On Jan. 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of '49.
On this date:
In 1742, Charles VII was elected Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the Austrian Succession.
In 1908, the Boy Scouts movement began in England under the aegis of Robert Baden-Powell.
In 1916, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an income tax was unconstitutional.
In 1924, the Russian city of Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) was renamed Leningrad in honor of the late revolutionary leader. (However, it has since been renamed St. Petersburg.)
In 1935, beer was sold in cans for the first time, in Richmond, Va.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill concluded a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco.
In 1972, the Supreme Court struck down laws that denied welfare benefits to people who had resided in a state for less than a year.
In 1978, a nuclear-powered Soviet satellite, Cosmos 954, plunged through Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated, scattering radioactive debris over parts of northern Canada.
In 1984, Apple Computer began selling its Macintosh PC.
In 1985, the space shuttle Discovery was launched from Cape Canaveral on the first secret, all-military shuttle mission.
In 1986, the Voyager 2 space probe swept past Uranus, coming within 50,679 miles of the seventh planet from the sun.
In 1987, gunmen in Lebanon kidnapped educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner and Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh. (All were eventually released.)
In 1989, confessed serial killer Theodore Bundy was executed in Florida's electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.
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 Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall died 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 1995, the prosecution gave its opening statement in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
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. House prosecutors interviewed Monica Lewinsky, a move that triggered fresh partisan convulsions in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial. Also in 1999, Jordan's King Hussein, who was seriously ill, named his son Abdullah crown prince. Abdullah replaced his father's younger brother as successor to the throne.
In 2000, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore posted victories in the Iowa caucuses.
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, Tom Ridge was sworn in as the first head of the new Department of Homeland Security. Also in 2003, a U.S. government program to vaccinate 500,000 front-line healthcare workers in case of bioterrorist attack began.
In 2004, NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars three weeks after its identical twin, Spirit. Howard Dean sharply questioned John Kerry's judgment on Iraq as Democratic presidential rivals raced through a final weekend of campaigning before the New Hampshire primary. Also in 2004, after years of denials, Pakistan admitted scientists may have sold nuclear designs to other nations probably "for personal financial gain."
In 2005, Authorities in Iraq said Sami Mohammed Ali Said al-Jaaf, an al-Qaida lieutenant in custody, had confessed to masterminding most of the car bombings in Baghdad. The United Nations broke with years of protocol and commemorated the 60-year anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps, directly linking its own founding with the end of the Holocaust in some of the strongest language ever. 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 2008, French bank Societe Generale announced it had uncovered a $7.14 billion fraud by a single futures trader. Italian Premier Romano Prodi resigned after losing a Senate confidence motion.
In 2009, Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who safely landed a crippled US Airways jetliner in the Hudson River, received a hero's homecoming in Danville, Calif. President Barack Obama met with his economic advisers after asking Americans to support his economic package as a way to better schools, lower electricity bills and health coverage for millions who lose insurance. Brazilian model Mariana Bridi, 20, died after contracting an infection that forced doctors to amputate her hands and feet. Alissa Czisny won the women's title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland. Katie Stam of Indiana was crowned Miss America.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Ernest Borgnine is 93. Actor Jerry Maren ("The Wizard of Oz") is 91. Actor Marvin Kaplan ("Top Cat") is 83. Cajun musician Doug Kershaw is 74. Singer-songwriter Ray Stevens is 71. Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond is 69. Singer Aaron Neville is 69. Actor Michael Ontkean is 64. Actor Daniel Auteuil is 60. Country singer-songwriter Becky Hobbs is 60. Comedian Yakov Smirnoff is 59. Bandleader-musician Jools Holland is 52. Actress Nastassja Kinski is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Theo Peoples is 49. Country musician Keech Rainwater (Lonestar) is 47. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is 44. Comedian Phil LaMarr is 43. Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sleepy Brown (Society of Soul) is 40. Actor Matthew Lillard is 40. Actress Merrilee McCommas is 39. Actor Ed Helms is 36. Actress Tatyana Ali is 31. Rock musician Mitchell Marlow (Filter) is 31. Actress Mischa Barton is 24.
Those Born On This Date Include: Roman Emperor Hadrian (76); English dramatist William Congreve (1670); Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712); British social reformer Edwin Chadwick (1800); author Edith Wharton (1862); abstract painter Robert Motherwell (1915); sportscaster Jack Brickhouse (1916); evangelist Oral Roberts (1918); actress Sharon Tate in 1943; comedian John Belushi in 1949; & singer Warren Zevon (1947).
Today In Entertainment History January 24
In 1952, Carl Perkins married Valda Crider in Corinth, Miss.
In 1957, Elvis Presley recorded the song "Teddy Bear."
In 1969, Jethro Tull played their first US concert, in New York City. They were the opening act for Led Zeppelin.
In 1970, James "Shep" Sheppard, the lead singer for The Heartbeats and Shep and the Limelites, was found murdered in his car on the Long Island Expressway in New York.
In 1990, actress Kim Basinger signed papers giving her title to most of Braselton, Ga. The price was about $20 million dollars. Also in 1990, actor John Hurt got married for the third time. He married Jo Dalton in England.
In 1992, the producer of the New Kids On The Block album "Hangin' Tough" claimed that the group members sang only about 20 percent of the lyrics. He sued for millions of dollars for creative contributions and royalties. The allegations were denied by the New Kids, and the suit eventually was dropped.
Thought for Today: "God gives us relatives; thank God, we can choose our friends." — Addison Mizner, American architect (1872-1933).
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