the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

One year ago: President Clinton delivered his State of the Union address, in which he proposed to protect Social Security by using huge budget surpluses and announced the government would sue the tobacco industry for smokers' health costs. Hours earlier, at the president's impeachment trial in the Senate, White House Counsel Charles Ruff opened the defense with ringing statements of Clinton's innocence.

"To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead."

-- Bertrand Russell, British philosopher (1872-1970).