On Jan. 4, 1960, Algerian-born French author and philosopher Albert Camus died in an automobile accident in Villeblevin, France at age 46.
On this date:
In 1809, Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille raised-dot reading system for the blind, was born in Coupvray, France.
In 1821, the first native-born American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, died in Emmitsburg, Md.
In 1885, Dr. William Grant of Davenport, Iowa, performed the first successful appendectomy.
In 1893, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison granted amnesty to all people who had abstained from practicing polygamy since Nov. 1, 1890. It was part of a deal for Utah to achieve statehood.
In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th state.
In 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Gonzalez v. Williams, ruled that Puerto Ricans were not aliens and could enter the United States freely; however, the court stopped short of declaring them U.S. citizens.
In 1948, Burma (now called Myanmar) became independent of British rule.
In 1951, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces recaptured the city of Seoul.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his "Great Society" in his State of the Union Address.
In 1974, President Richard M. Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
In 1987, 16 people were killed when an Amtrak train bound from Washington to Boston collided with Conrail locomotives that had crossed into its path from a side track in Chase, Md.
In 1990, Charles Stuart, who'd claimed to have been wounded and his pregnant wife shot dead by a robber, leapt to his death off a Boston bridge after he himself became a suspect. Deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was arraigned in federal district court in Miami on drug-trafficking charges.
In 1995, The 104th Congress convened, the first entirely under Republican control since the Eisenhower era; Newt Gingrich was elected speaker of the House.
In 1999, Europe's new currency, the euro, got off to a strong start on its first trading day, rising against the dollar on world currency markets. Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura took the oath of office as Minnesota's governor.
In 2000, former presidential rival Elizabeth Dole endorsed fellow Republican George W. Bush. Israel and the Palestinians agreed on an Israeli troop pullback from 5 percent of the West Bank.
In 2004, in Iowa, seven of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls participated in a feisty, first debate of the election year. Afghans approved a new constitution. Georgians overwhelmingly elected Mikhail Saakashvili president, two months after he'd led protests that forced Eduard Shevardnadze to step down. Louisiana State University won college football's Sugar Bowl, defeating Oklahoma 21-14.
In 2005, the governor of the Baghdad region (Ali al-Haidari), known for cooperating closely with American troops, was assassinated along with six bodyguards as he drove to work. No. 1 Southern California overwhelmed No. 2 Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl. Wade Boggs was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and Ryne Sandberg made it with just six votes to spare on his third try.
In 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke and his powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.
In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected the first female speaker of the House as Democrats took control of Congress.
In 2009, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors had won a lucrative state contract. (Prosecutors later declined to bring charges against Richardson.) A female suicide bomber struck Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing 38.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Rush is 83. Football Hall-of-Fame coach Don Shula is 80. Actress Dyan Cannon is 73. Opera singer Grace Bumbry is 73. Author-historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is 67. Country singer Kathy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 55. Actress Ann Magnuson is 54. Rock musician Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) is 54. Country singer Patty Loveless is 53. Rock singer Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) is 50. Actor Patrick Cassidy is 48. Actor Dave Foley is 47. Singer-musician Cait O'Riordan is 45. Actress Julia Ormond is 45. Tennis player Guy Forget is 45. Country singer Deana Carter is 44. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 43. Actor Jeremy Licht is 39. Actress-singer Jill Marie Jones is 35. Alt-country singer Justin Townes Earle is 28. Christian rock singer Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath) is 27. Comedian-actress Charlyne Yi is 24.
Those born on this date who done died include: Folklore and fairy tale collector Jacob Grimm (1785); shorthand writing system inventor Isaac Pitman (1813); Charles Stratton, the midget known as Gen. Tom Thumb, a famous entertainer and protege of showman P.T. Barnum, (1838); U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., (1896); former heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson (1935); author Maureen Reagan (1941).
Entertainment History — January 4: Death, Divorce & Domino
In 1935, Bob Hope made his network radio debut in the cast of "The Intimate Revue."
In 1936, Billboard magazine published the first pop music chart.
In 1953, thousands of people attended the funeral of country star Hank Williams in Montgomery, Alabama. He had died of a heart attack a few days earlier.
In 1954, Elvis Presley met Sam Phillips of Sun Records at the Memphis Recording Service. Phillips got Elvis' address and phone number to contact him later about a formal recording session.
In 1957, Fats Domino recorded "I'm Walkin'" in New Orleans.
In 1966, the last episode of "Rawhide" aired on CBS. [Forcing Clint Eastwood to get some real work. — Ed.]
In 1976, Mal Evans, the former road manager for The Beatles, was shot and killed by police at his Los Angeles home. Authorities said Evans had refused to surrender a gun he was holding. At the time of his death, Evans was working on a memoir of his time with The Beatles.
In 1984, Van Halen released their "1984" album.
In 1986, former Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott died in a London hospital of heart failure and pneumonia.
In 2000, Ted Turner and Jane Fonda announced they were divorcing after eight years of marriage. On that same day, "Scary Spice" Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls announced she and husband Jimmy Gulzar were splitting after 15 months of marriage.
In 2004, the unmanned Mars spacecraft began relaying pictures of a rock-strewn plain to Earth as scientists looked for signs the planet once had water and perhaps life.
In 2008, Britney Spears lost custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline a day after police and paramedics were called to her home.
Thought for Today: "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." — Albert Camus (1913-1960).
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