Today in history: Jan. 8
In 2011, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot and wounded when a gunman opened fire as the congresswoman met with constituents in Tucson, and more events that happened on this day in history.
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1815: Battle of New Orleans
In 1815, the last major engagement of the War of 1812 came to an end as U.S. forces defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, not having gotten word of the signing of a peace treaty.
1918: Fourteen Points
In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his Fourteen Points for lasting peace after World War I.
1935: Elvis Presley
In 1935, rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his State of the Union address, declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America.”
1973: Paris Peace Talks
In 1973, the Paris peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam resumed.
1982: American Telephone and Telegraph
In 1982, American Telephone and Telegraph settled the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.
1994: Tonya Harding
In 1994, Tonya Harding won the ladies’ U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit, a day after Nancy Kerrigan dropped out because of the clubbing attack that had injured her right knee. (The U.S. Figure Skating Association later stripped Harding of the title.)
2004: Black Hawk
In 2004, a U.S. Black Hawk medivac helicopter crashed near Fallujah, Iraq, killing all nine soldiers aboard.
2006: West Virginia
In 2006, the first funerals were held in West Virginia for the 12 miners who’d died in the Sago (SAY’-goh) Mine disaster six days earlier.
2008: Hillary Clinton
In 2008, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton powered to victory in New Hampshire’s 2008 Democratic primary in a startling upset, defeating Sen. Barack Obama and resurrecting her bid for the White House.
2008: John McCain
In 2008, Sen. John McCain defeated his Republican rivals to move back into contention for the GOP nomination.
2011: Gabrielle Giffords
Ten years ago: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot and critically wounded when a gunman opened fire as the congresswoman met with constituents in Tucson; six people were killed, 12 others also injured. (Gunman Jared Lee Loughner (LAWF’-nur) was sentenced in Nov. 2012 to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years.)
2016: "El Chapo"
Five years ago: Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most-wanted drug lord, was captured for a third time in a daring raid by Mexican marines, six months after walking through a tunnel to freedom from a maximum security prison in a made-for-Hollywood escape that deeply embarrassed the government and strained ties with the United States.
2020: Iran
One year ago: Iran struck back at the United States for killing Iran’s top military commander, firing missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops; more than 100 U.S. service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after the attack. As Iran braced for a counterattack, the country’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner after apparently mistaking it for a missile; all 176 people on board were killed, including 82 Iranians and more than 50 Canadians.
2020: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
One year ago: Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, said they planned to “step back” as senior members of the royal family while balancing their time between the U.K. and North America.
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