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Almanac

By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Jan. 28, the 28th day of 2017. There are 337 days left in the year. This is the Chinese New Year of the Rooster.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

On this date:

In 1547, England’s King Henry VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

In 1813, the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen was first published anonymously in London.

In 1909, the United States withdrew its forces from Cuba as Jose Miguel Gomez became president.

In 1915, the United States Coast Guard was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill merging the Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service.

In 1939, Irish poet-dramatist William Butler Yeats died in Menton, France.

In 1945, during World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

In 1956, Elvis Presley made his first national TV appearance on “Stage Show,” a CBS program hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey.

In 1962, the last of Washington, D.C.’s original streetcars made its final run.

In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War.

In 1977, actor-comedian Freddie Prinze, 22, co-star of the NBC-TV show “Chico and the Man,” shot and mortally wounded himself at the Beverly Comstock Hotel (he died the following day). In 1980, six U.S. diplomats who avoided being taken hostage at their embassy in Tehran flew out of Iran with the help of Canadian diplomats. In 1999, Ford Motor Co. announced it was buying the Volvo car division in a $6.45 billion deal. (Ford ended up selling the Volvo unit in 2010 to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group for $1.8 billion.)

Ten years ago: U.S.-backed Iraqi troops attacked insurgents allegedly plotting to kill pilgrims at a major Shiite Muslim religious festival; Iraqi officials estimated some 300 militants died in the daylong battle near Najaf. (A U.S. helicopter crashed during the fight, killing two American soldiers.)

Thought for Today: “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” — William Arthur Ward, American writer (1921-1994).

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