January 23rd

Today's Highlight in History:
On January 23rd, 1968, North Korea seized the US Navy ship "Pueblo" charging its crew with being on a spying mission. (The crew was released eleven months later.)

On this date:
In 1789, Georgetown University was established in present-day Washington DC.

In 1845, Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

In 1849, English-born Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree, from the Medical Institution of Geneva, New York.

In 1920, the Dutch government refused demands from the victorious Allies to hand over the ex-kaiser of Germany.

In 1932, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1950, the Israeli Knesset approved a resolution proclaiming Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

In 1964, the 24th amendment to the Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified.

In 1973, President Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.

In 1985, debate in Britain's House of Lords was carried on live television for the first time.

In 1989, surrealist artist Salvador Dali died in his native Spain at age 84.

Ten years ago: The 101st Congress convened its second session, facing an agenda that included clean air legislation and deficit reduction.

Five years ago: The Supreme Court ruled that companies accused of illegally firing employees could not escape liability by later finding a lawful reason to justify the dismissal.

One year ago: A federal judge ordered Monica Lewinsky to submit to an interview sought by House prosecutors in President Clinton's impeachment trial. During his visit to Mexico, Pope John Paul the Second urged his flock in the Americas to make the region a "continent of life."

"Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember."

-- Oscar Levant, pianist-composer-actor (1906-1972).