Undated -- Today in History

Today is Friday, Jan. 2, the 2nd day of 2009. There are 363 days left in the year. [This is just going to grind on interminably, isn't it? — Ed.] Today's Highlight in History: Fifty years ago, on Jan. 2, 1959, the Soviet Union launched its space probe Luna 1, the first manmade object to fly past the moon, its apparent intended target. [Oops! — Ed.] On this date: In 1492, Muhammad XII, the sultan of Granada, the last Arab stronghold in Spain, surrendered to Spanish forces. In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the US Constitution. In 1900, Secretary of State John Hay announced the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China. Eighty years ago, 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, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the 20-month-old 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 II. In 1960, Sen. 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 to a contract reportedly worth $427,000. Thirty-five years ago, in 1974, President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles-an-hour (however, federal speed limits were abolished in 1995). In 2006, a methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia claimed the lives of 12 miners, but one miner, Randal McCloy, Jr., was eventually rescued. Ten years ago: A U.N.-chartered cargo plane carrying nine people was downed in Angola's central highland war zone; there were no survivors. Five years ago: Insurgents shot down a US helicopter west of Baghdad, killing one soldier. British flights to Washington and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were canceled as a security precaution. The NASA spacecraft Stardust flew through the halo of the distant comet Wild 2. One year ago: The Justice Department opened a full criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes. Pakistan pushed back parliamentary elections until Feb. 18, 2008 -- a six-week delay prompted by rioting that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Oil prices soared to $100 a barrel for the first time. Late-night talk shows returned to the air two months into a writers strike. (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson had interim agreements allowing writers to work on their shows; Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel returned without theirs.) Associated Press