By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Jan. 28, the 28th day of 2021. There are 337 days left in the year.

Todayís 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 A.D. 814, Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne died in Aachen in present-day Germany.

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

In 1911, the notorious Hope Diamond was sold by jeweler Pierre Cartier to socialites Edward and Evalyn McLean of Washington, D.C., for $180,000.

In 1915, the American merchant vessel SS William P. Frye, en route to England with a cargo of wheat, became the first U.S. ship to be sunk during World War I by a German cruiser, the SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich, even though the United States was not at war.

In 1916, Louis D. Brandeis was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to the Supreme Court; Brandeis became the courtís first Jewish member.

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

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

In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War, a day after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords by the United States, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

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